[Euroscoutinfo-en] Euro.Scout.Info. - Issue 74 - October 2009
Cara Shields
Sent by:
World Scout Bureau - European Regional Office
Rue Henri-Christiné 5, P.O. Box 327, 1211 Geneva - 04 Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 705 11 00 / Fax: +41 22 705 11 09
Email: eur...@scout.org
Website: http://www.scout.org/europe
Areas of Work
Educational Methods
Lands of Adventure Ambassadors meet for the 7th time
The 7th annual meeting for the Lands of Adventure ambassadors was held in Madrid last month. The ambassadors are appointed on a national level to promote the very successful European programme that caters for young people aged 11-15 and has had over 3000 Scouts participate already. The ambassadors met for a weekend of sharing best practices, improving the existing systems and planning for the future.
Scout leaders from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Turkey have agreed on the future developments of the core programme, as well as the details for preparing the third edition of the Lands of Adventure Day and the second Lands of Adventure Camp to be held in Greece in the summer of 2010.
The participants enjoyed a warm welcome and excellent conditions provided by the host organisation, ASDE. The next LoA Ambassadors meeting will be organised in October 2010 in Malta or Romania. More details can be found at www.landsofadventure.eu .
Small groups to meet and accelerate work on different issues
The Educational Methods Team will organise the Wild Working Weekend , from 11-13 December 2009, in Antwerp, Belgium. Various small groups, units and planning teams will gather with the aim of completing various materials and planning future events.
Some of the topics to be worked on include Euro.Scout.Docs in the area of Adult Resources, on:
- How adults learn?
- What is a volunteer in Scouting?
- Managing Adult Resources
- Youth Leadership
- eLearning
- Capitalisation
The group will also work on model workshops on Quality and Managing Adult Resources, additional tools for the Training Systems Toolkit and material on diversity in recruitment.
Should you have any experiences, materials or ideas to share on any of these issues, or would like to participate in producing them, please contact Milutin Milošević on mil...@scout.org
The Scout Library
WOSM have launched a new Scout Library on their website. The European Region’s Resource Unit did most of the work on defining the approach and content, while the World Scout Bureau - Central Office provided the technical solution. There is a high-quality search engine in place that will direct you to the resources of your particular interest.
Almost all the resources produced in the WOSM - European Region are already in the Library, as well as most of those produced on the world level. The other Scout Regions will soon add their own resources. NSA resources are also available in the Library and if you know of any good material, produced by your NSA or otherwise, and even if it is not in one of the five official WOSM languages, please advise us so we can add it to the Library.
To see the collection of resources, please visit the Scout Library on http://scout.org/en/information_events/library
Development and Support
Growth network shares ideas and best practices
Is your National Scout Association losing members? Do you need new ideas and tips to change the trend? Take a look at the Growth Network website ( www.europak-online.net/growth ) or even better – join a meeting! The Network is there to enhance learning from others with the same problems, create new ideas together and work for membership growth and retention. You can already find some of the best practices and tips from participants on the website. More useful practices and stories will be added to the page soon.
One example is from the Swedish Temperance Guide and Scout Association. They had tried sending out field agents to support local groups with recruitment, development of the youth programme and other issues. They were not happy with the results and this lead to the association looking at new ways of Scouting. One idea was to provide Scouting at schools and day care centres or to co-operate with these, and other, external organisations. They wanted new ways to offer Scouting to more people in different situations. They saw potential in organising adventure camps with an integration theme and day camps during school holidays, as well as in bringing new kids to a camp of a local group. They also came up with the ‘Get out of town’ concept – full day activities for families – and Scouting for young parents with their children.
We should not only stick to our old habits if we wish to retain our members and attract some new ones. Thinking outside of the box is crucial. The Growth Network offers a nice atmosphere for creating new solutions to membership development. If you would like to know more about the Growth Network or best practices, please contact Katrin Kelly katrin...@scout.org
Tailored Support Projects
The tailored support projects in Albania and Bosnia & Herzegovina are progressing. In Albania, work on the youth programme and web design is completed and ready for implementation. It is hoped these tools will help the new development project there to produce good results. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, plans are going ahead for a trainer-training seminar at a Scout camp on Boračko Lake.
Life of the Movement
11th Annual gathering of the Friends of Scouting in Europe
>From 9-11 October, 35 Friends of Scouting in Europe meet in Montenegro. It was a great opportunity for them, not only to meet the local Scouts and the national Leaders, but also to explore the beauties of Montenegro and experience its people’s friendliness.
A number of ‘small projects’ were presented and will hopefully be sponsored from the surplus of the event.
The annual meeting of the Friends accepted an invitation from FYRO Macedonia for the 12th annual gathering planned for the third weekend of October 2010.
Meeting of Latvian Friends of Scouting
On 15 September, Latvia’s Friends of Scouting meet in Riga under the leadership of ESFs Board member Juris Ullmaris. They were updated on the developments of Friends of Scouting in Europe and the ‘small projects’.
At the moment, in spite of Latvia’s grave economic situation, the local FOSE have very impressively developed over the years, and the President of the Republic of Latvia has been accepted as a Life Friend of Scouting in Europe.
In 2010 a second meeting will be arranged and details will be announced once they are available.
USA Room renovated at KISC
The rooms in Kandersteg International Scout Centre’s Chalet have been sponsored by National Scout Organisations since 1926. They are sponsored and decorated by the NSO and then, usually, named after the country.
The USA Room is the biggest bedroom, with 22 beds, and is located in the 2nd floor of the Old Chalet. The room was last renovated in 1988 and rooms should be renovated approximately every 20 years. Over the last few weeks the Maintenance Assistant, Chris from the UK, along with the Autumn Short Term Staff striped the room, taking away walls, windows, the ceiling and floor. They put in some temporary windows to be able to continue and began working on new walls, ceilings, beds, tables and floor. The renovation will be finished by the beginning of December.
Polish Scout Leader Training Course
In the first week of October, 27 Polish Scout Leaders stayed at KISC for a Leaders Course. During their stay, they spent most of their time participating in workshops and training sessions. Their work was orientated around different topics, such as individual development, new international experience opportunities for Polish Scouts and interpersonal communication in an international environment.
Additionally, they enjoyed the sunny, warm weather and had 2 days off. One day was used for a day trip to Geneva and the other for a hike to Adelboden to visit the WAGGGS World Centre, Our Chalet.
Kandersteg International Scout Centre is a good place to organise conferences and trainings in an international atmosphere. Participants would also have the possibility to explore the Centre and see what is can offer their Scout group.
Deadline for KISC Spring Staff (2010) applications 15 December 2009
Every three months we have staff coming for three months to Kandersteg to help here, make new friends and have the international experience of their life. The deadline to be Spring Staff (March – June 2010) is December 15, 2009.
Deadline applications World Scout Winter Games
In March 2010, the 2nd World Scout Winter Games will be held in KISC. Teams from different countries will participate in a competition involving different winter sports, in a Scout atmosphere. Deadline for applications is 30 November 2009. More information is available on http://www.kisc.ch.
Serbian Scouts to establish standards for working with youth
Scouts of Vojvodina, the northern province of Serbia, launched a dialogue for establishing standards and regulations for working with young people in the country. The aim of the project is to develop an open, effective and fair system of non-formal education that is available for all young people and oriented towards establishing standards. This should contribute to the development of responsible and committed young leaders. The background of the work is the educational system in Scouting and examples of good practices in other non-governmental organisations.
The project is contributing to the newly established National Youth Strategy. It is interesting to note here that the work on the Strategy started in 2001, at a Conference organised by the Vojvodina Scouts and the Secretariat for Youth and Sports of Vojvodina. The project is supported by the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
The launch of the project will be marked with a Round Table, organised from 14-15 November in Sremski Karlovci. Scouts expect participation of their colleagues from the NGO sector and representatives of the Government. Pieter Willems, Chairman of the Adult Resources Core Group will present examples and projects of the WOSM - European Region at this interesting meeting.
Scouting Abroad: Joining the Erasmus Scouting Programme
Les Scouts, Belgium, have set up the Scouting abroad - Scouting Erasmus programme. It is in place to help Leaders and Rovers find Scout groups to join when studying, working or volunteering abroad. It aims to help people get an international Scout experience and integrate well within a community they are living in, even for a short amount of time.
The organisation is currently looking to set up more contacts for the programme and is ready to welcome Scouts to Belgium. More information is available on http://www.lesscouts.be .
Jamborees in 2010
SEE 20:10
The national jamboree for KFUM – Spejderne i Danmark will take place from July 24 – August 1 2010. Over 16.000 participants are expected, with 20% coming from outside of Denmark. The age group for the event is 11-23 years of age and families are welcome too. For more information visit http://www.see2010.dk .
Ruhrjamb 2010
DPSG, as part of the project Move to 10 , will organise a large camp in Essen, Germany, 6-22 August 2010. Scout groups from over 200 twin towns from around Europe, as well as from the 53 cities and towns in Ruhr, will take part.
During the camp there will be plenty of culture, trips, sports, excursions, hikes, workshops and more. Over 2700 Scouts are expected to participate and the event is open to applications from other Scout groups in Europe. For more information visit http://www.ruhrjamb2010.eu .
Reminders and Deadlines
International Commissioners Forum
20-22 November 2009, Malta
Deadline: 29 October 2009
Useful Information
Web: www.scout.org/europe
Europak: www.europak-online.net
Stay in contact
World Scout Bureau
European Regional Office
Switzerland
P.O. Box 327
Rue Henri Christiné 5
CH-1211 Geneva 4
Tel: (+41 22) 705 11 00
Fax: (+41 22) 705 11 09
Belgium
Avenue de la Porte de Hal 38
BE-1060 Brussels
Tel: (+32 2) 534 33 15
Fax: (+32 2) 534 16 54
Email: eur...@scout.org