During 4weeks, Solafrica and Greenpeace Youth Support Center, in collaboration with World Organization of the Scout Movement - WOSM, were holding solar trainings with selected international Scout Leaders and solar workshops with Scouts from all over the world. Enjoy the pictures and read the Cool Spot Blog of one of the participants to gain an impression of the diverse activities @KISC! "The popcorns are popping. Quickly. Until a cloud passes the mountains and leaves the valley in shadow. Luckily the popcorns are already popped. While the scouts eat the popcorns a guy with a “sun and fun” t-shirt explains how the parabolic cooker works. “The metal on the parabolic cooker reflects the sun and focuses it on one point. We place the pan with the popcorns in exactly that spot and wait for the thermometer to rise. It quickly climbs 120 degrees Celsius and makes the popcorns pop…” The solar cooker is one of the popular activities at the solar workshop, housed in Kandersteg International Scout Centre this summer, where solar experts are training scout leaders from all around the world in solar energy with a focus on activities for scouts. Despite the constantly changing weather conditions in the Swiss valley the program gets a lot of attention from the scouts. They are having fun in the sun! My training group is very international and covers people from all around the world. As a consequence the question “Why Go Solar?” needs different answers depending on where you’re from. From a European perspective renewable energies are already in use, but there is still a need for communicating the benefits and give the scouts a better understanding about what renewable energies are. During hands-on experiences the solar badge fulfills this aim. But there is more to it. If you move to Asia or Africa you get another answer to “Why Go Solar?” Sun is not just fun. It is also a way to survive and develop communities. Sun is energy for lamps making it possible to work in the evenings. Sun is power to the laptop and the router to be global even in the smallest village. And of course sun is also heat to cook the food. No matter where you are in the world – solar energy can make a difference. Your contribution is not just a drop in the ocean. By teaching scouts about solar energy hopefully we are able to create a generation of young people trying to make this world just a tiny bit better." About the author: Katrine Bergkvist Hansen is 26 years old and volunteer at a SCENES center (Scout Centres of Excellence for Nature and Environment) in Denmark. By volunteering at a SCENES center she is in contact with a lot of scouts and teaches about the importance of communicating sustainability. In summer 2014 she was sent to Kandersteg International Scout Centre as a representative for the SCENES centers learning about solar power and a newly introduced scout solar badge. PHOTOREPORT: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.685223244903356.1073741825.159681667457519&type=1