World Scout Moot

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World Scout Moot
Join In Moot.png
Date1931 onwards
WikiProject Scouting fleur-de-lis dark.svg  Scouting portal

The World Scout Moot is an event for senior members of Scouting movement and other young adult Scouts, gathering up to 5,000 people. Moots provide an opportunity for young adults in Scouting to meet, with the objective of improving their international understanding as citizens of the world. Moots are held every four years and are organized by the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM). [1]

Contents

Participants must be 18–25 years old at the time of the event. Scouts who are 26 or older can take part as International Service Team (IST) volunteer staff.

History

"Moot" is an Old English word for a gathering. Rover Moots (older members were traditionally called Rovers) took place at provincial, national and international levels in the UK, Australia and Canada from the mid-1920s. [2] [3] [4]

The first World Rover Moot was held in 1931 at Kandersteg, Switzerland, with subsequent events held almost every four years until 1961, when the 7th World Rover Moot took place in Melbourne, Australia. Originally entitled the "World Rover Moot", the Moot was replaced by World Moot Years between 1965 and 1982. This was done with the aim of increasing the number of events and accessibility to Rovers.

In 1985, after lobbying led by Australia, the World Scout Conference decided to reinstate the World Scout Moot to the calendar of world Scouting events, with the naming changed to reflect that not all countries had continued with a Rover section, notably the UK and the USA. At the World Scout Conference in January 1988, bids were presented by Australia and Switzerland, with Australia awarded the 8th World Scout Moot for Dec 1990/Jan 1991, and Switzerland granted the 9th World Scout Moot for July 1992. In 1993, it was decided to hold future Moots every four years.

The 10th World Scout Moot was hosted by Sweden in 1996, the 11th World Scout Moot by Mexico in 2000, and the 12th World Scout Moot by Taiwan in 2004. After originally scheduled for 2008 in Mozambique, the 13th World Scout Moot was held in Kenya in 2010 – the first ever such event to take place in Africa.

The 14th World Scout Moot was hosted by Canada in 2013, while the 15th World Scout Moot was held in Iceland in the summer of 2017. [5] The 16th World Scout Moot was due to take place in Ireland in 2021, however due to the COVID-19 pandemic the event was postponed to 2022 and subsequently cancelled. [6] The 16th World Scout Moot was hosted by Portugal in July/August 2025, [7] with the opening event taking place at Parque Tejo in Lisbon. [8]

During the 2024 World Scout Conference in Cairo, Scouts of China (Taiwan) were successful in their bid to host the 17th World Scout Moot in 2029. [9]

List of events [10]

YearEventLocationHost CountryAttendanceCountries/
regions
attended
19311st World Rover MootKanderstegFlag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 3,00020
19352nd World Rover MootIngaröFlag of Sweden.svg Sweden 3,00026
19393rd World Rover MootMonzie CastleFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 3,50042
19494th World Rover MootSkjåkFlag of Norway.svg Norway 2,50040
19535th World Rover MootKanderstegFlag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 4,16841
19576th World Rover MootSutton ColdfieldFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 3,50061
19617th World Rover MootMelbourneFlag of Australia (converted).svg Australia 96915
1990–918th World Scout MootMelbourneFlag of Australia (converted).svg Australia 1,00036
19929th World Scout MootKanderstegFlag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 1,40052
199610th World Scout MootRansbergFlag of Sweden.svg Sweden 2,60878
200011th World Scout MootTeotihuacanFlag of Mexico.svg Mexico 5,00071
200412th World Scout MootHualienFlag of the Republic of China.svg Taiwan 2,50085
201013th World Scout MootNairobiFlag of Kenya.svg Kenya 1,92466
201314th World Scout MootLow, QuebecFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada 2,00083
201715th World Scout Moot Úlfljótsvatn Flag of Iceland.svg Iceland 5,000106
202116th World Scout MootMalahide CastleFlag of Ireland.svg Ireland Cancelled due to COVID-19
202516th World Scout MootLisbon and PortoFlag of Portugal (official).svg Portugal 6,915~ 100
202917th World Scout MootTBAFlag of the Republic of China.svg Taiwan TBATBA

See also

TBA

References

  1. "World Events". scout.org. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  2. "Great Rover Moot". The Age (newspaper). Melbourne, Australia. 16 November 1927. p. 23. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  3. "Archive Catalogue" (PDF). ScoutsRecords.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2014 via Wayback Machine.
  4. "The Rovers' Den". Calgary Herald . Calgary, Canada. 29 May 1926. p. 10. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  5. "History of the World Scout Moot". www.scout.org. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  6. "Important Announcement". www.worldscoutmoot.ie. Archived from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  7. "Escutismo: Portugal recebe o «World Scout Moot»" [Scouting: Portugal hosts the «World Scout Moot»]. Agência ECCLESIA (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  8. Bennett, S., Making a splash in Portugal at the 16th World Scout Moot, The Scout Association, published on 21 August 2025, accessed on 30 August 2025
  9. "Taiwan to host World Scout Moot in 2029". Focus Taiwan . 22 August 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  10. "Rover World Moots - SCOUTS South Africa Wiki". scoutwiki.scouts.org.za. Retrieved 21 April 2025.