During the opening plenary session participants were challenged by Craig Turpie, Chairman of the European Scout Committee, to engage in constructive conversation about the future of WOSM and to actively listen to the views and ideas of others. He stressed that the working methods for the meeting were designed to maximise opportunity for conversation in small groups.

Members of the European Scout Committee facilitated Learning Circles with small groups of participants. Discussion in the Learning Circles focussed on the following topics:

• Institutional Crisis
• Open Meeting (Paris)
• Governance Review
• Proposed amendments to the Constitution

Participants were later invited to the 'Dialogue Cafe' to continue their discussions, this time, without any facilitation.
On the 'menu' were several questions designed to stimulate broad discussion. The questions were:

• How should any fee system relate to the governance of WOSM?
• Is there a future for the Regions in the governance of WOSM? If so, what is the future?
• How do we improve youth involvement in the governance of WOSM?
• What role should associations have in the governance of WOSM?
• What services do you, as associations, expect from WOSM?
• Propose a question and answer it yourself!

Following an update on preparations for the 38th World Scout Conference, participants had the opportunity to set the agenda for the rest of the day.
Using Open Space Technology (OST) as a working method, several discussion topics were generated. These were then hosted by participants, with others actively participating. The discussion topics that were generated included:

• What roles, functions and responsibilities have to be addressed to which bodies of WOSM?
• What is the most democratic system of voting/representation that would be applicable to WOSM?
• What “normal” resolutions are you proposing to the Conference?
• What happens after the Conference – C + 1?
• How to prevent “fortress Europe”
• What contributions are available to encourage solidarity with other Regions to enable maximum participation at the Conference?

After 2 hours of discussion the hosts of each discussion group shared in plenary the key outcomes and ideas that had been considered. Afterwards, they were asked to work in buzz groups and consider what actions they would now take between the end of the meeting and the start of the 38th World Scout Conference.

The closing plenary session on Saturday was upbeat, with participants looking forward to what promises to be a challenging but hopefully constructive World Scout Conference in Korea. It was noted by many that it would be important for associations to exchange ideas with others from outside Europe and to understand their thoughts on the many issues as well.

The Sunday was set aside for bi-lateral meetings between associations and groupings of associations and many small group discussions were seen to take place.

Feedback from participants suggests that the weekend was a valuable opportunity to get together, understand many of the issues that exist and to prepare as best as possible for the World Scout Conference.

A brief report from the meeting will be produced.

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