Scouting

History of the movement

Origins

The first steps of an idea of scouting date from the Siège of Mafeking in South Africa during the second war of Boers (1899-1902) during which Baden-Powell is used as officer as command. With much of easy way and communicative courage, it succeeds in saving the town of Mafeking which had been besieged for 217 days by enemy troops four times more. Baden-Powell used the young people of the city called the juniors as messengers to transmit messages to foot and bicycle, like observers, sentinels and scouts.

With the release of the city, the May 16th 1900, Baden-Powell is acclaimed like a hero and is named Major-general by the queen itself. It proved that young people were completely able to make a success of a mission, provided that one trusts them. It publishes its observations under the name of “ scouting ” ( the art of the scouts ) in a small booklet intended for the soldiers called: “ Aids to scouting ”.

On her return in England, Baden-Powell was accommodated triumphantly. It notes that “ Aids to scouting ” has an immense success near the British boys and is used by teachers. It receives even many mails of boys asking him councils. Marked by the British youth of the districts désœuvrés by drug and the tobacco, often in bad health and delinquents, it decides into practice to put all the tactics which it observed with the war with the service of young boys and from a point of view of peace. Its career enabled him to know the men to enable them to give best themselves with benevolence and patience , comments on Michel Seyrat, specialist in the thought of the founder of scouting.

Taking as a starting point many educational experiments near the youth movements of the time, it will go until taking again whole elements of the methods of other association, creating conflicts sometimes as it is the case with Ernest Thompson Seton. But what characterizes it is its capacity to synthesize all these readings and experiments and on which it was documented to produce a youth movement with its own references and its own rites so specific. Let us note among its sources, Wandervogel in Germany or Austria, the influence of the rites of Zoulous initiation, the Gymnastics developed in Germany by F.L. Jahn without telling on the use of the codes of knighthood of which it was not the first to be itself about it largely inspired, like Ruskin in the USA with its movement Knight off King Arthur and the Woodcraft movement with the principles of the Badges.

But what marks Robert Baden-Powell as much, it is its own history of teenager, another influence even more present, its framework of family life. Rocked by the history the adventures his/her large father William Henry Smyth, was Admiral. He passes his childhood to practice the sail with his brothers of which many lived adventures that he reported, in particular the construction of the sailing ship of his/her brother with some friends of the trade. It learns there the distribution from the responsibilities on board, the acquisition of competence and the life of crew. Another of its ancestors, John Smyth, explorer, had crossed the Ocean and had furrowed Virginia, then an unexplored territory. How to escape all her multitudes, the mother of Robert Baden Powell authorized it to accompany Warington, the groin of Baden Powell and hardened navigator who marked it by their common experiment of navigation.

At the end of my military career , known as Baden-Powell, I put at work to transform what was an art to learn how to the men to make the Guerre, in an art to learn how to the young people to make the Paix; scouting does not have anything commun run with the military principles.

In 1907, then 50 years old, it organizes a fifteen day old camp with a score of boys of various social classes on the island of Brownsea, which begins the July 29th. It tests there its ideas of education by the play, independence and confidence.

Following this camp, Sir William Smith (founder of the “ servant boy' S brigade ”) requires of him to write a work on the way in which the “Scouting” could be adapted to youth that it calls: Scouting for servant boys ( Scouts ).

Baden-Powell thought whereas this book could give ideas to the young people to gather in organizations. Indeed, the first patrols of scouts were created and Baden-Powell accepted many requests for assistance. He encouraged them and the development of the movement scout started in the United Kingdom with the creation of the marine scouts, the scouts of the air and other specialized units.

Baden Powell directed with her brother Warington, a nautical camp in 1908, in Buckler' S Hard, in Hampshire, to England, shortly after that of Brownsea Island in 1907, with there too a score of boys posing the foundations of the " Sea Scouts". Thus Baden-Powell came from there to initiate marine scouting with the assistance of her Warington brother, lawyer with admiralty, experienced sailor and promoter of navigation in the canoe. However, the marine scouts will not be named thus before 1912. Previously, in 1910, Warington will have written Sea Scouting and Seamanship for Boys, prefaced by his brother, the first handbook of marine scouting, which was accepted with much enthusiasm by the many British young people interested by this new form of scouting.

Baden-Powell not being able more to personally advise each young person who asked him of the assistance, it decided to set up a training of the adults for the framing. The Wood Badge race is then created on this subject. In 1919, Gilwell Park close to London is bought in order to be used like camp and site of drive for the adults.

The expansion

Scouting started to be spread through the Great Britain and the Ireland well before the publication of the Scouting for servant boys of Baden-Powell and it quickly extends in the British Empire. The first unit out of the the United Kingdom known was transported to Gibraltar in 1908 followed by Malta little time afterwards. The Canada became the first Dominion having a program Boy Scout, like the Australia, the New Zealand and the South Africa a few years afterwards.

The Chile is the first country out them dominions British to have a recognized movement scout. The first rally scout was held with the Crystal De luxe hotel in London in 1910. It attracted 10 000 boys as well as many girls. In 1910, the Belgium, the India, Singapore, the Sweden, the Swiss , the Denmark, the France, the Russia, the Finland, the Germany, the Norway, the Mexico, the Argentinian , the Greece and the the United States had of the Servant boy Scouts…

Today

There is today more than 28 million scouts throughout the world.

See also: List of the members of the Worldwide organization of the movement scout

See also: List of the members of the International union of the guides and scouts of Europe

In 2007, scouting celebrates its 100 years of existence, with several great events such as the renewal of the promise which took place on August 1st everywhere in the world, or the world jamboree with Chelmsford and on the island of Brownsea (the United Kingdom).

Principles

The goal and principles of scouting

The purpose of the Movement scout is to contribute to the development of the young people by helping them to realize fully their possibilities physical, intellectual, social and spiritual, as people, that citizens responsible and that members for the local communities, main roads and international.

The Movement scout is founded on the following principles:

the duty towards God
adhesion has spiritual principles, fidelity with the religion which expresses them and the acceptance of the duties which result from this.
the duty towards others
honesty towards its country from the point of view of the promotion of peace, comprehension and the co-operation on the local plan, national and international.
the participation in the development of the company in the respect of the dignity of the man and the integrity of nature.
the duty towards oneself
the responsibility for its own development.

General information

Historically, two distinct sources contributed to the creation of scouting. First is resulting from the military experiment of Baden Powell, mainly of the head office of Mafeking where for the first time it used young people as messengers. This first source appears still today in the symbolic system of the life in team and a minimal hierarchy in its center. The second source is resulting from the first camp carried out by Baden Powell on the island of Brownsea in 1907 to recover the energy of young people who, désœuvrés and resulting from disadvantaged districts, were likely “badly to turn”. These two sources give place today to divergences of application according to associations which implement them. One saw then Baden Powell quickly widening his recruitment with all the layers of young people, owing to the fact that it constituted one of the first forms of framing of the leisures . Upon the departure, Baden Powell builds a movement of popular education of which it will establish the principles in its book Scouting for servant boys as well as conference series.

Scouting is founded on a teaching principle which seeks to give responsibilities to the child and the adolescent and to open out its social life in the respect of the traditional values of its social environment. Frequently and in a regular way, they propose camps in the nature and of the activities of mutual aid, of benevolence, humanitarians. They are often separated by age group and by sex, proposer various activities according to the groups.

The law scoute

The promise scoute

Practical of scouting

The words of Baden-Powell on the scout with her image are: seek, observation, deduction, water sport, first aid, health, discipline, responsibilities, knighthood and patriotism.

Behavior

The behavior is one of the characteristics of the movement scout as recalled by Baden-Powell at the time of the Jamboree of 1938: it recovers the differences of country and origins and their fact of feeling that they all belong to the same Community of the World.

Inspired of that carried by the British colonial troops, the original uniform consists of a khaki shirt , shorts and a hat on broad board ( Smokey Bear or four bumps ). In addition, Baden-Powell also wore shorts since according to him, the fact of being equipped in the same way that the young people contributed to reduce the distance which separated them from the adults. One lends also the assertion to him according to which one does not catch cold by the knees!

Nowadays, the behaviors evolved/moved. So certain movements preserved a traditional behavior, in others, the behaviors were simplified and coloured. One finds of them the blue ones, oranges, reds or greens, keeping behavior sometimes only one shirt and a scarf. In the same way, the shorts are sometimes replaced by pants, in particular in the countries where the culture requires reserve or for climatic reasons. The skirt-pants can also be adopted for the Guides in certain country. In the same way, the hat " quatre-bosses" can be replaced by a beret with two floods, a bachi (beret with pompom, for the sailors) or a stone-block, even rather often, not of cover-chief of the whole.

Lastly, each association, in the various countries, has a color for its uniform and within the same association, it happens that the color of the behavior differs according to the age.

Badges and badges

The movement scout has two international symbols: the Fleur of lily used by the organizations members of the Worldwide organization of the Movement Scout and the Clover by the members of the Worldwide association of the Guides and Girl guides. These badges belong to the official uniform of the scouts.

The badge of WHO is circular and purple with a Fleur of lily in her center. It is surrounded by a piece of cord closed by a Reef knot. The flower of lily is a old Symbole used by Baden-Powell for the scouts enlisted in the British Armée and which thereafter is adopted and modified by the movement scout. The purpose of the point out of arrow represents the Northern on a Boussole and was to guide the scouts on the way of the assistance and the unit. In the same way, the three points of the flower of lily represent the three duties towards God (or a " Elevé" ideal; for the movements not confessionals), oneself and the others and also recall the three principles of Frankness, Dévouement and Purity. The two stars with five branches represent the truth and the knowledge with the ten branches symbolizing the ten points of the Loi scoute. Lastly, the bond with the bottom of the flower tends to show the family spirit of scouting.

The symbolism of clover of AMGE is rather similar: the three sheets represent the three duties and the three parts of the Promesse scoute, the two stars with five branches symbolize the law scoute and veins it in the center represents the needle of the compass showing the right way. Lastly, the base of clover represents the flame of the love and the colors blue and gold the sun which shines on all the children of the world.

The Swastika was also used by the Servant boy scouts. According to “Johnny” Walker, the first use by scouting goes back from the Thanks Badge to 1911. Indeed, the drawing of the medal of the merit of Baden-Powell in 1922 added a swatiska to the flower of lily as a sign of good luck to that which received it. Like Rudyard Kipling, he had undoubtedly discovered this symbol in India. However, during the year 1934, of many scouts required a change in the drawing because of use of the swatiska by the Parti national-Socialist the German workers. A new medal of the merit is then published in 1935.

The Christian movements generally use the symbol of the cross in various forms like the Croix of Jerusalem, or potencée cross, or the Maltese cross.

Totem

Organizations and structures

There exists in the world of many movements of scouting, which take up the same ideas on education which thus seem to have proven reliable in many contextes.
Two international main confederations (WHO and AMGE) recognizing only one association per country. In certain countries several associations gather in a federation, so that the latter is recognized by these organismes.
There exist other international federations, like UIGSE, which gather associations not wishing to adhere to WHO or AMGE.

International federations

the Worldwide organization of the movement Scout (WHO or WOSM in English) seat in Geneva (Swiss).
the Worldwide association of the Guides and Girl guides (AMGE or WAGGGS in English) seat in London (the United Kingdom).
the International union of the guides and scouts of Europe (UIGSE) seat with Castle-Landon (France).

In Canada

In France

In Belgium

In Switzerland

In Germany

In Germany also associations of scouting gathered so as to be able to be recognized by WHO and the AMGE. For the girls, it is of the Ring deutscher Pfadfinderinnenverbände (circle of associations of guides) and about the Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände (circle of associations of scouts). Each circle is composed of three associations: a catholic, a Protestant woman and interdenominational. Catholic associations for girls and boys (today coéduquée) are independent, Protestant and interdenominational associations have each one only one structure for the girls and the boys. There is thus in all four associations recognized on a world level.

There are approximately 250.000 guides and scouts in Germany, including 190.000 pertaining to the one of these four associations. Most important association (95 000 members) is that of the Pfadfinderschaft Sankt Georg (Scouts German of Georges Saint), at the origin movement for the boys and now coéduquée. Y corresponds the Pfadfinderinnenschaft Sankt Georg (Guides of Georges Saint, 10.000 members), catholic movement reserved to the girls.

The protesting movement names Pfadfinderinnen und Pfadfinder (association of the Protestant guides and scouts) and counts approximately 50.000 young people. The interdenominational movement names Bund der Pfadfinderinnen und Pfadfinder (Union of the guides and scouts) and counts approximately 32.000 young people.

In addition to these associations belonging to the one of the two circles, there exists more than 150 associations claiming scouting in Germany.

To also note denominational associations Katholische Pfadfinderschaft Europas (catholic) and Evangelische Pfadfinderschaft Europas (Protestant), both German members of the UIGSE-FSE.

In Algeria

Scouting in Algeria date of 1935, with the foundation of the Scouts Algerian Moslems (SMA) by Mohamed Bouras. The first section with Algiers in 1935 was called the section Al Falah .

In the literature

Scouting is also largely exploited in the literature for youth. Among the most famous examples, the Patrol of the Beavers remains a reference. This series of Cartoon was born under the feather from Mitacq and puts in scene five young people scouts in multiple adventures. On his side, the draftsman Gotlib gave a shifted humorous presentation of scouting with his character Jovial Hamster.

More seriously, scouting is also at the base of an abundant literature for teenagers, exciting the virtues (devotion, service…) settings ahead by scouting. The collection Signe of Track is one of the series headlights of this literary kind. With regard to the illustration, certain authors, in particular Pierre Joubert made scouting their independent source of inspiration.

The work written by Marine Digabel scout a track to grow , present as the book of the centenary, allows an approach of French scouting left the stereotypes of " scout toujours" by developing the proposals and the ideals of today of various associations.

The Presses of Ile de France, publisher of Scouts and Guides of France, publish 100 texts, 100 images at the time of the centenary of scouting. This work is presented in the form of an album of family of Scouts and Guides of France.

See too

References

Random links:

Vaucresson | Transport in Mauritania | Pale trip hammer | Fruit and vegetables in France | The Summer panties flies away