The Scout movement, also known as Scouting or the Scouts, is a voluntary non-political educational movement for young people open to all without distinction of gender, origin, race or creed, in accordance with the purpose, principles and method conceived by the founder, Lord Baden-Powell. The purpose of the Scout Movement is to contribute to the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual potentials as individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of their local, national and international communities. During the first half of the twentieth century, the movement grew to encompass three major age groups for boys and, in 1910, a new organization, Girl Guides, was created for girls. It is one of several worldwide youth organizations.
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 2.3 million youth participants and about one million adult volunteers. The BSA was founded in 1910, and since then, about 110 million Americans participated in BSA programs at some time in their lives. BSA is part of the international Scout Movement and became a founding member organization of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1922.
The Order of the Arrow (OA) is the National Honor Society of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), composed of Scouts and Scouters who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives as elected by their peers. The society was created by E. Urner Goodman, with the assistance of Carroll A. Edson, in 1915 as a means of reinforcing the Scout Oath and the Scout Law. It uses imagery commonly associated with American Indian cultures for its self-invented ceremonies. These ceremonies are usually for recognition of leadership qualities, camping skills, and other scouting ideals as exemplified by their elected peers.
A Scout is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split this age group into a junior and a senior section. Scouts are organized into troops averaging 20–30 Scouts under the guidance of one or more Scout Leaders. Troops subdivide into patrols of about 6–8 Scouts and engage in outdoor and special interest activities. Troops may affiliate with local, national, and international organizations. Some national Scouting associations have special interest programs such as Air Scouts, Sea Scouts, outdoor high adventure, Scouting bands, and rider Scouts.
The World Organization of the Scout Movement is the largest international Scouting organization. WOSM has 171 members. These members are recognized national Scout organizations, which collectively have over 50 million participants. WOSM was established in 1922, and has its operational headquarters at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and its legal seat in Geneva, Switzerland. It is the counterpart of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS).
The Boy Scouts of the Philippines, BSP, is the national Scout association of the Philippines in the World Organization of the Scout Movement. It was "granted Recognition as a Member Organisation of the Boy Scouts International Conference...with effect from October 31, 1936" by virtue of certification signed by J. S. Wilson, Olave Baden-Powell, and Daniel Spry.
Cub Scouts, Cubs or Wolf Cubs are programs associated with Scouting for young children usually between 5 and 12, depending on the national organization to which they belong. A participant in the program is called a Cub. A group of Cubs is called a 'Pack'.
Scouts Canada is a Canadian Scouting association providing programs for young people, aged 5 to 26, with the stated aim "to help develop well rounded youth, better prepared for success in the world.". Scouts Canada, in affiliation with the French-language Association des Scouts du Canada, is a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM). 2015-16 youth membership stands at 61,438, a 5% decline from 64,693 in 2014-15. Over the same period, volunteer numbers stabilized with 20,717 in 2015 and 20,756 in 2016. This is a significant decline from its 1965 peak of 288,084 youth and 33,524 volunteers.
Rover Scouts, Rovers, Rover Scouting or Rovering is a service program associated with Scouting for young men and, in many countries, women, into their early or mid 20s. A group of Rovers is called a 'Rover Crew'.
Scouts New Zealand, officially "The Scout Association of New Zealand" is the national Scouting association in New Zealand and an affiliate of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) since 1953. The Scout Association of New Zealand uses the name SCOUTS New Zealand. Scouts New Zealand has about 16,000 members, with 4,740 volunteers.
The Vietnamese Scout Association is a youth organization that was established in Vietnam and active between 1930 and 1975. The association was recognized by the World Organization of the Scout Movement from 1957 to 1975.
The Bangladesh Scouts is the national Scouting organization of Bangladesh. Scouting was founded in 1914 in East Bengal now Bangladesh as part of the British Indian branch of The Scout Association, and continued as part of the Pakistan Boy Scouts Association until the country's divided sections split in 1971 during the Bangladesh Liberation War. Following its independence, in 1972, the Bangladesh Boy Scout Association was officially formed as successor of the Pakistan Boy Scouts Association. Bangladesh became an independent member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1974. The organization changed its name to "Bangladesh Scouts" in 1978. The organization has 1,474,460 members as of 2015.
The Scout and Guide Association of Qatar is the national scouting and guiding organization of Qatar. Scouting was founded in Qatar in 1956 and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1965; the organization is also a member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. It serves 4,208 Scouts and 1,916 Guides. The Scout president facilitated the building of the local zoo.
The Scout Association of Papua New Guinea is a Scouting organisation in Papua New Guinea. The Scout Association of Papua New Guinea had its origins in 1926 as a branch of The Boy Scouts Association of the United Kingdom. The Scout Association of Papua New Guinea claimed an unaudited membership of 6,284 in 2011.
Lone Scouts are members of the Scout movement who are in isolated areas or otherwise do not participate in a regular Scouting unit or organization. A Lone Scout must meet the membership requirements of the Scouting organization to which they belong and have an adult Scout leader or counselor who may be a parent, guardian, minister, teacher, or another adult. The leader or counselor instructs the boy and reviews all steps of Scouting advancement. Lone Scouts can be in the Scout Section or sections for older young people, and in some countries in the Cub section or sections for younger boys. They follow the same program as other Scouts and may advance in the same way as all other Scouts.
Beavers is one name for programs associated with Scouting for young children usually aged 5 to 7. A participant in the program is called a Beaver. A group of Beavers is often called a "Colony". The programme is based on co-operating and sharing. Some Scouting organizations have programs for similar ages but use different names such as Keas or Joeys.
Scouting in the United States is dominated by the 2.7 million-member Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of the USA and other associations that are recognized by one of the international Scouting organizations. There are also a few smaller, independent groups that are considered to be "Scout-like" or otherwise Scouting related.
Scouting has sometimes become entangled in social controversies such as in nationalist resistance movements in India. Scouting was introduced to Africa by British officials as an instrument of colonial authority but became a subversive challenge to the legitimacy of British imperialism as Scouting fostered solidarity amongst African Scouts. There are also controversies and challenges within the Scout Movement itself such as current efforts to turn Scouts Canada into a democratic organization.
The Scout and Guide movement in Australia consists of
