Advancement and recognition in the Boy Scouts of America is a tradition dating from the inception of the Scouting movement. A fundamental purpose of advancement is the self-confidence a young man or woman acquires from his participation in Scouting. Advancement is one of the methods used in the "Aims and Methods of Scouting"– character development, citizenship training and personal fitness.
The Wood Badge is an award for Scout leader training, first awarded by The Boy Scouts Association in the United Kingdom in 1919 and subsequently adopted, with variations, by some other Scout organizations. Wood Badge courses teach Scout leadership skills and instil an ideological bond and commitment to the organizations. Courses generally have theory and practical phases followed by a practice project. Scouters who complete the course are awarded a pair of wood beads on each end of a leather thong, from a necklace of beads Robert Baden-Powell claimed to have taken from the African chief Dinizulu.
Cubs or Wolf Cubs are programs associated with some Scout organizations, for young children usually between 8 and 12 who are too young to be Scouts. A participant in the program is called a Cub. A group of Cubs is called a "Pack".
Founded in 1908, The Scout Association of Malta (TSAM) is the Scouting organization in Malta. TSAM has always maintained a high and respectable Scouting tradition. Its leaders and members are committed to further the ideals of Scouting in line with those as traditionally established by the youth movement's Founder, Lord Robert Baden-Powell of Gilwell, and as further developed by the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM). TSAM is a forward looking youth movement which, as a non-governmental organisation (NGO), enjoys great respect both locally and internationally. It is the only association in Malta which is recognised by the WOSM, and is also a member of the European Scout Region.
Cub Scouting is part of the Scouting program of Scouting America, formerly known as Boy Scouts of America (BSA), available to boys and girls from kindergarten through fifth grade, or 5 to 10 years of age and their families. Its membership is the largest of the five main BSA divisions. Cub Scouting is part of the worldwide Scouting movement and aims to promote character development, citizenship training, personal fitness, and leadership.
Scouts South Africa is the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) recognised Scout association in South Africa. Scouting began in the United Kingdom in 1907 through the efforts of Robert Baden-Powell and rapidly spread to South Africa, with the first Scout troops appearing in 1908. South Africa has contributed many traditions and symbols to World Scouting.
The Cub Scouts are part of the Singapore Scout Association (SSA). They were formerly known as "Wolf Cubs" in the pre-1966 era when Singapore Scouting was still under the jurisdiction of the Scout Association, UK.
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.
Scouting and Guiding in mainland China was reported as banned with the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC) by the Communist Party since 1949. Instead, the Young Pioneers of China and the Communist Youth League, led by the Communist Party, have become the dominant youth organization in mainland China for younger and older youth, respectively. However, China now has multiple and originally separate Scouting activities within its borders. In 2004, the Scout Club of Hainan (海南童子军俱乐部), borrowing heavily from Scouting in terms of emblems, uniforms and activities, was founded in Hainan Province; it is, however, not affiliated with worldwide Scouting. An attempt to organize a nationwide Scouting organization in Wuhan was ended by the government in 2004. The Scout Association of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国童军总会), founded in 2008 serves Venture Scouts in both genders as well as Rover Scouts. The Rover Explorer Service Association operate groups in China.
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 Sri Lanka Scout Association, is a Scouting organization in Sri Lanka operated by the Ceylon Scout Council. The Ceylon Scout Council is a corporation formed by Act No. 13 of 1957. The association became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1953. The coeducational Sri Lanka Scout Association has 33,709 members as of 2014. in 2016 the year that the National Organisation reached 104 years the Scouting Population in Sri Lanka had increased to 55,078 the growth taking place against the year 2015 was 29% which was a great achievement by the SLSA.
The World Scout Indaba was a series of three gatherings of Scout Leaders from around the world, held in 1952, 1957 and 1960. The idea was proposed in 1949 at the 12th World Scout Conference in Elvesæter, Norway where The Boy Scouts Association of the United Kingdom submitted that of the large number of Scouters working in a pack, troop or crew, only a very small percentage were ever able to take part in a major international Scout gathering. Indaba is Zulu for "tribal conference" and the name was suggested by Lord Rowallan.
A Scout leader or Scouter generally refers to the trained adult leader of a Scout unit. The terms used vary from country to country, over time, and with the type of unit.
John Frederick Colquhoun, CBE, nicknamed "Koko", was a long-serving headquarters official of The Boy Scouts Association of the United Kingdom and served on the World Organization of the Scout Movement's committee from 1959 to 1965.
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) was inspired by and modeled on The Boy Scouts Association, established by Robert Baden-Powell in Britain in 1908. In the early 1900s, several youth organizations were active, and many became part of the BSA.
Cub Scouts, often shortened to Cubs, are a section of Scouting operated by The Scout Association with a core age of eight to ten and a half years of age. This section follows on from the Beaver Scouts and precedes the Scout section.
A Scout group is a local organizational structure in some Scouting organizations that consists of different age programs, gender units and/or multiple units of the same age program.
Wolf Cubs, usually referred to as Cubs, is the 3rd youngest section of Scouting operated by the Baden-Powell Scouts' Association, following on from the Beaver Scouts section. The core age range for Wolf Cubs is eight to eleven, though exceptions can be granted. Individual sections of Wolf Cubs, known as a Pack, are run by the local Scout Group. After reaching the age of ten and a half, a Wolf Cub may move on to Scouts.
International Boy Scouts, Troop 1, Japan's first Boy Scout troop, was founded in 1911, with Clarence Griffin as Scoutmaster. Despite its early multinational character the troop's original registration was with the London headquarters of The Boy Scouts Association as "British Scouts in Foreign Countries". This initial charter was due to there being no international Boy Scout office and the "nationality requirement" that was in effect at the time. In 1918, the troop's character changed considerably when the new Scoutmaster, Bro. Joseph Janning, received approval from Lord Baden-Powell to officially reorganized the troop as a mixed-nationality, or "international", troop. B-P subsequently brought the Troop's situation before the 3rd World Scout Conference where the newly formed Boy Scouts International Bureau received approval to directly register Troop 1 and, in the future, other such "international" groups. The troop was then directly registered by the Boy Scouts International Bureau and was issued the Boy Scout movement's first "mixed nationality" charter, dated October 30, 1925, signed by Baden-Powell as Chief Scout and Hubert S. Martin as Director of the new International Bureau. Within a few years the nationality requirement was abolished and, even though the Bureau maintained the direct registration of Troop 1 and other groups already registered, new groups were requested to join the national organization of the country in which they were located and no new groups were chartered. Over the years the directly chartered groups one-by-one and for varied reasons slowly disbanded and by 1955 only Troop 1 remained. The troop has been continuously active, including war years, since its first meeting held in Yokohama, Japan on October 16, 1911, and currently consists of coed sections of Beaver Scouts, Cub Scouts, Scouts, Senior Scouts, and Veteran Scouts.
In the Boy Scouts of America, a Scout leader refers to the trained leaders of a Scout unit. Adult leaders are generally referred to as "Scouters," and the youth leaders are referred to by their position within a unit. In all Scouting units above the Cub Scout pack and units serving adolescent Scouts, leadership of the unit comprises both adult leaders (Scouters) and youth leaders (Scouts). This is a key part of the Aims and Methods of Scouting. In order to learn leadership, the youth must actually serve in leadership roles.
