Source:
http://www.scout.org/node/81
The Story of Scouting
There
are more than 40 million Scouts, young people and adults, male and
female, in over 200 countries and territories. Some 500 million people
have been Scouts, including prominent people in every field.
Early Beginnings
All this began with 20 boys and an experimental camp in 1907. It was
held during the first nine days of August in 1907 at Brownsea Island,
near Poole in Dorset, England. The camp was a great success and proved
to its organiser, Robert Baden-Powell, that his training and methods
appealed to young people and really worked.
In January 1908, Baden-Powell published the first edition of
"Scouting for Boys". It was an immediate success and has since sold over
100 million copies, making it one of the best selling books of all
time. Baden-Powell had only intended to provide a method of training
boys, something that existing youth organisations such as the Boys'
Brigade and YMCA could adopt. To his surprise, youngsters started to
organise themselves into what was to become one of the largest voluntary
youth movements in the world.
Expansion of the Movement
The success of "Scouting for Boys" produced a Movement that quickly –
automatically it seemed – adopted the name of The Boy Scouts. By 1909
"Scouting for Boys" had been translated into five languages, and a Scout
rally in London attracted more than 11,000 Scouts. As a result of
Baden-Powell taking a holiday in South America, Chile was one of the
first countries outside Britain to begin Scouting. In 1910 he visited
Canada and the United States where it had already started.
The coming of World War I in 1914 could have brought about the
collapse of the Movement, but the training provided through the patrol
system proved its worth. Patrol leaders took over when adult leaders
volunteered for active service. Scouts contributed to the war effort in
England in many ways; most notable perhaps were the Sea Scouts who took
the place of regular coast-guardsmen, freeing them for service.
The first World Scout Jamboree took place in 1920 with 8,000
participants, and proved that young people from different nations could
come together to share common interests and ideals. Since that first
World Jamboree at Olympia in London, there have been 21 others at
different locations.
During the Jamboree, the first World Scout Conference (then called
“International Scout Conference”) was held with 33 National Scout
Organizations represented. The Boy Scouts International Bureau, later to
become the World Scout Bureau, was founded in London in 1920.
In 1922 the first World Scout Committee was elected at the 2nd
International Conference in Paris, where 31 National Scout Organizations
were represented. World membership was just over 1 million.
The Early Scout Programme
Scouting began as a programme for boys 11 to 18 years of age. Yet
almost immediately others also wanted to participate. The Girl Guides
programme was started in 1910 by Baden-Powell. His wife Olave, whom he
married in 1912, became Chief Guide.
A Wolf Cub section was formed for younger boys. It used Rudyard
Kipling's "Jungle Book", to provide an imaginative symbolic framework
for activities. For older boys, a Rover Scout branch was formed.
The World Wars
Between the two world wars Scouting continued to flourish in all
parts of the world - except in totalitarian countries where it was
banned. Scouting is voluntary and based on democratic principles.
During World War II, Scouts undertook many service tasks –
messengers, firewatchers, stretcher-bearers, salvage collectors and so
on. In occupied countries, Scouting continued in secret with Scouts
playing important roles in the resistance and underground movements.
After the war ended, it was found that the numbers of Scouts in some
occupied countries had, in fact, increased.
The '60s, '70s and '80s
Many countries gained their independence during these years. Scouting
in developing countries gradually evolved to be a youth programme which
was designed by Scout leaders in each country to better meet the needs
of their communities.
Scouts, particularly in developing countries, became more involved
with issues such as child health, low-cost housing, literacy, food
production and agriculture, job skills training, etc.
Drug abuse prevention, life skills training, integration of the
handicapped, environmental conservation and education, and peace
education became issues of concern to Scouts around the world.
Post Communistic Era
By the 1990s Scouting had been reborn in every country where it
existed prior to World War II, and it started throughout the newly
independent countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States
(formerly the USSR).
100 years and beyond
In 2007 the Movement celebrated its centenary - 100 years of
Scouting. What started as a small camp on Brownsea Island is today a
growing Movement with members in nearly every country in the world.
Through its unique combination of adventure, education and fun, Scouting
manages to continuously renew and adapt itself to a changing world and
the different needs and interests of young people across the globe. In
doing so it continues to be an inspiration for young people to become
active local and global citizens, helping them in creating a better
world.