- For professional sport scouts, see Scout (sport).
Scouting is a world-wide youth organization. Its aim is to develop young people physically, spiritually and mentally through non-formal education with emphasis on practical activities in the outdoors so that youth may take a constructive place in society.
Origins
Lord Baden-Powell founded the Scouting movement in 1907 in the United Kingdom. He also introduced Girl Guides in 1910 with the aid of his sister Agnes Baden-Powell. The Guides are known as Girl Scouts in the United States.
 The stone on Brownsea Island, Poole Harbour, England, commemorating the first Scout camp. The seeds of Scouting began during the Siege of Mafeking, South Africa, where Baden Powell served as the commanding officer during the Boer War of 1899–1902. Baden-Powell defended the town against the Boers (Afrikaners), who outnumbered his troops eight to one. He formed the Mafeking Cadet Corps to help support the troops. The Corps consisted entirely of boy volunteers. Baden-Powell trained the boys and they acquitted themselves well, helping in the successful defence of the town (1899–1900). Each Cadet Corps member received a badge, a combination of a compass point and a spearhead. This logo eventually became the fleur-de-lis, which Scouting adopted as its international symbol.
As a result of his status as a national hero, acquired as a result his determined defence of the Siege of Mafeking, Baden-Powell's military training manual, Aids to Scouting (written in 1899) became something of a best-seller and was used by teachers and youth organisations.
In 1906, Ernest Thompson Seton sent Baden-Powell a copy of his book entitled The Birchbark Roll of the Woodcraft Indians. Seton, a British-born Canadian living in the United States, subsequently met Baden-Powell and they shared ideas about youth training programs.
Baden-Powell was encouraged to re-write Aids to Scouting to suit a youth readership. By 1907 he had finished a draft called Boy Patrols. The same year, to test out some of his ideas he gathererd together 20 boys of mixed social background and held a week long camp, beginning February 22, on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour, Dorset, England. His organizational method, now known as the Patrol Method, the key to the Scouting method, allowed the boys to organize themselves into small groups with an elected patrol leader. In the fall of 1907, having his draft publication and a successful camp behind him, Baden-Powell went on an extensive speaking tour arranged by his publisher, Pearsons, to promote his forthcoming book. Beginning in January 1908 its initial publication appeared as six installments in a boys fortnightly magazine. The parts were subsequently published in book form as Scouting for Boys, now commonly considered the first edition of the Boy Scout Handbook. At the time Baden-Powell intended that the book would provide ideas for established organisations, in particular the Boys' Brigade in which he held the postion of Vice President for some time. However, boys spontaneously formed Scout patrols and flooded Baden-Powell with requests for assistance. In this manner the Scouting movement unintentionally arose and developed by the weight of its own momentum. As the movement developed Sea Scout and Air Scout units were added to the program options. Baden-Powell could not single handedly advise all the youth who requesting his assistance. To provide for adult leadership training was required. The Wood Badge was developed to recognize adult leadership training. In 1919 Gilwell Park was purchased as an adult training site and scouting campground. Baden-Powell also wrote a book for the assistance of leaders entitled Aids to Scoutmastership.
Early history
A small number of Scout groups founded in 1908 have the right to wear a green neckerchief in recognition of their membership of those founding groups.
Scouting began to spread throughout Great Britain soon after the publication of Scouting For Boys. The Boy Scouts quickly became an organization in and of itself. Scouting moved swiftly throughtout the British Empire. The first recognized overseas unit was chartered in Malta. Canada became the first overseas Dominion with a sanctioned Boy Scout program, followed by Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Chile was the first country outside of the British Dominions to have a recognized scouting program. The first Scout rally was held at the Crystal Palace, London, in 1910. It attracted 10,000 boys, as well as a number of girls, who turned out for this exhibtion of scouting. By 1910, Singapore, Sweden, Denmark, France, Russia, Finland, Germany, Norway, Mexico, Argentina, Greece and the United States had Boy Scouts.
UK developments
 a scout march in Oxford, 2004 In the UK, the Boy Scout Association was formed in 1908. It was granted a Royal Charter by King George V in 1912. That charter was an Imperial Charter which gave the Association legal effect throughout the Empire. Those under age eleven were named "Wolf Cubs" (often abbreviated to just "Cubs"), and graduated to "Boy Scout" at that age.
The Association changed its name to The Scout Association in 1967 as part of a package of radical reform and modernisation. "Boy" was dropped from the title, and a new uniform with long trousers was introduced to eliminate the "Boer War appearance". Senior Scouts and Rovers were abolished, and Venture Scouts were introduced for the older 15 to 20 age range.
In 1976 girls were allowed into the movement as Venture Scouts. This was extended as an option to all sections of the movement in the late 1980s, along with additional reforms to the uniform including the introduction of sweatshirts.
As a result of another review, 2003 effectively saw the reversal of one of the 1967 changes, with Venture Scouts being replaced with Explorer Scouts (14–18 age range) and the Scout Network (18–25).
Scouting around the world
 Scouting began in the U.S. in 1910 Following its foundation in the UK, the Scouting movement started to spread around the globe. Today the World Organization of the Scout Movement is the governing body for the mainstream of the Scouting Movement. In addition to being the governing policy body it organizes the International Scout Jamboree every four years.
Australia
The game of Scouting was played by boys in the Commonwealth of Australia as early as 1908, the year the first Boy Scout Training handbook Scouting for Boys was published in England. The visits made to Australia by Robert Baden-Powell in 1912 and in later years (1931–34) encouraged the extension of the Movement in Australia.
Austria
In 1910, the first Austrian Scout group—still in existence today—was founded in Wiener Neustadt. Girl Guide groups followed in 1913. Österreichischer Pfadfinderbund (http://www.pfadfinderbund.at) (Austrian Scout Federation), founded in 1914, joined WOSM in 1922. All Scout groups were disbanded in 1938 and scouting activities forbidden until 1945. A highlight of Austrian scouting history was the 7th World Scout Jamboree in Bad Ischl in 1951, with 12,884 participants from 61 countries. Today, Pfadfinder und Pfadfinderinnen Österreichs (http://www.ppoe.at) (PPÖ, Austrian Scouts and Girl Guides) is the biggest of the national organisations.
Canada
Canada is the only country in the world that possesses two chairs at the World Organization of the Scout Movement: one for the Scouts Canada and another for the Association des Scouts du Canada (which is mostly for the French part of Canada).
Chile
In 1909, the second Scout Association of the world was founded in Chile. It was inspired by the direct influence of Robert Baden-Powell himself who visted the country that same year. The founder of the Chilean Scouting movement was Alcibíades Vicencio. The Girl Guide Association of Chile was founded in 1935. After a long process, the two national associations, The Chilean Scout Association and The Catholic Scout Federation merged in 1978 to form the Asociación de Guías y Scouts de Chile. An important milestone in Chilean Scouting was to be host of the 19th World Scout Jamboree in 1998/1999.
Czech Republic
In 1911 Professor Antonín Benjamín Svojsík founded the first Czech scout troop in what is now the Czech Republic. The following year the first camp was held and Svojsík, inspired by Baden-Powell, published a book, Základy junáctví, with his ideas about Czech scouting. In 1914, a formal organization, Junák-Česky´ skaut, was founded.
Finland
In Finland the scouting movement was viewed by some as a right-wing political youth organization, as opposed to the Pioneers, a left-wing youth organization. Today the Finnish scout organization asserts that it is a nonpolitical organization. However, there is still a clear emphasis on Christianity, as can be seen in the Finnish scout promise, which begins "I promise to love God..."
Germany
In 1909 first scout groups formed in Germany. Scouting there met with the German Youth Movement, of which the Wandervogel is a part. Both influenced each other heavily, whose effects are still present today.
Hong Kong
Scout activities were first brought to Hong Kong by British merchants and military personnel. In 1913, the Hong Kong Branch was formally registered with the London Headquarters of the Boy Scouts Association (now "The Scout Association"). The first Scout group, St. Joseph's College group, was inaugurated in 1914. As more and more youngsters joined the Scouts activities, the Cub Scouts was formed in 1916. On 15th April 1977, the Hong Kong Branch was admitted as the 111th member of the World Organization of Scout Movement and known as "Scout Association of Hong Kong". As at December 2003, the membership of the Association stood at 95,615 with a total number of 2,495 Scout Groups. The Association is the largest youth uniformed organization in Hong Kong.
Israel
In Israel, the Scouting movement began in 1919 as a non-political organization but reflecting Zionist and Jewish-oriented ideas. However, in contrast to other places in the world, it never separated boys and girls. Despite an early attempt to have an integrated Jewish-Arab movement, the two are now separate.
Malaysia and Singapore
In Malaysia, the Scouting movement began in Singapore in 1908 (some say 1910) by F.C. Sands (an English explorer), then spreading to other parts of the Straits Settlements.
In Singapore, F.C. Sands started scouting activities for British youths in 1910. Scouting for Malay boys were only started in 1919 by Captain N.M. Hashim and A.Z. Alsagoff.
Among the states in Peninsula Malaysia, Pahang (in a place called Pekan) was first to have started a scouting movement. The movement was founded by G.M. Laidlow. But the movement was inactive until 1927 when it was under the leadership of H.P. Hertslet and then Wheelr and Frisby from the Pahang Educational Office.
H.R.Cheeseman of the Penang Free School started the scouts movement in Penang in 1915. Cheeseman served in the Malayan scouts movement as a Malayan Scout Assistant Commisioner for thirteen years.
The founding of scouts movements in the other states of Malaysia were:
- 1913 - Sarawak (active only from 1930 onwards).
- 1915 - Sabah, in Sandakan.
- 1922 - Kedah, by E.A.G.Stuart, R.P.S. Walker and C.W.Bloomfield.
- 1926 - Perak, by I.R. Wheeler in the Maktab Melayu Kuala Kangsar.
- 1926 - Melaka, by Brunstone.
- 1926 - Negeri Sembilan, by Brunstone.
- 1926 - Selangor, by Ameen Akbar.
- 1927 - Terengganu, by A.J.Gracle.
- 1927 - Kelantan, by Y.M.Tengku Ahmad Temenggong.
- 1928 - Johor, by H.R. Cheeseman in the English College (now Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar).
- 1931 - Perlis.
The Malaysian Scouts Headquarters, the BP House, is located in Jalan Hang Jebat, Kuala Lumpur. BP House was opened on the 5th January 1957 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the World Scouting Movement.
Poland
- For more information on scouting in Poland see: Polish Scouting and Guiding Association
In Poland the scouting movement was started in 1910. In 1918, after Poland regained her independence, the Polish Scouting and Guiding Association was founded. It is currently the biggest of all the scouting associations in Poland.
Russia
In 1908, Baden-Powell’s book “Scouting for Boys” came out in Russia by the order of Tsar Nicholas II. It was called “Юный разведчик” (Yuniy razvedchik, or young scout). On April 30, 1909 a young officer Oleg Pantyukhov organized the first Russian scout unit “Бобр” (Bobr, or beaver) in Pavlovsk (a town near Tsarskoye Selo). In 1910, Baden-Powell visited Nicholas II in Tsarskoye Selo and they had a very pleasant conversation—that is how the Tsar remembered it. In 1914, they established a society called “Русский скаут” (Russkiy skaut, or Russian scout), which was supposed to cultivate devotion to monarchism in the hearts of the young, among other things. By 1916, there were about 50,000 scouts in Russia. Nicholas's son – Tsarevich Aleksei – was a scout himself.
After the October Revolution of 1917, some scouts took the Bolsheviks' side, which would later lead to the establishment of ideologically-altered scoutlike organizations, such as “ЮК” (Юные Коммунисты, or young communists; pronounced as yuk) and others.
During the Russian Civil War in 1918–1920, most of the scoutmasters and many scouts fought in the ranks of the White Army and interventionists against the Red Army.
Those scouts, who did not wish to accept new Soviet realities, either left Russia for good (like Pantyukhov and others) or went underground.
However, clandestine scoutism did not last long. Komsomol persistently fought with the remnants of the scout movement. Between 1918 and 1920, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th All-Russian Congresses of the Russian Union of the Communist Youth (Российский коммунистический союз молодёжи, or Rossiyski kommunisticheskiy soyuz molodyozhi) decided to eradicate the scout movement and create an organization of the communist type, that would take Soviet youth under its umbrella.
Nadezhda Krupskaya (Vladimir Lenin's wife) was one of the chief contributors to the cause of the pioneer movement. In 1922, she wrote an essay called “Russian Union of the Communist Youth and boy-scoutism”, which fully renounced the values of the original scout movement and advertised a communist approach to teenagers. Despite the ideological coloring, sports, games, tourism, and surviving skills have always played a significant role in the upbringing of the pioneers.
On May 19, 1922 the 2nd All-Russian Komsomol Conference decided to create pioneer units all over the country. This day is considered the birthday of the All-Soviet Pioneer Organization (Всесоюзная пионерская организация, or Vsesoyuznaya pionerskaya organizatsiya), named after Vladimir Lenin.
The scout movement was reformed in Russia only at the beginning of the 1990s.
USA
In the United States, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), founded in 1910, and the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) represent the Scouting movement.
The Boys Scout of the Philippines began in 1923 with the organization of the Philippine Council of the Boy Scouts of America (the Philippines being an American Commonwealth at the time). The Philippines became an independent Scouting nation in 1936 with the transition of the Philippine Council into the Boy Scouts of the Philippines. In 1940 the Girl Scouts of the Philippines was founded.
Scout Promise (or Oath), Law, Motto, and Slogan
Scout Promise (or Oath)
On my honour, I promise to do my best:
To do my duty to God, King and Country,
To help others at all times,
And to obey the Scout Law.
Baden-Powell wrote an alternative oath called the Outlander Promise for Scouts who could not, for reasons of conscience, recognize a duty to a King, for individuals or members of religions that do not worship a deity, and for members of orthodox religions that do not use the name of God in secular settings.
Scout Law
Scout Law together with BP's commentary extracted from Young Knights of the Empire (http://www.gutenberg.net/catalog/world/authrec?fk_authors=2144)
Law 1. A SCOUT'S HONOUR IS TO BE TRUSTED.
If a Scout says "On my honour it is so," that means it is so, just as if he had taken a most solemn oath.
Similarly if a Scout officer says to a Scout, "I trust you on your honour to do this," the Scout is bound to carry out the order to the very best of his ability, and to let nothing interfere with his doing so.
If a Scout were to break his honour by telling a lie, or by not carrying out an order exactly when trusted on his honour to do so, he may be directed to hand over his Scout badge and never wear it again. He may also be directed to cease to be a Scout.
Law 2. A SCOUT IS LOYAL to the King, and to his officers, and to his parents, his Country, his employers, and to those under his orders. He must stick to them through thick and thin against anyone who is their enemy or who even talks badly of them.
Law 3. A SCOUT'S DUTY IS TO BE USEFUL AND TO HELP OTHERS.
And he is to do his duty before anything else, even though he gives up his own pleasure or comfort or safety to do it. When in difficulty to know which of two things to do, he must ask himself, "Which is my duty?" that is, "Which is best for other people?"--and do that one.
He must Be Prepared at any time to save life or to help injured persons.
And must try his best to do a good turn to somebody every day.
Law 4. A SCOUT IS A FRIEND TO ALL and a Brother to every other Scout, no matter to what social class the other belongs.
If a Scout meets another Scout, even though a stranger to him, he must speak to him and help him in any way that he can, either to carry out the duty he is then doing, or by giving him food, or, so far as possible, anything that he may be in want of.
A Scout must never be a snob.
A snob is one who looks down upon another because he's poorer, or who is poor and resents another because he is rich. A Scout accepts the other man as he finds him and makes the best of him--
"Kim," the boy scout, was called by the Indians "Little friend of all the world," and that is the name which every Scout should earn for himself.
LAW 5. A SCOUT IS COURTEOUS.
A Scout should be polite to all--but especially to women and children, old people and invalids, cripples, etc. And he must not take any reward for being helpful or courteous.
Law 6. A SCOUT IS A FRIEND TO ANIMALS.
He should save them, so far as possible, from pain, and should not kill any animal unnecessarily, even if it is only a fly, for it is one of God's creatures. Killing an animal for food, or an animal which is harmful, is allowable.
Law 7. A SCOUT OBEYS ORDERS of his parents, Patrol-leader, or Scoutmaster without question.
Even if he gets an order which he does not like, a Scout must do AS soldiers AND SAILORS DO, or AS he would do if he got it FROM his CAPTAIN in a football match--he must carry it out all the same, because it is his duty; after he has done it he can come and state any reasons against it: but he must carry out the order at once. That is discipline.
Law 8. A SCOUT SMILES AND WHISTLES UNDER ALL DIFFICULTIES.
When he gets an order, he should obey it cheerily and readily, not in a slow, hang-dog sort of way.
Law 9. A SCOUT IS THRIFTY.
It is expected that a Scout will save every penny he can, and put it in the bank, so that he may have money to keep himself when out of work, and thus not make himself a burden to others; or that he may have money to give away to others when they need it.
Law 10. A SCOUT IS CLEAN IN THOUGHT, WORD AND DEED.
Decent Scouts look down upon silly youths who talk dirt, and they do not let themselves give way to temptation, either to talk it or to do anything dirty. A Scout is pure, and clean-minded, and manly.
Scout Motto
Be Prepared.
Scout Slogan
A good deed a day.
Breakaway organisations
The first schism within Scouting occurred during November 1909, when the British Boy Scouts (later the Brotherhood of British Scouts, and known internationally as the Order of World Scouts) was formed, initially comprising an estimated 25 per cent of all Scouts in the United Kingdom, but rapidly declining from 1911 onward. The organisation was formed due to perceptions of bureaucracy and militaristic tendencies in the mainstream movement. With several smaller organisations, such as the Boy's Life Brigade Scouts they formed the National Peace Scouts federation. The British Girl Scouts were the female counterpart of the British Boy Scouts.
In 1916 a group of scoutmasters in Cambridge, led by Ernest Westlake and his son Aubrey, who believed that the movement had moved away from its early ideals and had lost its woodcraft character, founded the Order of Woodcraft Chivalry. The order survives to this day in England.
In the years following the First World War, the Commissioner for Camping and Woodcraft John Hargrave, broke with what he considered to be the Scouts' militaristic approach and founded a breakaway organisation, the Kibbo Kift, taking a number of similar minded scoutmasters and troops with him.
Baden-Powell Scouts were formed in 1970, initially in the United Kingdom but now also elsewhere, when it was felt that the "modernisation" of Scouting was abandoning the traditions and intentions established by Baden-Powell.
See also
External links
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