Welcome to KISC 100
Founded in 1923 by Robert Baden-Powell, KISC is the only World Scout Centre. It hosts the Permanent Mini Jamboree throughout the year, operates in the spirit of Scouting, and strives to achieve the highest environmental standards and sustainable behaviour. In 2023, Kandersteg International Scout Centre celebrated 100 years of inspiring young people to create a better world—an opportunity to show KISC at its best to visiting Scouts and Guides.
Our Vision
Our vision was that the centenary would not only celebrate the past 100 years. It would begin the next 100 years with Baden-Powell’s dream of a Permanent Mini Jamboree in Kandersteg.
Over a million Scouts and Guides have visited KISC since its foundation and have lived its values on their return home to make their world a little better than they found it. The Centenary of KISC offered an opportunity for us all to celebrate its achievements, secure its future, and share its vision.
Aims of the Centenary
In the years before 2023, five aims were set to mark and ensure growth for the centenary year. These five aims targeted various areas that we find essential for KISC.
Aim one: The largest-ever number of National Scout Organisations will be actively engaged with the Centenary of KISC in 2023. This was accomplished by the many events organised in KISC, where more Scouts than ever participated.
Aim two: WOSM and KISC will create an international learning experience, inspiring Scouts and non-Scouts to create a better world. Throughout the Centenary, we worked very closely with the World Scout Organisation. They resulted in collaborations and teamwork in multiple areas, like programme, staffing, and marketing.
Aim three: KISC will have extensive engagement at the highest levels of government and NGOs in Switzerland and beyond, resulting in significant long-term benefits for the Centre. For example, many partnerships were created during 2023 with the United Nations of Human Rights and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. And already standing partnerships were strengthened, like the local government and our catering and programme suppliers.
Aim four: The membership of KISC’s Association will be significantly enlarged to a greater extent than ever before. Going into the Centenary year, the KISC Association had grown considerably, with more than 600 members. During the year, the number of memberships grew exponentially, not just annual but also life memberships. At the year's close, we noted a total of 786 memberships, of which 310 are Life Members.
Aim five: The KISC Association and Foundation will be debt-free.
The Centenary Events
Welcome to the Centenary (28-12-2022/02-01-2023): The first event of the 7, Welcome to the Centenary, was the kick-off, as we counted down to 2023 during New Year's Eve. In total, 121 guests from 21 countries shared incredible memories of the international campfire, opening ceremony, and various activities throughout the five days the event lasted.
International Rover Week (28-12-2022/04-01-2023): Five days packed with international friendship and advocacy. Aimed to inspire Rovers to create a better world in their local communities, focusing on two areas - Peace Education & Human Rights, and Sustainability. For the training, 29 participants from 28 countries and all Scout Regions came together to learn in an international environment.
KISC JOTI (19-02-2023/26-02-2023):The Permanent Mini Jamboree online. It is the perfect opportunity for Scouts and Non-Scouts from all over the world to learn more about other cultures, meet the World Scout Centre, and make friends from across the globe. Throughout the week, more than 1’000’000 connections were made through online activities, webinars, live sessions and live shows.
Wood Badge Training (22-05-2023/26-05-2023): The second official International Wood Badge held at KISC, the first one being in 1926. Training on Leadership in Scouting, from basic Scouting knowledge like making a fire and reading a compass to critical soft skills required for working with young Scouts to recruiting volunteers. In total, this event was supported and co-hosted by WOSM. Thirty-four participants from 24 countries came to KISC to participate in the Wood Badge training.
Members Weeekend (26-05-2023/28-05-2023): A weekend where not just Members but also Ex-staff, former- committee members and Directors came together to look back on 100 years of KISC history and mostly look forward to the upcoming years through strategy meetings and KISCImpact, where Scouts that were influenced and inspired by KISC have improved their local communities. Besides the meetings and reminiscing about memories, they also performed several service projects and inaugurated the new campsite entrance. One hundred thirty participants in the event represented more than 25 nationalities.
Kander 100 (27-07-2023/08-08-2023): The highlight of the Centenary, the most significant event out of all seven, Kander 100. It contained multiple ceremonies and countless activities regarding sustainability, international friendship and high adventure. Scouts learned how to create a better world in the Global Goals tent, where they could complete tasks regarding Sustainable Development Goals, human rights and other WOSM better world programmes. For the event, we had more than 1’600 participants, more than 200 staff and more than 100 daily visitors.
See you in 100 Years (31-12-2023/01-01-2024): Closing the Centenary year and looking towards the next 100 years of the World Scout Centre. The event started with the closing of the time capsule, filled with various letters and memorable items from the Centenary throughout the year and different events. The year was closed adequately with a countdown to 2024, with 121 guests from 21 countries.
Patronage Committee
During the Centenary year, a patronage committee, made up of twelve members gracefully supported the Centre.
The Chair of the committee was Viola Amherd: She said “Kandersteg International Scout Centre has achieved a lot and done great work during its 100 years of existence. In the region, it is associated with tourism, the mountains and railway history; Internationally, as the World Scout Centre, it has become a meeting place for thousands of young people from all cultures around the world. I look forward to the birthday celebration in 2023 and wish KISC a continued successful future!"
