The World Organization of the Scout Movement is the largest and, after the Order of World Scouts is the second oldest international scout organization, having been established in 1922. It has 176 members. These members are national scout organizations that founded WOSM or have subsequently been recognised by WOSM, which collectively have around 43 million participants. Its operational headquarters is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia while it is legally based in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Scout Association is the largest Scout organisation in the United Kingdom. Following the rapid development of the Scout Movement from 1907, The Scout Association was formed in 1910 and incorporated in 1912 by a royal charter under its previous name of The Boy Scouts Association. It is a founding member organisation of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.
Danuta Maria Hübner is a Polish politician and Diplomat and Economist and Member of the European Parliament. She has served as European Commissioner for Regional Policy from 22 November 2004 until 4 July 2009, when she resigned to become a Member of European Parliament for the Civic Platform. In 2012, Professor Hübner became a member of the International Honorary Council of the European Academy of Diplomacy.
Explorer Scouts, frequently shortened to Explorers, is the fifth section of The Scout Association in the United Kingdom for 14- to 18-year-olds. The section was introduced in 2001 and formally launched in February 2002, alongside Scout Network, to replace the former Venture Scout section for fifteen-and-a-half to twenty-year-olds.
The Singapore Scout Association ("SSA") was founded in 1910, two years after the Scout Movement was launched by Robert Baden-Powell in Great Britain. This makes it the oldest established youth movement in Singapore.
Brian Gill, Lord Gill, KSG FRSE FRSAMD FRSCM is a retired Scottish judge and legal academic. Lord Gill was Lord President and Lord Justice General and held that position for three years from 2012 until 2015. His 2007 to 2009 consultation and report into the failings of the Scottish legal system was followed by a major overhaul of the entire court system once he had been appointed Lord President.
The Scout Association of Hong Kong is the largest scouting organisation in Hong Kong. Scout training was first introduced in Hong Kong by Rev Spink of St Andrew's Church, Kowloon in 1909 and 1910 by the Protestant based Boys' Brigade, Chums Scout Patrols and British Boy Scouts. The Catholic St. Joseph's College, formed its Boy Scout Troop in 1913, and registered with the Boy Scouts Association of the United Kingdom in 1914. The Boy Scouts Association formed its Hong Kong Local Association in July 1915 which became its Hong Kong Branch. After changes to the name of the United Kingdom organisation in 1967, the branch name was changed to The Scout Association Hong Kong Branch. In 1977, The Scout Association of Hong Kong was constituted as an autonomous association and successor to The Scout Association's Hong Kong Branch and became the 111th member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) in 1977.
Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS) was a national ecumenical organisation of churches in Scotland, founded in 1990. It ran until 2022.
Air Scouts are a part of the Scout movement with a particular emphasis on an aviation themed programme and/or flying-based activities. Air Scouts follow the same basic programme as other Scouts, but they devote certain amounts of time focused on their air activities.
The Bharat Scouts and Guides (BSG) is the national Scouting and Guiding association of India. The national headquarters of BSG is recognised by the Government of India.
The Scout Association of Trinidad and Tobago is the national Scouting organization of Trinidad and Tobago. Scouting was founded in Trinidad and Tobago in 1912 and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1963. The association has 5,234 members.
The Scout Network is the sixth and final youth section of The Scout Association in the United Kingdom, catering for those aged between 18 and 25 years. The section was formally introduced in February 2002 alongside Explorer Scouts with both replacing the former Venture Scouts section for fifteen-and-a-half- to twenty-year-olds.
The Scout Association's Chief Scout is the head of its youth programmes. The role is now merely a nominal and titular ceremonial figurehead. The association's present Chief Scout is the British adventurer and TV presenter Dwayne Fields, as announced by the Scout Association on the evening of 5th September 2024.
Venture Scouts in Scouting Ireland are aged between 15 and 17 years of age. The awards scheme of Venture Scouts is called Rogha, an Irish word meaning Choice. Although many groups use Gaisce, the President's Award, as part of their programme also. Each group has a Venture Scout Executive which, under the guidance of an adult Scouter, designs and implements activities.
Scouting in Scotland is largely represented by Scouts Scotland, a registered Scottish Charity No. SC017511 that is affiliated to the Scout Association of the United Kingdom. The Baden-Powell Scouts' Association also has a presence in Scotland.
Early Life and Education
The Boy Scouts Association's The Chief Scout's Advance Party Report 1966 attempted to address the association's falling enrollment numbers and modernise its programs. It resulted in changes to traditional iconic uniforms, changes to awards, training schemes, the association's name and other nomenclature, reduced distinctions between Cubs and Scouts and discontinuation of Rovers. However, the changes failed to halt decline in older enrolments, resulting in a shift to younger ages and also resulted in disaffection, a schism in the organisation, growth of the alternate British Boy Scouts and European Scout Federation, formation of independent Scout groups and further alternate Scout organisations, particularly the Traditional Scouting Baden-Powell Scouts' Association and helped to re-establish understanding of Scouts as a movement rather than a single organisation.
João Armando Pereira Gonçalves, ComIH of Figueira da Foz, Portugal is the former chairperson of the World Scout Committee, the main executive body of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. He was a member of the European Scout Committee for a period of six years, elected in 2004 and again in 2007, and was elected to the World Scout Committee at the 39th World Scout Conference in Brazil in January 2011. He was re-elected to the committee at the 40th World Scout Conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia in 2014.
Monika Grütters is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2013-2021. She has been a member of the German Bundestag since 2005 and was chairwoman of the Committee on Culture and Media Affairs from 2009 to 2013. Since December 2016, Grütters has also been the chairwoman of the CDU Berlin and an elected member of the CDU Federal Executive Board.
Lars Martin Kramm is a British-German politician and scouting official who served as the Regional Chair of the European Regional Scout Committee of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) in the time from 2019-2022.
