Dear friends,
2019 has been an important year of engagement, innovation and unity across the Scout Movement. The year was full of major milestones and together we made great strides in delivering on our Vision 2023. With a continued focus on reaching out to more young people and deepening our impact to create a better world, we are proud that our movement is 54 million members strong, and advancing with confidence as the world’s leading educational youth Movement.
Among the many highlights of 2019, we celebrated the unity and diversity of our Movement at an unforgettable
World Scout Jamboree, gathering over 45,000 young people and volunteers to experience the transformative power of Scouting. Throughout the year, we saw Scouts take a stand and become advocates for change through digital and grassroots campaigns around issues facing both people and planet. From promoting gender equality to tackling climate change to acting as champions for human rights, our Movement is mindful of our collective responsibility to influence positive change.
Messengers of Peace and our new mobilisation
Scouts for SDGs, a commitment to make the world’s largest coordinated youth contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, mobilised millions of Scouts through community service and local actions, including peace-building activities, environmental cleanups, disaster relief efforts, and so much more.
With a continued commitment to strengthen the capacity of our members, we launched the
WOSM Services platform in February, offering high-quality and dedicated support to National Scout Organizations (NSOs) through one-on-one consultation, interactive e-learning courses, and more than 700 resources focused on all aspects of Scouting.
2019 was also full of celebration and collaboration. We marked the
Wood Badge Centenary, honouring 100 years of shaping leaders. And we strengthened our engagement with partners.
Two big milestones capped off an incredible 2019. In October,
JOTA-JOTI connected and engaged millions of Scouts in building friendships and learning about global citizenship through a revamped digital experience and educational programme. This December also saw us co-hosting the
World Non-Formal Education Forum, bringing together the non-formal education sector and launching an ambitious call to action challenging NSOs, youth organisations and UN partners to invest and innovate in non-formal education solutions for youth development.
2019 was a year to demonstrate the dynamism and innovation of our Movement, and we achieved a lot thanks to the tireless support of millions of volunteers and supporters. Thank you to each and every member of our global Scouting family.