Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth social movement employing the Scout method, 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.
A Girl Guide or Girl Scout is a member of a section of some Guiding organisations who is between the ages of 10 and 14. Age limits are different in each organisation. Robert Baden-Powell chose to name his organization for girls "the Girl Guides". In the United States and several East Asian countries the term "Girl Scout" is used instead. Female scouts go under the name of "girl scouts" in many more languages. The two terms are used synonymously within this article.
Scouts Canada is a Canadian Scouting association providing programs for young people, between the ages of 5 and 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. In 2021–22, youth membership stood at 33,899, a 48% decline from 64,693 in 2014–15. Over the same period, volunteer numbers also declined 43%, from 20,717 in 2015 to 11,765 in 2022. Scouts Canada has declined significantly in size since its peak: youth membership is down 82% from 288,084 in 1965 and volunteer numbers are down 50% from 33,524 in 1965.
The Scout Association, which also uses the name Scouts UK, is the largest Scout organisation in the United Kingdom. It's the World Organization of the Scout Movement's recognised member for the United Kingdom. Following the origins of the Scout movement in 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.
Scouts Australia is a trading name of The Scout Association of Australia, which is the largest scouting organisation in Australia, claiming 48,796 children and youths and 2,792 young adult participants in 2022, and is a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. It was formed in 1958 and incorporated in 1967. It operates personal development programs for children and young adults from 5 to 25 years of age with programs successively opened to girls after 1971.
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.
Girlguiding is the operating name of The Guide Association, previously named The Girl Guides Association. It is the national guiding organisation of the United Kingdom. It is the UK's largest girl-only youth organisation. Girlguiding is a charitable organisation.
The European Scout Region is one of six geographical subdivisions of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with a satellite office in Brussels, Belgium.
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.
The Student Scout and Guide Organization (SSAGO) is an association that provides support to individuals who are students at colleges and universities in the United Kingdom. It caters to Scouts, Guides, and those who have not been affiliated with a Scout or Guide Association. SSAGO is particularly focused on individuals interested in the aims, objectives, and methods of both The Scout Association and Girlguiding, UK.
Scouting in Northern Ireland is represented by three Scouting associations:
Scouts, often referred to as the Scout section to differentiate itself from the wider movement and its parent organisation, is a section of Scouting run by The Scout Association for ten and a half to fourteen year old young people. The section follows on from Cub Scouts and precedes Explorer Scouts. Since 1991, the section has been coeducational and today the Scout section accepts young people from all backgrounds, faiths and genders.
The 21st World Scout Jamboree was held in July and August 2007, and formed a part of the Scouting 2007 Centenary celebrations of the world Scout Movement. The event was hosted by the United Kingdom, as 2007 marked the 100th anniversary of the founding of Scouting on Brownsea Island.
Scout Active Support is a section of The Scout Association in the United Kingdom that provides support to delivering the youth programme of the Scouts. This support is carried out by Scout Active Support Units, which can be based at every level of the association with 35 national units and over 1,400 other units at county, district and group levels.
Scouting and Guiding in the Cayman Islands exist as branches of the parent organisations in the United Kingdom.
Scouting activities can be found throughout the English region of the East Midlands. The largest number of Scouts and volunteer leaders in the region is linked to the Scout Association of the United Kingdom, while there is also a presence of traditional Scouting groups, such as the Baden-Powell Scouts' Association. The Scout Association administers the region through five Scout Counties, overseen by a regional commissioner, which largely follow the boundaries of the ceremonial counties they exist within although in Lincolnshire the former Humberside county is still used. There are also a number of Scouting clubs within Universities in the region which are affiliated to the Student Scout and Guide Organisation. Scouting organisations at every level of the hierarchy also own and operate campsites and activity centres in the area for the benefit of Scouts, Guides and other youth groups.
Jamboree 2008 was developed as "an Inter-organisational & International event" which was intended to "bring 600 young people from Scouting and Guiding together — to develop skills & friendships that will lay the foundations for the next 100 years of Scouting". The Jamboree was set up to be independent of Associations, and hoped to involve members of the World Federation of Independent Scouts (WFIS), the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM), and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS).
Scouting and Guiding in Gibraltar exist as branches of the parent organisations in the United Kingdom.
Girl Guides is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909, when girls requested to join the then-grassroots Boy Scout Movement.
There are many national organisations in the United Kingdom that have been established to provide services to people under the age of 18.
