Partnerships and External Relations News

International NGO Day by UNESCO

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 17:53:35 GMT

The NGO Liaison Committee of UNESCO organized the ‘International NGO Day’ on Monday 5th December 2011 at the UNESCO House in Paris. The programme of NGO Day focused on the ‘New Directives concerning the relationship between NGOs and UNESCO’ adopted by the 36th UNESCO General Conference (October-November 2011). Representatives of NGOs were invited to discuss the perspectives for strengthened NGO-UNESCO cooperation in the context of the new directives.

A message from the Secretary General on the International Volunteer Day 2011

Sun, 04 Dec 2011 08:34:02 GMT

Dear brother and sister Scouts,

Warm greetings on the occasion of International Volunteer Day 2011!

Volunteering has always been at the core of the Scout Movement since its inception over a century ago. This has been reflected in our constantly improving system to train, support and reward volunteers over the years, from local to global levels of the Movement. Even today, WOSM is one of the very few organizations working with children and youth, which is almost entirely driven by volunteer contributions and efforts.

The youth are watching...

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:27:17 GMT

In 2005, the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol ( CMP) at its first meeting in Montreal, by its Decision 1/CMP.1, established the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP). The aim of the AWG-KP is to discuss future commitments for industrialized countries under the Kyoto Protocol. The AWG-KP reports directly to the CMP.

In addressing the delegates to the conference, as part of the Youth Constituent statement, Quintin Combrink from South Africa Scout Association (SASA) said, “Climate change is the moral issue facing both my and your generation….young people here doubt the political will of parties.” He called for a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, which will last for 5 years or less and for it to start by January 2013. He closed firmly by saying that, “the youth are watching, we are listening and we will be acting.”

AWG - KP Contact Group intervention 2 Dec 2011 71.53 kB

World Scouting @ COP17

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:21:02 GMT

The environment is our playground and we are sharing with the tens of thousands of international non-governmental and governmental delegates at the event how scouting has always cared for the planet, not because we had to, but rather, simply that we are in the business of creating a better world.

UNHCR launches social media campaign to raise awareness about refugee displacement

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 10:55:10 GMT

Every minute, 8 people around the world flee their homes to escape conflict or persecution.

To raise awareness about this issue, UNHCR is launching their #add1voice community action application on Facebook and Twitter on Thursday, November 24th. .

The aim of the application is to inspire people around the world to add their own voice to the campaign by standing together and telling the world that even one person forced to flee their home is too many.

Keeping Children Safe From Harm – taking action together

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 09:59:09 GMT

The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM), in partnership with the Swedish Guide and Scout Council (Scouterna) organized a one-day Conference on Keeping Children Safe From Harm on the 1st of August 2011 at the backdrop of the 22nd World Scout Jamboree in Sweden.

Scouting for biodiversity and children’s environmental rights

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 08:31:51 GMT

What would the world be like if designed by Scouts? If you could let your imagine go wild and bring a new species to life, what would it look like? How can we make a difference in our home societies so that we live in a more harmonious world for people and nature?

These are some of the questions being explored by Scouts at workshops being ran by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) as part of the Global Development Village (GDV) at the 22nd World Scout Jamboree in Sweden.

Celebrate World Environment Day

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 09:29:52 GMT

Every year the world celebrates World Environment Day (WED) on the 5th of June. This is an occasion for all scouts around the world to demonstrate their commitment to preserving the environment.

This year, WED supports the UN’s International Year of Forests with the theme: "Forests: Nature at Your Service" which underscores the many essential life-sustaining values that forests provide and the intrinsic link between our quality of life and the health of forest ecosystems.

World Scouting celebrates four-year Alliance with Clean Up the World

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 08:40:16 GMT

2011 will mark the celebration of the fourth-year of Alliance Jointly with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Clean Up the World (CUW) and the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM).

The campaign runs for a calendar year and has an annual focus celebrated globally on the third weekend in September. This year, CUW Weekend will be held on 16-17 September under the theme:
"Our Place…Our Planet…Our Responsibility".

Let us celebrate Women Today

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 10:36:10 GMT

Today, on this 8th March 2011, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the International Women's Day. This special day is a yearly commemoration and a major day of global celebration of women.

This year's theme is "Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women".

On this day, the World Organization of the Scout Movement would like to thank all women voluntarily engaged in supporting Scouting worldwide.

UNICEF and World Scouting Partner To Make Young People’s Voices Heard

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 15:16:13 GMT

This year as a part of the annual JOTA-JOTI (Jamboree on the Air - Jamboree on the Internet), taking place on the 16th & 17th of October, WOSM will be partnering with UNICEF to develop a platform for young people to express their views. Capitalizing on the tremendous popularity of JOTA-JOTI, which gathers every year more than half a million participants, the goal is to question the youth of today about their motivations and desires.

In connection with International Year of Youth that was launched in August this year and the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Convention on the Rights of the Child celebrated in November 2009, this year’s theme for JOTA-JOTI is “Right to be heard”.

Apart from traditional chatting on the Internet - JOTI or radio - JOTA this year Scouts will also use such new media tools as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Flickr as well as UNICEF’s Voices of Youth blog. Discover JOTA-JOTI 2010 Proposed Activities.

International Youth Day ushers in the International Year of Youth

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:22:06 GMT

In December of 2009, the United Nations General Assembly in New York proclaimed, in resolution A/RES/64/134, that August 12 2010 – August 12 2011 will be the International Youth Year. This also coincides with the 25th anniversary of the first International Youth Year proclaimed in 1985.

Go for the goal: End child labour

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 10:08:01 GMT

World Day Against Child Labour 12 June 2010

Theme: Go for the goal: End child labour

Celebrated on 12 June each year, the World Day Against Child Labour 2010 comes just one month after a major Global Conference on Child Labour in the Netherlands, the first event of its kind for more than 10 years. The World Day follows up on the momentum generated by the Global Conference and calls for:

World Day Against Child Labour 2009

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:33:34 GMT

12th June - World Day Against Child Labour 2009
Theme: Give girls a chance, end child labour

The World Day Against Child Labour will be celebrated on 12 June 2009. The World Day this year marks the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the landmark ILO Convention No. 182, which addresses the need for action to tackle the worst forms of child labour.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) and World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) share a common commitment to pursuing social justice and peace, empowering young people through human rights-based educational programmes and promoting the social dimension of globalisation. This long-standing partnership was recently strengthened through a renewed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) extending our cooperation in the fight against child labour, earlier this year.

Scouts plant 65,000 trees with UNEP for World Environment Day

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 09:16:27 GMT

5th June 2009. On World Environment Day, Scouts have again demonstrated their commitment to working together to take positive action for the environment. The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) have partnered with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to encourage Scouts to take action in their local community.

UNEP have provided support to WOSM with a grant of $US100,000 that is being used to plant more than 65,000 trees spread across 10 National Scout Organizations to celebrate World Environment Day. Scouts will plant and continue to nurture these trees so that they can have an ongoing benefit for the environment. Participating countries include Mexico, the Philippines, Malaysia, Australia, India, Brazil, Hungary, Ethiopia, South Africa and Lebanon.

ILO-IPEC, World Scout Movement extend cooperation to fight child labour

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 10:33:45 GMT

Ms. Michele Jankanish, Director of the ILO’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC ) and Mr. Luc Panissod, Acting Secretary-General of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM), signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today, to extend their cooperation in the fight against child labour for a further 3 years.

The cooperation between the two organizations will be based on a shared vision in pursuing social justice and peace, the empowerment of young people, and promoting the social dimensions of globalization.

Preparing for the 63rd UN General Assembly - 2008

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 10:42:30 GMT

Youth Organisations participating to the International Coordination Meeting of Youth Organisations, such as the Scout Movement, and the National Youth Delegates, convened by the European Youth Forum for its first European UN Youth Advocacy Meeting to prepare for the upcoming UN General Assembly. The meeting was hosted by the Finnish Youth Cooperation - Allianssi, in Helsinki.

During three days (4-6 September), the youth delegates and representatives agreed on the key messages to bring at the 63rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly and on the practical coordination of the youth delegations. One of the main goals of the mission will be to increase the recognistion of the importance of youth participation to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

La Región Scout Interamericana reingresa en la directiva del Foro Latinoamericano de Juventud

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:05:42 GMT

En la reciente 7ª Asamblea General Ordinaria del Foro Latinoamericano de Juventud (FLAJ), celebrada en la ciudad de Panamá los días 25 al 27 de julio, la Oficina Scout Mundial – Región Interamericana fue electa para la Vocalía de Cooperación Internacional dentro del Consejo Directivo del FLAJ, para el período 2008-2010.

Partners at the 38th World Scout Conference

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:16:17 GMT

External relations were addressed many times during 38th WSCon Jeju Island in Korea. Workshops were conducted and a report launched on the past triennium and the successes and challenges both of past and also for the future. Many honourable guests were also attending the Conference.

On Wednesday 16th July in one of the conferences workshops around 40 top leaders debated the external relations in World Scouting on all levels. They addressed the challenges that they face in the work of the national Scout organizations. In the future the participants of the workshop hope to find more efficient ways to take care of the relations between their own scout organizations and other in their societies.

World Scouting contributes 33 years to humanitarian research in just one year!

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:46:36 GMT

While millions of personal computers sit idle on office desks and in homes worldwide, hundreds of people contract and die from infectious diseases every hour. As screen savers run, millions die from hunger, or environmental disasters devastate whole communities. But it doesn't have to be that way and one year ago World Scouting took up the challenge!