Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth 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.
Wood Badge is a Scouting leadership programme and the related award for adult leaders in the programmes of Scout associations throughout the world. Wood Badge courses aim to make Scouters better leaders by teaching advanced leadership skills, and by creating a bond and commitment to the Scout movement. Courses generally have a combined classroom and practical outdoors-based phase followed by a Wood Badge ticket, also known as the project phase. By "working the ticket", participants put their newly gained experience into practice to attain ticket goals aiding the Scouting movement. The first Wood Badge training was organized by Francis "Skipper" Gidney and lectured at by Robert Baden-Powell and others at Gilwell Park in September 1919. Wood Badge training has since spread across the world with international variations.
The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts is a global association supporting the female-oriented and female-only Guiding and Scouting organizations in 152 countries. It was established in 1928 in Parád, Hungary, and has its headquarters in London, United Kingdom. It is the counterpart of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM). WAGGGS is organized into five regions and operates five international Guiding centers. It holds full member status in the European Youth Forum (YFJ), which operates within the Council of Europe and European Union areas and works closely with these bodies.
Pfadfinder und Pfadfinderinnen Österreichs is the largest Scouting and Guiding organization in Austria and the only one approved by World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) and the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM). The association claims more than 300 troops with more than 85,000 Scouts nationwide. WOSM and WAGGGS give quite smaller membership values for the PPÖ: 9,503 Scouts and 10,508 Guides.
Scouting Nederland is the national Scout organisation of the Netherlands with approximately 110,000 members (53,324 male and 54,663 female, 87,000 youth members, as of 2010.
Gidsen- en Scoutsbeweging in België (Dutch) or Guidisme et Scoutisme en Belgique (French) (GSB) is the national Guiding and Scouting federation in Belgium. Scouting in Belgium started in 1911, and Guiding followed in 1915. The Belgian Scouts were among the charter members of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) in 1922, and the Guides were one of the founding members of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) in 1928. The federation counts 96,837 Scouts and 59,268 Guides.
Scouting and Guiding Federation of Turkey is the national Scouting and Guiding federation of Turkey. It serves 33,974 Scouts and 2,883 Guides. The federation is a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement since 1950, and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts since 1987.
The National Organisation for Scouts and Guides is the national Scouting and Guiding organization of Oman. It was founded in 1975, and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1977 and of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 1996. The coeducational National Organisation for Scouts and Guides has about 19,000 members as of 2010.
Boy Scouts van Suriname is the national Scouting organization of Suriname. Scouting in Suriname officially started in 1924 and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) in 1968. The coeducational association has 2,601 members.
The Scout movement in Belarus consisted of 1200 members when it joined the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) in 2010. There are at least five nationwide associations as well as some regional associations. In addition, there were at one time Scouts-in-Exile in metropolitan areas of the United States, and there are presently international Scout units in Belarus.
The Scouting and Guiding movement in Belgium consists of 15 to 20 separate organizations serving about 160,000 members. Nearly all organizations are grouped by languages and confessions. The Crown Scout rank is the highest a Boy Scout can achieve.
The Fédération Libanaise des Eclaireuses et des Guides is the national Guiding organization of Lebanon. Guiding was introduced to Lebanon in 1937 and became a member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) in 1954. The girls-only federation consists of five independent organizations with a total of 6,615 members(as of 2008).
The Padvindstersvereniging van de Nederlandse Antillen is the national Guiding organization of the former Netherlands Antilles. It serves 461 members. Founded in 1930, the girls-only organization became an associate member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 1978 and full member in 1981.
Het Arubaanse Padvindsters Gilde is the national Guiding organization of Aruba. It serves 326 members. Founded in 1941, the girls-only organization became an associate member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 1993 and a full member in 2017.
The Sakartvelos Gogona Skautebis Asociacia 'Dia' (საქართველოს გოგონა სკაუტების ასოციაცია 'დია', 'Girl Scouts of Georgia 'Dia') is the national Girl Scouting organisation of Georgia. It serves 805 members. The girls-only became an associate member of the WAGGGS in 1999.
The Scout and Guide movement in Suriname is served by
Scouts en Gidsen Vlaanderen is a coeducational, Flemish Scout and Guide organisation in Belgium and is a member of the Guidisme et Scoutisme en Belgique/Gidsen- en Scoutsbeweging in België.
Scouting and Guiding in the United Kingdom is served by several different organisations:
Scouts Musulmans de France is a French Muslim Scouting organization for boys and girls between 8 and 21 years old with about 1,000 members. It was founded in 1990 by Sheikh Khaled Bentounès, the spiritual leader of the Sufi Alawiya Brotherhood, and is headquartered in Noisy-le-Grand. It is part of the Fédération du Scoutisme Français and through this a member of both the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts and the World Organization of the Scout Movement. It also is a member of the International Union of Muslim Scouts.
FOS Open Scouting or FOS is a pluralistic, internationally oriented, coeducational, Flemish Scout and Guide organisation in Belgium and is a member of the Guidisme et Scoutisme en Belgique/Gidsen- en Scoutsbeweging in België. FOS is a federation of 58 Scout Groups.
