Barents scout camp on Nenets tundra

One of the larger projects the Norwegian Barents Secretariat supported this year was the Barents Friendship Scout Camp in Naryan Mar. More than 50 Norwegian scouts from Brønnøysund travelled across the entire Barents region to meet with their scouting frinds in the Nenets region in the far north of Russia. This was the first international youth scout camp in Naryan Mar of this scale.

Scouts seldom stay in the city for long and in Nenets you find some of the wildest nature in all of Europe. For the Norwegians this was brand new world to explore. The scouts went on tundra hikes, they had training in rescue operations and first aid, they tested catamarans and kayaks and of course learned a lot about the Nenets region.

Mosquitios
When you visit the tundra in the far north mosquitoes will always be an annoying issue to deal with. However, thanks to the cold weather this summer the amount was less problematic this year than earlier.

The participants summed up each day at the general gathering around the campfire. Each day with a new performance of the camp participants. On the last day of the camp the best performance of the camp was awarded.

At the end of the stay in Russia the Norwegian scouts were accommodated into private homes in the cities of Naryan mar and Krasnoe, to learn even more about Russian life and culture.

Makalausa
Among the Norwegians there were 10 participants with disabilities. This scout group is called Makalausa and the Brønnøy scout organization has been working with them for several years. The Nenets scouts have no experience with such groups, but inspired by the Norwegians they are now looking at possibilities to initiate this.

- Such a large-scale camp is a new experience for our organization. We hope that we will engage new members into the Nenets scout organization and raise Scouting in the Nenets Okrug to a new level after the camp, said Alexei Bazhukov who is chairman of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug Scout Association.

Brønnøysund 2016
The Naryan Mar scouts participated in the "Global friendship" camp near the Brønnøysund in 2013, so the camp in Naryan Mar was a natural next step for the cooperation project. Now the two groups are of course planning a new international friendship camp in Brønnøysund in August 2016.

The Norwegian Barents Secretariat supported the project with 490 000 NOK. In addition the scout project received financial support from the Naryan-Mar municipality and local private sponsors. 

Text: Andrey Vokuev

See photos from the scout camp:

All photos: Andrey Vokuev, Norwegian Barents Secretariat