Evolving to Scout out a bright future

News Focus: The Scouting movement has more than kept up with the times, as 28 million people were estimated to have celebrated the organisation's 100th anniversary yesterday.

DAMIEN HENDERSON AND CAROLYN CHURCHILL

When they gathered around the world at sunrise and renewed vows to "do their best", the spirit of Robert Baden-Powell, the charismatic founder of the Scouts, was not far away.

His call for peace, comradeship and co-operation instead of rivalry between "classes, creeds and countries" still resonated among the 28 million people estimated to have celebrated the organisation's 100th anniversary yesterday and evidently still holds relevance.

But what would the Edwardian lieutenant-general have made of today's Scouts?

Certainly, his vision of what made up a committed citizen - the elaborate knots, pledges of duty to God and Queen, not to mention the dib dibs, woggles and ging gang goolie - look slightly eccentric today. And the idea of sending children on a vigorous outdoor pursuits programme or knocking on strangers' doors is somewhat at odds with a culture which is increasingly anxious about their safety.

But there is evidence that the movement has evolved to fit with the demands of modern times.

Out have gone the trim beige shorts and pressed shirts, replaced with more casual sweatshirts and "activity trousers" in different colours. Badges are still given out for all range of outdoor pursuits and goodly deeds but a whole host of new achievements have been added, including CV writing, electronics, website design and snow sports.

And rather than knocking on people's doors with the offer of a good deed, benevolence is now delivered in a more organised fashion: working in local hospices, planting trees in local gardens, and even helping to build schools in Africa.

The pledge to "do my duty to God and to the Queen" remains inscribed in Scout Law - an anachronistic document to some - but the movement's leaders are now keen to stress its multi-faith aspect and openness to all religions. There are, for example, more Muslim Scouts around the world than Christian, including around nine million in Indonesia.

According to Simon Carter, director of communications for the Scouts, it was Baden-Powell's desire for his training programme to include non-Christians that stopped it being annexed by the Boys' Brigade and led to the Scouts' formation. He also rejects the militaristic tag that has long been attached to the organisation, saying that it is a movement dedicated to pacifism and peace.

"What hasn't changed are the Scouts' aims: to provide opportunities for young people so they can become positive, active citizens and make the world a better place. That's the basic principle. We're in the business of changing the world," Mr Carter said.

"The methodology has changed because the activities young people like to do have changed and the way you form those activities and the sort of curriculum badges offer."

Likewise, the UK Girlguides, which was founded by Baden-Powell in 1910, three years after the Boy Scout organisation was formed, has adapted to the times.

The Girl Guides, as it was then named, was formed with the help of Baden-Powell's sister Agnes and his wife Olave later became involved.

GirlGuiding UK boasts nearly 700,000 members and half of women born in Scotland have belonged to the organisation at some point in their lives.

The activities have also changed dramatically over the years and although girls can still compete for some traditional badges, the range on offer has been thoroughly updated. From the early 1900s young women would carry out challenges for badges such as horsewoman, matron and basketmaker but, by the 1950s, knitter was added to the mix, and in the 1960s a house orderly.

Now badges are available for the film lover, party planner and communicator.

More group challenges have also been introduced with many girls instead of going for individual badges choosing to participate with the rest of their patrols in activities called Go For Its.

The choice includes Glamorama, which allows girls to carry out a range of activities related to make-up, hair, fashion and the beauty industry in general. Others are Lights, Camera and Action, Fitness, Parties, Teamwork and Chocolate.

Girlguiding also runs a peer education programme which offers youngsters sex education and also teaches how to cope with issues such as alcoholism, stress and bullying as part of a programme to equip them with the knowledge needed in modern life.

Although weekly meetings are still held, guides and brownies also venture further afield for breaks away, both at home and abroad.

The separation of Girlguides and Scouts along gender lines is still a point of contention for some.

Although both organisations retain a distinct identity, they also work together at both local and national levels.

Since the early 1990s, girls have been allowed to join the Scouts and now make up around 15% of its membership.

Susan Thomson, a guide leader at the 7th Barrhead guides in East Renfrewshire, said that girlguiding remained as relevant today as it was at its birth in 1910.

"Girlguiding equips girls with lots of skills that will help them in later life, things like working as a team and decision-making," she said. "There are lots of skills and experiences that will hopefully help them succeed. Girlguiding as an association has tried to keep up over the years so that badges now reflect the modern day. There are still the old favourites, they have always been there, but now there are all sorts of modern badges.

"The organisation talks to its members regularly to make sure we keep up to date and the programme is then revised."

She defended having an organisation aimed at girls, saying it was important that they are given their own social space which is not dominated by boys.

Despite the advances made by the Scouts, there are challenges ahead. Recruitment of adult volunteers is a thorny problem, admits Mr Carter, though he steers clear of labelling this a crisis within the movement.

"The greatest challenge for the second century of scouting is to carry on delivering those activities for young people in an increasingly litigious society," he said.

"We have to realise that people don't work Monday to Friday, nine to five any more, and we shouldn't expect them to volunteer in the same way they used to. We have to be more flexible about what people can fit in."

But he says there is still a huge thirst for what the Scouts do and the message they promote. "Membership is up in the UK and around the world. We currently have around 30,000 people on waiting lists in Britain," he said.

"Scouting allows young people to take risks and there is a great thirst for that kind of activity in society."

Well-prepared

There have been numerous notable former Scouts since Robert Baden-Powell, right, founded the movement 100 years ago. They include:
TV personalities