Thirteen hundred cubs from all around the Caribbean will be converging on Trinidad this weekend to participate in the region’s 11th Caribbean Cuboree, from July 14 to 21.

Commodore Anthony Franklin, chairman of the Cuboree committee, revealed that contingents will come from Jamaica, Guyana, Suriname, Netherland Antilles, Barbados, Grenada, St Vincent, Antigua, Anguilla, St Kitts, British Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe and Trinidad and Tobago, with one leader coming from the United Kingdom.

Based at the Chaguanas Senior Comprehensive School and the adjacent Chaguanas Junior Secondary School, the Cuboree has planned an adventurous and enlightening programme of activities for the cubs.

The daily routine will include morning prayers, cleaning surroundings, and the day’s programme of Cub Scout activities, field trips and in the evening, “brotherhood time”, “cubs sing-a-long” and the usual campfire.

Commodore Franklin revealed, “One of the high points of the opening ceremony will be the Grand Howl in which hundreds of cubs will raise their voices in the traditional and time-honoured cub ritual.”

Commodore Franklin said, “Special branding for the event was created through competitions within the scout movement, giving the Cuboree their logo, badge, neck scarf (coloured after local birds), a dedicated song entitled, Carving Our Destiny and a DVD as well.”

History of Caribbean Cuborees

A Cuboree is a gathering of cub scouts from various countries for eight to ten days and is similar to a Jamboree for older scouts. The purpose of a Cuboree is to provide the opportunity for boys between the ages of seven to eleven years to interact and widen their outlook, to experience different cultures and foster lasting friendships.

What the founder of the scout movement, Lord Baden-Powell, said of Jamborees applies to Cuborees as well. “I would urge that we do not let our boys be content with the mere fact of being in camp with those of other nations, but that we should encourage them to utilise every minute of the short time they have to make acquaintance and from acquaintances, friendships with their brother scouts…”

These principles have been implemented at every Cuboree in the Caribbean where the activity originated.

The booklet of the ninth Caribbean Cuboree held in Barbados in 2001 carries the following: “The idea of a Cuboree was conceived back in 1972 during the 4th Caribbean Jamboree, which was held in Barbados. The idea was the brainchild of Maria Babb, Assistant Chief Commissioner (cub scouts) of Barbados at the time.

After much urging, the matter was placed on the agenda of the conference of Chief Commissioners, held in Suriname in 1974. That conference accepted this idea and Barbados was invited to plan and execute an experimental Cuboree during 1976.

The first Cuboree in Barbados was highly successful, but the next attempted Cuboree was not made until five years later, when in 1981 Trinidad and Tobago hosted the second Cuboree.

In 1983 the third Cuboree was held in Antigua, the fourth in Grenada in 1988, the fifth in Dominica in 1988, the sixth in Jamaica in 1991, the seventh in St Lucia in 1994, the eight in St Vincent in 1998, the ninth Barbados hosted in 2001 as Martinique was unable and in 2004 Grenada hosted the tenth.