Europe News
Latest News and Stories
Search News and Stories
"Peace in me - peace with you" - was the central theme of this year's ecumenical service organised by the
During the ceremony, Niklas, this year's Peace Light...
Scott Teare, Secretary General of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM), announced on behalf of the 40 million Scouts worldwide that the Movement will intensify its efforts in making the world a better place during the COP21 event on 9...
The 2016 National Rover Conference on 29th January – 3rd February is an annual significant gathering for Rovers in Taiwan.
The event gives young people the avenue to enhance their skills in decision-making at the institutional level of Scouting...
The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented the Silver Elephant Award, the highest national award of Scouting and Guiding in the country, to WOSM Secretary General, Scott Teare at an awards ceremony yesterday. Find out more on
Organisation calls for stronger involvement of young people in combating environmental issues and climate change.
9 December 2015, Paris, France: Today, Scott Teare, Secretary General of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM)...
Bharat Scouts & Guides India, in its effort to strengthen its Messenger of Peace Team, is bringing the initiative at the local level by holding four MoP Local Coordinators Gatherings -- the first in the series was held on 2-6 December 2015 at the...
The
(WSBERO/Chios) - “The scale of the refugee tragedy is incredible. Hundreds if not thousands of people – a third of them children - arrive daily on this small but beautiful Greek island having fled atrocities of war hoping for a better future...
At the concluding series of disaster and risk reduction training, since it started in 2014 by the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP), 30 Scouts and 29 Scout leaders from different provinces in southern Philippines (Mindanao), are learning skills in...
In an interview held in conjunction with the 30th International Volunteer Day, WOSM Secretary General, Scott Teare shares about the volunteer who inspired him, his experience as a volunteer and volunteering in Scouting.
1. You joined the Scout...
Today, on International Volunteer Day, six volunteers share about their passion to serve and to nurture the growth of young people through Scouting.
Maina Kiranga, Kenya
1. How long have you been volunteering?
I started my Scouting journey at Fahari Primary School in Mombasa in 1974, and was a Rover at the University of Nairobi from 1985 to 1988. I started volunteering in 2010 when I was requested to chair the Programme Committee for the Moot organised in Nairobi. Essentially, I have been an active volunteer for five years.
2. What have you enjoyed most about previous volunteer assignments?
My volunteering assignments were challenging but I derived a great sense of satisfaction when they were completed eventually. When I volunteered for the Moot planning team, I was appointed as the Moot Camp Chief, a monumental task that required perseverance, commitment, people skills, diplomacy and team work. The fact that Kenya was able to deliver a successful Moot was a very gratifying experience.
When I volunteered for the first World Scout Education Congress, I worked with a highly talented team from the international Scout fraternity. It was a great learning experience for me. The last day of the congress was a time of reflection on what we could do better next time. I left with a thirst for improvement to deliver the Scout dream to many boys and girls who join Scouting to create a better world.
I currently volunteer for the Global Support Core Group, which is a very enriching experience as the Global Support Assessment Tool (GSAT) team seeks to ensure that the Scouting bar is lifted higher to assure Scouts of quality Scouting. I enjoy the company of this great team of people with varied experiences and backgrounds. I always look forward to our next meeting as I find that it helps me in my “day job”.
3. How has volunteering for the Scout Movement enriched your life?
I have become a better manager and it has given me opportunities to use my talents in critical thinking and innovation. The more I volunteer the more I learn.
4. What motivates you to keep volunteering?
A nine-to-five job only takes from us what our employers demand from our skills based on education and work experience. Volunteering to me is comparable with the Scout merit badge system. It seeks from me other talents and skills which otherwise will be latent and underutilised. I volunteer in areas I feel best placed to give, which makes it a pleasure despite the challenges it may pose.
May Abdelhadi, Palestine
1. How long have you been volunteering?
I joined as a volunteer in 2004 and I love being part of such a giving group. In 2010, I became a leader and began to advocate positive change at the local, national and international levels. It is something that I will continue to do for as long as I can.
2. What have you enjoyed most about your previous volunteer assignments?
I enjoy seeing my group of girls growing up, taking on social responsibility, recognising their roles and rights and working hard to lead positive change. I enjoy knowing that my efforts for the younger generation are recognised and appreciated by the community, and these efforts are having a positive impact on society and the environment.
3. How has volunteering for the Scout Movement enriched your life?
Scouting shaped my life, it has been an eye-opening experience which has made me a better person. As a leader, I’ve learned a lot from the younger generation and the global network of leaders who inspire me. Volunteering for Scouting has exposed me to people from different cultures around the world.
4. What motivates you to keep volunteering?
The children's smiles, their spirit, their curiosity about life and desire to become a better person. Scouting for me is a passion. It provides a very dynamic space where you initiate, develop, create, innovate, unlock your potentials and overcome challenges. And it's simply an amazing feeling to give and share whatever you have with your community, your country and the world.
Evelina Maclang-Vicencio, The Republic of the Philippines
1. How long have you been volunteering?
I have been a volunteer Kawan (Cub Scout) Leader, a Leader Trainer and the former National Training Commissioner of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines for a total of 57 years.
2. What have you enjoyed most about previous volunteer assignments?
As a Kawan Leader, I enjoyed most the annual Father and Son camp where we, the Leaders, stayed in the background and the fathers were in the foreground. It was amazing to see the close bonding being developed as fathers taught their sons essential life skills as they played, learned and slept together in tents.
In training, I enjoyed most the Wood Badge course where as trainees, we studied, did projects, cooked, kept our tent areas clean, slept when we could, cried when we didn’t meet expectations and rejoiced when we exceeded it. I met my “besties” there.
3. How has volunteering for the Scout Movement enriched your life?
My profession as a teacher melded naturally with my volunteer work as a Scouter. My skills in one were honed in the other. Scouting taught me how to make learning fun for students by extending their lessons outside the classroom to the real world. Studies and work were never a hindrance to my Scouting activities. I volunteered as an Assistant Cubmaster of the 1st Yaba Pack in Nigeria, West Africa while teaching. In Sydney, Australia I was Old Wolf to the 3rd and 4th Kensington Cub Pack after my classes as a student at the University of New South Wales. Scouting gave me the respite I needed as a graduate student.
After receiving my four beads as a Leader Trainer, my world expanded as a volunteer. I travelled to Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Switzerland and Thailand as trainer, conference speaker, workshop participant, researcher, staff member and consultant.
But most of all, I met my husband in Scouting.
4. What motivates you to keep volunteering?
Who knows where else Scouting will take me? I will go where I am sent. I will serve where I am needed. For as long as there are boys and leaders who need training in Scouting, my work is not yet finished. I believe that “service is the rent we pay for our room on earth”. And so, my service as a volunteer Scout Leader and Trainer continues.
Efraim Acosta, Mexico
1. How long have you been volunteering?
I have been volunteering for the Scout Movement since 1988.
2. What have you enjoyed most about previous volunteer assignments?
Every assignment comes with challenges and new experiences. I think the sense of accomplishment after an assignment is completed is great. It is always fun to go out camping, hiking and do all kind of activities with the Cub Scouts. But at the end of the day, the real motivation comes from the simplest gestures: a thank you note from the parents, a smile from a Cub Scout.
3. How has volunteering for the Scout Movement enriched your life?
I’m a biologist and my job utilises the skills I learned as a Boy Scout. Camping, hiking, observing wildlife, orienteering, leading and working as a team, and many more are things that I do every day, and my “office” for many years was a Wildlife Conservation Station way out there in the field.
By the time I got to have an actual paid job at age 21, I had already managed several conservation projects, coordinated volunteer teams in two countries and had more on-the-job experience that most of the staff that proved to be an advantage later on.
Thanks to Scouting, I have friends from around the world, and I’m never short of company whenever I go out of the country for work or vacation.
4. What motivates you to keep volunteering?
The fact that you are actually making a difference in a young person’s life. When you do this for as long as I have, just watching them leave and become great people is motivation enough. Scouting just works.
And another good motivator is that I have never finished a meeting at my Scout group angry or sad. It has been, for 25 years, a highlight after a long work week.
Andratx Badia, Spain
1. How long have you been volunteering?
I have been volunteering for 14 years as leader in my Scout group.
2. What have you enjoyed most about previous volunteer assignments?
I enjoyed working with different people who each contribute his or her skills and intelligence to realise a common dream. The positive energy generated by these experiences was magical, I felt as if everything was possible.
3. How has volunteering for the Scout Movement enriched your life?
The Scout Movement, in my opinion, is the best school of volunteering because you learn as a child, to help other people. It is an active formation: you learn by doing. And “doing”, firstly, means to discover your city or town and its surroundings, and secondly, to act and improve it. In my Scout group, we not only discuss and carry out ideas but also create social networks in our own community. The Scout group is a catalyst for change where the main value is the commitment you make with yourself and with others.
4. What motivates you to keep volunteering?
I am motivated to keep volunteering because for me, it is a lifestyle. We need work together because we have the responsibility to leave this world a better place. Commitment, trust, collaboration, active participation, critical reflection and service sum up my idea of volunteering, where learning never ends.
Justin Kim, Korea
1. How long have you been volunteering for the Scout Movement?
I joined Scouting since I was 10 years old. I started to serve as a Scout leader after receiving my Wood Badge in 1997.
2. What have you enjoyed most about previous volunteer assignments?
My most memorable volunteer experience was taking part in the MoP - Dream Together On The Air project in 2010. After meeting the Cambodian Contingent at the 27th Asia-Pacific Region Jamboree, we promised to visit them in Cambodia. However, it was not easy as we had busy school schedules and the cost of traveling was expensive.
We realised that a reliable and cheap means of communication was needed, and decided that we should set up a Ham (amateur) radio station for the Cambodian Scouts. We started to raise funds to buy a set of IC-721 radio. With the support of our community and troop leaders, we bought an antenna tower, antenna and rotator. On 1 January 2015, with the help of the Cambodian Scouts, we managed to set up a Ham radio station at the Cambodian Scout Headquarters.
Now that they have a Ham Radio Station, we can meet them any time. And we are very happy that they can now participate in the Jamboree-On-The-Air every year.
3. How has volunteering for the Scout Movement enriched your life?
I enjoy Scouting and feel proud to be an active citizen. In Korea, there are not many youth organisations that teach young people how to live and work together harmoniously. Through Scouting, they learn to become better citizens. I feel extremely happy to be able to contribute to society and to perform my duty for the next generation.
4. What motivates you to keep volunteering?
After taking part in the 17th World Scout Jamboree in 1991, I realised how big and diverse the world is. It also made me reflect on how I should live my life. My hope is that more young people in Korea will have the opportunity to experience Scouting and its positive impact, and I will do my best to make that possible.
Tomorrow, watch João Armando Gonçalves, World Scout Committee Chairperson as he speaks to Rover Scouts and Adult Volunteers at the International Volunteer Day celebrations in Prague, Czech Republic. You can view it here at 10:00 CET (GMT +1 hour) -...
Today is Education Day at COP21, the climate change conference in Paris, France. To recognise the importance of climate change education in combating the worrying effects of climate change on children, young people and their communities, the World...
(WSBERO/Skopje) - This morning, the 6th European Scout Symposium started in Skopje (MK) with more than 120 representatives of National Scout Organisations (NSOs) and National Scout Associations (NSAs) of the European Region of the World Organization...