In the beautiful Baden Powel Park near Rome, the third Master Guide Seminar was held May 1-4. Master Guide Seminars are special training event for leaders of the Adventist scout organization called Pathfinders. The venue was not chosen accidentally. The park's lakes, hills and fabulous landscape offered an ideal setting for scout activities. This same park will host the August 2011 International Pathfinder Camporee for the southern and central European regions.
Eighty Master Guide candidates from several European countries practiced team- building principles, used survival techniques, and learned more about caring for the environment. During these four days, the Pathfinder leaders camped without electricity, were not allowed to have cell phones or watches, had to demonstrate their ability to find their way through unknown surroundings without modern equipment, be able to bivouac in nature far from the camp, make fire without matches and cook meals from basic ingredients and plants found in nature. The program focused substantially on caring for the environment, since caring for God’s creation constitutes an important part of our religious perception.
According to Corrado Cozzi, youth director for the Euro-Africa region, the next Master Guide training seminar is planned for 2011, just prior to the Camporee. Cozzi also stated that his dream is to organize a week long advanced Master Guide seminar to be held on one of the thousands of islands in the Mediterranean.
