Scouts of the World Award ceremony in France

In 2008, in France, more than 2000 Scouts of the World Awards were given to young adults working on international solidarity projects within the Scouts of the World Programme framework, the recent Scout of the World Award ceremony was held in France, February 7th during the “Live on Earth differently” Conference.("Habiter Autrement la planète").

While the proposed law resulting from the Environment Summit was discussed in the French Senate, Scouts and Guides of France organized their first conference about “Live on Earth differently”. This event organized with the participation of the Eclaireuses and Eclaireurs Unionistes of France and Eclaireuses et Eclaireurs of France forms a part of the actions undertaken by Scouts on sustainable development.

Philippe Vandemadele, deputy director of the ministry in charge of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable development and Country Planning opened the workshops and pointed out the relevance of Scouting in regards of Education to Sustainable development .

This was followed by a discussion time on a round table conference attended by Bettina Laville, State advisor, chairman of « Vraiment Durable» honorary president of “Comité 21”, Jean-Marie Pelt, biologist, writer, host on France-Inter Radio show « CO2 mon amour" and Laurent de Cherisey, writer and instigator of the network «Reporters d’Espoirs » whose purpose is to promote positive information. This discussion allowed the Scouts to understand the dimensions of sustainable development as a political necessity and as a day to day action.

During workshops and practical discussions throughout the afternoon, participants have defined practical actions to be implemented in camps, during activities and within the functioning of the association. They examined through the prism of sustainable development a broad spectrum of Scouts activities: consumerism, transport, energy and waste management, nutrition, health, citizenship education, open mindedness (intercultural/inter-religious), International solidarity education...

At the end of the day and before the closing by Elena Lasida, project manager at “Justice et Paix” and as a symbolic act for a sustainable development, several Scouts of the World Awards were given by Craig Turpie to fifty young adults who participated in international solidarity in 2008.

For more information on how to obtain the Scouts of the World Award visit: www.scoutsoftheworld.net.

Share your Scouts of the World activities with the World Scout Bureau by emailing amorales@scout.org, Unit Manager Adolescents & Young Adults.