At Camp Pioneer one of the International Activities that our campers enjoy is the opening ceremony for our Y-Olympics.  We divide our camp population into regions for the campers and staff to represent.  We always choose the countries of our international staff plus others.  The international staff are placed in the region where the country they come from is located.  They represent that region. 

For the next two days during the campers’ theme and craft activity time, they are preparing for the opening ceremony.  Each region is involved in the following activities:

• Drawing a map of their region and highlighting the countries they represent.

• Making a banner with the name of their region and drawing pictures that represent people, activities, food, or anything that says something about their region and what happens there.

• Making flags of all the countries in their regions.

• Learning how to say hello or welcome in as many different languages as they can learn from the countries in their region.

• If possible, have the campers and staff dress up in their native dress for the country or region they represent.

Each region chooses two campers (boy/girl) to carry and pass the Olympic torch from region to region to begin the opening ceremony.  The program director is the Master of Ceremonies and calls each region one by one.  As each country is called, the campers and staff parade by waving their flags and banners and cheering the region they represent. 

We have a guest speaker give a short talk about world unity and the YMCA.  We all form a circle and join hands.  The Master of Ceremonies begins by passing the kiss of friendship from one person to another by gently squeezing the hand of the next person. This squeeze around the circle one by one, with each country saying hello or welcome in the language of the country they represent as we go around the circle.  When the kiss of friendship is returned to the Master of Ceremonies, he/she will ask everybody to sit with their regions.  To end the ceremony each region does a short cultural presentation. 

Materials needed:

• Markers, crayons, paint

• Large sheets of paper for banners

• Smaller heavy weight paper for flags

• Poles to hold the flags and banners

• Encyclopedia, almanacs, and an atlas

• Olympic torch

• Background music for grand march