WOSM Programme Policy_E

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YOUTHP

ROGRAMME

THE WORLD

PROGRAMME POLICY

YOUTH PROGRAMME:


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World Organizationof the Scout MovementOrganisation Mondiale

du Mouvement Scout

Copyright 1990 - 1992, WorldScout BureauReproduction is authorized to nationalScout associations which are membersof the World Organization of the ScoutMovement. Others should requestpermission frompublishers.

World Scout BureauP.O. Box 241,1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland

[email protected]

http:/ / www.scout.org

T H IS D O C U M E N T IS A

STRATEGY

PART O F TH E IM PLEM EN-

TATIO N O F TH E STRATEG Y


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RESOLUTION No. 4/ 90 ADOPTED BY THE 32nd WORLD SCOUT CONFERENCE 1

WORLD PROGRAMME POLICY 3Definit ion of Youth Program m e 3Process of Youth Program m e developm ent 3Delivery of Youth Program m e 3Responsibility of a nat ional Scout associat ion 4

Responsibility of the World Organizat ion of the Scout M ovem ent 4INTRODUCTION 5Background 5What is the World Program m e Policy? 6Why a World Program m e Policy? 6Evolut ion of Youth Program m e 7

EXPLANATION 9Int roduct ion 9What is Youth Program m e? - a def init ion 1 0

The process of Youth Program m e developm ent 1 1The delivery of Youth Program m e 1 2The responsibility for Youth Program m e of a nat ional Scout associat ion 1 2The responsibility for Youth Program m e of the World Organizat ion of the Scout M ovem ent 1 2

REFERENCES 13APPENDICES 151. The National Programme Commissioner 152. The National Programme Committee 163. The World Programme Committee 174. The World Scout Bureau, Geneva and Regional Offices 18

TABLE OFCONTENTS


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EXTRACTS FROM THE DOCUMENT TOWARDS A STRATEGY FOR SCOUTING

At the 31 st World Scout Conference in Melbou rne, Australia in January 19 8 8 , a document called Tow ards a Strategy for Scouting was presented and adopted.That document described six major issues whichare obstacles to the development of Scouting in many parts of the world. These issues include Mission and Youth Programme.

Mission

There is a potential danger of departing from the mission of Scouting, as described in the Constitution, namely:

1. An educational movement which uses recreational means to achieve its aims - and not simply a recreational movement w hich tends to be how it is perceived...

2. A movement intended to prepare an individual to mak e a posit ive contr ibution to society, and therefore closely related to social realit ies - and not divorced from them ...

3. A movement for young people of all ages, which is particular ly suited to the adolescent age-group - and not pr imarily a children's movement.

These three essential and inter-related elements of the mission of Scouting risk being subordinated or lost, which would constitute a threat both to the role and image of Scouting. They are therefore of criticaland general concern, and have important implications for practically all aspects of the work of national associations.

Youth Programme

Weakness in the area of Youth Programme, which is the means by which Scouting's purpose is achieved and is the key to attracting and retaining members, is perhaps the single most important issue facingScouting.

1. There is a lack of understanding of w hat constitutes Youth Programme in Scouting. It is often mistaken for simply activ it ies, or the progressive scheme , ignoring other elements such as education,method, structure and style. Moreover, leaders, in particular those who are new to Scouting, often do not understand that the programme is based on the principles of Scouting and is the means to achievingthe purpose of Scouting.

2. There is a need to continuously develop and deliver an educational youth programme adapted to the needs of young people in the society in w hich they live, and based on the fundamentals and method ofScouting.


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Youth Programme: The World Programme Policy - Page 1

RESOLUTIONN4/ 90 ADOPTED

BY THE 32nd

WORLD SCOUTCONFERENCE

The Conf er ence

recogn izi ng tha t Youth

Programme is the pri ncipal

means of achi evin g the pur pose

of Scouti ng and i s the key to

attractin g and r etain in g

members

mind ful that the documen t

Towards a Strategy for

Scouti ng identi fi ed weakn ess in

the ar ea of Youth Programme as

perhaps the single most

importan t issue facing Scouting

adopts the s ta tementcontai ned i n Confer ence

document No. 6 as the Wor ld

Progr amme Pol icy*

st rongl y u rges Na t i ona l

Scout Organi zat i ons to take

th e necessar y steps to

r ef lect th i s pol icy in thei row n pol ic ies and

pr ocedu r es and to dedicate

adequate r esour ces to the

developm ent and d el iver y of

thei r Youth Progr amme

r equests the Wor ld Commi t -

tee to ta k e all necessar ysteps to cont inue to pr ov ide

supp or t to nat ional Scout

associat ions in th is f i eld.

* Text reproduced on pages 3 and 4 o f the p resent

document.


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Page 2 - Youth Programme: The World Programme Policy


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.

WORLDPROGRAMME

POLICYAdopted by the 32nd World Scout

Conference, Paris, 1990

DEFINITION OF YOUTH PROGRAMME

Youth Programme is the totalityof wha t youn g people do i n

Scouti ng (the activi ties), how i t is

done (the Scout method) and the

reason why it i s done (the pur-

pose)

Totality:Youth Program m ecovers the com plete span of a

young person's experience in the

M ovem ent. It is aprogressive

processof education and personal

developm ent.

What:Youth Program m e encom -passes allactivities in w hich

young people in Scouting take

part. They m ust be attractive and

challenging to young people.

How : Youth Program m e, funda-

m entally, uses the Scout method

in carrying out its activities.

Why:Youth Program m e is the

m eans of achieving the purpose of

Scouting, based on its fundam en-

tal principles.

The Youth Program m e of anassociation should be evaluated

regularly. A m ajor review should

be carried out at least every 5-10

years.

A Youth Program m e resulting

from this process of program m e

developm ent w ill reflect the unityof Scouting through its purpose

and m ethod, w hich are funda-

m ental; and the diversity and

flexibility required to respond to

the variety of social, geographical,

econom ic and other situations.

DELIVERY OF YOUTH PROGRAMME

Youth Program m e is im plem ented

through a partnership betw een

young people and adult leaders,

taking into account the partici-

pants' interests, needs and abili-

ties.

A high quality Youth Program m e,

w hich is attractive to young

people and is perceived to be

relevant to the social reality in

w hich it is offered, w ill also

attract adult leaders com m itted to

supporting its im plem entation.

PROCESS OF YOUTH PROGRAMMEDEVELOPMENT

Program m e developm ent is the

process of regularly reappraising

and adjusting the Youth Pro-

gram m e of a national Scout

association to suit the changing

needs and aspirations of youngpeople in their society and thus

im prove its quality.

Youth Program m e developm ent

requires:

reflection on the purpose,

principles and m ethod ofScouting;

analysis of recent trends in the

needs and interests of young

people and the society in

w hich they live;

consideration of the aim s,

objectives and priorities of the

national Scout association;

evaluation of practical experi-

ence w ith the current Youth

Program m e.


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Those responsible for YouthProgram m e and Adult Leader

Training in a national Scout

association should, together:

analyse the role of leaders,

identify their training and

personal developm ent needs,

evaluate the effectiveness of

that personal developm ent in

term s of its im pact on the

im plem entation of the Youth

Program m e.

RESPONSIBILITY OF A NATIONALSCOUT ASSOCIATION

The developm ent and delivery of

an effective Youth Program m e

w hich achieves the purpose of

Scouting is the responsibility of

each national Scout association.

In each association there should

be a N ational Program m e Com -

m issioner and an appropriate

N ational Program m e Com m ittee

(or equivalent titles) charged w ith

this responsibility as their m ain

task and backed by the necessary

financial and hum an resources.

associations through the provi-sion of inform ation, through

the creation of opportunities

for exchange of experience

and through im proved com -

m unications betw een key

volunteers and professionals

engaged in program m e devel-

opm ent and delivery through-out the w orld.

Adequate specifically designedsupport m aterials (handbooks,

etc.) m ust be available to support

the im plem entation of the Youth

Program m e.

The national Scout association

should ensure that those respon-

sible for Youth Program m e andAdult Leader Training cooperate

closely.

RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WORLDORGANIZATION OF THE SCOUTMOVEMENT

The responsibility of the W orldO rganization of the Scout M ove-

m ent in relation to Youth Pro-

gram m e is tw ofold:

To prom ote unity in the Scout

M ovem ent through the Youth

Program m e in national Scout

associations w hich expressesthe fundam entals of Scouting

and m aintains its specific

character.

To stim ulate the ongoing

developm ent of the Youth

Program m e in national Scout


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society and the fundamen talsof Scouti ng.

The W orld Program m e Policy is

also based on the W orld O rgani-

zation of the Scout M ovem ent's

priorities outlined in the docu-

m entTow ards a Strategy for

Scouting. That docum ent identi-fied w eakness in the area of

Youth Program m e, w hich is the

principal m eans by w hich Scout-

ing's purpose is achieved and is

the key to attracting and retaining

m em bers, as perhaps the single

m ost im portant issue facing Scout-

ing; and m ade Youth Program m ethe first priority in W O SM 's sup-

port to national Scout associa-

tions.

Taking these factors in to consid -

era tion , the World Comm ittee

concluded, in 1989, that the

development of a Wor ld Pro-gramme Policy, as a fr amework

for the work of nati ona l Scou t

associati ons in thi s fi eld , was

indispensable.

This docum ent has been prepared

by the W orld Program m e Com m it-

tee and the Program m e Service of

the W orld Scout Bureau, to sup-port the adoption and im plem en-

tation of the W orld Program m e

Policy.

INTRODUCTION BACKGROUNDThe W orld Program m e Policy

responds to the request contained

in Resolution 3/88 of the 31st

W orld Scout Conference, (M el-

bourne, 1988) w hich stated:

Programme Development

The Con fer ence, recogni zi ng the

crucia l importance of a relevant

youth programme for the contin -

ued growth of Scoutin g thoughout

the world

ur ges nati ona l Scout organi za-tion s to strengthen their pr o-

gramme developmen t fun ctions

and to take advan tage of

avai lable ma teri als on pr o-

gramme development,

call s on the Worl d Committee to

establ ish gui delin es for the

programme development

fun ction i n n ationa l Scout

organi zations and to con tinue

efforts to help them develop an d

improve their youth pro-

grammes, to reflect the needs

and aspiration s of youn g

people today, the needs of


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be expected to devote m uchdetailed attention to Youth

Program m e needs. Such leaders

w ill usually have appointed a

N ational Training Com m issioner,

to w hom responsibility for adult

leader training has been

delegated. But m ost often they

have not appointed a N ationalProgram m e Com m issioner,

w hose principal responsibility is

the developm ent of the Youth

Program m e.

In the case of a team of section

com m issioners (Com m issioner

for Cubs, Com m issioner forScouts, etc.) the question be-

com es one of overall leadership,

responsibility and coordination.

W ho fulfills this function? The

Chief Scout or Chief Com m is-

sioner? If that is the case, the

sam e concerns described above

apply.

Finally, w here N ational Training

Com m issioners or training team s

are also charged w ith Youth

Program m e responsibilities, the

concern is one of conflicting

priorities. It is unlikely that both

functions can be adequatelycarried out by one person or even

one group of people. Adult

Leader Training and Youth Pro-

gram m e each require prim ary

com m itm ent from dedicated

volunteer and professional lead-

ers w hose responsibilities are

clearly defined and separate.


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reach the young people w how ish to be Scouts.

A support infrastructure,

staffed by qualified and active

leaders, to carry out pro-

gram m e developm ent and

m onitor the effectiveness of

the program m es of each agesection.

The W orld Program m e Policy

relates to these four dim en-

sions of Youth Program m e by

including:

Adefin iti on of Youth Prog-rammeshow ing the relation-

ship of activities to the Scout

m ethod and to the educational

purpose and fundam ental

principles of Scouting.

The process of Youth Prog-

ramme developmentand an

em phasis on the im portance of

continuous review and devel-

opm ent of an educational

Youth Program m e adapted to

the needs of young people in

the society in w hich they live.

Scouts through the Youth Pro-gram m e w ill not m eet the de-

m anding standards young people

seek and deserve.

These four elem ents of Youth

Program m e are:

A program m e for each age

section com prising activities

carried out according to the

Scout m ethod and designed to

achieve the purpose of Scout-

ing.

Regular and system atic prog-

ram m e developm ent to ensure

these program m es rem ain up-

to-date and in tune w ith m em -

bersinterests, w hile rem aining

faithful to the fundam ental

principles and m ethod w hich

are tim eless and universal.

An appropriate delivery

netw orkin the form of an

adequate num ber of trained

leaders to m ake sure the

program m es of each age

section are im plem ented as

they w ere designed to be and

EXPLANATION INTRODUCTIONThe Youth Program m e in Scout-

ing is the total experience w hich

Scouting offers to a young per-

son. It is m ore than sim ply the

activities that Scouts take part in.

Through the Youth Program m e,Scouting provides its m em bers

w ith a process of personal devel-

opm ent to help them to becom e

better citizens - of their village or

city, their country and the w orld.

The Youth Program m e com prises

the wh at , howand why of

Scouting; the activities them selves(cam ping, hiking, fish-farm ing or

w hatever), carried out in accord-

ance w ith the Scout m ethod, are

sim ply the m eans of achieving

the end: the purpose of Scouting.

A national Scout association

w hich sets out to provide a high-quality Scouting experience for its

m em bers m ust consider four

inter-related dim ensions of Youth

Program m e. All four dim ensions

are essential; if any one or m ore

of them is m issing or deficient,

the quality of Scouting offered to


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to contr ibu te to the development ofyoung people in achi evin g their

ful l physical, in tellectual, social

and spiri tua l poten tia ls as in di -

viduals, as r esponsible citi zens

an d as members of their local,

national an d in tern ational com-

munities.

THE PROCESS OF YOUTHPROGRAMME DEVELOPMENT

Program m e developm ent is the

process of regularly reappraising

and adjusting the Youth Pro-

gram m e of a national Scout

association to suit the needs andaspirations of young people in

their society and thus im prove its

quality.

Program m e developm ent is based

on:

reflection on the purpose,principles and m ethod of

Scouting; these constitute the

foundation on w hich the Youth

Program m e is built.

analysis of recent trends in the

needs and interests of young

substantial change in the contentor design of the program m e.

Am ong the critical indicators ofquality in Youth Program m e

w hich m ay be considered in

program m e developm ent are:

an increase in m em bership

penetration (ratio of m em bers

to available youth population);

an increase in the num bers of

m em bers receiving certain

advancem ent aw ards or ranks;

an increase in participation in

certain types of activities, for

exam ple cam ps, jam borees;

the visibility and positive

im age of Scouting, both w ithin

the M ovem ent and externally,

and its perceived relevance

and usefulness to society.

The Youth Program m e of an

association should be evaluated

regularly, through form al andinform al m eans, and adjustm ents

m ade as required. A m ajor review

of the Youth Program m e should

be undertaken at least every 5-10

years; carried out according to

the process described above, this

w ould norm ally lead to m ore

people and the society inw hich they live; in our rapidly

changing w orld, the continued

relevance of the Youth Pro-

gram m e depends on an appro-

priate response to this analysis.

consideration of the aim s,

objectives and priorities of thenational Scout association; this

includes the form ulation of

appropriate educational objec-

tives for the Youth Program m e

of each age section.

evaluation of practical experi-

ence w ith the current YouthProgram m e; this should take

into consideration feedback

from participating m em bers.

A Youth Program m e resulting

from this process of program m e

developm ent w ill reflect the unity

of Scouting through its purpose

and m ethod, w hich are funda-

m ental; and the diversity and

flexibility required to respond to

the variety of situations and

m ilieux (social, geographical,

econom ic, etc.) in w hich it oper-

ates.


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REFERENCES ANDRESOURCES

sponsible for program m e devel-opm ent m ay follow .

Session Plan s for a Programme

Development Semin ar

(Program m e Package N o. 2).

Contains sam ple session plans for

use in a national sem inar

focussing on Youth Program m edevelopm ent. The training ses-

sions are based on the sam e

developm ent process that is

described in Program m e Package

N o. 1.

How to In tegrate an Activity in to

the Youth Programme(Program m e Package N o. 3).

D esigned to help national Scout

associations m ake their Youth

Program m e m ore relevant and

m eaningful for their Scouts and

for the com m unities in w hich

they live.

How to Strengthen Commun ity

Involvement i n the Youth Pro-

gramme

(Program m e Package N o. 4).

Contains guidelines w hich m ay

be used by a national Scout

association to strengthen com m u-

A w ide range of publications areavailable from the W orld Scout

Bureau to support those responsi-

ble for Youth Program m e in

national Scout associations.

These include:

Elements for a Scout Pro-

grammeD esigned to help associations

understand the rationale for the

different approaches to pro-

gram m e developm ent. The publi-

cation explains the broad outline

of the educational basis on w hich

Scout program m es are based.

Fun damental Pri nciples

D escribes the basic elem ents

upon w hich the unity of Scouting

rests: its purpose, principles and

m ethod.

How to Develop a Youth Pro-

gramme(Program m e Package N o. 1).

D escribes a practical approach to

developing the Youth Program m e

in national Scout associations.

The booklet describes a sim ple

10-step process that those re-

nity involvem ent in its YouthProgram m e.

Programme Exchan ge

A m onthly publication to share

practical program m e ideas am ong

leaders of national Scout associa-

tions w ho are responsible for

developing Youth Program m es.

How to Improve Guid in g and

Scouting for the Adolescen t Age

Group

For leaders responsible for devel-

oping program m es for the ado-

lescent age section. Published by

the European Region.


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QUALIFICATIONS

The suggested qualifications for

appointm ent as N ational Pro-

gram m e Com m issioner are as

follow s:

K now ledge of how children

and adolescents learn and of

the needs and aspirations of

young people.

Creativity skills.

Skills necessary to m otivate,

coordinate and m anage oth-

ers.

Ability to w ork in harm ony

w ith others and to influence

decisions.

Strong Scouting background,

w ith experience and/or train-

ing in the field of Youth

Program m e developm ent.

DUTIES

The duties of the N ational Pro-

gram m e Com m issioner should

include:

m ent, Scouting w ith handi-capped, into the Youth Pro-

gram m e.

Leadership of the N ational

Program m e Com m ittee and

responsibility for the training

and developm ent of its m em -

bers.

Strengthening the unity in

Scouting through Youth Pro-

gram m e by close cooperation

w ith other N ational Pro-

gram m e Com m issioners and

w ith the W orld Scout Bureau.

RESPONSIBILITY ANDACCOUNTABILITY

The N ational Program m e Com -

m issioner should be responsible

and accountable to the senior

leadership of the association.

APPENDICESAPPENDIX I

The National ProgrammeCommissioner - a job description

D evelop a National Program m ePolicy consistent w ith W orld

Program m e Policy.

Planning and coordinating at

national level all aspects of

Youth Program m e in the

national association.

Creating an aw areness, am ong

leaders at all levels of the

association, of w hat the Youth

Program m e is and of its im por-

tance.

Regularly evaluating and

further developing the Youth

Program m e to m eet the chang-

ing needs of young people in

their society.

Producing handbooks for

youth m em bers and adult

leaders in all age sectors.

Ensuring that the program m e isdelivered at a satisfactory

quality level in each local unit

of the association.

Integrating specialized dim en-

sions, such as environm ental

education, com m unity involve-


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DUTIES

The duties of the N ational Pro-

gram m e Com m ittee should be to

assist and support the N ational

Program m e Com m issioner in

carrying out his responsibilities

for Youth Program m e in the

national Scout association.

RESPONSIBILITY ANDACCOUNTABILITY

M em bers of the N ational Pro-

gram m e Com m ittee should be

responsible and accountable to

the N ational Program m e Com m is-

sioner.

APPENDIX 2The National Programme Committee -

a profile of members

QUALIFICATIONS

A qualified, up-to-date and active

N ational Program m e Com m ittee

should be com posed of m em bers

w ho collectively m eet the follow -

ing requirem ents:

Strong Scouting background.

Training and experience in the

field of Youth Program m e.

Expertise in youth issues and

concerns.

Representative of all pro-

gram m e (age) sections.

Representative of all geo-

graphical areas and different

cultures of the country.

K now ledge and/or experience

of educational policy and

youth service in the country.


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MEMBERSHIP

The appointm ent of m em bers of

the W orld Program m e C om m ittee

shall bear in m ind the need to

ensure the broadest geographical

and cultural representation possi-

ble.

O ther related bodies (e.g. the

W orld Training Com m ittee and

any Regional Program m e Com m it-

tees) should also be represented

in the W orld Program m e Com m it-

tee.

APPENDIX 3The World Programme Committee -

terms of reference

RESPONSIBILITIES

The W orld Program m e Com m ittee

has the follow ing responsibilities:

Prepare and recom m end

general policies in the Youth

Program m e field to the W orld

Com m itee and the W orld

Conference.

D efine and prom ote desirable

standards in program m e devel-

opm ent and to encourage

national Scout associations to

adhere to and m aintain these

standards.

Publish appropriate docum en-

tation on Youth Program m e for

use by national Scout associa-

tions.

Prom ote, organize and support

Youth Program m e events

(sem inars, w orkshops, etc.)and activities.

Provide leadership and sup-

port to regional Youth Pro-

gram m e bodies and to give

direct assistance to national

Scout associations in pro-gram m e developm ent.

Advise the W orld Com m ittee

on Youth Program m e activities.

W ork in close cooperation w ith

the W orld Training Com m ittee,

the Com m unity D evelopm ent

Consultative Panel and other

com m ittees and task forces of

the Educational M ethods

G roup of the W orld Com m it-

tee.


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PROGRAMME ROLE

Provide services prim arily

directed to those responsible

for the developm ent of Youth

Program m e at national level.

Publish relevant docum enta-

tion in the field of Youth

Program m e.

Provide direct assistance to

national Scout associations on

Youth Program m e revision and

updating.

Carry out research related to

Youth Program m e.

Initiate and prom ote sem inars,

w orkshops, roundtables, etc.

to facilitate cross-fertilization of

ideas, dissem ination of new

experiences and program m e

updating and evaluation.

APPENDIX 4The World Scout Bureau, Geneva and

Regional Offices - its role vis-a-visYouth Programme

Documents

WOSM Programme Policy_E