DIBRUGARH, Dec 30 - The 11th National Boscoree 2010 with the theme �Peace on Earth�got off to a colourful start today at Don Bosco Higher School, Dimapur in Nagaland. More than two-thousand participants � 1,700 scouts and guides and around 300 scoutmasters and guide captains, teachers and volunteers � from 18 states across the country are participating in the event.
During the inaugural ceremony, the National, Boscoree, and the Scouts and Guides flags were hoisted to the tune of the respective anthems by the participants coming from 70 schools of the country. The opening ceremony also included the release of tri-coloured balloons with a message �Peace on Earth.��
Inaugurating the national event Brigadier Devinder Singh, Artillery headquarters of the Army headquarter, Rangapahar near Dimapur said: �Make this world greener, cleaner and happier�. Trees grow tall, bear fruit and live long when it is cared for, Singh said. The Brigadier emphasized the necessity of care and support to be given to the young.
Appreciating the Scouts and Guides movement, he pointed out that the Boscoree, is a movement that pays attention and nurtures the future of society.
Fr (Dr) James Poonthuruthil, Director, Don Bosco Society, Dimapur welcomed all the Bosco Scouts and Guides to Nagaland, the land of festivals, and Dimapur the commercial hub and gateway of Nagaland. Northeast, he said, is a mosaic of races, ethnic groups, cultures, religions, beliefs and practices. The Director Don Bosco Society, Guwahati, representing the South East Asia Don Bosco Society Fr (Dr) Joe Almeida invited the Bosco scouts and guides to know the diversity in northeast and promote unity in the country.
Boscoree is held every three years keeping alive the belief, conviction and the message of the two legends Don Bosco (St John Bosco) and Baden Powell, that young people have tremendous power and energy to impact changes in the world and that society needs to instill in them love, confidence and trust, a press release stated.
The five-day long extravaganza will display unique, creative and indigenous talents of Bosco Scouts and Guides. The event includes competitions of various types such as folk songs, traditional dances, indigenous gadgets, handicrafts, model village-making, quiz, group dynamics and and others, the release added.
Present for the occasion included Fr Dominic Sequiera, member of the International Youth Pastoral team, based at Rome, Fr Maria Charles, South Asian Delegate for DBYA, South Asian Coordinator for Education and Culture and secretary to AIDBES, Fr Nestor Guria, vice-provincial of Dimapur province, among others.
