A group of 36 Scouts picked to attend an international jamboree in Japan have been putting in some initial training and preparation for the event.

The youngsters, who were chosen from different scouting groups across Suffolk, attended a camp at Boxford Spinney on Sunday.

They will travel to the 23rd World Scout Jamboree in Kirara-hama, Yamaguchi City, in July 2015.

The event, which will be themed ‘The spirit of unity’, will see 40,000 Scouts and Guides from more than 150 nations – including 3,500 from the UK – come together to celebrate Scouting and experience different cultures.

The theme has great significance as 2015 will be the 70th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing. During their trip, the Suffolk Scouts will visit Hiroshima museum to pay their respects to those who died in the bomb blast and its aftermath.

The Scouts will also get a chance to work with the United Nations on disaster mitigation strategies, which are particularly important to Japan following the earthquake and tsunami of 2011.

The 36 scouts were chosen for the Suffolk unit team from 112 who attended a selection day of trials and activities in Nacton during November.

Four leaders will accompany the scouts, including Jane Dickinson, a teacher at Thomas Gainsborough School in Great Cornard, which had three successful applicants.

Jenny Mullan, the Scouts county commissioner for Suffolk, said Sunday’s event had enabled the team to meet up for the first time to get to know each other and start training for their Japanese adventure.

She said: “All of the young people who put themselves forward were pretty amazing and we have picked a strong bunch from all over the county.

“We have a mix of Explorer Scouts aged from 14 to 18, and there are Scouts both girls and boys from all over Suffolk.

“Young people are our future and it is in good hands if this group is anything to go by. The scouting movement has done an amazing job with them.”

The first World Scout Jamboree took place in London in 1920 and the event has continued since then.