A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| World Organization of the Scout Movement | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Headquarters | |||
| Country | Worldwide | ||
| Founded | 1922[1][2] | ||
| Membership | |||
| Secretary General | Ahmad Alhendawi[5][6] | ||
| World Scout Committee Chairman | Edward Andrew Chapman | ||
|
| |||
| Website http://www.scout.org | |||
The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM /ˈwʊzəm/) is the largest international Scouting organization. WOSM has 175 members.[3] These members are recognized national Scout organizations, which collectively have around 43 million participants.[4] WOSM was established in 1922,[1][2] and has its operational headquarters at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and its legal seat in Geneva, Switzerland. It is the counterpart of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS).
The WOSM's current stated mission is "to contribute to the education of young people, through a value system based on the Scout Promise and Scout Law, to help build a better world where people are self-fulfilled as individuals and play a constructive role in society".[7][8] WOSM is organized into regions and operates with a conference, committee and bureau.
The WOSM is associated with three World Scout Centres. The World Scout Jamboree is held roughly every four years under the auspices of the WOSM, with members of WAGGGS also invited. WOSM also organises the World Scout Moot, a Jamboree for 17- to 26-year-olds, and has organised the World Scout Indaba, a gathering for Scout leaders. The World Scout Foundation is a perpetual fund governed by a separate Board of Governors and supported by donations for the development of WOSM associated Scouting programs throughout the world.
WOSM is a non-governmental organization with General Consultative Status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).[9]
History
As a result of an international conference held during the 1st World Scout Jamboree at Olympia, London in 1920, leaders there agreed to create a Boy Scouts International Bureau (BSIB). An office was established at 25, Buckingham Palace Road, London, and the then International Commissioner of The Boy Scouts Association of the United Kingdom, Hubert S. Martin, was appointed as Honorary Director. The first task of the bureau was to co-ordinate the discussions and to prepare a second international conference in Paris in 1922.[1][2] At the 1922 Paris conference The International Conference of the Boy Scout Movement, its committee and BSIB were constituted by the founding member organizations.[2] In 1961 The International Conference of the Boy Scout Movement reconstituted the organization introducing the name World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM). The International Conference of the Boy Scout Movement became the WOSM's World Scout Conference, its International Committee became the World Scout Committee and the Boy Scouts International Bureau became the WOSM's World Scout Bureau.[10]
World Scout Conference
The World Scout Conference is the governing body and meets every three years, preceded by the World Scout Youth Forum. The World Scout Conference is the general assembly of the World Organization of the Scout Movement and is composed of six delegates from each of the member Scout associations. If a country has more than one association, the associations form a federation for coordination and world representation. The basis for recognition and membership in the World Scout Conference includes adherence to the aims and principles of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, and independence from political involvement on the part of each member association.[11]
The Conference meets every three years and is hosted by a member association. At the World Scout Conference, basic cooperative efforts are agreed upon and a plan of mutual coordination is adopted.[12]
| Date | Number | Location | Country | Member Countries | Host Candidate Countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 | Retrospectively referred to as the "First International Conference" | London |  United Kingdom
|
33 | |
| 1922 | First International Conference (retrospectively referred to as the "Second")[2] | Paris |  France
|
30 | |
| 1924 | Third International Conference | Copenhagen |  Denmark
|
34 | |
| 1926 | Fourth International Conference | Kandersteg |  Switzerland |
29 | |
| 1929 | Fifth International Conference | Birkenhead | United Kingdom |
33 | |
| 1931 | Sixth International Conference | Baden bei Wien |  Austria |
44 | |
| 1933 | Seventh International Conference | Gödöllő |  Hungary |
31 | |
| 1935 | Eighth International Conference | Stockholm |  Sweden |
28 | |
| 1937 | Ninth International Conference | The Hague |  Netherlands |
34 | |
| 1939 | 10th International Conference | Edinburgh | United Kingdom |
27 | |
| 1947 | 11th International Conference | Château de Rosny-sur-Seine | France |
32 | |
| 1949 | 12th International Conference | Elvesæter |  Norway |
25 | |
| 1951 | 13th International Conference | Salzburg | Austria |
34 | |
| 1953 | 14th International Conference | Vaduz |  Liechtenstein |
35 | |
| 1955 | 15th International Conference | Niagara Falls, Ontario |  Canada |
44 | |
| 1957 | 16th International Conference | Cambridge | United Kingdom |
52 | |
| 1959 | 17th International Conference | New Delhi |  India |
35 | |
| 1961 | 18th International Conference | Lisbon |  Portugal[13] |
50 | |
| 1963 | 19th World Scout Conference | Rhodes |  Greece |
52 | |
| 1965 | 20th World Scout Conference | Mexico City |  Mexico |
59 | |
| 1967 | 21st World Scout Conference | Seattle |  United States |
70 | |
| 1969 | 22nd World Scout Conference | Espoo |  Finland |
64 | |
| 1971 | 23rd World Scout Conference | Tokyo |  Japan |
71 | |
| 1973 | 24th World Scout Conference | Nairobi |  Kenya |
77 | |
| 1975 | 25th World Scout Conference | Lundtoft | Denmark |
87 | |
| 1977 | 26th World Scout Conference | Montreal |  Canada |
81 | |
| 1979 | 27th World Scout Conference | Birmingham | United Kingdom |
81 | |
| 1981 | 28th World Scout Conference | Dakar |  Senegal |
74 | |
| 1983 | 29th World Scout Conference | Dearborn | United States
|
90 | |
| 1985 | 30th World Scout Conference | Munich |  West Germany |
93 | |
| 1988 | 31st World Scout Conference | Melbourne |  Australia |
77 | |
| 1990 | 32nd World Scout Conference | Paris | France |
100 | |
| 1993 | 33rd World Scout Conference | Sattahip |  Thailand |
99 | |
| 1996 | 34th World Scout Conference | Oslo | Norway |
108 | |
| 1999 | 35th World Scout Conference | Durban |  South Africa |
116 | |
| 2002 | 36th World Scout Conference | Thessaloniki | Greece |
125 | |
| 2005 | 37th World Scout Conference | Hammamet |  Tunisia |
122 |  Hong Kong
|
| 2008 | 38th World Scout Conference | Jeju-do |  South Korea |
150 | |
| 2011 | 39th World Scout Conference | Curitiba |  Brazil |
138 | Australia, Hong Kong, Switzerland
|
| 2014 | 40th World Scout Conference | Ljubljana |  Slovenia |
143 |  Italy
|
| 2017 | 41st World Scout Conference | Baku |  Azerbaijan |
169[14] |  Malaysia
|
| 2021 | 42nd World Scout Conference | Digital | 170[15] | ||
| 2024 | 43rd World Scout Conference | Cairo |  Egypt[16]
|
France, Mexico
| |
| 2027 | 44th World Scout Conference |  Rwanda, United Kingdom
|
World Scout Committee
The World Scout Committee is the executive body of the World Organization of the Scout Movement and is composed of elected volunteers and one appointed Secretary General. The World Scout Committee represents World Scout Conference between the meetings of the full conference. The World Scout Committee is responsible for the implementation of the resolutions of the World Scout Conference and for acting on its behalf between its meetings. The Committee meets at least twice a year. Its Steering Committee, consisting of the Chairperson, two Vice-Chairpersons, a Youth Advisor and the Secretary General, meet as needed.[17]
The committee has 21 members. Twelve, each from a different country, are elected for three-year terms by the World Scout Conference. The members, elected without regard to their nationality, represent the interests of the movement as a whole, not those of their country. The Secretary General, the Treasurer of WOSM and a representative member of the board of the World Scout Foundation and the chairpersons of the regional Scout committees are ex-officio members of the committee. The six Youth Advisors to the WSC are elected by the World Scout Youth Forum. The Youth Advisors participate in all of the WSC meetings and are also part of the governing structure between the meetings.
The 2021-2024 World Scout Committee has set up work streams to address the top strategic priorities, as defined by the World Scout Conference, which at present include:[18]
- Educational Methods
- Boosting Volunteers (Adults in Scouting Project)
- Earth Tribe Coordinating Team
- Gender Mainstreaming Coordination
- Life Skills Initiative
- SCENES Coordination Team
- World Events
- Evolution of the World Scout Conference
- Innovation of all World Events
- Good Governance
- Growth, Recovery and Resilience - Enabling Capacities for Growth
- GSAT Review and New Partner On-boarding
- Safe from Harm 1 - Compliance Mechanism Build, Pilot and Implementation
- Safe from Harm in World and Regional Events
- Strengthening Consultants Support in Financial Management
- WOSM Consultants 2.0
Task forces include:
- Youth Engagement in Decision-Making
- Sustainability
Workstream Coordination Group
- Project management support
- Volunteer management support
- Monitoring and evaluation support
Standing committees include:
- Audit
- Budget
- Constitutions
- Ethics
- Honours and Awards
- Steering
Current members 2021–2024
| Name[19] | Country | Term to* |
|---|---|---|
| Andy Chapman, Chairperson | United States | 2024 |
| Jo Deman, Vice-Chair | Belgium | 2024 |
| Sarah Rita Kattan, Vice-Chair | Lebanon | 2024 |
| Mehdi Ben Khelil | Tunisia | 2024 |
| Mori Chi-Kin Cheng | Hong Kong | 2024 |
| Wayne Adrian Davis | Ethiopia | 2024 |
| Nika Gorovska | Ukraine | 2024 |
| Eun Gui Kim | Korea | 2024 |
| Chrissy Pollithy | Germany | 2024 |
| Daiana Neil | Argentina | 2024 |
| Pia Melin Graasbøll | Denmark | 2024 |
| Juan Reig | Spain | 2024 |
| Yelena Luzyanina | Chairperson, Eurasia Scout Committee | 2024 |
| Rubem Tadeu | Chairperson, Interamerican Scout Committee | 2024 |
| Matthias Gerth | Chairperson, European Scout Committee | 2024 |
| Abdullah Altraiji | Chairperson, Arab Scout Committee | 2024 |