Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth social movement employing the Scout method. It is a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking, and sports. Another widely recognized movement characteristic is the Scout uniform, by intent hiding all differences of social standing in a country and encouraging equality, with neckerchief and campaign hat or comparable headwear. Distinctive uniform insignia include the fleur-de-lis and the trefoil, as well as merit badges and other patches.
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 Afghanistan National Scout Organization was officially founded in 1931 in Afghanistan by a royal decree. The site of Robert Baden-Powell's second posting in 1880, Afghanistan was a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement from 1932 until the Afghan government dissolved the Scout Association in 1947. Afghan Scouting was formed again from 1964 to 1978 and recognized by the World Organization of the Scout Movement.
The European Scout Region is one of five geographical subdivisions of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with a satellite office in Brussels, Belgium.
The coeducational Organization of the Scout Movement of Kazakhstan was officially founded in 1992, and received World Organization of the Scout Movement recognition on January 16, 2008. In 2011, it had 1,223 members.
Scouting in Kyrgyzstan was founded in November 1994 and is not yet a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, but is working toward WOSM recognition. Kyrgyzstan has multiple Scout associations, several of which are members of Kyrgyz Respublikasynyn Skaut Kengesh, the Kyrgyz Republic Scouting Union.
The Eurasian Scout Region was the divisional office of the World Scout Bureau of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, headquartered in Kyiv, formerly located at Gurzuf near Yalta-Krasnokamianka, Ukraine, with a branch office in Moscow. All the formerly communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Soviet Union have developed or are developing Scouting in the wake of the renaissance in the region. These include most of the successor states to the Soviet Union, in the Commonwealth of Independent States. The 1996/99 Triennial Report of the World Scout Committee/World Organization of the Scout Movement shows that WOSM is aggressively pursuing the organization of Scouting activities in the countries of the former Soviet Union, according to its own vision.
Scouting in Ukraine received World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) recognition in July 2008. The Eurasian Region headquarters is located on Ukrainian territory.
The Bhutan Scouts Association, also known as Druk Scout Tshogpa (Dzongkha:འབྲུག་ཨིསི་ཀའུཊ་ཚོགས་པ་), is a coeducational organization that is part of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. As of 2021, it has a membership of 76,876 members. The association is committed to the education of young people through a value system based on the Scout Promise and Law, with the aim of building a better world where individuals are self-fulfilled and play a constructive role in society.
The Palestinian Scout Association is the organization responsible for the Scout movement in Palestine.
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 Ethiopia Scout Association is the national Scouting association of Ethiopia. The Scout movement was first introduced in Ethiopia around 1919, and had opened a school in Addis Ababa by 1934. However, the association was forced to end its activities due to the Second Italo-Abyssinian War of 1935-1936. Scouting was revived in Ethiopia in 1948, when Scout activities gained a foothold in the schools of Ethiopia. Ethiopia was recognized as a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1969.
The National Association of Cambodian Scouts is the national Scouting organization in Cambodia. It was founded in September 2005 through the merger of the Scout Organization of Cambodia and the Cambodian Scouts and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) on 1 July 2008. The coeducational association serves 59,275 members as of 2021.
Scouts of Syria is the national Scout and Guide organization of Syria. Scouting in Syria was founded in 1912; Guiding started in the 1950s. The coeducational association serves 9,358 members and is a member of both the World Organization of the Scout Movement and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.
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 Bangladesh Scouts is the national Scouting organization of Bangladesh. Now The Chief Scout of Bangladesh is Mohammed Shahabuddin. 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 2,261,351 members as of 2021.
The "Nepal Scouts" is the national Scouting and Guiding organization of Nepal, founded in Nepal in 1952. It became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1969 and later became a member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 1984.
Non-aligned Scouting organizations is a term used by the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM), World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) and their member national organizations to refer to Scouting organizations that are not affiliated with them. See List of non-aligned Scouting organizations.
Tin Tun is a formerly jailed Burmese political dissident, Olympic boxer, and one of the pioneers of the now-extinct Scouting movement in that country, imprisoned under the Publishing and Printing Act in July 1993 for possessing a copy of the Khit Pyaing Journal, a banned news magazine published by exiled activists.
There are various controversies and conflicts that involve the Scouting movement. 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.
