WOSM World News

WOSM has been invited to participate in the latest UN Violence Studies’ global survey. This survey was launched in the end of last year and at the conclusion of the survey, a report will be presented to the UN General Assembly later this year.

The United Nations launched their Study on Violence Against Children in 2006. At that time WOSM was involved in preparing the activity guides for children to understand and appreciate issues surrounding Violence Against Children, which was published as part of the study. World Scouting also contributed to the case studies featuring Scout projects from Egypt, Namibia and El Salvador. Further in the same year, WOSM participated in the writing and field-testing of the child friendly versions of the Study, which is since being widely used.

From 12th- 21st January 2012, Scouts from Ethiopia and Kenya joined by Korean Scouts, had the experience of a lifetime by taking part in the 2nd World Scout Parliamentary Union’s (WSPU) Youth Exchange Programme (YEP). This aim was to give the opportunity to Scouts from member countries of WSPU/WOSM to travel to a different country (often for the first time), meet Scouts from other countries and have the chance to share their culture and traditions including their Scout activities and experiences. The programme also included group discussions on youth participation in decision-making and debating on the role of young people in today’s society in the context of the challenges that they face everyday.

From 17-22 April 2012, the former European Rover Scout gathering ‘Agora’ goes global by extending participation to Rovers from all other Scout Regions of WOSM. The 1st Inter-Regional Agora will be held at the picturesque Kandersteg International Scout Centre (KISC) in Switzerland.

The educational programme for the Agora event uses the Scout Method to reach the educational objectives for the Rover age section with a special emphasis on youth empowerment. What makes an Agora special is that it is an event run for Rover Scouts, by Rover Scouts.

HRH The Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine Elizabeth (Kate Middleton) was a Brownie as a child and has now decided to volunteer with the Scout Association (of the United Kingdom), especially at the local level, close to her home in northern Wales (UK). She has also expressed the willingness to volunteer in other areas of Scouting when opportunity arises.

The year 2011 was institutionally a crucial year for WOSM with many global events and initiatives. During the year, World Scouting managed to successfully organize three large World Scout Events, the World Scout Youth Forum and the World Scout Conference in Brazil, and the World Scout Jamboree in Sweden. World Scouting also launched its flagship initiative, ‘Messengers of Peace’.

Here is a summary of the key events and developments at WOSM from the year that passed by.

The year 2011 was institutionally a crucial year for WOSM with many global events and initiatives. During the year, World Scouting managed to successfully organize three large World Scout Events, the World Scout Youth Forum and the World Scout Conference in Brazil, and the World Scout Jamboree in Sweden. World Scouting also launched its flagship initiative, ‘Messengers of Peace’.

Here is a summary of the key events and developments at WOSM from the year that passed by.

Kenya Scouts Association and WOSM are pleased to announce the publication of the Report on the 13th World Scout Moot, which was held in Kenya from 27 July to 7 August 2010. The Moot was attended by 1,700 Scouts from 69 countries and made history as the first ever World Scout Moot to take place in Africa.

The Report is available to download from the Library

The World Scout Team at the COP17 has been shuttling down the corridors and pavements of the ICC urging the leaders of the world to reconsider the future of the young people specifically the 30million large that are members of the Movement.

The team has been actively involved in the working groups of Youth Non-Governmental Organizations (YOUNGOs). On September 28, 2009 the international youth movement (YOUNGO) gained official constituency status.

Dear brother and sister Scouts,

Warm greetings on the occasion of International Volunteer Day 2011!

Volunteering has always been at the core of the Scout Movement since its inception over a century ago. This has been reflected in our constantly improving system to train, support and reward volunteers over the years, from local to global levels of the Movement. Even today, WOSM is one of the very few organizations working with children and youth, which is almost entirely driven by volunteer contributions and efforts.

Dear brother and sister Scouts,

Warm greetings on the occasion of International Volunteer Day 2011!

Volunteering has always been at the core of the Scout Movement since its inception over a century ago. This has been reflected in our constantly improving system to train, support and reward volunteers over the years, from local to global levels of the Movement. Even today, WOSM is one of the very few organizations working with children and youth, which is almost entirely driven by volunteer contributions and efforts.

In 2005, the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol ( CMP) at its first meeting in Montreal, by its Decision 1/CMP.1, established the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP). The aim of the AWG-KP is to discuss future commitments for industrialized countries under the Kyoto Protocol. The AWG-KP reports directly to the CMP.

In addressing the delegates to the conference, as part of the Youth Constituent statement, Quintin Combrink from South Africa Scout Association (SASA) said, “Climate change is the moral issue facing both my and your generation….young people here doubt the political will of parties.” He called for a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, which will last for 5 years or less and for it to start by January 2013. He closed firmly by saying that, “the youth are watching, we are listening and we will be acting.”

The environment is our playground and we are sharing with the tens of thousands of international non-governmental and governmental delegates at the event how scouting has always cared for the planet, not because we had to, but rather, simply that we are in the business of creating a better world.

Every minute, 8 people around the world flee their homes to escape conflict or persecution.

To raise awareness about this issue, UNHCR is launching their #add1voice community action application on Facebook and Twitter on Thursday, November 24th. .

The aim of the application is to inspire people around the world to add their own voice to the campaign by standing together and telling the world that even one person forced to flee their home is too many.

Feeling like 'going international' this Winter? What about spending one week in Kandersteg International Scout Centre (KISC) for the New Year's International Rover Week 2012!

Although the temperature is going to be cool, the atmosphere is guaranteed to be warm and cosy!

Feeling like 'going international' this Winter? What about spending one week in Kandersteg Internation Scout Centre (KISC) for the New Year's International Rover Week 2012!

Although the temperature is going to be cool, the atmosphere is guaranteed to be warm and cosy!

Rarely before has the Scout motto "Be prepared" been so timely. Just one week after the JOTA-JOTI, a 7.2 earthquake struck Eastern Turkey. It was the most powerful earthquake to hit the country in ten years.

One of the themes of this year's JOTA-JOTI was "Natural Disasters". On this occasion, World Scouting partnered with IRESC (International Radio Emergency Support Coalition) and ShelterBox, an international disaster relief charity.

Representatives of the Scout Association of Japan (SAJ) came to Korea to discuss preparations of the 7th General Assembly of the World Scout Parliamentary Union (WSPU), which is due to take place in Japan in 2013. The SAJ representatives met with representatives of Korea Scout Association (KSA), as well as members of its sister organization, the Korea Scout Parliamentary Association (KSPA), which acts as the Secretariat of WSPU.

The main purpose of the meeting was to share information for the organization of the 7th General Assembly, which is expected to gather many Scout parliamentarians from around the world for discussions centered around the topics of Scouting and Youth, such as national youth legislation and youth participation in the decision-making process, among others.

The thirteenth of October is UN International Day for Disaster Reduction. Its theme for this year is “Making Children and Young People Partners for Disaster Risk Reduction”.

From its inception, Scouting around the world has engaged itself in helping people affected by natural disasters or human crisis. Every Scout is asked to "Be prepared!" to intervene to alleviate suffering during great natural or climatic disaster.

During the earthquakes and tsunamis that affected countries in the Asia-Pacific region in December 2004, Haiti last year and more recently Japan, Scouts have shown that they know how to react quickly and efficiently in the face of natural disasters.