Dear Scouts and Guides,

We would like to welcome you to Flamboree, our most important international scout camp!
We are very glad you 've chosen to be part of this years Flamboree, and we promise to make it a ‘Sparkling Adventure’. The hard work that is being done by our staff demonstrates that we are really looking forward to it. Further development will be communicated to you via the newsletters and our website. For any questions, don’t hesitate to e-mail us:
deelnemers@flamboree.be.

Flaming greets,
Els and Björn
Coordination Flamboree

Subscription and
international visa
information

The past year, a lot of effort has already been put into Flamboree. And now, it is your time to enjoy this effort! The first subscriptions have already been made and receiving this letter means you are one of them! But you are not there yet. While waiting for the official Flamboree documents, it would be good to ask some information about the papers and documents you need to come to Belgium. The most important document is the international visa. More information about this and other documents, can be found on www.diplomatie.be. You will also be receiving an official document to request your international visa. If you encounter any kind of problem of have any questions concerning this topic, please contact our helpdesk at: secretariat@flamboree.be.

The secretary team

Material

Every group is responsible to bring his own equipment: tents, shelters, water gallons… groups that are not able to do this because of practical reasons will be helped by there Buddy group. A more detailed list of material shall be sent to you in a next newsletter.

The Buddy system

Every foreign group will be linked to a Flemish Buddy group.

The intention is to ensure extra cultural exchange among the groups. This can also be useful for solving practical problems of all sorts. But it is not up to the Buddy group to supply all the needed equipment. You must take care of this by yourself. By contacting your Flemish Buddy group in advance, the international aspect of Flamboree will be accentuated. You and your Buddy group will also be sharing the same subcamp. This way you can build international friendships that will last for years to come!

Home Hospitality

Home hospitality stands for international friendships and endless fun! You can stay with a Belgian host for a few days and learn to know people who share the same interests as you!
For more information: hoho@flamboree.be and in our brochure that you can find on www.flamboree.be.

Financial information

The financial side of Flamboree also requires some of your attention. If you have subscribed to Flamboree before the 30th of November, you will be asked to pay €70 per person in advance. By January you will receive the request for the payment of the residual €140.

If you have subscribed after the 30th of November, you will receive a request for paying the whole sum at once in January. Because you are then considered to be to late with your subscription, an additional 10 euros will also be added to the total sum. So hurry up and sign in for Flamboree as soon as possible!

Of course you can always choose to pay the total sum at once, to avoid the extra cost of international payments. To do this, you will need to contact us at: financien@flamboree.be.

Stefan Gyselaers
Financial responsible

What you should know about Belgium

Belgium is situated in the heart of Western Europe. To the West there is the North Sea, to the North the Netherlands, to the East Germany, to the South-East Luxemburg and to the very South, France.

With its 10,5 million inhabitants on 30.528 km2 Belgium is one of the most densely populated countries of Europe.

Belgium consists of three communities. The Flemish (northern part of the country) speak Dutch and form the biggest population. The Walloons (southern part) speak French. In Brussels both Dutch and French are spoken and finally there is a little community in the East of Belgium that speaks German.

Brussels, our capital, is host to a lot of European organizations and of course the NATO. This city is also known for the ‘Atomium’ and ‘Manneke pis’. King Albert II also has his residence in Brussels. Other things to see in Belgium are the cathedral in Antwerp; the bell forts in Ghent, Bruges and Kortrijk… and many many more!

Belgium is known all over the world for it’s big diversity of beer. To site a few we have: Stella Artois, Jupiler, Leffe, Hoegaarden, Duvel, Kriek, Palm, Rodenbach, Gueuze and the 'trappistenbieren' as Westmalle, Chimay and Westvleteren. 'Scouts en Gidsen Vlaanderen' have there own beer called “Hopper”.
Well known Belgian dishes are: French fries (indeed invented in Belgium and not in France as the name suggests), Waterzooi from Ghent, Brussels sprouts and Waffles.

Belgium is also known for its rich tradition of painters. A few of them are: Pieter Bruegel de Oude, Peter Paul Rubens, René Magritte and James Ensor. Some famous musicians like Toots Thielemans and Jacques Brel are from Belgium. And what about Adolphe Sax who invented the saxophone? Well yes, he is Belgian too! One of our specialties is comic books. You have probably heard of Tin-Tin written by Hergé, Blake and Mortimer by Edgar P. Jacobs and ‘Suske and Wiske’ by Willy Vandersteen.

NSO confirmation request

We would like to remind you that all Flamboree participants must be part of a group of scouts or guides which is member of an association recognised by WOSM or WAGGGS. Every participating group and staff has to send us a proof of membership. Please ask your association to send us a confirmation that you are a member by post, fax or e-mail. A model of a Confirmation Request can be found here.

Flamboree 2009
Scouts en Gidsen Vlaanderen vzw
Lange Kievitstraat 74
2018 Antwerp – Belgium
Fax +32 3 232 69 92
info@flamboree.be