Scouts joined in the massive rescue and relief operations after the deadly typhoon Washi ravaged northern Mindanao, a southern island in the Philippines, particularly Cagayan De Oro and Iligan cities early morning of 17th December 2011, sweeping away nearly 50,000 homes and affecting hundreds of people.

Two prominent personalities – His Majesty the King of Sweden and the President of the Republic of Indonesia are meeting in Jakarta, for the benefit of young people in Indonesia. Both personalities are strong advocates of Scouting.

“It is high time for NSOs to develop a risk management policy to strengthen public confidence in what we do and how we do it.”

A significant element of Scouting is peace, but for many years in Sri Lanka, this has been denied. Sri Lanka Scout Association is seeking to renew this hope by joining the Messengers of Peace project, to help young people overcome the longer effects of conflict, like prejudice, through a post-war integration camp among Singhalese and Tamil Scouts.

As part of its strategy of supporting the growth and development of Scouting in Timor Leste, Scouts Australia continues to assist in various ways including sponsorship of young people from that country to international events.

Rabi Samser JB Rana, former Chief Commissioner and considered to be the prime mover of Community Scouting in Nepal Scouts died on Friday, 13th January 2012 in Kathmandu.

East Timor President José Ramos-Horta was invested as the Patron of Uniao Nacional dos Escuteiros de Timor-Leste (UNE-TL) on 12th January 2012 at the President Palacio in Nicolau Lobato, Timor Leste. Ramos-Horta is the second President of East Timor since independence and was a co-recipient of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize.

In one rare opportunity, Oliver Lim, a Young Adult Member Group of APR, visited Manila and spent time with Scouts under the Ticket to Life troop discover about the unique things in their way of life.

Manila, 11 January 2012 –- The global team of Messengers of Peace (MoP) is meeting with the executives and MoP regional team in Manila to strengthen coordination between the central and regional office work in implementing the MoP projects. The team consists of Patrik Hedljung, Abir Koubaa and Ray Saunders. Director of Global Projects Peter Illig could not join because of unavoidable circumstances. The team has earlier visited Africa, Eurasia and Europe regional offices.

The once dilapidated Scout headquarters of Matale District is again operational after the ribbon-cutting ceremony on 20th November 2011. Matale is a town in the hill country of Sri Lanka which was the birthplace of Sri Lankan Scouting.

There is no question that Scouting in Hong Kong has both a long history and a history of success, rooted from a humble tradition. While Scouting revived from the Second World War, it encountered many difficulties including the problem of finding venues to replace those which were destroyed during the war.

Maldives Scout Association held its first historic AGM, attended by duly nominated representatives from 40 Scout Groups, on the 28th of December 2011. Representatives elected key position holders including the President of the Association, Vice President, Chief Commissioner, and five Scout Leaders for the National Council.