How “Scouting” Stands to be the Greatest Global Education Youth Movement Of the 21st Century
Themed “Together for Positive Change” is the recently concluded World Scout Conference that was hosted in Baku, Azerbaijan.
A
one week conference that gathered 1800 Scout delegates, representing
169 National Scout Organization (NSO)—serving over 50 million Scouts.
The conference was recorded as the largest Scouting
conference in history; the direction of the Scout Movement is revamped
as they now set sail their program for the next three years.
Over
a hundred years ago, an experimental camp held at Brownsea Island, near
Poole in Dorset England, of twenty boys, proved to be a success to its
organizer—a Robert Baden-Powell. His training and methods seemed to
appeal to young people. “Scouting for Boys” was published by
Baden-Powell, a book he had only intended to be a training manual where
youth organizations like the YMCA or Boys’ Brigade could adopt, ended up
being one of the best selling books of all time. The success of the
book created a movement where youngsters started to organize themselves
into what was to become one of the largest voluntary youth movements in
the world—that quickly adopted the name of the “Boy Scouts”.
His
simple advice of “try and leave this world a little better than you
found it” is as relevant, if not more today than ever. Baden-Powell,
whose headstone reads “Chief Scout of the World” is known as the father
of a global phenomenon that encompasses a growing number of over 50
million young people around the world today. It is the largest
educational movement of its kind in the world of the 21st Century.
The
world is in a place where there is need to find solutions to the
interconnected challenges of the 21st Century. The challenges we face
are diverse but certainly concerns us all because more than ever,
individual actions have global impact. We need Global Solutions for a
better world but what way and how do we find them?
The Scout’s Non-formal Education Solution:
The
Formal Education that teaches reading and writing is needed but is it
empowering enough to create a better world? What if education can go
beyond the classroom and enhance how to think and act? What if Education
can empower to be mind-transformative enough, to lead to a place where
we care more about the world we live in and the people we share it with?
What if education can teach us about peace, intercultural
communication, sustainability, human rights, global justice , respect,
cultural diversity or protection of the environment?
The
Scout Movement appears to be the answer or solution to the gap problem
Formal Education is incapable of filling in today’s world. With this
astounding number of over 50 million Scouts around the world and with a
vision that by 2023, Scouting will be the world’s leading non-formal
educational youth movement, enabling 100 million young people to be
active citizens, creating positive change in their communities and in
the world, the Scout Movement stands to be the greatest force in
building a generation of global active citizens of change-makers through
their method of non-formal Global Education approach.
With
the branded slogan of “Creating a Better World”, the Scouting mission
is to contribute to the education of young people— through World Scout
Programmes. Key initiatives such as Messengers of Peace (MOP) allows Scouts to take on projects to inspire others for action; the World Scout Environment Programme and the Scout Centres of Excellence for Nature and Environment (SCENES) allows Scouts to exercise ways in conserving and protecting nature ; Scout Aid Nepal/Haiti where
in April 2015, Scouts worldwide rallied behind the Nepal Scouts and
supported their earthquake relief and recovery efforts —similarly with
the Haiti earthquake and Hurricane; Safe from Harm initiatives provides children and young people with a safe environment; Food for Life allows for food security of Scouts in the African region; KAICIID partnership/Dialogue for Peace equips Scouts with the skills to enhance inter-religious and intercultural dialogue and promote peace; the Cub Scout Centenary... all these are some of the global initiatives that creates the room for active citizenship for Scouts.
The
Scout movement as a voluntary non-political educational movement for
young people is open to all without distinction of gender, origin, race
or creed. It offers young people the opportunity to develop their full
emotional , intellectual , physical, social and spiritual potentials as
individuals, as responsible global citizens and members of their local,
national and international communities.
What
is so empowering about Scouting as a movement of the 21st Century
—where there is need for change in areas of Sustainability, Poverty,
Terrorism and so on is that throughout the world, Scouts work towards
creating positive change and establishing peace in their communities in
many different ways. Assisting in relief operations after devastating
natural disasters in Haiti and Ecuador; helping displaced communities in
conflict areas such as Syria and Lebanon; preventing bullying in
schools in Costa Rica; encouraging interactions, integrating communities
and working with refugees in Europe; to leading social mobilization
initiatives in Ebola-stricken Sierra Leone – a community can be assured
of relief in the instance of any Crisis once there is an active National
Scout Organization present in that region. Ultimately, Scout heroes are
the Youth Solution providers to the Global Challenges of the World. If
they accomplish their Vision 2023, they stand to indeed be the greatest
youth movement of this generation!
To
fully comprehend the impactful force of this Scout movement,
understanding the role Scouts play in their communities helps to garner
perspective about their actual global reach.
Meet Monica Figueroa, from Colombia, who initiated a Messengers of Peace project named Books For All.
The founder of a local foundation advocating literacy and opportunities
for underprivileged children at risk, she started this project to
inspire Scouts in Colombia to collect books and distribute them to
various local communities. Thus far, the project has contributed over
20,000 books to more than 200 local libraries, and has become a global
campaign.
Being
the world’s leading educational Youth movement, Scouts define Global
Education as a creative approach of bringing about change in our
society. An active learning process based on the universal values of
tolerance, solidarity, equality, justice, inclusion, cooperation and
nonviolence. Scouting is entrenched in Global Education of the youth by
raising their awareness of global challenges such as poverty,
inequality, environmental degradation, violent conflicts or human rights
which allows them develop deeper understanding of the complexities of
these global issues, encourages a self-reflection on their own role in
the problem, aims to change their attitudes by motivating and empowering
these youth to become active in a responsible way.
The
premise of Scouting simply indicates that the Global Education Scouts
get is on how to be better Global citizens which is an Education for
Life. What then dawns from this is that as a technical default, every
young person who regards themselves as a change-maker, a global active
citizen, as someone who is working on solutions to global development
challenge might as well become an honorary Scout member. Fact is, In
these dire times of awakening and need for global active citizenship,
being engaged in solving a global challenge is made easier through the
platform and the movement of Scouting. More than ever, young people have
a chance and an advantage through this global youth movement of the
Scout to receive a Global Education that will enable them to push for
the change they desire to see in the world.
Edited By: Sara