Strengthening the Interamerican region by building lifelong friendships while developing leadership skills and gaining a global perspective is what the 4th Interamerican Leadership Training (ILT4) was all about. I had the privilege of being a participant and representing ScoutsTT with Mohini Seejattan (Participant) and Sideeq Shakoor (Team Advisor). This experience indeed embodied WOSM's vision of “Creating a Better World” by equipping youths from 30 different NSOs with the tools to make positive changes on a local, regional and global scale. Upon arrival at the intermediate airport (Tocumen International, Panama) we were greeted with warm greetings and bright smiles by scouts from several different NSOs waiting at the same departure gate. The following flight to Guatemala was filled with awkward silences and shy glances as everyone kept to themselves. At the La Aurora International Airport (Guatemala City), we met with a number of the ILT4 staff and were instructed to board a bus along with many other scouts. The hour long bus ride to Campo Escuela San Jorge Muxbal exhumed excitement and enthusiasm as we all eagerly looked out of the bus windows and took in the sights. Arrival and subsequent registration at the campsite involved following a swift and efficient method of checking in, confirming medical information, finalizing cabin assignments and collecting course tokens (jacket, bag, jersey, coffee mug). Following this, we were introduced to our team advisors and other members of our respective teams – yellow (Mohini) and pink (myself). The entire camp was thrilled for what awaited in the upcoming week. The camp kick started on the night of the 28th with an opening ceremony welcoming the 61 participants from 30 (out of 34) different NSOs from the Interamerican scout region followed by a skit performed by the staff. Here, we learnt that the course was based on a central theme – Disney. At first this seemed a bit unconventional, but as the course progressed it proved to be an excellent way to present the topics and easily explain the concepts in a fun and engaging manner. Even locations on the campsite had Disney themed names – Olympus for the dining hall, Pride Rock for the lecture hall and Elsa’s Castle for the committee’s meeting area. Additionally members of the staff all had Disney character names – the course director, Ligia Bianchi (Guatemala) portrayed “Maleficent” and the Senior Team Leader, Kesilyn Lizama (Belize) was “Pocahontas”. Not only did this theme make the course enjoyable, but it helped immensely with remembering and understanding the various concepts. The course was divided into three styles of teaching: plenary sessions, conferences and forums, which covered a wide range of topics including: values of scouting, project planning, team leadership, team development, communication, the better world framework, messengers of peace (MOP) and achieving social impact. These sessions were guided by the young yet educated organising team along with special guests from the regional office (including the director of the IAR) as well as a representative from the Kuala Lumpur office in Malaysia. One of the main objectives of the ILT was to equip scouts with the skills and abilities to develop MOP projects (as a team and individually) which are aimed at achieving positive impacts at the community level and eventually on a regional and global scale. Each team was given the opportunity to display their project and receive feedback on how to improve and implement it. My team, the pink team, was guided by our team advisor Carina Westford (Guyana) and consisted of 7 other participants from different countries: Brazil, Jamaica, Curacao, Canada, Nicaragua, Uruguay and Guatemala. Every team had meals together and did most of the group activities together. This group dynamic was an effective method of learning the various stages of team development, communication, breaking barriers, problem solving and the different ways in which people lead. Each day, the teams elected a team leader who would fill the role of the leadership position. Additionally, two teams were selected daily to assist with program and service team coordination. This hands on style of teaching put the various teams in situations that required the application of the knowledge attained along with the ability of the teams to work toward a common goal. In the midst of all the learning, there were moments where the entire camp would have fun by erupting into song and dance, led by the program team for the day. The fun didn’t stop there, it continued on local day and international night. On the 30th of December 2016, the participants were carried to “IRTRA Mundo Petapa,” an amusement park in Guatemala City. Each team had to complete a series of tasks that involved playing games, going on rides and interacting with the public. Not only did the teams have fun, but they learnt a lot about teamwork, became even closer as a team and some participants even overcame some of their personal fears! It truly was an enjoyable day. International night, New Year’s eve, gave participants a chance to have display their country’s culture while counting down the hours to 2017. Pride Rock was filled with various foods and trinkets from the different countries and everyone was dressed up in their local wear. The night ended with fireworks, cheering and laughter, it was truly a spectacular way to end the year and bring in a new. The closing ceremony occurred on the night of January 2nd and began with a “graduation ceremony” where each participant was given the official messengers of peace scarf and badge. From that moment, each participant became an official messenger of peace and is expected to make a positive impact within their communities, country and region. The latter half of the ceremony involved each person lighting a candle and forming a circle together. The floor was then open for persons to speak their mind regarding how the course was and what the experience meant to them. It was a heartening experience to hear all the trials and tribulations which some of the participants had to go through in 2016 and how ending the year with the scouting fraternity really made the troubles not so…troubling. ILT4 was tangible evidence that the world can exist without barriers such as borders, race, colour, language, religion, nationality and hate. Proof that if we come together as one global community, war would cease and peace would reign. At the end of the ceremony, the course director passed on the responsibility of hosting the ILT to the next host country, Ecuador. On January 3rd, the T&T participants along with a few other participants departed Guatemala. The returning flight had a completely different atmosphere from the arrival flight, such that everyone was talking, laughing, singing and even crying on the way back. This just goes to show that within such a short space of time strong bonds were created along with memories to last a lifetime. We truly started off as strangers and became nothing short of family, a phenomena that can only occur within the scouting fraternity. If there is one thing from this experience that will continuously motivate me to make a positive impact within my local and global community, is something we learnt in the session about achieving social impact: “On average, we meet 1017 people in your lifetime and impact 37 of them.” I believe that scouting has been and will continue to be one of the strongest driving forces of peace and positivity within the world.