Meet the invisible volunteers who are only noticed when something goes wrong

There are approximately 3,500 volunteers at Jamboree Denmark. They work in kiosks and supermarkets, run activities or help guides and scouts at the information points. Yet many volunteers are never seen. They make sure the jamboree runs smoothly behind the scenes and set the framework so the rest of us can enjoy a jamboree with water and electricity that is not drowning in garbage. Here, we talk to the volunteers who are only noticed when something goes wrong.

In GRAS, it is the team spirit that drives volunteering

When the garbage needs to be emptied, containers have to be ordered or garbage has to be sorted, it is the GRAS team that steps in. GRAS is an abbreviation for Genbrug, Renovation, Affald og Sortering (recycling, rubbish collection, waste, sortation), and they “live” in a tent right on the edge of Spejdertorvet, but even so, people do not necessarily know who they are or what they do.

It is a HUGE amount of work, and most of it is very invisible. […] A lot of people ask, ‘Why has this not been done? And why has that not been done?’, and we are working as hard as we can.” Alina, 20 years old, sector coordinator, GRAS

And garbage has also turned out to be a huge task. The team has been planning for over a year, and yet new problems have stubbornly kept appearing, which they have had to solve as they went along. For example, there was a lack of stickers for food and drink cartons, meaning that cardboard cups and bowls at Spejdertorvet might end up in the cardboard container and contaminate the entire garbage bag. Another challenge that has come up is the huge amount of Cocio (a Danish chocolate milk) that the guides and scouts have been drinking.

Oh Cocio, there is SO much Cocio.” Ida, 31 years old, sector coordinator, GRAS

Here, the challenge has been that there have not been enough separate containers for glass.

Despite the many challenges, the GRAS team remains indomitable and, even though they are tired, they draw their energy from one another.

We have the best team at the jamboree. Quite objectively speaking.
Alina, 20 years old, sector coordinator, GRAS

The dynamic I experience between the two sector coordinators points to an exceptional collaboration, with constant laughter and shared in‑jokes throughout the entire interview. The team itself, and the joy of being part of it, is also mentioned many times. It is clear that this is where the motivation to take on a little‑recognised job comes from.

Garbage is something you only notice when there is a problem. We are supposed to be invisible; sometimes it feels a bit thankless. But I would gladly work with garbage again at the next jamboree, as long as the team is the same.” Ida, 31 years old, sector coordinator, GRAS

However, it is not only the sense of community within the team that motivates the two sector coordinators. A key part of their motivation also comes from sustainability and concern for the climate, and they are equally committed to sorting garbage correctly at home in their private lives.

It is important to them that garbage is sorted correctly so that as much as possible can be reused, and it frustrates them when they have to throw contaminated bags into residual waste. At the same time, they say it is clear that the guides and scouts really want to sort correctly, and they appreciate that very much. Even when they are off duty, it is hard not to look down into the garbage bags to check whether they have been sorted correctly or to see how many Cocio bottles are standing around.

It is therefore a dedicated team that makes sure the garbage is removed and ends up in its rightful square.

REMEMBER TO SORT YOUR GARBAGE!” Alina and Ida, sector coordinators, GRAS

Tobias From the Electricity Team Dives Into Power to Learn

Tobias started his jamboree 5 days before the main jamboree began, when Hedeland was still mostly grassland. Before the tents could be put up, the electricity team dug down huge power cables so that all the subcamps, toilets and activity areas could get the electricity they needed. The work included hammering stakes into the ground in 30‑degree heat and hauling 50‑metre‑long cables around.

Here I had the chance to work with real cables and real electricity panels. It was a hands‑on experience that I could never have gained through my studies or a regular job.” Tobias, 24 years old, volunteer in the electricity team

Although Tobias is not an electrician himself, he has still been able to put his interest in electricity into practice. In everyday life, he studies at university, where he also works with electricity, but only in theory, so he has really appreciated getting some more hands‑on experience.

Here, the team has been very good at including him, and more experienced electricians have helped train him and answer his stream of questions.

There have been extremely skilled, professional electricians […] who have helped and supported you as if you were their apprentice. So I have been in safe hands.”
Tobias, 24 years old, volunteer in the electricity team

For Tobias, his volunteer role has therefore mainly been about everything he has learned and about satisfying his curiosity. He feels rewarded for his hard work when tens of thousands of happy guides and scouts are able to enter the jamboree, thanks in part to the work he did before the jamboree.

I have not done it for the recognition; otherwise I would have found a different volunteer job. I do it because I think it is interesting, it is cool and you get to know new people.” Tobias, 24 years old, volunteer in the electricity team

When I ask him whether he could imagine working in the electricity team next time there is a jamboree, I get a “100%” straight away. He highlights that Jamboree Denmark has an environment where you can help with planning and influence what can be done for the next jamboree. This gives volunteers the chance to change things and optimise certain tasks.

Tobias’ biggest job is over now, but he is ready to swap an electricity panel or bring extension leads whenever activities need it.

Drone Pilots Support the Emergency Services

René checks once more whether the emergency services in the operations town at Jamboree Denmark can receive live video from his drone. He is standing at the arrival area on Saturday morning, where one bus after another pulls in and unloads happy and expectant guides and scouts. There are many helpers in yellow vests welcoming them, and among them is René from the KFUM Scouts Denmark in Ejstrupholm. He is one of the 4–5 drone pilots who support the emergency services at the jamboree with live images from above.

The fact that there are drone pilots among the volunteers at the jamboree is probably unknown to most people, which makes the drone pilots part of the group of “invisible” volunteers.

René lands the drone and quickly packs it away. Each drone only has enough battery for 20 minutes of flying with live video transmission, he explains, but because there are several of us drone pilots, we can provide continuous video to the emergency services.

René therefore wears two hats during the jamboree. Both as a photographer, and by helping the emergency services and thereby keeping us all safe.

And So Many More

In addition to those I have spoken to, there are countless other “invisible” volunteers who have all given a hand before and during the jamboree, and who will also do so after the jamboree. I have not had the opportunity to speak to everyone, but they are still doing an enormous job, and we are grateful that they make it possible for us to have the jamboree we do.