On 12 June each year, people around the world mark World Day Against Child Labour (WDACL) by joining hands to raise public and political awareness to build the campaign to end it. The theme of WDACL 2013 is child labour in domestic work. Once again, World Scouting and International Labour Organization's (ILO - of the United Nations) join forces to organise activities and events to raise awareness and mobilise action around the world. Of an estimated 15.5 million children engaged in paid or unpaid domestic work in the home of a third party or employer, 10.5 million are estimated to be in child labour either because they are below the legal minimum age for admission to employment or because their work is regarded as hazardous. These children are particularly vulnerable to abuse: their work is often hidden from the public eye, they may be isolated and they may be working far away from their family home.

Sir William Garth Morrison, former member of the World Scout Committee, passed away on 24 May 2013 after a brief period of illness. Garth was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 8 April 1943. He was Chief Scout of The Scout Association (United Kingdom) from 1988 to 1996, and served as a member of the World Scout Committee from 1992 to 2002. He was a Baden-Powell Fellow and was awarded the Bronze Wolf in 2004.

A delegation of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) headed by the Asia Pacific Regional Chairman Dr. Chao Shou-Po is visiting Yangon to strengthen the re-establishment of Scouting in Myanmar. It is nearly after five decades that a WOSM delegation is visiting Myanmar. The delegation had long discussions with the Ministry of Education led by the Deputy Minister His Excellency U Aye Kyu, who was a Scout himself and even attended the meeting in Scout uniform.

Scouts around the world are joining hands together this week to strengthen global forces against the number one cause of death for young people, road accidents. Annually, over 1.2 million people die on roads in a cause that can easily be tackled with joined up action. The Second UN Global Road Safety Week (every five years) is taking place from 6 to 12 May 2013. On 6 and 7 May, 30 Rover Scouts and leaders from 14 countries came together for a series of events at the United Nations premises in Geneva on the invitation of Scouting Ireland, Scouts of Greece and the Greek-Hellenic Road Safety Institute ‘Panos Mylonas’. The events were supported and hosted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). 2011 to 2020 is also the ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety’ promoted by the United Nations.

The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) welcomes South Sudan as its latest member. The membership became official on 1 May 2013. The National Scout Organization, South Sudan Scout Association will be ceremonially welcomed at the 40th World Scout Conference in Slovenia (2014). World Scouting is one of the first global youth organisations to accept the full memebrship of South Sudan

Bangladesh Scouts mobilized Rovers and Leaders in finding survivors after an eight-storey building collapsed in Savar, Bangladesh on 24th April 2013 which claimed over 300 lives and severely injured hundreds of others. Death toll is expected to rise for many are still missing.

In agreement with the Asia-Pacific Regional Scout Committee, Scott Teare, Secretary General of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, has appointed Mr. J. Rizal Pangilinan, 50 years old, from Morong, Rizal, Philippines, as the new Regional Director for the World Scout Bureau Asia-Pacific Regional Office.

Even as the final results of the anxiously awaited Kenyan elections are yet to confirm a clear winner, Scouts in the country have been extensively advocating for peaceful behaviour amongst citizens. Not so long ago, Scouts from Ghana in western part of Africa implemented a nationwide project also to ensure peaceful elections. With these latest projects and several hundred others registered on the online platform scoutmessengers.org, the flagship initiative of World Scouting – Messengers of Peace (MoP) - has exceeded 10 million hours of community service from Scouts around the world. This morning, the MoP platform says ‘Scouts across the world have provided 10,240,526 service hours on creating a better world!’

The 1st World Scout Education Congress will take place from 22-24 November at the B P International House in Hong Kong. This milestone event will strengthen education in Scouting as the core business of our worldwide Movement. This event is for volunteers and professionals working to support the Educational Methods (Youth Programme and Adult Resources) in Scouting at various levels, particularly the World, Regional and National Levels.