A global organisation...
Scouting was born in 1907 in the United Kingdom. Robert Baden-Powell founded an educational movement enabling young people from all walks of life to develop their sense of initiative and become well-rounded citizens.
Baden-Powell envisaged Scouting as a great game. The movement quickly gathered momentum with the creation of Scout groups all over the world.
The World Organisation of the Scout Movement (WOSM) was established shortly afterwards.
The mission of Scouting: Creating a better world
The Mission of Scouting is to contribute to the education of young people, through a value system based on the Scout Promise and Law, and to help build a better world where people are self-fulfilled as individuals and play a constructive role in society.”
In 1999, at the WOSM World Conference in Durban, the world movement defined its mission.
... and an educational movement in Belgium
Scouting is recognised as a youth movement by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, in the same way as the other two French-speaking Scout and Guide federations, i.e., the Fédération nationale des Patros and the Faucons rouges. These five approved youth movements are thus the guarantors of quality-based educational projects. They regularly work together to build new projects, stake their points of view with the public authorities, to name but a few examples.
Furthermore, in order to qualify as a Scout group, any applicant (grouping or federation) must be recognised by the World Organisation of the Scout Movement, pursuant to the values and principles they implement.
WOSM acknowledges only one Scout federation per country. In Belgium, this federation is called Guidisme et Scoutisme en Belgique (GSB), a platform that brings together five associations.
A date to keep in mind
February 22nd is a special date for Scouts and Guides around the world: It's Baden-Powell's birthday, the founder of Scouting. His wife Olave is born the same day was the head of worldwide guiding.
⚠ Non scouts
Some youth groups improperly use the terminology of Scouting and call themselves Scouts without affiliating to any truly recognised movements. For convenience, they use the image of the movement, the logos and badges of our federation but do not always abide by our values and principles.