Issue 63, February 2004

In this issue:

♦ Editorial

♦ News from the Groups

♦ Adult Training

♦ Eurojam

♦ 2007

♦ Nights Away

♦ Blast from the Past

♦ Scouting and the World Wide Web

Editorial

Firstly, apologies for this issue being a little laterthan scheduled. The reason for this is that therehas been a shuffle round of staff at Headquartersand as a result we have lost the services of JulieWolstenholme who worked very hard to get Farand Wide produced and distributed each quarter.Julie has been moved to another job and we willmiss her but wish her well. Julie has also beensuffering ill health in recent months and I am sureyou would all like to join the County team inwishing her a speedy recovery. Taking her placewe welcome Julia Westall who will be working inthe International Office part-time.

I must say that I have had an amazing number ofphotos for this issue, which is really good. Most ofthem have come from Ascension Island andunfortunately I have not been able to include all ofthem because of space but it is great to see them.I am sure they will have all been put on theAscension Island website. So the challenge toeveryone is ‘Can we do better?’ See what you cando for the May issue. If you are sending items forFar and Wide please email direct to me atheather.elliott@lineone.net as I have broadbandand it is easier for me to download. Bob Spargo isnot on broadband and large emails, includingphotos, cause him a lot of problems downloadingbecause of the time it takes.

News from the Groups

First, belated Christmas greetings from AscensionIsland.

1st Ascension Island

Bonfire Night c/o Ascension Scouts went off great- over half the island at the fire last night. Scoutsput on music, ran a small bar and sold hot dogs.£200 raised for "Children In Need". Great Fire litup the entire hillside and beach.

Scouts have had a busy couple of weeks - Raftbuilding at Comfortless Cove; supporting AnnualDew Pond Run - we do all the water stops. Therun is from the sea to the top of the mountain, 7miles away and 2817 feet. A couple of the Scoutsusually do the race as well - 3 this year. Scoutsrecord time is 1 hour 23 minutes. Nathan came 7thin the overall race with a time of 1 hour 30 mins -not bad.

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Then everyone out on parade forRemembrance Day - we have new colours thisyear, which made their first outing. Lynda Yonhad her Chief Scout’s Commendationpresented to her at the Halloween Party.

The Scouts on Ascension Island have beenvery busy in the latter part of 2003 winningfootball tournaments and fishing.

Pillar Bay Expedition

Scouts enjoyed an overnight expedition to PillarBay. They did it as a Night Hike down 1500feet or so to a plateau above the Bay wherethey pitched tents for the night, cooked"Noodles" for dinner on individual expeditionstoves and cook sets. We brought down somefireworks just for some crack! [The purists willrecognise this “mis-spelled” Irish word as theequivalent of ‘real fun’, though knowingJohnny’s Northern Irish humour, he probablymeant the play on words!]

Early next morning we walked on down to theLetterbox at Pillar Bay itself and watched the"boobies" and tropic birds fly around the hugestacks (Pillars) that rise out of the bay beforehiking back. All did really well and earned theirNight Hiker badge.

Friday Night Last around at the Scouts` BeachHut. Grouper, Moray Eels, Soldier fish, Black Jackall caught, filleted and fried up over the beach hutbar-b-que - good stuff.

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Just in some photos of the Scouts shooting lastSunday

Johnny HobsonGroup Scout Leader

1st Falkland Islands

The 1st Falkland Islands (Mount Pleasant)Scouts are part of the Stanley Scout Group butmeet at RAF Mount Pleasant, which is some 35miles away and only connected by a veryrugged and dangerous road, passing throughmine fields!! So, we all meet up as one Groupvery rarely for excellent (safety) reasons!

The Mount Pleasant Scouts consists of 16Scouts - 7 Beavers, 7 Cubs and 2 Scouts - allare children of service personnel based here inthe Falklands. We meet all together on thesame evening and form 3 patrols - one for eachSection. After flag break, the Scouts, Cubs andBeavers do their own activities with the variousleaders and instructors and come togetheragain at the end of the evening for flag downand notices. Sometimes, we combine all 3sections for some (suitable) games or activities,especially on visits or singing - the Scoutsreally enjoy singing!

As for activities; we can do loads, as we are part ofa military base, so there is much to hand. Since Ibecame Scout Leader in June 2003, we havebeen on board HMS Lancaster, HMS Endurance,a Merlin helicopter, visited the RAF Fire Section,been on British Forces Radio (and recorded ajingle), been to the RAF Chapel here at MountPleasant, and taken part in some military parades... plus loads of other normal Scouting activities.

It is summer here at the moment but still verywindy, so we all had a BBQ as part of ourChristmas festivities! The photos show us all as agroup in the typical Falkland's wind, and whilstonboard HMS Lancaster when she visited us herein the Falklands.

By Squadron Leader Simon Haseltine,

1st Fuengirola

Mercy Ships Visit

The 1st Fuengirola (THE ARK) Sea Scout Troophad the privilege of being invited to visit theAnastasis, the first ship belonging to the MercyShips Fleet. She was moored in the port ofMalaga. The Scouts and Cubs visited the ship andwere treated to a guided tour through the wholehospital ship. The Anastasis is run by a Christianorganisation whose vision is to treat people inunder-privileged countries with health problems.They treat most dental disorders, cataract

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operations, cleft palate and facial disorders.More information can be obtained atwww.mercyships.org.

We were truly blessed when the crew andofficers of the Anastasis allowed us to enrolone of our latest members in taking hisPromise on the Promenade deck.

Our sincerest thanks and blessings to all whosail/serve on her

Campfire and Night Hike

As has now almost become a group tradition,annually the Scouts, Cubs, Explorers and nowBeavers hold a campfire with the Guides andBrownies and this event is also observed bymany of the parents.

All are involved in numerous activities and thenwe are all well fed with hamburgers prior tocampfire, which is always good fun and filledwith lots of laughter.

After the Campfire we hold a joint night hikewith the guides and the patrols have to solvevarious problems/codes etc and all the patrolsthen compete to get the best scores.

From Alfonso Sanchez

St. HelenaThe 1st Jamestown Scout Group

Annual Camp 2004

The Scout Group began their Annual camp atThompson's Wood Friday 2nd January.

After arrival in camp about 11.30 the Patrolsstarted to pitch their tents and set up the camp.

Each day started with the duty tent preparingbreakfast, then at 7am the Reveille was blownwhich indicated everyone to get up and wash.After the day’s activities the day ended with a hotdrink, the last post sounded and lights out at10pm.

The programme consisted of various activitiesnamely, pioneering, abseiling, games, patrolcooking, badge work, air rifle shooting, and a dayshike of 10 Km. Despite the wet and windy weathereveryone enjoyed themselves.

The Cub Scouts along with their Leaders and theVenture Scout Leader went on a short hike toWhites Cottage which is a conservation area, toweed and water the Boxwood (the MellissiaBegonifolia ) one of the islands endemics that theyplanted last year.

On Wednesday 7th January the New Horizons, anewly formed youth group along with members ofthe Girl Guides joined the Scouts at camp for agames day and the high-light was the game - stoolball -one of the old Scout games.

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Camp ended on 10th January and after strikingtents at about 1.30 everyone made their way toJamestown where they marched from the topto the bottom where the Head Quarters issituated.

From Raymond Hudson

1st Doha (a new Group)

Hooray! We have a full Colony (ie 12!) and arenow on our waiting list!! I shall be taking all theforms with me on our first meeting to give tointerested parents - I have someone who hasagreed to be the secretary & a few who arehappy to help out occasionally. So; so far, sogood!

From Sam Gribble

Adult Training

Along with the new Adult Training Schemecome some changes in the appointmentprocess. All new Leaders will, as before,complete forms AA and CRB and send them into Bob Spargo. He will then advise me whenthe initial check from HQ comes through.

I will appoint a Training Advisor who will workwith the new Leader on their Personal LearningPlan and support them through the GettingStarted Modules. Module 1 EssentialInformation, Module 2 The Personal LearningPlan and either Module 3 or 4 Tools for the Jobdepending on whether the Leader is a SectionLeader or Manager.

At the same time Bob will issue the new Leadera Provisional Appointment and when I amadvised by the Training Advisor that GettingStarted has been completed and Bob hasreceived a clear full CRB then a full warrant willbe issued.

A flowchart showing this process is at the backof this issue to try to make it clearer for you.The process must be followed as it is laid downin the Association rules. In BGA we are goingto introduce this system from the 1st April bywhich time I hope that those of you who havekindly agreed to be Training Advisors will havecompleted Module 25 Assessing Learning. ThisModule is now available in pdf. Form and wewill get it to you as soon as possible.

Each Group, through the Group Contact, wasrecently sent the CD-Rom for Module 12Providing a Balanced Programme. I do hopeyou have all had a chance to see it. It was sentto help you with the changeover to the newprogramme for the young people. However,this training Module and as such can bevalidated to count towards a Wood Badge. To

validate this Module you need to complete two ofthe following:-

§ Run a meeting incorporating three of theSection’s Underlying Ways of Working.

§ Describe how the other Section’s operate andhow the programme continually developsyoung people.

§ Be involved in the planning and running of athemed event, for example a fun day, orincorporating a variety of Programme Zones.

§ Review your programme and show how yourreview has improved future programme andthe programmes planning process.

§ Outline various sources, methods and themesthat can be used to generate exciting andrelevant programme ideas.

§ Produce notes of a meeting with young peopleto show their involvement in the programmeplanning process.

§ Any other ideas subject to agreement with aTraining Advisor.

And

§ Explain to a Training Advisor how a balancedprogramme meets The Scout Association’seducational objectives generally and for yourSection.

§ Produce a monthly/quarterly/yearlyprogramme plan, demonstrating that all of theProgramme Zones have been incorporatedover that period of time.

To get a module validated you must collect andprovide evidence. This can take several forms,written work, photos, video, witness testimony,discussion, workbooks, for example. If you want tosend your evidence to me I will be very happy tolook at it and validate as appropriate. It may justbe an email telling me what you have done orsending me things in the post.

In some places it will not be possible to haveTraining Advisors and for those places I will act astraining Advisor or maybe get somebody in the UKto do so. This will mean that nobody needs to beleft out. We want to give you as much support aswe can. Please feel free to contact me at any timeif you have any training queries.

Heather Elliott, County Training Manager.

EuroJam

British Groups Abroad are very welcome to takepart in the European Scout Jamboree (EuroJam)at Hylands Park, Chelmsford, Essex in thesummer of 2005. This will be a fantasticexperience for all those who take part and anyGroup from the Association (this means you!) can

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attend as part of the UK Contingent. Register athttp://www.eurojam.org/. Don’t forget to saythat you are a British Group Abroad and thatyour Association is The Scout Association(UK).

You can download the first bulletin called Euro-jam-agram, for the UK Contingent to EuroJamfrom:http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/ps/inter/world/ej-a-gram1.pdf

2007 – One World One Promise

...............so what's all this about a CentenaryCelebration in 2007?

Since Scouting began in 1907, almost half abillion young people all over the world havepledged to live by the Scout Promise and Law.This in itself is a fantastic reason for us as aworldwide movement to celebrate ourCentenary in 2007.

But we want the celebrations to be far moremeaningful than just a reflection backwards onone hundred glorious years of Scouting.

That is why Scouting 2007 was properlyestablished back in 1997, ten years in advanceof the Centenary. Our Agenda was to ensurethat not only did we celebrate the past, but thatwe celebrated the here and now of Scoutingworldwide, and also, perhaps yet even moreimportantly, that we helped lay the foundationsfor the next hundred years of Scouting.

To achieve this in the United Kingdom, wedeveloped three key strands of work,

§ The UK Celebrations

§ The 21st World Scout Jamboree, which theUK has been selected to host this WorldEvent in 2007. Also, the European ScoutJamboree 'EuroJam' to take place in 2005.

§ The World Celebrations

The UK Celebrations

In 1996 a database of over 1000 ideas for waysto celebrate was generated, which with ideassince, has now swelled the database to almost2000. Over the last year or so, there has beena low-key consultation process going on todetermine which ideas to take forward. Countyand Area Commissioners, young people atMillennium and International camps, youngpeople from the Voice for Young Peoplescheme, the Council of Campsite Wardens andHeadquarters volunteers and staff have allbeen asked to give their opinions on the ideas

contained in the database. In addition we havewelcomed ideas from all those involved inScouting - and have added all these to thedatabase. We are now looking at some of thepopular ideas more closely and will beginning toplan for these. It is also important to us that weadd and review our database to ensure that it is asup to date as possible with what young peoplewant.

Who is developing the UK Events & ActivitiesProgramme?

The UK Events & Activities Core Team headed byDek Humphreys, UK Director, has beenestablished to take forward the planning for the UKaspect of the Centenary celebrations. It isenvisaged that we will celebrate with a yearlongProgramme running from January 1st to December31st with a resource entitled “Join-in-Centenary”.This will be a resource developed in partnershipbetween 2007 and Programme and Development,to be interactive locally to make sure it becomesan entirely personalised programme for use withinevery Section in every Group in every District,County and Area in the UK to use, to make it theirown and meeting their needs. It will also fullyinvolve all adults associated with Scouting so thatthey too can celebrate the centenary in anappropriate way together with the young peoplewith whom we work.

The 2007 team is also looking at a specialprogramme for Brownsea Island, which will be oneof the focal points during the year, and examiningthe Home Hospitality requirements of all theevents, including the 21st World Scout Jamboree.

In addition to the Join-in-Centenary Resource, theUK team is planning a diary of Celebration Eventsthroughout the year; some will be National andsome local. One of the key highlights will be localCentenary Celebration Camps planned across theUK during the last weekend in May.

The 21st World Scout Jamboree

In July 1999 a team from the UK travelled toDurban, South Africa, to the 35th World ScoutConference to present a bid to hold the 21st WorldScout Jamboree in 2007. The bid was presentedentirely by young people, and unanimouslyaccepted by the Conference delegates.

We hope to welcome 40,000 participants aged 14to 18 years and staff to the UK from 27th July - 8thAugust 2007 to take part in the Centenary WorldScout Jamboree. This will be the biggestJamboree yet experienced, and will incorporatecelebrations on August 1st. Work is now wellunderway to make sure that the site has all thefacilities required for such a huge amount of

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people, and to design an exciting andadventurous programme for all participants!

The selected site for the 21st World ScoutJamboree is Hylands Park, Chelmsford,Essex

Not since the Commonwealth Games in 2002will the United Kingdom have been the host ofsuch a major international event. And the WorldScout Jamboree, with 40,000 young peoplefrom 216 countries and territories, will involvemore young participants than even the OlympicGames.

Who is responsible for Jamboree planning?

The 21st World Scout Jamboree Core Team,headed by Bill Cockcroft, Jamboree Director,has been established to oversee all planningfor the European and World Scout Jamborees.

This team is looking at the infrastructurerequirements for the site, the logistics of getting40,000 people (as well as visitors to the site) in,out and around, and the site services, whichwill be needed. They are examining theadministration systems and human resources,which we will need to make sure the events runsmoothly, and the programme which the youngpeople will take part in throughout theJamborees. They are also working with thelocal community to minimise the disruptioncaused to local life by the appearance of a local'tent town' overnight!

.............so what is EuroJam?

In 2005 we will have a European ScoutJamboree at Hylands Park from 29th July to10th August, for 20,000 members of EuropeanNational Scout Organisations. In July 2001 ateam from the UK travelled to the 17thEuropean Scout Conference in Prague to inviteall European National Scout Organisations totake part in the European Scout Jamboree. TheConference endorsed the Jamboree as aEuropean Scout event, and agreed to support itby encouraging full participation by allmembers.

The European Scout Jamboree will be achance for us to check all our systems,processes and programmes in time for the 21stWorld Scout Jamboree. We will have time toevaluate every aspect of the event, and tomake sure that it is perfect in time for the arrivalof the world in 2007! The Centenary experiencewill actually start in 2005!

However, EuroJam will be more that just apractice event! It will be an opportunity forScouts aged 11 to 18 years, from Iceland to

Italy and Sweden to Slovakia to join together for10 days of activities. Like the World ScoutJamboree, this will be a unique international event,but with a distinctly European flavour!

It’ll be the biggest Scouting event in Europe for 10years – and the biggest in the UK for nearly 50years.

Registration for this event opened at the start ofOctober 2003, to date there are already 6,000participants registered in the first four weeks fromacross Europe and the World - so check out thewebsite at www.eurojam.org and register yourinterest now.

The World Celebrations

2007 will be a celebration for the half billion peoplearound the world and will present a uniqueopportunity for Scouts worldwide to join together tocelebrate.

Who is preparing the World Celebrationsprogramme?

These celebrations are being co-ordinated by theWorld 2007 Task Force which meets before everymeeting of the World Scout Committee, to discussideas suggested from Scouts world-wide.

What will be the actual key celebration date inthe year?

August 1st is the date on which Lord RobertBaden-Powell opened his experimental camp onBrownsea Island for 20 boys to test his idea ofScouting. August 1st 2007 will be celebrated asthe 100th anniversary of Scouting - the high pointof a year of celebrations! The World ScoutCommittee hopes that as the sun rises on August1st 2007, all Scouts will mark the occasion with aworldwide renewal of the Promise. This ceremonywill take place all around the world as the sunrises, symbolising the sunrise on the secondcentury of Scouting. There will be a special focuson Brownsea Island, where we hope to have atleast one Scout from every member country ofWOSM camping and renewing their promise asthe sun rises. This will capture the essence ofScouting's achievement - to have grown in only100 years from 28 boys to a Movement of 28million members in 216 countries and territoriesworldwide. It is a truly awe-inspiring thought!

We hope that Scouts across the globe will be ableto link with each other on August 1st using all sortsof modern communications technology, to watchand join in the Sunrise Ceremony as it spreadsfrom country to country!

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What will be happening in the UK?

In addition to the 21st World Scout Jamboree,the UK will be hosting some of the WorldCelebrations that are linked to historic sites ofScouting interest to which the world will beinvited. There will be a programme of eventsfrom April to October on Brownsea Island andyearlong celebrations at Gilwell Park.

There will also be events on dates of specialScouting significance - such as Founder's day(which will be the 150th anniversary of Baden-Powell's birth), and St George's Day. Keepwatching this space for more details…

What else will be happening in WorldScouting?

In order to ensure that all members of WorldScouting are involved in the Centenarycelebrations, there will be a 'Join-in-Centenary'pack, which is distributed to all National ScoutOrganisations. This will be full of informationand ideas about how Scouts across the Worldcan be a part of the 2007 experience!

So, how do members of BGA get involved?

The best way to keep yourself abreast of allnews, developments and opportunities to beinvolved, add our 2007 website into your“Favourite Places” and check in regularly.www.scouting2007.org

You will have every opportunity to participate inthe Join-in-Centenary Programme and to applyto attend EuroJam or the World ScoutJamboree either as members of the UKContingents or as International Service Teamsfor each event.

Follow the links on the website to unfold evenmore background information of what will make2007 a special year for all those British Scoutsand Groups enjoying Scouting abroad.

Dek HumphreysUK Events & Activities Director

Nights Away

The arrangements for approving activities forScouts involving nights away will change from1 September 2004. Until that date the existingarrangements, as set out in BGA Essentials,will continue to apply.

From 1 September, no individual will be able toundertake “nights away” in British GroupsAbroad unless the individual is specificallyauthorised by holding a permit.

We want to issue Nights Away permits with theminimum of delay. Leaders who have a proventrack record of running effective nights away willnot need to do any more training and can beissued with a permit right away, provided theyapply successfully using a special fast trackapplication form. This form is available fordownload from the BGA pages on ScoutBase(http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/ps/inter/uk/bga/index.htm) or from the County Secretary.

For those who do not qualify under the fast tracksystem, we have produced a work book, designedto take you through the steps required to get thenecessary skills and experience. This work book isalso downloadable from ScoutBase or obtainableform the County Secretary.

We shall be happy to answer any questions on thischange in approach, which will make the processof authorising nights away more straightforward.

Blast from the Past

The early days of Scouting in the FalkandIslands

The Scout Movement in the Falkland Islands firststarted in 1911 with the formation of a Scout Troopin Stanley, but due to lack of leadership, wasdisbanded in 1917.

On 16th May 1921, a public meeting was held inthe Town Hall to discuss reviving the Boy ScoutMovement in the Colony. H.E. the Governorpresided and there were about sixty peoplepresent. Resulting from this meeting, the StanleyLocal Association was formed and an ExecutiveCommittee appointed and within a month the 1stStanley Troop started, shortly followed by theregistration of a Wolf Cub Pack.

In September 1921, a Grand Concert was held inaid of the funds of the Stanley Boy ScoutsAssociation, making a profit of £4O. In 1924, the1st Stanley Troop held a successful camp atMount Love, and an account written by theScoutmaster makes interesting reading.

In the years that followed, the question ofleadership was often a problem. In March 1927,news reached London that the 1st Stanley Troophad “gone to pieces” since the return to UK of theScoutmaster. Apparently no one locally wassufficiently interested in Scouting to take charge ofthe Troop, and in consequence it gradually died.

Further efforts were made to revive Scouting in theFalklands, and thanks to the keen and activeinterest shown by H.E. The Governor, the Trooprestarted as stated in a letter from Mr. R. B.Baseley, Scout Commissioner for FalklandIslands, dated 23rd August 1927. It was however

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short-lived and active Scouting ceased in thelate thirties due to the difficulty in obtaining asuitable person with sufficient time and interestto be Scoutmaster.

In May 1941, H.E. The Governor, on hisappointment to the Falkland Islands, writing toLord Hampton had this to say; “I shall do all Ican to foster The Scout Movement in thisColony, but I am not very hopeful of meetingany success for the following reasons:

§ So far I have met no one who shows anyinterest who is sufficiently young.

§ Adverse weather conditions in the Islands.

§ An unfortunate collapse of the Movementsome years ago, following the conviction ofthe local Scout Commissioner on a criminalcharge."

The Second World War further delayed thedevelopment of Falkland Islands Scouting. InJanuary 1942 a letter from H.E. The Governorread; “All children under 15 have beenevacuated and are scattered over the Islands”.

On 26th October 1946, the OverseasCommissioner wrote to the Headmaster of theGovernment School in Port Stanley requestinghim to assist in efforts to restart Scouting in theIslands. In his reply Mr. H. L. Baker,Superintendent of Education replied “I shouldbe glad to give any help I could if a Group wasformed here again. I do not think however thatthe present time would be suitable for restartinga Group, as most of the boys already belong toa Company of the Boys’ Brigade formed here afew years ago. "

An officer serving in Scottish Regiment in theFalklands during the Second World War hadformed a branch of the Boys Brigade, whichcontinued to thrive until the early 1980s. MrBaker continued:

"I think that an attempt to form a second boys’organisation would so split the small numbersavailable that neither organisation would runsuccessfully”. The Overseas Commissionerreplied to Mr. Baker’s letter in January 1947accepting his advice, and asked to be kept intouch with the situation. He concluded; “If atany time the Boys’ Brigade Unit ceases tofunction we should be glad of your assistancein restarting the Scout Movement”.

In 1955, the Overseas Secretary atHeadquarters received a letter from ArthurMartin based in Stanley on Antarctic Surveywork, regarding the possibility of forming aRover Crew. This suggestion was viewed withsome favour, there were a number ofconditions:

§ That there should be no possible suggestionof rivalry with the Boys’ Brigade.

§ That continuity of leadership should beassured, and that meant leadership byFalkland Islanders.

§ That the Crew should be an “Open” one.

It was also pointed out that Rovers, as a trainingsection had no Scouts to work with. Furtherdiscussions took place but nothing positive cameof them, and as no more was heard it is assumedthat the idea had not received general approval.

With the Boys Brigade taking the majority of theyouth membership, little more could be done untilthe Company closed in the early 1980s, allowingthe reformation of the Scout Troop. The new 1st

Falkland Islands (Port Stanley) was immediatelyregistered as a British Group Abroad, as Number416171 on 27 March 1984.

While in Bristol last year, I discovered a letter andphoto of the 1st Stanley Group dating from around1928. It probably belonged to Teddy Thompson.The photo (reproduced here) lacks the formalityand stiffness of many of the photos of that timeand shows a happy Troop who obviously enjoytheir Scouting. Many later moved to UK and mostare now dead, but the fortunes of some of theTroop are shown below.

Numbering is left to right.

Back Row: 1. Howel Evans now resides in NewZealand. 2. Albert Whitney drowned in theFalklands, late 1930s. 5. Teddy Thompson died inBristol in the late 1970s. 8. Lionel Halkett, RAFPilot killed in WWII. Centre: 1. Donnie Howatt, LtRN Helicopters now dead. 2 John Blyth, alive inthe Falklands in 1984. Seated: 3. Les Hardy,Scoutmaster. Well-known local businessman andmember of the Council. Died in Stanley around1972. 4. Ted Lillman retired Government

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Treasurer, died in Eton UK 1982. 5. AlexFinlayson owned a newsagent in Carnoustie,Scotland in 1984.

Tony DunnCounty Historian

Merging the World Wide Webs

Over the last few years, there has been a silentrevolution in the way that Scouting has beendelivered. I am not talking about theintroduction of the 6-25 programme; instead Iam talking about the adoption of the Internet, or“World Wide Web”, as a support mechanism toScout Leaders around the world.

Scouting is another “World Wide Web” withmembers all around the world working togetherand sharing ideas. This article looks at ways inwhich the Internet can assist Scout Leadersand Scout Groups in providing a betterprogramme for their members.

The first aspect of this silent revolution I willlook at is the development of electronic mail (ore-mail). E-mail has, without doubt, changedthe speed of communications; what previouslytook days (or even months) to send, now takesjust minutes and a much wider range ofinformation can be sent. E-mail does havedrawbacks, many of which are common toconventional post (or “snail mail”):

§ Firstly you must know that the correctaddress for the recipients e-mail account.Although this is a prerequisite for any post,e-mail is a lot less tolerant of mistakes inthe address line.

§ Secondly, although sending e-mail mayonly take minutes you may still have to waitdays for the response.

§ Finally, promulgating your address meansthat you become more vulnerable toreceiving unsolicited e-mail, or “spam”.

The Scout Association was one of the firstvoluntary organisations in the UK to realise thepower of e-mail and understand that bycreating mailing lists, they can reach moremembers quicker than previous methods. Anexample of this is “Talking Points”; I will receivean e-mail version 2 to 3 weeks before thepaper copy arrives from District – and mycurrent District is a lot better than some I havebeen in!

The Scout Association has now created anumber of mailing lists in addition to the“Talking Points” list. These mailing lists includeones on fundraising, media opportunities andactivities as well as mailing lists for each of the

Sections – if you have access to e-mail, I wouldstrongly suggest that you sign up to any mailinglists that you believe are relevant; no one else hasaccess to the e-mail address and it ensures thatyou receive the up-to-date information.

The advantages of e-mail spread right down intothe Section; all of my Explorer Scouts have regularaccess to e-mail and as a Unit we have agreedthat e-mail will be the primary means of advisingupdates to the programme; removing the need to“ring round” everyone.

E-mail and mailing lists are only two features ofthe Internet and the computing “World Wide Web”has a lot more to offer Scouting…

Imagine a library the size of New York and youwould begin to understand the amount ofinformation that is currently stored in the Internet –and most of this is freely accessible to everyone.Imagine a “one-stop-shop” where you can obtainprogramme ideas, check the latest rules and orderthe latest articles all from the comfort of your home– that is the Internet!

To illustrate this, I will use Scoutbase as anexample website. Within Scoutbase, you canaccess:

§ Details of all the progress and activity badges,

§ The latest version of Policy, Organisation andRules,

§ The latest versions of most of the factsheetspublished by the UKSA,

§ Details of events (both in the UK andoverseas) including Eurojam and 2007,

§ Activity ideas for all Sections including ideas tosupport the current National ProgrammeInitiative “Scouts go Green”,

§ A fantastic section on how to get the“International” and “Global” elements intoprogrammes that includes links to otherwebsites and resources,

§ A directory of campsites and e-mail addressesfor HQ staff and other Leaders,

§ A selection of pictures to include in notes etcand places where you can buy the latestpublications and information (Info Centreonline) uniform and other resources (Outdoorsonline).

And Scoutbase is only one of the UKSA websites!The UKSA has a second website that gives basicinformation on Scouting to prospective membersand there are plans to create another websitewhich can only be accessed by members. Thissite will contain a vast amount of informationincluding downloadable programme plans tosupport a balanced programme.

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Many Counties, Districts and Groups have alsocreated their own websites; as have otherNational Scouting (and Guiding) Organisations.Sometimes these websites are little more than“this is us, this is what we do” but many of theminclude a vast array of resource material andideas ready to be shared with other Leaders(for example, a very good site for globalawareness material is www.gapp.me.uk).

A good website can be a very useful tool inrecruiting new members especially if it is keptup to date and shows an exciting programme –my previous Group recruited over 6 newmembers because existing members were ableto use the Group website to show their friendswhat Scouting was. If anyone is responsiblefor creating a website (or is tempted to do so) Iwould suggest that you read Fact sheetFSxxxxxx (available on-line from Scoutbase)which gives some very good guidance onScout websites.

The Internet is also home to a wide range ofother websites which can help with Scouting –there are search engines like “Google”,“Altavista” and “Yahoo” which help findwebsites relating to particular topics, there aretranslation sites which will translate English intoother languages (and vice versa), there areonline encyclopaedia and a multitude of siteswhere you can download educationalresources – ready made for Scoutingprogrammes.

Many charities and companies have createdwebsites for children, presenting information ina fun, friendly way. Many shops have createdan Internet presence to enable people to buythings on-line. Originally these shops wereused for computers but their utility spreadacross articles such as CDs, books and videosuntil you can now buy just about anything onthe Internet. Leaders are increasingly usingon-line shopping and the Internet was used bythe WINGS 2003 camp to order all the food forthe camp – the largest on-line food order ever(so far).

Other Scouting uses of the Internet are on-linegroups (News Groups and Subscriber Groups)and chat rooms: -

News Groups are posted on a number ofInternet News Servers and can be posted to byanyone (and read by anyone). There are anumber of scouting specific Internet NewsGroups such as uk.rec.scouting, which can bea valuable source of ideas and assistance butthey can also be home to people complainingabout their current pet hate…

Subscriber Groups (often called e-Groups orforum) are similar to News Groups but you

have to join the Group (or forum). Like NewsGroups, there are groups covering most topics(including many Scouting ones). SubscriberGroups can have three big advantages over NewsGroups; the first is that your e-mail address is notmade public (so you are less likely to get Internetspam), secondly the Group will often publish adaily (or weekly) digest that gives all the new postsfor that period and finally Subscriber Groups cancontrol who joins the group – this means that it ispossible to restrict membership to Scout Leaders,or members of a particular Scout Group.

Internet chat rooms are the last feature of theInternet that may improve your programme. Chatrooms can be a dangerous place for young peopleas there is no guarantee that the person you arechatting to is who (or what) they say they are, butthere are a number of chat rooms run (andpoliced) by Scout Leaders for other members ofScouting and Guiding. These facilities provide thebackbone for events such as Jamboree on theInternet (JOTI) but run throughout the year to giveScouts the opportunity to “chat in cyberspace”; ifyou don’t know what JOTI is, more informationavailable on Scoutbase in the International Pages.

I hope that this article has given you some ideas ofhow merging the Internet with the world wide webof Scouting can open up another worldwide sourceof ideas for your programmes.

Kevin WallisInternational Editor, Scoutbase UK

BGA Gathering

A date for your diary – put it in now. The nextBGA Gathering will be on 14th August 2004 atGilwell Park.

A series of training modules will be covered,activities can be booked at the campsite, you cancamp, stay in the White House, visit TheInformation Centre, purchase resources and grillthe BGA County Team.

Let Bob know if you hope to be there.

12

Welcome, Farewell – and Congratulations

We welcome the following Leaders and Section Assistants who have joined us in BGA since 15th October2003.

Natalie Alabakis ABSL 3rd Dubai, United Arab EmiratesWinnie Bagley ABSL 1st Ascension Island, Ascension IslandHelen Eadie CSL (from Pack

Assistant)1st Beijing, People’s Republic of China

Kathryn Cairncross BSL 2nd Oman, OmanSusan Dibden ABSL 3rd Dubai, United Arab EmiratesAlec Gribble ABSL 1st Doha, QatarAndrew Taylor ABSL 2nd Oman, OmanLawrence Watson Pack Assistant 1st Falkland Islands, Falkland IslandsRuth Welford ACSL 1st Sharjah, United Arab EmiratesNicola Wilson ABSL 3rd Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Farewell, and many thanks to the following Leaders and Section Assistants who have left BGA:

Joy Beddoe GSL 1st Bandar Seri Begawan, BruneiAllan Bradley CS Helper 1st Bandar Seri Begawan, BruneiHelen Dowse ABSL 1st Nanjing Scout Group, People’s Republic of ChinaNicola Gray Colony Assistant Tanglin Trust School, SingaporeSusan Jalili D.C. United Arab EmiratesPauline Kell Colony Assistant Tanglin Trust School, SingaporeAnnelize Kidd ABSL 2nd Dubai, United Arab EmiratesVince Mitchell BSL 1st Nanjing Scout Group, People’s Republic of ChinaRajul Patel Colony Assistant Tanglin Trust School, SingaporeElizabeth Penrose CSL 1st Falkland Islands, Falkland IslandsDawn Shimmield ACSL 2nd Dubai, United Arab EmiratesDorinda Shorney Colony Assistant Tanglin Trust School, Singapore

I’m sorry to have to advise you that the 1st Bandar Seri Begawan Scout Group in Brunei, and 1st NanjingScout Group in The People’s Republic of China have both had to close.

Best wishes to you all

Bob Spargo, County Secretary

13

British Groups Abroad – Appointments process

For implementation from 1st April 2004

AA & CRB forms receivedby County Secretary

County Secretaryadvises County.

Training Manager.of prospectiveappointment

CRB form sent toHQ

Training Adviser assigned byCounty Training Manager.Provisional Appointment

issued by County Secretary.

Initial (ScoutAssociation internal)

enquiry clear

References (RF)received by County

Secretary

County TrainingManager issues

“Getting Started”pack and monitors

progress

County Training Manageradvises County Secretarythat “Getting Started” is

completed (within 5months)

ü û

Applicant must apply forrenewal of provisional

appointment for a further 5months. (Only one

renewal is permitted)

CRB Disclosure clear

Full appointment made – Warrant (orCertificate of Appointment) issued by

County Secretary

County Commissioner’sapproval