Impact Assessment of the World Scout Youth Forum and the Youth Advisor System

IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF THE WORLD SCOUT YOUTH FORUM AND THE YOUTH ADVISOR SYSTEM

FULL REPORT © World Scout Bureau Scouting Development June 2013

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Reproduction is authorized to National Scout Organizations and Associations which are members of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. Credit for the source must be given. IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF THE WORLD SCOUT YOUTH FORUM AND THE YOUTH ADVISOR SYSTEM

FULL REPORT Table of Contents

Executive Summary ...... 4

1. World Scout Youth Forum ...... 6

1.1. Quantitative Analysis ...... 7

1.1.1. Introduction ...... 7

1.1.2. Age Distribution of Participants ...... 8

1.1.3. Gender Distribution of Participants ...... 8

1.1.4. Regional Distribution of Forum Participants ...... 10

1.1.5. Representation of National Scout Organizations ...... 11

1.1.6. Distribution of Forum Participants Attending the World Scout Conference ...... 13

1.1.7. Distribution of Conference Participants per Age Category and per WOSM Region ...... 20

1.1.7.1. WOSM Regions’ Share in Each Age Category ...... 23

1.1.8. Summary ...... 25

1.2. Qualitative Analysis ...... 27

1.2.1. Introduction ...... 27

1.2.2. Former Participants’ Opinions about the Forum ...... 27

1.2.2.1. Background Information of Survey Respondents ...... 27

1.2.2.2. Added Value of the WSYF towards the Participant ...... 30

1.2.2.3. Preparation for the World Scout Conference ...... 34

1.2.2.4. Importance of WSYF Recommendations for the Participants ...... 37

1.2.2.5. Added Value of the Participant towards her/his NSO/Region ...... 38

1.2.3. NSO/NSA Representatives’ Opinion about the World Scout Youth Forum ...... 40

1.2.3.1. Assessment of the Impact of the WSYF on NSOs/NSAs ...... 41

1.2.4. Interviewees’ Opinions about the World Scout Youth Forum ...... 44

1.2.4.1. The WSYF as a Tool for Enhancing Youth Participation in Decision-Making ...... 44

1.2.4.2. Recommendations for the next World Scout Youth Forum ...... 46

1.2.4.3. Interviewees’ Impressions and Stories ...... 47

1.2.5. Qualitative Analysis of WSYF Output ...... 48

1.2.5.1. WSYF Recommendations conducted and approved as WSC Resolutions ...... 48

1.2.5.2. Interviewees’ Input ...... 50

1.2.6. Summary ...... 52

2. Youth Advisor System ...... 54

2.1. Quantitative Analysis ...... 55

2.1.1. Introduction ...... 55

2.1.2. Youth Advisor’s Background Information ...... 56

2.2. Qualitative Analysis ...... 58

2.2.1. Introduction ...... 58

2.2.2. Youth Advisors’ Opinions about the Youth Advisor System ...... 58

2.2.2.1. Survey Respondents’ Background ...... 58

2.2.2.2. Added Value of the Youth Advisors to the Work of the World Scout Committee ...... 59

2.2.2.3. Added Value of the Youth Advisors towards their WOSM Region and National Scout Organization ...... 63

2.2.2.4. The Impact of the Youth Advisor Experience on the Youth Advisors Themselves ...... 66

2.2.3. NSO/NSA Representatives’ Opinions about the Youth Advisor System ...... 69

2.2.4. World Scout Committee Members’ Opinion of the Youth Advisor System ...... 71

2.2.4.1. Introduction ...... 71

2.2.4.2. Assessing the Quality of Input of Youth Advisors at World Scout Committee Meetings ...... 72

2.2.4.3. Assessing the Impact of the Youth Advisor System ...... 72

2.2.5. Interviewees’ Input ...... 74

2.2.6. Summary ...... 80

3. Regional Forms of Youth Participation ...... 82

3.1. Introduction ...... 83

3.2. Africa Scout Region ...... 84

3.3. Arab Scout Region ...... 85

3.4. Asia-Pacific Scout Region ...... 86

3.5. Eurasia Scout Region ...... 87

3.6. Europe Scout Region ...... 88

3.7. Interamerica Scout Region ...... 89

4. Annexes ...... 90

Executive Summary

As a response to Resolution 8/11 (Youth Involvement in Decision-Making in National Scout Organizations and within WOSM), the Youth for Change World Priority Area Working Group of the World Scout Committee has identified an impact assessment of the World Scout Youth Forum (WSYF) and Youth Advisor (YA) system as one of its tasks during the current triennium. The results of the impact assessment research, conducted between November 2012 and February 2013 are presented in the Report on the Impact Assessment of the WSYF and YA system.

The Report gives a detailed quantitative analysis of the WSYF participants’ (from the past five Forums) and YAs’ background information, and a qualitative analysis of four surveys conducted with i) former Forum participants, ii) former and current YAs, iii) NSO representatives and iv) World Scout Committee members. A total of 18 interviews were conducted with Forum participants, past and current Youth Advisors and people with significant ties to the World Scout Youth Forum. The Report also includes a qualitative analysis of the Recommendations from the past five Forums.

The following passages present a selected list of key findings from the Report.

1. The number of Forum participants not attending the subsequent World Scout Conference has constantly been dropping, from 57 (43%) at the 7th Forum, to only 5 (4%) at the 11th Forum. On average, Forum participants account for 74% of the 18 to 26 age category of World Scout Conference participants, and in total, this category of participants comprises between 20 and 23% of the whole number of Conference delegates and observers. This percentage has been slowly rising over the past four Conferences.

2. There has been on average 40% of all recognized WOSM NSOs present at each of the past five World Scout Youth Forums. Several interviewees emphasized that an increase in the number of NSOs represented at the Forum would increase its credibility, as well as the representativeness of the Youth Advisors.

3. When grading their satisfaction with the fulfilment of the objectives of the Forum, survey respondents (WSYF participants) were very satisfied with the networking and intercultural exchange opportunities the Forum offers, as well as the skills and knowledge it provides. However, there were mixed views as to whether the Forum achieves its objective of “enhancing youth participation in decision-making at World level”: 47% stated that the WSYF enhanced youth participation in decision-making “a lot”, while 24% stated that it did so “neither a little nor a lot”. Respondents of the WSYF participants’ survey and several interviewees generally indicated a high level of satisfaction with the preparation the Forum offers to its participants for the World Scout Conference.

4. About 41% of the survey respondents (WSYF participants) state that they are satisfied with „The Recommendations of the WSYF to the World Scout Committee“, but 30,1% were „neither satisfied nor unsatisfied“. The past 5 WSYFs have produced 71 Recommendations. There is a general impression among interviewees that Forum Recommendations are not devoted the necessary attention if they are not also passed as Conference Resolutions. Out of the 71 Recommendations from the past 5 Forums, 9 were passed as Conference Resolutions with minor changes in text, and 3 were passed partially. A trend of growth in the number of Recommendations is evident from Forum to Forum.

5. Over 38,6% (39 respondents, WSYF participants) think that their representation at World level by the YAs is “Good” and 36,6 % (37 respondents) think it is “Fair”. Through the research it became clear that past and current Youth Advisors, as well as the majority of other interviewees, believe that the current system is providing a possibility for obtaining good-quality Youth Advisors. The question of the representativeness of the Youth Advisor body has been raised several times, from different angles – NSOs, Regions and their constituency – the WSYF participants. Five out of eleven Youth Advisors that responded to the survey stated that they have had “little” interaction with the participants of the WSYF when forming an opinion about a certain issue of World level importance. WSYF participants in general think that regional representation in the YA body is necessary (22,3% think it is “necessary”, 40,8% think it is “very necessary”, 21,4% believe it is “somewhat necessary” and 11,7% believe it is “not necessary at all”).

6. The statistical analysis of the candidates for the YAs has shown that there cannot be a correlation drawn from the number of candidates for Youth Advisors from one Region and the number of successful candidates from the same Region. There have been cases where a Region has had 4 candidates, and none got elected, while another Region has had 2 candidates, and both got elected. The previous and current Youth Advisors pointed out that they have been putting effort into gaining input from Regional Youth Advisors

from the Regions where there is no Youth Advisor to the WSC elected, but have also emphasized that this relationship needs to have a more formalized framework.

7. Previous and current Youth Advisors who responded to the survey stated that their opinion was somewhat or fully acknowledged by the World Scout Committee members, while the opinion of the Committee members that have answered the survey is somewhat more critical (one of the four respondents stated: ““Youth Advisers would be more useful if the Committee actually listened to and acted on their views.”). Three of the six Committee members that have responded to the survey have stated that the YAs have had little influence in enhancing youth participation in decision-making in the Committee; however, all six stated that the YA system is overall either “useful”, “very useful” or “extremely useful”.

8. Respondents of the survey for NSOs were overall very satisfied with the motivation the participants had for continuing their commitment to their NSO after attending the Forum, as well as the skills and knowledge and ideas for projects they have brought back from the Forum. This corresponds to the high number of project ideas and partnerships described by WSYF participants in their survey. However, in general the NSO representatives stated that the participation of their members in the Forum had little or “neither a little nor a lot” of influence on the youth participation in their national structures. This, on the other hand, does not correspond to the participants’ survey responses, where 65% of them stated that they have been a member of a decision-making body on national, regional or World level. Over 53% of respondents who gave a positive answer to this question stated that their participation in the decision-making body was influenced “a lot” or “greatly” by their participation in the WSYF.

9. Overall, both WSYF participants and YAs state that the skills, knowledge and connections they acquired during the Forum helped them greatly not just in their scouting, but also personal life and careers (personal examples presented in the report).

1. World Scout Youth Forum

1.1. Quantitative Analysis

1.1.1. Introduction

The World Scout Youth Forums (WSYF) have been held immediately before the World Scout Conferences (WSC) since 1996. The Report bases its analysis on the past five Forums (held since 1999), which gives a statistical population for analysis of 706 participants. The following table presents the total numbers of participants at each of the five Forums included in the analysis, as well as the percentage of delegates and observers at each of the Forums:

Forum Percentage Percentage Total Number Delegates Observers of Participants 7th WSYF, Michaelhouse, Balgowan, South Africa, 1999 61.65% 38.35% 133 8th WSYF, Metsovo, Greece, 2002 70.90% 29.10% 121 9th WSYF, Hammamet, Tunisia, 2005 66.42% 33.58% 154 10th WSYF, Iksan, Korea, 2008 71.59% 28.41% 176 11TH WSYF, Blumenau, Brazil, 2011 68.03% 31.97% 122

This analysis has been conducted with the information provided from the World Scout Bureau staff, consisted of participants’ lists and reports from the previous 5 Forums, and additionally, participants’ lists and reports from the past 5 Conferences.

The information presented in this analysis is part of the impact assessment of the World Scout Youth Forum and Youth Advisor system. The analysis includes information about age and gender distribution of participants, regional representation, National Scout Organizations representation, and an analysis of the status of those participants of the WSYFs who attended the subsequent WSCs.

All analysis presented in this report is based exclusivelly on the lists of participants of the past 5 WSYFs, excluding Host Committee members, World Scout Bureau support staff, and members of the World Scout Committee.

1.1.2. Age Distribution of Participants

As visible from the below presented Chart 1, the majority of participants are between 20 and 25 years of age, with the largest proportion of participants being either 21, 23 or 24. The age limit for participating in the Forum is 26, but there have been some exemptions made to this rule, that is why there are 4 outliers, but none above the age of 29.

Based on this information, it is possible to conclude that the main age group of WOSM members the Forum as an event is attracting is between 21 and 24 years old.

Chart 1: Age Distribution of Participants

50 45 46 40 43 43 35 36 36 30 33 25 28 Frequency 20 21 15 10 5 8 2 2 0 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 More

Note: This age distribution analysis is based on the information from the 10th and 11th World Scout Youth Forums (176 participants of the 10th WSYF and 122 participants of the 11th WSYF), since information about the age of participants was not available for the 9th, 8th and 7th Forum.

1.1.3. Gender Distribution of Participants

Overall, observing the past five Forums, the statistics Chart 2: Gender Distribution of Participants show that an unequal representation of women and men is evident. In total, 38% of the participants were women, while 62% were men (Chart 2).

Note: The information presented in Chart 2 is based on the participants’ lists from all 5 Forums, which, 38% however, do contain missing values. Table 1 presents Male the amount (in percentages) of males, females and Female missing values in the past 5 Forums. 62%

Table 1: Overall Gender Distribution of Forum Participants

South Africa, 1999 Greece, 2002 Tunisia, 2005 Korea, 2008 Brazil, 2011

Female 21,80% 33,06% 31,17% 42,05% 40,98%

Male 48,12% 57,85% 59,09% 57,95% 59,02% Total 21,80% 90,91% 90,26% 100,00% 100,00% Missing values 30,08% 9,09% 9,74%

It is also interesting to observe the gender distribution of participants per Region and per Forum. Table 2 presents an overview of this distribution.

Table 2: Gender Distribution of Forum Participants per Forum and WOSM Region Total per WSYF 7th WSYF 8th WSYF 9th WSYF 10th WSYF 11th WSYF Region

No Percent No Percent No Percent No Percent No Percent No Percent Africa Region Male 20 74,07% 3 75,00% 9 60,00% 16 66,67% 12 66,67% 60 68,18% Female 7 25,93% 1 25,00% 6 40,00% 8 33,33% 6 33,33% 28 31,82% Total 27 100,00% 4 100,00% 15 100,00% 24 100,00% 18 100,00% 88 100,00% Arab Region Male 6 100,00% 5 100,00% 5 71,43% 12 85,71% 5 83,33% 33 86,84% Female 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 2 28,57% 2 14,29% 1 16,67% 5 13,16% Total 6 100,00% 5 100,00% 7 100,00% 14 100,00% 6 100,00% 38 100,00% Asia-Pacific Region Male 7 70,00% 11 84,62% 12 66,67% 27 57,45% 16 64,00% 73 64,60% Female 3 30,00% 2 15,38% 6 33,33% 20 42,55% 9 36,00% 40 35,40% Total 10 100,00% 13 100,00% 18 100,00% 47 100,00% 25 100,00% 113 100,00% Eurasia Region Male 0 0,00% 1 50,00% 0 0,00% 2 40,00% 1 33,33% 4 33,33% Female 0 0,00% 1 50,00% 2 100,00% 3 60,00% 2 66,67% 8 66,67% Total 0 0,00% 2 100,00% 2 100,00% 5 100,00% 3 100,00% 12 100,00% Europe Region Male 22 55,00% 26 56,52% 39 62,90% 27 48,21% 29 59,18% 143 56,52%

Female 18 45,00% 20 43,48% 23 37,10% 29 51,79% 20 40,82% 110 43,48% Total 40 100,00% 46 100,00% 62 100,00% 56 100,00% 49 100,00% 253 100,00% Interamerica Region Male 9 90,00% 8 66,67% 10 71,43% 18 60,00% 10 47,62% 55 63,22% Female 1 10,00% 4 33,33% 4 28,57% 12 40,00% 11 52,38% 32 36,78%

Total 10 100,00% 12 100,00% 14 100,00% 30 100,00% 21 100,00% 87 100,00%

Note: Table 2 observes the lists without incorporating the missing values in the calculations.

Comments:

• The Africa, Asia-Pacific, Eurasia and Interamerica Regions have roughly the same distribution of female and male participants (about 30% women compared to 60% men). • In the Africa Region, the 75% male representation at the 7th WSYF dropped to 67% at the 11th WSYF, which indicates a slow trend towards a better balance of male and female participants. • It is evident that the Arab Region has the largest disproportion in representation of women and men (with a total of 86,84% of male participants). Although there seemed to have been improvements in the ratio of male- female participants in the 9th and 10th Forum, where there were 2 female representatives, this trend was changed again at the 11th Forum, where only 1 out of 6 participants from this Region was a woman. • The Asia-Pacific Region has had a rather different representation at each Forum, ranging from 85% male representatives at the 8th WSYF, to 57% at the 10th WSYF. Still, a slow trend towards a balanced representation is evident. • When considering the Eurasia Region, the fact that there was a small number of participants in total from this Region must be taken into account. Still, this is the only WOSM Region which has had more female than male participants at the Forums (33% male versus 67% female participants). • The Europe Region is the closest to having an equal number of female and male participants (ratio: 43% - 57%). • The Interamerica Region shows a clear trend towards a more balanced gender distribution of participants, coming from 90% male representation at the 7th WSYF, to 48% at the 11th WSYF.

1.1.4. Regional Distribution of Forum Participants

Charts 3a shows the distribution of participants from the past five Forums per WOSM region and Chart 3b shows the distribution of NSOs across WOSM Regions. Since the participants of the World Scout Youth Forum are being sent by their National Scout Organizations, it is also important to observe the ratio of NSOs represented at the Forum (which will be presented in the next chapter), in comparison to the total number of NSOs per WOSM Region.

Chart 3a: Distribution of Participants per Chart 3b: WOSM Regions per number of WOSM Region NSOs

2% 13% Europe Europe 20% Asia-pacific 25% Asia-pacific 7% 38% Africa 6% Africa 16% Arab Arab 11% 15% Eurasia Eurasia

24% Interamerica 23% Interamerica

Table 3 presents the distribution of participants per WOSM Region. The numbers given are the total numbers of participants per Forum per Region, as well as the percentage for which they account in the whole population of the Forum participants.

Table 3: Distribution of Participants per Region, per World Scout Youth Forum Total per WSYF 7th WSYF 8th WSYF 9th WSYF 10th WSYF 11th WSYF Region Region No Percent No Percent No Percent No Percent No Percent No Percent 27 Europe 43 32,33% 55 45,45% 68 44,16% 56 31,82% 48 39,34% 0 38,24% Asia- 17 Pacific 33 24,81% 30 24,79% 38 24,68% 47 26,70% 26 21,31% 4 24,65% 11 Africa 41 30,83% 12 9,92% 17 11,04% 24 13,64% 18 14,75% 2 15,86% Arab 6 4,51% 7 5,79% 14 9,09% 14 7,95% 6 4,92% 47 6,66% Eurasia 0 0,00% 2 1,65% 3 1,95% 5 2,84% 3 2,46% 13 1,84% Interameri ca 10 7,52% 15 12,40% 14 9,09% 30 17,05% 21 17,21% 90 12,75% 13 100,00 12 100,00 15 100,00 17 100,00 12 100,00 70 100,00 Total 3 % 1 % 4 % 6 % 2 % 6 %

Comments:

• The Africa Region had a significant proportion of representation at the 7th WSYF, because it was held in South Africa. If this outlier is taken out of account, a slow trend of growth is visible from about 10% at the 8th WSYF to 14,75% at the 11th WSYF. • The Asia-Pacific Region has had a very little variation in its representation over the past 5 Forums, growing to its largest of 26,70% at the 10th WSYF in Korea. It holds a constant of about 24% in the total number of participants. • The Arab Region has also had a quite even representation, if the outlier of the 9th Forum, held in Tunisia, is excluded (where the representation was 9,09%). However, a big drop in participation is noticeable from the 10th to the 11th Forum (from 14 participants to 6). This could be explained by the travel distance, since the 11th Forum was held in Brazil. • Eurasia has had the least variation in its representation, with an almost constant average of 2%. • The representation of the Interamerica Region rapidly grew from the 10th WSYF (coming to 17% from a previous 9%). Even though this Region hosted the 11th WSYF, its participation did not increase in comparison to the previous Forum (from 30 participants in Korea, it droped to 21). • The representation of the Europe Region is the largest (38%). The number of participants from this Region is almost equal to the number of participants from Eurasia, Africa, Arab and Interamerica Regions together.

1.1.5. Representation of National Scout Organizations

As visible from Chart 4, the country with the highest number of participants is Denmark, with 23 participants in total from the past 5 Forums. It is followed by Australia, Korea, Hong Kong and Japan (all with 20 or more participants).

Chart 4: Countries with 10 or more participants in the past 5 World Scout Youth Forums

23 22 22 21 20 18 18 16 16 16 16 16 14 14 13 13 13 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 11 11 11 11 10 10 10

A total of 29 NSOs have sent only one representative (to one of the 5 Forums). Among the top 5 NSOs with the biggest number of participants sent, four come from the Asia-Pacific Region. NSOs from the following countries have never sent participants to the past 5 Forums: Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Fiji, Georgia, Grenada, Guatemala, Iceland, Israel, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Malawi, Malta, Mauritania, Montenegro, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Qatar, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Sierra Leone, Syrian Arab Republic and Togo – a total of 37.

Table 4 and Chart 5 show how many NSOs have been represented at each Forum per Region.

Table 4: Representation of NSOs Total NSOs Region per Region 7th WSYF 8th WSYF 9th WSYF 10th WSYF 11th WSYF Africa 37 13 35,14% 5 13,51% 10 27,03% 21 56,76% 10 27,03% Arab 18 4 22,22% 5 27,78% 6 33,33% 9 50,00% 4 22,22% Asia-Pacific 24 12 50,00% 10 41,67% 12 50,00% 17 70,83% 11 45,83% Eurasia 9 0 0,00% 2 22,22% 2 22,22% 5 55,56% 3 33,33% Europe 41 22 53,66% 24 58,54% 29 70,73% 26 63,41% 21 51,22% Interamerica 32 5 15,63% 6 18,75% 7 21,88% 17 53,13% 7 21,88%

5 34,78 5 32,30 6 40,99 9 59,01 34,78 Total NSOs 161 6 % 2 % 6 % 5 % 56 %

Comments:

• In general, the highest number of represented NSOs was at the 10th WSYF, where 95 out of 161 NSOs have sent their representatives. The other 4 Forums have a quite similar ratio of representation (about 35 %). • The highest rate of NSOs represented the Africa Region has had was at the 10th WSYF, where 21 out of 37 NSOs (56,76%) were represented, and the lowest was at the 8th WSYF, where only 5 NSOs were represented. • If excluding the 10th WSYF as an outlier, where the Arab Region has had a 50% representation, the average of this Region is between 20 and 30%. • The Asia-Pacific Region has had its highest representation at the 10th WSYF (70%), and excluding it as an outlier, its average would come to about 50%. • The Eurasia Region has had its highest number of NSOs represented at the 10th WSYF (55%), and if excluding it, its average would come to between 20 and 30%. • The Europe Region has had, on average a representation of 59,49% over the past five Forums. Its highest representation was at the 9th WSYF (70,73%).

Chart 5: Representation of NSOs per Forum

80.00%

70.00%

60.00% 7th WSYF 50.00% 8th WSYF 40.00% 9th WSYF

30.00% 10th WSYF

20.00% 11th WSYF

10.00%

0.00% Africa Arab Asia-pacific Eurasia Europe Interamerica

• The Interamerica Region has had an extreme outlier in the 10th WSYF, where it had a representation of 53%, and if excluded, its average representation would fall in between 15 and 20%.

1.1.6. Distribution of Forum Participants Attending the World Scout Conference

Tables 5a and 5b present the information about Forum participants who also participated in the subsequent World Scout Conference. These tables also provide information about the delegate/observer status of Forum participants at the Conference. Chart 6 is a visual presentation of the information provided in the tables.

Comments:

• The Africa Region has had a very significant change in the number of Forum participants attending the subsequent Conference – from only 14,63% attending the WSC after the 7th WSYF, to 94,44% attending the WSC after the 11th WSYF. • The Arab Region has had all participants of the Forum attending the subsequent Conference already at the 7th Forum. However, at the following two Forums the percentage of participants attending both the WSYF and WSC was cut in half. This situation changed at the 10th and 11th WSYF, where there were a larger number of participants attending both the Forum and Conference.

• The Asia-Pacific Region has had a quite steady trend of growth of Forum participants attending the subsequent Conference, coming to the highest rate of 96,15% at the 11th WSYF. • The Europe Region has also had a steady growth rate, coming to the highest at the 11th WSYF of 95,83% of Forum participants attending the subsequent Conference. • The Eurasia Region has had a constant of all participants from the past 4 Forums also attending the conference. This is the only Region with a 100% attendance of Forum participants at the subsequent Conference. • The Interamerica Region has had a similar trend as the Europe Region, with a rate of 95,24% of Forum participants attending the Conference at the last Forum.

Chart 6: Forum Participants at the World Scout Conference

100.00%

90.00%

80.00%

70.00% Attending WSC 60.00% Delegates 50.00%

40.00% Observers

30.00% Not attending WSC

20.00%

10.00%

0.00% 7th WSYF 8th WSYF 9th WSYF 10th WSYF 11th WSYF

Table 5a: Distribution of Forum Participants Attending the WSC (numbers)

Pacific - Arab WSYF Africa Europe Eurasia Total per Total Asia

Interamerica 7th WSYF, South Africa, 1999

Attending WSC 6 6 23 35 0 6 76

Delegates 5 5 7 19 0 2 38

Observers 1 1 16 16 0 4 38

Not attending WSC 35 0 10 8 0 4 57 Total participants 41 6 33 43 0 10 133

8th WSYF, Greece, 2002

Attending WSC 1 4 27 39 2 10 83

Delegates 1 4 4 23 2 4 38

Observers 0 0 23 16 0 6 45

Not attending WSC 11 3 3 16 0 5 38 Total participants 12 7 30 55 2 15 121 9th WSYF, Tunisia, 2005 Attending WSC 9 7 32 52 3 9 112 Delegates 6 2 11 26 1 5 51 Observers 3 5 21 26 2 4 61 Not attending WSC 8 7 6 16 0 5 42 Total participants 17 14 38 68 3 14 154 10th WSYF, Korea, 2008 Attending WSC 23 12 41 50 5 26 157 Delegates 15 3 17 22 4 16 77 Observers 8 9 24 28 1 10 80 Not attending WSC 1 2 6 6 0 4 19 Total participants 24 14 47 56 5 30 176 11th WSYF, Brazil, 2011 Attending WSC 17 6 25 46 3 20 117 Delegates 7 3 11 26 3 5 55 Observers 10 3 14 20 0 15 62 Not attending WSC 1 0 1 2 0 1 5 Total participants 18 6 26 48 3 21 122 TOTAL PER REGION Total participants 112 47 174 270 13 90 706 Total attending WSC 56 35 148 222 13 71 545 Total delegates 34 17 50 116 10 32 259 Total observers 22 18 98 106 3 39 286

Total not attending WSC 56 12 26 42 0 19 155

Table 5b: Distribution of Forum Participants Attending the WSC (percentages)

Pacific - Arab WSYF Africa Europe Eurasia Total per Total Asia Interamerica

7th WSYF, South Africa, 1999

Attending WSC 14,63% 100,00% 69,70% 81,40% 0,00% 60,00% 57,14%

Delegates 83,33% 83,33% 30,43% 54,29% 0,00% 33,33% 50,00%

Observers 16,67% 16,67% 69,57% 45,71% 0,00% 66,67% 50,00%

Not attending WSC 85,37% 0,00% 30,30% 18,60% 0,00% 40,00% 42,86% 8th WSYF, Greece, 2002 Attending WSC 8,33% 57,14% 90,00% 70,91% 100,00% 66,67% 68,60% Delegates 100,00% 100,00% 14,81% 58,97% 100,00% 40,00% 45,78% Observers 0,00% 0,00% 85,19% 41,03% 0,00% 60,00% 54,22% Not attending WSC 91,67% 42,86% 10,00% 29,09% 0,00% 33,33% 31,40% 9th WSYF, Tunisia, 2005 Attending WSC 52,94% 50,00% 84,21% 76,47% 100,00% 64,29% 72,73% Delegates 66,67% 28,57% 34,38% 50,00% 33,33% 55,56% 45,54% Observers 33,33% 71,43% 65,63% 50,00% 66,67% 44,44% 54,46% Not attending WSC 47,06% 50,00% 15,79% 23,53% 0,00% 35,71% 27,27% 10th WSYF, Korea, 2008 Attending WSC 95,83% 85,71% 87,23% 89,29% 100,00% 86,67% 89,20% Delegates 65,22% 25,00% 41,46% 44,00% 80,00% 61,54% 49,04% Observers 34,78% 75,00% 58,54% 56,00% 20,00% 38,46% 50,96% Not attending WSC 4,17% 14,29% 12,77% 10,71% 0,00% 13,33% 10,80% 11th WSYF, Brazil, 2011 Attending WSC 94,44% 100,00% 96,15% 95,83% 100,00% 95,24% 95,90% Delegates 41,18% 50,00% 44,00% 56,52% 100,00% 25,00% 47,01% Observers 58,82% 50,00% 56,00% 43,48% 0,00% 75,00% 52,99% Not attending WSC 5,56% 0,00% 3,85% 4,17% 0,00% 4,76% 4,10%

Comments:

• When observing the delegate/observer status of participants from the Forums at the Conferences, there is no clear trend to be observed in any of the Regions. • The Africa Region had a higher rate of delegates versus observers at Conferences following the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th Forum, but at the 11th, this situation changed to 41,18% delegates to 58,82% observers. • The Arab Region has had a diversified ratio between delegates and observers – from a 100% of delegates at the WSC after the 8th Forum, to only 25% at the WSC after the 10th Forum. • The Asia-Pacific Region has constantly had a lower number of delegates compared to observers, but with a slow growth in the number of delegates. • Europe Region has had an almost constant balance of delegates-observers (roughly 50%-50%). • The Eurasia Region has had 100% of Forum participants registered as delegates at subsequent Conferences twice, and in general, has had a larger proportion of delegates compared to observers. • The Interamerica Region demonstrated a constant growth of delegates compared to observers up until the WSC following the 11th Forum, where the proportion of delegates dropped from 61,54% (at the 38th Conference, following the 10th Forum) to 25%.

Table 6 presents the percent change in total numbers of Forum participants attending the Conference, and the change in delegates versus observers.

Table 6: Percent change in total numbers per WSYF

8th to 7th WSYF 9th to 8th WSYF 10th to 9th WSYF 11th to 10th WSYF Forums 2002-1999 2005-2002 2008-2005 2011-2008

Attending the WSC 9,21% 34,94% 40,18% -25,48%

Delegates 0,00% 34,21% 50,98% -28,57% Observers 18,42% 35,56% 31,15% -22,50%

Not attending the WSC -33,33% 10,53% -54,76% -73,68%

Total participants -9,02% 27,27% 14,29% -30,68%

Comments:

• There is an evident growth in the number of Forum participants attending the Conference from the 7th to the 10th Forum; however, there was a drop in the number of participants attending the 39th Conference (after the 11th Forum) of 25,48%, which could partially be explained by the economic crisis. Also, the 10th Forum had more participants than the 11th (30,68% less participants at the 11th WSYF than at the 10th WSYF) which could also partially explain the reason for this drop. The same explanation stands for the drop in delegates and observers at the 39th Conference. • Overall, the number of delegates has been increasing from the 36th to the 38th Conference, with a 51% increase just from the 37th to the 38th Conference. • The number of participants not attending the subsequent Conference has constantly been dropping, from 57 at the 7th Forum, to only 5 at the 11th Forum.

Table 7 presents a Table 7: Participants and NSOs at WSYF and WSC comparison of NSOs present at the Forum NSOs at and the subsequent WSC/WSYF NSOs at WSYF NSOs at WSC WSYF/WSC Conference. 35th WSC/7th WSYF 56 116 48,28% Chart 7 is a visual 36th WSC/8th WSYF 52 126 41,27% presentation of the information given in 37th WSC/9th WSYF 66 122 54,10% 38th WSC/10th Table 7. WSYF 95 150 63,33% 39th WSC/11th WSYF 56 138 40,58%

Chart 7: NSOs at WSYF and WSC Comments:

NSOs at WSYF/WSC • As visible from the table and chart, there seemed to have been a trend of growth in representation of NSOs from 63.33% th th 54.10% the 36 to the 37 Conference, but it 48.28% declined at the 39th Conference. 41.27% 40.58% • Overall, an average of about 49,5% of NSOs is represented both at the Forums and subsequent Conferences.

35th WSC 36th WSC 37th WSC 38th WSC 39th WSC and 7th and 8th and 9th and 10th and 11th A further comparison with other age WSYFC WSYF WSYF WSYF WSYF groups present at the Conference is necessary in order to accurately assess the position of people under 26 within the whole Conference body. Table 8 and 8 and Charts 8a and 8b show the distribution of Conference delegates and observers (for the past 4 Conferences) by age group.

Chart 8a: Distribution of Conference Delegates and Observers per Age

30.00%

25.00%

20.00% 36th WSC

15.00% 37th WSC 38th WSC 10.00% 39th WSC 5.00%

0.00% 18 - 26 26 - 30 30 - 40 40 - 50 50 - 60 more than 60

Chart 8b: Distribution of Conference Delegates and Observers per Age

35.00%

30.00%

25.00% 36th WSC 20.00% 37th WSC

15.00% 38th WSC

10.00% 39th WSC

5.00%

0.00% 18 - 30 30 - 40 40 - 50 50 - 60 more than 60

Table 8: Distribution of WSC Delegates and Observers per Age 36th World Scout Conference Age Category Overall Delegates Observers 18 - 26 129 20,19% 55 14,40% 74 28,79% 26 - 30 54 8,45% 30 7,85% 24 9,34% 30 - 40 130 20,34% 91 23,82% 39 15,18% 40 - 50 132 20,66% 79 20,68% 53 20,62% 50 - 60 113 17,68% 77 20,16% 36 14,01% more than 60 81 12,68% 50 13,09% 31 12,06% Total 639 100,00% 382 100,00% 257 100,00% 37th World Scout Conference Age Category Overall Delegates Observers 18 - 26 160 22,67% 82 20,97% 78 24,75% 26 - 30 45 6,37% 27 6,91% 18 5,71% 30 - 40 127 17,99% 75 19,18% 52 16,50% 40 - 50 112 15,87% 61 15,60% 51 16,50% 50 - 60 191 27,07% 110 28,13% 81 25,70% more than 60 71 10,02% 36 9,21% 35 11,11% Total 706 100,00% 391 100,00% 315 100,00% 38th World Scout Conference Age Category Overall Delegates Observers 18 - 26 217 24,25% 95 20,26% 122 28,64% 26 - 30 71 7,93% 39 8,32% 32 7,51% 30 - 40 145 16,20% 85 18,12% 60 14,08% 40 - 50 172 19,22% 105 22,39% 67 15,73% 50 - 60 172 19,22% 89 18,98% 83 19,48% more than 60 118 13,18% 56 11,94% 62 14,55% Total 895 100,00% 469 100,00% 426 100,00% 39th World Scout Conference Age Category Overall Delegates Observers 18 - 26 160 23,63% 75 19,63% 85 28,81% 26 - 30 60 8,86% 31 8,12% 29 9,83% 30 - 40 129 19,05% 68 17,80% 61 20,68% 40 - 50 136 20,09% 96 25,13% 40 13,56% 50 - 60 125 18,46% 77 20,16% 48 16,27% more than 60 67 9,90% 35 9,16% 32 10,85% Total 677 100,00% 382 100,00% 295 100,00% Notes:

- The Table and Charts are created based on the lists provided by the WSB, and the information about the number of WSYF participants attending the subsequent Conference somewhat differs from the lists used in the upper analysis (lists of participants of the previous five WSYFs, also provided by the WSB). - There are missing values (missing birthdates) in the lists of all four Conferences, and they are as follows: 125 missing values for the 36th WSC, 30 missing values for the 37th WSC, 55 missing values for the 38th WSC and

18 missing values for the 39th WSC. The participants with the missing values are therefore not included in the upper analysis. - This analysis is only based on the number of delegates and observers at the Conference. It excludes guests, staff, members of various Committees, host Committee members and accompanying persons.

Comments:

• As visible from Charts 8a, 8b and Table 8 there is no great variation in the number of participants in the age categories when compared per Conference (apart from an outlier in the 37th WSC with the 50 to 60 years category). • The average age of Conference delegates and observers has been slowly dropping, from 42 at the 36th WSC, to 40,6 at the 39th WSC. • A slow growth of the number of WSC participants in the 18 to 26 category is evident (from 20% at the 36th WSC to 23% at the last Conference). • The Forum Participants contribute to this category by the following numbers: - 93 of the 8th WSYF participants attended the 36th WSC (72,09% of the 18 to 26 age category), - 110 of the 9th WSYF participants attended the 37th WSC (70,06% of the 18 to 26 age category), - 162 of the 10th WSYF participants attended the 38th WSC (74,65% of the 18 to 26 age category), - 125 of the 11th WSYF participants attended the 39th WSC (78,12% of the 18 to 26 age category). • The percentage of young people (18 – 26) participating as delegates has been almost constant at the past three conferences (about 20% of the total delegates body). • When it comes to comparing the number of delegates within the young people category, the figures are the following: 42,63% of the 36th WSC participants within the age category 18 – 26 were delegates, 51,25% at the 37th WSC, 43,77% at the 38th WSC and 46,87% at the 39th WSC. A tendency of slow growth is visible.

1.1.7. Distribution of Conference Participants per Age Category and per WOSM Region

The following table (Table 9) presents a distribution per age category and WOSM Region of participants of the past four World Scout Conferences. In the second column of each WOSM Region the percentages stand for the share of each age category in the total number of participants present at a certain Conference from that Region.

Table 9: Distribution of WSC participants per age category, per WOSM Region 36th World Scout Conference Total per age Age/Regi Interameric categor on Africa Arab Asia-Pacific Eurasia Europe a y 1 18 - 26 9 20,65% 6 13,64% 30 16,85% 4 28,57% 56 24,78% 14 16,47% 129 1 26 - 30 1 11,96% 3 6,82% 7 3,93% 1 7,14% 29 12,83% 3 3,53% 54 2 26,09 50,00 26,55 30 - 40 4 % 9 20,45% 15 8,43% 7 % 60 % 15 17,65% 130 2 40 - 50 1 22,83% 9 20,45% 35 19,66% 1 7,14% 49 21,68% 17 20,00% 132 1 22,73 28,09 23,53 50 - 60 9 9,78% 0 % 50 % 1 7,14% 23 10,18% 20 % 113 more than 60 8 8,70% 7 15,91% 41 23,03% 0 0,00% 9 3,98% 16 18,82% 81 Total per 9 100,00 4 100,00 17 100,00 1 100,00 22 100,00 100,00 Region 2 % 4 % 8 % 4 % 6 % 85 % 639 37th World Scout Conference 1 1 34,78 31,20 18 - 26 2 19,35% 0 11,63% 42 19,72% 8 % 73 % 15 17,05% 160 26 - 30 7 11,29% 6 6,98% 9 4,23% 2 8,70% 16 6,84% 5 5,68% 45 1 2 30 - 40 1 17,74% 0 23,26% 38 17,84% 0 0,00% 43 18,38% 15 17,05% 127 1 1 40 - 50 1 17,74% 3 15,12% 43 20,19% 2 8,70% 35 14,96% 8 9,09% 112 1 22,58 2 31,40 24,88 34,78 43,18 50 - 60 4 % 7 % 53 % 8 % 51 21,79% 38 % 191 more than 1 60 7 11,29% 0 11,63% 28 13,15% 3 13,04% 16 6,84% 7 7,95% 71 Total per 6 100,00 8 100,00 21 100,00 2 100,00 23 100,00 100,00 Region 2 % 6 % 3 % 3 % 4 % 88 % 706 38th World Scout Conference 2 1 30,00 27,00 25,00 18 - 26 2 29,33% 5 20,27% 71 21,19% 6 % 71 % 32 % 217 26 - 30 1 1,33% 3 4,05% 15 4,48% 3 15,00% 42 15,97% 7 5,47% 71 1 1 30,00 30 - 40 6 21,33% 1 14,86% 30 8,96% 6 % 66 25,10% 16 12,50% 145 2 32,00 2 27,03 40 - 50 4 % 0 % 62 18,51% 4 20,00% 45 17,11% 17 13,28% 172 1 1 28,36 50 - 60 0 13,33% 4 18,92% 95 % 0 0,00% 23 8,75% 30 23,44% 172 more than 1 60 2 2,67% 1 14,86% 62 18,51% 1 5,00% 16 6,08% 26 20,31% 118 Total per 7 100,00 7 100,00 33 100,00 2 100,00 26 100,00 12 100,00 Region 5 % 4 % 5 % 0 % 3 % 8 % 895 39th World Scout Conference 1 40,00 28,79 18 - 26 2 18,18% 4 6,25% 31 23,31% 4 % 71 26,10% 38 % 160 26 - 30 5 7,58% 1 1,56% 2 1,50% 0 0,00% 46 16,91% 6 4,55% 60 1 29,41 30 - 40 2 18,18% 9 14,06% 11 8,27% 2 20,00% 80 % 15 11,36% 129 2 33,33 2 40,63 40 - 50 2 % 6 % 20 15,04% 3 30,00% 42 15,44% 23 17,42% 136 1 1 33,08 50 - 60 3 19,70% 6 25,00% 44 % 1 10,00% 23 8,46% 28 21,21% 125 more than 60 2 3,03% 8 12,50% 25 18,80% 0 0,00% 10 3,68% 22 16,67% 67 Total per 6 100,00 6 100,00 13 100,00 1 100,00 27 100,00 13 100,00 Region 6 % 4 % 3 % 0 % 2 % 2 % 677

The following Charts (Chart 9 a, b, c, d, e, f) present the distribution of participants per age category for each WOSM Region separately, observing the average distribution for all four observed Conferences.

Chart 9a: Africa Chart 9b: Arab

18-26 18-26 6% 14% 13% 5% 22% 16% 26 - 30 26 - 30 30 - 40 30 - 40 8% 25% 18% 40 -50 40 -50

27% 50 - 60 50 - 60 21% more than 60 25% more than 60

Chart 9c: Asia-pacific Chart 9d: Eurasia

18-26 6% 18-26 18% 20% 26 - 30 15% 33% 26 - 30 4% 30 - 40 30 - 40

11% 40 -50 15% 40 -50 28% 50 - 60 9% 50 - 60 19% more than 60 22% more than 60

Chart 9e: Europe Chart 9f: Interamerica

18-26 18-26 16% 23% 12% 27% 26 - 30 26 - 30 30 - 40 30 - 40 17% 5% 40 -50 27% 40 -50 14% 50 - 60 14% 50 - 60 25% more than 60 15% more than 60

Finally, Chart 10 presents the average distribution of WSC participants per age category for all six WOSM Regions combined.

Comments: Chart 10: Overall Distribution of WSC Participants per Age Category • As visible from the previous table and charts, there are significant differences in the distribution of WSC participants when observed by the age category throughout the WOSM 11% Regions. 18-26 23% • The Africa Region has, on average, had 26 - 30 an almost equal share of WSC participants in the 18-26, 30-40 and 40-50 categories 21% 30 - 40 (between 20 to 27%). When observing the share of people under the age of 30 attending 8% 40 -50 the Conference from this Region throughout the 50 - 60 four observed WSCs, it is noticeable that the share has been quite steady, with an exception 18% more than 60 th 19% of the 38 Conference (because of the higher number of participants from all Regions, in general, at this Conference). However, there seems to have been a significant increase in the 40 to 50 age section (from 22% at the 36th WSC to 33% at the 39th WSC). • The Arab Region has, on average, had 18% of its participants between 18 and 30 years of age, and also 64% of its participants older than 40. If excluding the 38th Conference from observation, there seems to be a drop in the number of participants from this Region in the 18 to 26 age category (from 13% at the 36th WSC to 6% at the 39th WSC). • The Asia-Pacific Region has, on average, had 24% of its participants between 18 and 30 years of age, and also 65% of its participants older than 40. In the statistics of this Region it is visible that there has been a slow trend of growth in the number of participants belonging to the 18 – 26 age category (from 16% at the 36th WSC to 23% at the 39th WSC). • The Eurasia Region has, on average, had 42% of its participants between 18 and 30 years of age (which is the highest proportion of all Regions), and 36% of its participants older than 40. This Region also shows a trend of growth of the share participants aged between 18 and 26 have in the total number of WSC participants from this Region (from 28% at the 36th WSC to 40% at the 39th WSC). • The Europe Region has, on average, had 41% of its participants between 18 and 30 years of age, and 34% of its participants older than 40. This Region has kept its percentage of participants aged 18 to 26 above 24% since the 36th WSC, and it has been quite constant over the past four Conferences. • The Interamerica Region has, on average, had 28% of its participants between 18 and 30 years of age, and 58% of its participants older than 40. This Region has a trend of growth in the number of participants aged 18 to 26 which is very visible: from 16% at the 36th WSC to 28% at the 39th WSC.

1.1.7.1. WOSM Regions’ Share in Each Age Category

Table 10 and Chart 11 present the share each WOSM Region has within each of the six age categories.

Note: The second sub column in each Regional column contains the share (presented in percentages) of the observed Region in the total number of participants belonging to one age category at a given World Scout Conference.

Table 10: Percentage participation of Regions in overall age categories 36th World Scout Conference Age/Region Africa Arab Asia-Pacific Eurasia Europe Interamerica Total

18 - 26 19 14,73% 6 4,65% 30 23,26% 4 3,10% 56 43,41% 14 10,85% 129 100,00% 26 - 30 11 20,37% 3 5,56% 7 12,96% 1 1,85% 29 53,70% 3 5,56% 54 100,00% 30 - 40 24 18,46% 9 6,92% 15 11,54% 7 5,38% 60 46,15% 15 11,54% 130 100,00% 40 - 50 21 15,91% 9 6,82% 35 26,52% 1 0,76% 49 37,12% 17 12,88% 132 100,00% 50 - 60 9 7,96% 10 8,85% 50 44,25% 1 0,88% 23 20,35% 20 17,70% 113 100,00% more than 60 8 9,88% 7 8,64% 41 50,62% 0 0,00% 9 11,11% 16 19,75% 81 100,00%

37th World Scout Conference 18 - 26 12 7,50% 10 6,25% 42 26,25% 8 5,00% 73 45,63% 15 9,38% 160 100,00% 26 - 30 7 15,56% 6 13,33% 9 20,00% 2 4,44% 16 35,56% 5 11,11% 45 100,00% 30 - 40 11 8,66% 20 15,75% 38 29,92% 0 0,00% 43 33,86% 15 11,81% 127 100,00% 40 - 50 11 9,82% 13 11,61% 43 38,39% 2 1,79% 35 31,25% 8 7,14% 112 100,00% 50 - 60 14 7,33% 27 14,14% 53 27,75% 8 4,19% 51 26,70% 38 19,90% 191 100,00% more than 60 7 9,86% 10 14,08% 28 39,44% 3 4,23% 16 22,54% 7 9,86% 71 100,00% 38th World Scout Conference

18 - 26 22 10,14% 15 6,91% 71 32,72% 6 2,76% 71 32,72% 32 14,75% 217 100,00% 26 - 30 1 1,41% 3 4,23% 15 21,13% 3 4,23% 42 59,15% 7 9,86% 71 100,00% 30 - 40 16 11,03% 11 7,59% 30 20,69% 6 4,14% 66 45,52% 16 11,03% 145 100,00% 40 - 50 24 13,95% 20 11,63% 62 36,05% 4 2,33% 45 26,16% 17 9,88% 172 100,00% 50 - 60 10 5,81% 14 8,14% 95 55,23% 0 0,00% 23 13,37% 30 17,44% 172 100,00% more than 60 2 1,69% 11 9,32% 62 52,54% 1 0,85% 16 13,56% 26 22,03% 118 100,00% 39th World Scout Conference 18 - 26 12 7,50% 4 2,50% 31 19,38% 4 2,50% 71 44,38% 38 23,75% 160 100,00%

26 - 30 5 8,33% 1 1,67% 2 3,33% 0 0,00% 46 76,67% 6 10,00% 60 100,00% 30 - 40 12 9,30% 9 6,98% 11 8,53% 2 1,55% 80 62,02% 15 11,63% 129 100,00% 40 - 50 22 16,18% 26 19,12% 20 14,71% 3 2,21% 42 30,88% 23 16,91% 136 100,00% 50 - 60 13 10,40% 16 12,80% 44 35,20% 1 0,80% 23 18,40% 28 22,40% 125 100,00% more than 60 2 2,99% 8 11,94% 25 37,31% 0 0,00% 10 14,93% 22 32,84% 67 100,00%

The Chart contains information about the average share of each Region in the total number of participants of a certain age category for all four observed World Scout Conferences.

Note: When observing the following chart, the total number of participants from each Region has to be taken into consideration.

Chart 11: WOSM Regions' Share in Each Age Category

60.00%

50.00%

40.00% Africa Arab

30.00% Asia-pacific Eurasia

20.00% Europe Interamerica 10.00%

0.00% 18 - 26 26 - 30 30 - 40 40 - 50 50 - 60 more than 60

Comments:

• As visible from the chart, the Region that has contributed mostly to the 18 to 26 and 26 to 30 age categories is the Europe Region. The Asia-Pacific Region also contributes significantly to these two age categories. • The 30 to 40 age category is quite dominantly European (almost 50%). • The Europe and Asia-Pacific Regions have an almost equal share (about 30%) in the 40 to 50 age category. • The Region that has most contributed to the 50 to 60 and more than 60 age categories is the Asia-Pacific Region.

When comparing the data from Conference to Conference, the following trends are visible:

• The Africa Region has had a decrease in its share in the total number of WSC participants aged between 18 and 26 (from 14% at the 36th WSC to 7,5% at the 39th WSC). • The Arab Region has had a small increase in its share in the total number of WSC participants aged between 18 and 26 from the 36th to the 38th WSC, but this number dropped sharply at the 39th Conference, which could be explained by the distance of the Conference location from the countries of this Region (from 4,6% at the 36th WSC to 6,9% at the 38th WSC, with a sharp drop to 2,5% at the 39th WSC). • The Asia-Pacific Region has had a constant increase in its share in the total number of WSC participants aged between 18 and 26 until the 39th WSC, which could also be explained by the distance of the Conference location from the countries of this Region (from 23% at the 36th WSC to 32% at the 38th WSC, followed by a drop to 19% at the 39th WSC). • There can be no trend identified for the Eurasia Region, since it had an increase from the 36th to the 37th WSC, but then also a drop in its share in the total number of participants aged 18 to 26 (3% at the 36th WSC, 5% at the 37th WSC and 2,5% at the 39th WSC). • The Europe Region has had its share in the total number of participants aged 18 to 26 reasonably steady over the past four Conferences (between 42% and 45% at the 36th, 37th and 39th WSC). The 38th WSC is an exception, where the Europe Region contributed to this category by 32%. • The Interamerica Region has a trend of growth in its share in the total number of WSC participants aged 18 to 26 (from about 10% and 9% at the 36th and 37th WSC, to 14% and 23% at the 38th and 39th WSC).

1.1.8. Summary

• The main age group of WOSM members the Forum as an event is attracting is between 21 and 24 years old. • The ratio between men and women is 62% to 38%. The Arab Region has the largest disproportion in representation of women and men (with a total of 86,84% of male participants), and the Eurasia Region is the only Region with more female than male participants (66,67% female).

• If comparing the distribution of WSYF participants to the distribution of NSOs per WOSM Region, a difference is evident, but it is not as great as the difference from the distribution of membership. • Overall, an average of about 49,5% of NSOs is represented both at the Forums and subsequent Conferences. • An average of about 40% of NSOs is present at each of the past five Forums. • The number of participants not attending the subsequent Conference has constantly been dropping, from 57 (42,86%) at the 7th Forum, to only 5 (4,10%) at the 11th Forum. • The Africa Region has had a very significant change in the number of Forum participants attending the subsequent Conference – from only 14,63% attending the WSC after the 7th WSYF, to 94,44% attending the WSC after the 11th WSYF. The Eurasia Region is the only Region with a 100% attendance of Forum participants at the subsequent Conference. • A slow growth of the number of WSC participants in the 18 to 26 category is evident (from 20% at the 36th WSC to 23% at the last Conference). • On average, Forum participants account for 73,5 % of the 18 to 26 age category of WSC participants. • The percentage of young people (18 – 26) participating as delegates has been almost constant at the past three conferences (about 20% of the total delegates body). • The Region that has contributed mostly to the 18 to 26 and 26 to 30 age categories is the Europe Region. The Asia-Pacific Region also contributes significantly to these two age categories.

1.2. Qualitative Analysis

1.2.1. Introduction

This section of the Report is based on:

a) Responses gained through the Survey on the Impact Assessment of the World Scout Youth Forum for former Forum Participants; b) Responses gained through the Survey on the Impact Assessment of the World Scout Youth Forum and Youth Advisor System for NSO/NSA representatives; c) Insights gained through 15 interviews with: Forum participants, Youth Advisors and people who have had significant ties to the World Scout Youth Forum.

Each of the following subchapters represents the results of these surveys and interviews in the above presented order.

1.2.2. Former Participants’ Opinions about the Forum

The Survey on the Impact Assessment of the World Scout Youth Forum for former Forum Participants, conducted from November 29th 2012 to January 13th 2013. The Survey was sent to a total of 456 recipients via email invitations (emails provided from WSYF participants’ contact information lists from the 11th, 10th, 9th and 8th Forum, list of contact information unavailable for the 7th Forum). Out of that number, 60 email addresses are not being used anymore, which results in 396 possible responses. A total of 106 responses were received.

The Survey was additionally promoted through personal contacts of former participants (mainly Facebook contacts), and was posted on the following Facebook pages: “ScOutPost” and ”International commissioners WAGGGS and WOSM”.

This resulted in the following: 91 of the total responses (86%) were gained from the email invitations for the Survey, 2 responses (1,8%) were gained through the ScOutPost Facebook page, 3 responses (2,8%) were gained through the International commissioners WAGGGS and WOSM Facebook page, and 10 responses (9,4%) were gained through personal invitations (mainly via Facebook) for completing the Survey.

Out of the 106 responses gained, 96 (90,6%) completed the survey, whilst 10 responses were incomplete (hence the “skipped question” row will be visible in all tables in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th chapter of this report).

The number of participants that have completed the Survey (106) accounts for 15,01% of the total number of participants of the past five Forums (706). However, since the contact information was available for only 396 participants, it is more accurate to conclude that the response rate is 26,76% (106 of 396).

1.2.2.1. Background Information of Survey Respondents

Out of the total of 106 responses, there were 20 responses “duplicating”, i.e. 20 people who have responded the Survey have participated in more than one Forum. Out of this number, 8 respondents participated in the 10th and 11th Forum, 2 participated in the 9th and 10th Forum, 2 participated in the 9th, 10th and 11th Forum, 3 participated in the 8th and 9th Forum, and 3 participated in the 7th and 8th Forum.

Table 1: Distribution of Respondents per Forum

Number of Number of World Scout Youth Forum Response rate respondents participants 4.51% 7th World Scout Youth Forum, Michaelhouse, 6 133 Balgowan, South Africa 15.70% 19 121 8th World Scout Youth Forum, Metsovo, Greece 11.04% 17 154 9th World Scout Youth Forum, Hammamet, Tunisia 23.30% 41 176 10th World Scout Youth Forum, Iksan, Korea 35.25% 43 122 11th World Scout Youth Forum, Blumenau, Brazil

Table 1 and Chart 1 Chart 1: Distribution of Respondents per Forum present the distribution of respondents per 40.00% Forum. Overall, the greatest response was 35.00% from the last Forum 35.25% (40,6%), held in 2011, 30.00% which is not surprising, 25.00% taking into consideration the time 20.00% 23.30% distance from the dates when the other Forums 15.00% 15.70% were held. The low 10.00% response of participants 11.04% from the 7th Forum 5.00% could also be explained 4.51% by the lack of contact 0.00% information available. 7th World 8th World 9th World 10th World 11th World Scout Youth Scout Youth Scout Youth Scout Youth Scout Youth As visible from Chart 2, Forum, Forum, Forum, Forum, Iksan, Forum, Michaelhouse, Metsovo, Hammamet, Korea Blumenau, the majority of Balgowan, Greece Tunisia Brazil respondents were South Africa between 20 and 25 years of age when they attended their first Chart 2: Distribution of Respondents per Age Forum.

18 The average age (and the most common age) 16 of respondents at the 14 time of attending the WSYF is 21. 12 When observing the 10 distribution of 8 respondents per gender (Chart 3) it is visible 6 that it corresponds 4 greatly to the overall gender distribution of 2 participants of the past 0 5 WSYFs – where rate of female participants is 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 More 38%.

Out of the total 106 respondents, 42 are female and 64 are male. The greatest balance in gender distribution was reached among the respondents that attended the 11th and 10th Forum – almost exactly 50 – 50% (female – male).

When it comes to the number of responses per NSO, the countries with the most responses Chart 3: Distribution of Respondents per Gender sent are Hong Kong (6) and Portugal (6), followed by: Canada (4), Denmark (4), United Kingdom (4), Singapore (4), Slovenia (4), Australia (3), Belgium (3), Costa Rica (3), Finland (3), France (3), Germany (3), Netherlands (3) and Sweden (3). Comparing to the overall distribution of Forum participants per country, this data is not surprising, since all 40% countries mentioned apart from Costa Rica and Female the Netherlands, have sent more than 10 Male participants to the past 5 Forums.

60%

Chart 4 and Table 2 present the distribution of respondents per WOSM Region. As visible from the chart and table, the largest number of responses came from the Europe Region, which is not surprising, if comparing the number of responses to the total number of participants sent from this Region to the past 5 Forums (270 participants in total). The Asia-Pacific Region participates in the total number of respondents with closely 21%, which is very close to the percentage with which it contributes to the total number of Forum participants (24%). The Africa Region has a much smaller number of respondents than the total number of participants sent to the past 5 Forums, as well as the Arab Region, which could be explained by language difficulties, since the Survey was only available in English. Five out of 13

Chart 4: Distribution of Respondents per Table 2: Distribution of Respondents per WOSM Region WOSM Region

Region Percent Number

51,9% 55 13% Europe 5% Europe 20,8% 22 Asia-Pacific 4% Asia-Pacific 5,7% 6 Africa Africa 5% 3,8% 4 52% Arab Arab Eurasia 4,7% 5 Eurasia 21% Interamerica 13,2% 14 Interamerica

Total 100,00% 106

participants (roughly 38%) from the Eurasia Region responded to the Survey, which makes it the Region with the highest response rate in comparison to the number of participants that have attended one or more of the past five Forums.

Below, Table 3 presents the crosstab distribution of respondents per WOSM Region, per Forum they attended.

Table 3: Crosstab Distribution of Respondents per Region, per Forum Attended 9th 10th 11th Region 7th WSYF 8th WSYF Percent Number WSYF WSYF WSYF Africa 0 0 1 3 3 5,7% 6 Arab 0 0 2 2 1 3,8% 4 Asia-Pacific 0 3 4 11 8 20,8% 22 Eurasia 0 0 1 2 2 4,7% 5 Europe 3 12 9 17 26 51,8% 55 Interamerica 3 4 0 6 3 13,2% 14 Total 6 19 17 41 43 100,0% 106

Out of 106 respondents, 8 have not attended the World Scout Conference that has followed the WSYF they have attended (7,5%). Table 4 presents the information about the attendance at the WSCs per Forum.

Table 4: Attendance at the World Scout Conference

10th 11th 7th WSYF 8th WSYF 9th WSYF Percent Number WSYF WSYF

YES 5 15 15 40 43 92,50% 98

NO 1 4 2 1 0 7,50% 8 Total 6 19 17 41 43 100,00% 106

Out of the 8 respondents that have not attended the Chart 5: Attendance at the WSC subsequent WSC, 3 are from the Europe Region, 2 from Asia- Pacific, 2 from Interamerica, and 1 from the Eurasia Region. 7,5% All respondents from the Africa and Arab Regions have attended the subsequent Conferences.

As visible from Chart 5 a very small number of respondents have not attended the following World Scout Conference. YES

NO This gives additional credibility to the responses gained through the Survey, since the vast majority of respondents 92,5% have participated in at least one of the past five World Scout Conferences, and are, therefore, able to give an opinion about the preparation the Forum gave them for the Conferences.

1.2.2.2. Added Value of the WSYF towards the Participant

Notes:

- The following chapters of the Report (1.2.2.2. to 1.2.2.5) will base their conclusions and comments on the responses given in the Survey which will sometimes be filtered to show a comparison between the different responses per WOSM Region, or per Forum. Additional notice will be given if different filters are applied. - Each table and chart presented in this part of the report will show information about a specific question from the Survey – referred to in the title of the table/chart.

This chapter of the Report examines the various ways in which the World Scout Youth Forums has had an impact on their participants – from rating the skills and knowledge gained during the Forum, to rating the efficiency of the Forums in enhancing youth participation in decision-making at World level in Scouting.

Question 7 (Table 5) concentrates on the rating the success of the Forums in fulfilling their objectives. As visible from Chart 6, there is not much difference in the responses given when filtered by Region, therefore, the answers to this question will be observed as a whole.

Table 5: Question 7 (How much do you feel the WSYF contributes to the following objectives?)

neither little Response Answer Options not at all little a lot greatly nor a lot Count

Enhancing youth participation in 18,4% 46,6% 2,9% (3) 24,3% (25) 7,8% (8) 103 decision-making at World level. (19) (48)

Providing opportunities for 30,1% 63,1% networking and establishing contacts 1,0% (1) 1,9% (2) 3,9% (4) 103 (30) (65) between participants.

Providing participants with new skills 44,7% 19,4% and knowledge that enable them to 1,9% (2) 4,9% (5) 29,1% (30) 103 (46) (20) play a constructive role in society.

Other (please specify) 17 Answered question 103 Skipped question 3

Comments:

• About 47% claim that the WSYF has contributed “a lot” in “Enhancing youth participation in decision-making at World level”. However, about 25% of them answered “neither a little nor a lot”, which may be seen as a significant percent of indecisive respondents, hesitant to characterize the Forum as fulfilling this objective. • A vast majority (93,2%) of respondents stated that the Forum has contributed “a lot” or “greatly” to “Providing opportunities for networking and establishing contacts between participants“. • About 64% of the respondents stated that the Forum contributes “a lot” or “greatly” to “Providing participants with new skills and knowledge that enable them to play a constructive role in society“. • Out of the 17 additional objectives identified by the respondents, here is a selection of 5 which accumulate the different views of the participants: - “When we arrived at the WSC, it was us, the youth, who knew other people, had a network and felt at home.” - “Provide to me an opportunity to achieve more experience and knowledge to re-adapt the system of the National Scout Youth Forum to be related or agree with the "context" of the WSYF and to do better my role as a National Youth Advisor.” - “The forum served greatly as preparation to World Scout Conference.” - “I felt like a number of the activities were clearly for "youth" and "kids" so I didn't feel like I was actually making a meaningful contribution, or learning how to make an impact as a youth member within my organization.” - “The WSYF raised the level of understanding of politics at world level in WOSM and the mechanisms that stand behind the working structure of WOSM.”

• Overall, the responses do not differ significantly when compared by Forum.

Chart 6: Question 7 (How much do you feel the WSYF contributes to the following objectives?)

5.00 4.50 4.00

3.50 Africa Region 3.00 Asia-Pacific Region 2.50 Eurasia Region 2.00 1.50 Europe Region 1.00 Interamerica Region

0.50 Arab Region 0.00 Enhancing youth Providing opportunities for Providing participants with participation in decision networking and new skills and knowledge making at World level. establishing contacts that enable them to play a between participants. constructive role in society.

Note: The vertical axis in Chart 6 contains numerical values (from 1 to 5) instead of text (from “not at all” to “greatly”) for the purpose of clearer understanding of the average responses per WOSM Region. This will be applied through all such charts in the report.

Question 8 (Table 6) provides information about the level of satisfaction of participants with various issues.

Comments:

• Over 80% of the respondents are either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with “the usefulness of the knowledge and skills gained at the WSYF for [their] education or professional life“. • Over 94% of the respondents are either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with “The intercultural exchange [they] have experienced during the WSYF“. • Over 75% of the respondents are either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with “The outcome [they] have had from the contacts [they] have made during the WSYF“.

Table 6: Question 8 (Please rate the level of your satisfaction with:)

Neither Completely Very Not Response Answer Options Unsatisfied satisfied or Satisfied unsatisfied satisfied applicable Count unsatisfied

The usefulness of the knowledge and skills 51,5% 30,1% gained at the WSYF for 2,9% (3) 0,0% (0) 15,5% (16) 0,0% (0) 103 (53) (31) your education or professional life The intercultural exchange you have 21,4% 72,8% 1,0% (1) 0,0% (0) 0,0% (0) 4,9% (5) 103 experienced during the (22) (75) WSYF The outcome you have had from the contacts 35,0% 40,8% 1,9% (2) 1,0% (1) 18,4% (19) 2,9% (3) 103 you have made during (36) (42) the WSYF The Recommendations of 14,6% 41,7% the WSYF to the World 3,9% (4) 30,1% (31) 8,7% (9) 1,0% (1) 103 (15) (43) Scout Committee

Answered question 103 Skipped question 3

• About 41% of the respondents state that they are satisfied with „The Recommendations of the WSYF to the World Scout Committee“, however, a large percentage of those who are „neither satisfied nor unsatisfied“ is visible (30,1%). • When comparing the answers per WOSM Region (Chart 7), the Arab Region seems to have the highest level of satisfaction for all three issues, whilst the Eurasia Region shows the lowest level of satisfaction. It is important to note that the differences between the responses are still not great enough to conclude that there is a significant diversification of opinions per Region.

Chart 7: Question 8 (Please rate your level of satisfaction with: )

5.00 4.50 4.00

3.50 Africa Region 3.00 2.50 Asia-Pacific Region 2.00 Eurasia Region 1.50 Europe Region 1.00 0.50 Interamerica Region 0.00 Arab Region The usefulness of the The intercultural exchange The Recommendations of knowledge and skills you have experienced the WSYF to the World gained at the WSYF for during the WSYF Scout Committee your education or professional life

• When it comes to comparing the results per Forum, there is no significant change among the opinions of participants.

Question 9 (Table 7a and Chart 8a) asked the participants to state whether or not they have used the experience gained during the WSYF in presenting themselves to potential employers or when applying for educational programmes (e.g. a postgraduate degree). Over 65% of the responses were positive, with the largest percent of positive responses in the Africa (100%) and Interamerica (78%) Region.

Table 7a: Question 9 (Have you used the experience gained during the WSYF in presenting yourself to potential employers and/or applications for educational programmes (e.g. a postgraduate degree)?)

Answer Africa Asia-Pacific Eurasia Europe Interamerica Arab Response Percent Options Region Region Region Region Region Region Count

YES 5 13 3 33 11 2 65,05% 67 NO 0 9 2 21 3 1 34,95% 36 Answered question 103 Skipped question 3

When comparing the results per Forum (Table 7b and Chart 8b), the lowest positive response to this question came from the respondents that have attended the 9th WSYF (50%), whilst the highest came from the respondents who have attended the 11th WSYF (70,7%).

Table 7b: Question 9 (Have you used the experience gained during the WSYF in presenting yourself to potential employers and/or applications for educational programmes (e.g. a postgraduate degree)?)

Answer 10th 11th Response Response 7th WSYF 8th WSYF 9th WSYF Options WSYF WSYF Percent Count

YES 4 11 8 26 29 65,05% 67 NO 2 8 8 13 12 34,95% 36 Answered question 103 Skipped question 3

Chart 8a Chart 8b

80 Arab Region 90 70 80 Interamerica 70 60 Region 7th WSYF 60 50 Europe Region 50 8th WSYF 40 9th WSYF Eurasia Region 40 30 30 10th WSYF 20 Asia-Pacific 20 11th WSYF Region 10 10 Africa Region 0 0 YES NO YES NO

Chart 9: Has your participation at the Table 8: Question 10 (Has your participation at WSYF motivated you to participate in the WSYF motivated you to participate in other other international Scout events? international Scout events?)

Response Response Answer Options Percent Count 9% YES 91,3% 94 NO 8,7% 9 Answered question 103 YES Skipped question 3

When asked whether or not their participation at the 91% WSYF has motivated them to participate in other international Scout events, over 91% of the respondents said “YES”. When comparing the responses per WOSM Region and per Forum, the responses have almost no variation.

1.2.2.3. Preparation for the World Scout Conference

Question 11 (Table 9) of the Survey has asked the respondents to indicate their level of satisfaction with the preparation the WSYF has given them prior to attending the World Scout Conference.

Table 9: Question 11 (If you also attended the World Scout Conference that immediately followed the WSYF you attended, please indicate to what extent your participation at the WSYF helped you prepare for the Conference: ) Neithe Not Not Rating Response Answer Options Little r little or A lot Greatly at all applicable Average Count a lot 2,1% 5,3% 10,5% 36,8% 44,2% The working methods of 1,1% (1) 4,19 95 (2) (5) (10) (35) (42) the Conference Participating in plenary 1,1% 3,2% 22,1% 37,9% 31,6% and group discussions at 4,2% (4) 4,08 95 (1) (3) (21) (36) (30) the Conference Writing Resolutions at 2,1% 11,6% 15,8% 43,2% 24,2% 3,2% (3) 3,85 95 the Conference (2) (11) (15) (41) (23) Participating in decision making within your NSO 3,2% 7,4% 14,9% 38,3% 33,0% 3,2% (3) 4,00 94 delegation regarding (3) (7) (14) (36) (31) voting at the Conference Answered question 95 Skipped question 3 Note: Results presented in Table 9 have been filtered through Survey Question 6 (Did you also attend the World Scout Conference that immediately followed the WSYF you attended?)

Comments:

• Over 81% of respondents stated that the WSYF helped “a lot” or “greatly” (with 44% of them answering “greatly”) when it comes to becoming acquainted with the working methods of the Conference. • About 70% of respondents claimed that the WSYF helped “a lot” or “greatly” in preparing them for participating in plenary and group discussions at the Conference. • Over 67% of respondents stated that the WSYF prepared them “a lot” or “greatly” for participating in writing resolutions at the Conference. • Over 71% of respondents stated that the WSYF helped “a lot” or “greatly” in preparing them for participating in discussions within their delegations regarding voting at the Conference. • Note: These figures should not be misinterpreted – the question asks the participants about their level of PREPARATION after the WSYF they have attended, not about their actual PARTICIPATION in the upper named situations.

Chart 10a: Question 11 filtered by Forum attended

5 4.5 4 11th World Scout Youth Forum, 3.5 Blumenau, Brazil 3 2.5 10th World Scout Youth Forum, 2 Iksan, Korea 1.5 1 0.5 9th World Scout Youth Forum, 0 Hammamet, Tunisia The working Participating in Writing Participating in methods of the plenary and Resolutions at decision making 8th World Scout Youth Forum, Conference group the Conference within your NSO Metsovo, Greece discussions at delegation the Conference regarding voting at the 7th World Scout Youth Forum, Conference Michaelhouse, Balgowan, South Africa

Chart 10b: Question 11 filtered by WOSM Region

5.00 4.50 4.00 3.50 3.00 Africa Region 2.50 Asia-Pacific Region 2.00 1.50 Eurasia Region 1.00 Europe Region 0.50 0.00 Interamerica Region The working Participating in Writing Resolutions Participating in Arab Region methods of the plenary and group at the Conference decision making Conference discussions at the within your NSO Conference delegation regarding voting at the Conference

• Chart 10a shows that there is very little difference between the responses when filtered by Forum that the respondents have attended. • Chart 10b presents the answers to Question 11, filtered by WOSM Region. It is noticeable that the Region that expressed the greatest overall satisfaction is the Arab Region, whilst the Region that has expressed the smallest level of overall satisfaction in comparison to other Regions is the Asia-Pacific Region. • Note: Even though there could still be some differences drawn between Regions, they are still very small (not more difference than 1,2 on average rating grade, with the highest difference (1,6) in answers to “Participating in decision making within your NSO delegation regarding voting at the Conference”).

When it comes to Question 12: Has your participation in the WSYF enabled Chart 11: Question 12 you to better understand the decision- 100 making process in:

90 • The World Scout Conference, 92 80 89 92 respondents replied positively (3 skipped the question); 70 • World Scouting in General, 89 respondents replied positively (4 60 The World Scout skipped the question). 50 Conference 40 World Scouting in general 30 20

10 11 13 0 YES NO

Table 10: Question 12 (Has your participation in the WSYF enabled Table 10 provides an overview of the you to better understand the decision-making process in: ) difference between the responses 11th 10th filtered by Forum attended, and WSYF WSYF 9th WSYF 8th WSYF 7th WSYF shows that there is very little The World Scout Conference difference between the participants of YES 87,80% 89,74% 82,35% 89,47% 83,33% different generations. The comparison NO 12,20% 10,26% 11,76% 10,53% 16,67% of answers based on WOSM Regions World Scouting in general shows very little difference among YES 87,80% 89,74% 82,35% 73,68% 83,33% answers from different Regions. NO 12,20% 10,26% 11,76% 21,05% 16,67%

1.2.2.4. Importance of WSYF Recommendations for the Participants

When asked in Question 13, whether or not they have participated in creating a Recommendation to the World Scout Committee during the WSYF they have attended, 82,5% respondents replied positively. Out of the total 103 (3 skipped the question), 18 respondents have not participated in creating a Recommendation.

Table 11: Question 13 (Have you participated in creating a Chart 12: Question 13 Recommendation to the World Scout Committee during the WSYF you have attended?) Asia- Eurasi Inter- Africa Europe Pacific a america Arab 100,00 68,18 60,00 90,74 100,00 17% YES % % % % 71,43% % 31,82 40,00 NO 0,00% % % 9,26% 28,57% 0,00% YES NO As visible from Table 11, the Region with the lowest percentage of 83% respondents participating in creating a Recommendation is Eurasia, whilst the Region with the highest percentage is Europe. Still, all numbers are quite high and resemble a genuine interest of the participants to take part in creating Recommendations during the Forums.

When asked about the reasons why they did not participate in creating Recommendations during the WSYF they have attended (Table 12, Question 14), the answers were diversified. About 28% of the 18 respondents that have not taken part in creating a Recommendation stated that the reason was because they lacked interest for it, four of them stated that it because they lacked interest for the topics that were addressed in the Recommendations, 3 of them stated that the reason were language barriers, and two felt that writing Recommendations was not the key outcome of the WSYF. From the four statements given by respondents, these present the views expressed in all four of them:

- “There seemed to be a lot of great ones, so instead of writing our own, we focused on editing and proposing changes to others to ensure that they were clearly written and expressed the true nature of the recommendation”. - “I was new to this, so I did not get into it before it was too late. I only participated in supporting certain recommendations”.

Table 12: Question 14 (If your answer to the previous question was NO, please choose from the list below the reason that best describes why you have not taken part: )

Response Response Answer Options Percent Count

Because of a lack of interest in the overall process of creating Recommendations 27,8% 5 Because of a lack of interest in the topics of the Recommendations 22,2% 4 Because of language barriers 16,7% 3 Because you felt writing Recommendations is not a key outcome of the WSYF 11,1% 2 Other (please specify) 22,2% 4 Answered question 18 Skipped question 88

The difference between the responses when filtered by WOSM Region is not significant for conducting meaningful comparisons. Similarly, the difference in responses per Forum does not vary significantly enough for a meaningful comparison.

1.2.2.5. Added Value of the Participant towards her/his NSO/Region

When asked whether or not they have brought home ideas for projects or changes in their NSO after participating in Chart 13: Question 15 the WSYF (Question 15, Chart 13), the majority of participants (67%) answered positively, and out of that number, 57 of them provided examples of what kind of ideas they have brought home specifically.

When comparing the responses per Forum, the highest th 33% positive response was gained from responses from the 7 Forum (83%), whilst the lowest response was acquired YES from the 9th Forum (62%). However, this response rate is very close to the average of 67%, therefore it should not NO be considered as a major shortcoming of the 9th Forum. 67% Out of the 57 answers provided in Question 16 (A short description of the idea/change brought home after the Forum), 5 were given from the Africa Region, 8 from the Asia-Pacific Region, 3 from the Eurasia Region, 8 from the Interamerica Region, 3 from the Arab Region and 30 from the Europe Region. Here are some of them:

- “I understood the issues related to youth participation to decision-making (complexity of participation levels, complexity of empowering and involving youth in structures different from true direct decision-making bodies, etc.) and was able to analyze the quality of our national system and Rover programme in seeking Rovers' inputs. I was able to share my knowledge of the WOSM and its functioning during national and European youth fora (Agoras). Finally, I used some tools and methods in later events such as drafting recommendations, etc”. - “Organized SAARC [South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation] youth forum”. - “Safe from Harm. I got in contact with many NSA and NSO that provide a "Safe from Harm" or similar program to their scouts and the scouts' families. Currently, steps will be taken through the European Region regarding this matter”. - “Scouts of the World Award and Action for Growth among other ideas were really good projects I did plan to continue in my NSO, sadly the process got delayed several times because of bureaucratic and political issues in the NSO and I could not continue after it”. - “Examples of good practice when preparing delegations for international scout events”. - “Rover programme elements; youth participation techniques”. - “Working method of the World Scout Youth Forum, which can be a good practice at the regional Scout Conference”. - “Encouraged fellow scouts to see the movement from different perspectives. Also improving on our programme for leadership development and awareness of current affairs of WOSM”. - “Fundraising tools, Adult resources management”. - “Create a National Guidelines to the Youth Scout Forum; partnership project; methodologies for the Youth Scout Events, especially for the rovers; manage the administration, etc”. - “We have successfully integrated youths at National decision making levels”. - “Implemented all the methodology and knowledge that I learned in the WSYF in our national network to obtain better results. Thanks to the knowledge I gained in the WSYF I started to be more involved in decision-making spaces and currently I am the youngest member that our national board had”. - “I have been able to initiate national youth forum and the east African zonal youth forum”. - “Speaking about integration of disadvantaged people in scouting at national level”. - “We developed a Rover project (CENÁCULO) that was already in the field, providing new methods and skills to the participants helping in the decision making process of the association and developing the rovers’ role in the association”. - “Project: Environment Badge”.

Question 17 asked the respondents if they have been a member of a decision-making body in their NSO, Region or at World level; and 65% of them (67 respondents) replied positively. However, the dispersion of positive answers varies significantly by WOSM Region (Table 13 and Chart 14).

Table 13: Question 17 (Have you, after the WSYF, become a member of a decision-making body in your NSO (e.g. General Assembly, National Board, national decision-making teams or similar), Regional or World level?) Asia-Pacific Interamerica Africa Region Eurasia Region Europe Region Arab Region Region Region YES 80,00% 36,36% 40,00% 74,07% 71,43% 100,00% NO 20,00% 63,64% 60,00% 25,93% 28,57% 0,00%

Comments: Chart 14: Question 17 • As visible from Table 13, 100.00% the WOSM Region with the highest 90.00% percentage of WSYF participants 80.00% being a member of a decision- Africa Region making body in their NSO, Region 70.00% or at World level is the Arab Asia-Pacific Region 60.00% Region (although, this result must 50.00% Eurasia Region be taken with some reserve, since there was a relatively small Europe Region 40.00% number of responses – 4 in total – 30.00% Interamerica Region from this Region). 20.00% • The Asia-Pacific and Arab Region Eurasia Regions are the only ones 10.00% that have a higher percentage of 0.00% negative responses to Question YES NO 17, with the Asia-Pacific Region having over 63% of respondents replying negatively, and 60% of Eurasia Region respondents replying negatively.

Question 18 asked the respondents to clarify, if they have been a part of a decision-making body, to indicate at which level: National, Regional or World. Out of a total of 67 responses, 80,6% chose National level, 10,4% chose Regional level, and 9,0% (6 respondents) chose World level.

Table 14: Question 19 (If your answer to Chart 15: Question 20 question 17 was YES, please indicate how strongly was this influenced by your participation at the WSYF?) Answer Response Response Options Percent Count 31% Not at all 9,0% 6 YES Little 11,9% 8 Neither little Nor NO 25,4% 17 a lot 69% A lot 31,3% 21 Greatly 22,4% 15 Answered question 67 Skipped question 39 When asked in Question 19 to indicate how strongly has their participation in a decision-making body been influenced by their participation at the WSYF, over 53% stated that it was influenced “a lot” (31,3%) or “greatly” (22,4%).

However, there is a significant number of respondents (17 of them, or 25,4%) that were hesitant to characterize the WSYF as having any (strong or weak) influence on them being a part of a decision-making body, and this percentage has to be taken into account.

Question 20 asked the respondents whether or not they have been a member of a task force or volunteer group or have worked for WOSM as a professional at World or Regional level, and the number of positive responses collected was 32 (about 31%, Chart 15).

However, the response to this question varies from Region to Region (Table 15). For instance, 4 out of 5 respondents from the Africa Region responded positively to Question 20, whilst 1 out of 5 from the Eurasia Region responded

39 positively. The Interamerica Region has had an even number of positive and negative responses, while the Asia-Pacific Region had the lowest percentage of positive responses (2 out of 20 – about 9%). The Arab Region had 2 out of 3 respondents giving a positive response, and the Europe Region has had about 30% positive responses (16 out of 54 respondents).

Table 15: Question 20 (Have you, after the Forum, taken part in a task force or volunteer group or worked for WOSM as a professional at World or Regional level? Africa Asia-Pacific Eurasia Europe Interamerica Arab

YES 80,00% (4) 9,09% (2) 20,00% (1) 29,63% (16) 50,00% (7) 66,67% (2)

NO 20,00% (1) 90,91% (20) 80,00% (4) 70,37% (38) 50,00%(7) 33,33% (1)

When asked in Question 21 if their membership in a task force or volunteer group or employment in WOSM was influenced by their participation at the WSYF, over 78% responded “a lot” (48,5%) or “greatly” (30,3%). Very few respondents (5 in total) stated that it had no or little influence.

Question 22 asked the respondents to state to state if they have been elected/appointed to a position in Scouting and if yes, to specify the position precisely. Out of 55 responses, the most common answer is: International Commissioner (17 responses). Some respondents stated that they have been members of National Boards, Youth Advisors to various National Boards, Youth Advisors to the World Scout Committee, Presidents of NSOs, Commissioners for Rover Section, etc.

1.2.3. NSO/NSA Representatives’ Opinion about the World Scout Youth Forum

The results presented in this chapter are based on the Survey: Impact Assessment of the Youth Advisor System and World Scout Youth Forum for National Scout Organizations/Associations, conducted from November 30th 2012 to January 20th 2013. During this period, 145 NSOs/NSAs were invited to complete the Survey. Out of that number, 62 NSOs/NSAs gave their responses to the Survey questions, which accounts for a response rate of 42,76%. However, out of the 62 NSOs/NSAs, 16 only responded to the first question (indicated the WOSM Region they belong to), while 46 gave full responses, which accounts for a true response rate of 31,72%.

The respondents were asked to reflect upon the usefulness of the WSYF and YA system for their NSOs, and rate the success they have had in empowering young people to take part in decision-making.

Table 1 and Chart 1 show the distribution of respondents per WOSM Region. As visible from both, 14,5% (9 NSOs/NSAs) came from the Africa Region, 9,7% (6 NSOs/NSAs) from the Arab Region, 24,7% (15 NSOs/NSAs) from the Asia-Pacific Region, 8,1% (5 NSOs/NSAs) from the Eurasia Region, 30,6% (19 NSOs/NSAs) from the Europe Region and 12,9% (8 NSOs/NSAs) from the Interamerica Region. However, when comparing these numbers to the total numbers of NSOs/NSAs per WOSM Region, the percentages are the following:

- 24,3% of the NSOs/NSAs from the Africa Region responded (9 out of 37); - 33,3% of the NSOs/NSAs from the Arab Region responded (6 out of 18); - 62,5% of the NSOs/NSAs from the Asia-Pacific Region responded (15 out of 24); - 55,5% of the NSOs/NSAs from the Eurasia Region responded (5 out of 9); - 46,3% of the NSOs/NSAs from the Europe Region responded (19 out of 41); - 25,0% of the NSOs/NSAs from the Interamerica Region responded (8 out of 32).

It is visible from this comparison that the WOSM Region with the highest response rate is Asia-Pacific, while the WOSM Region with the lowest response rate is Africa.

Table 1: Distribution of Respondents per WOSM Region Chart 1: Distribution of Respondents per WOSM Region WOSM Response Response Regions Percent Count

14,5% 9 Africa Region Africa Region 13% 15%

9,7% 6 Arab Region Arab Region Asia-Pacific 24,2% 15 10% Region Asia-Pacific Regon

8,1% 5 31% Eurasia Region Eurasia Region 24% 30,6% 19 Europe Region Europe Region Interamerica 8% 12,9% 8 Region Interamerica Total 100,0% 62 Region

When asked to identify which position the respondents have in their NSO (to test the credibility of the responses), 32 indicated that they were International Commissioners, while the other most common responses were: Board Member, Secretary General, Chief Scout, Executive Director, Team Leader and Programme Commissioner.

1.2.3.1. Assessment of the Impact of the WSYF on NSOs/NSAs

Question 3 asked the respondents to identify to which extent the participation of their members in the WSYF has enhanced youth participation in their NSO/NSA structures (National Scout Committees, Task Forces, National Staff Members and Volunteer Groups). Table 2 and Chart 2 show the overall responses. Table 3 shows the distribution of answers per WOSM Region.

Table 2: Question 3 (To what extent has the participation of your members in the WSYF Chart 2: Question 3 enhanced youth participation in your NSO/NSA structures (National Scout Committees, Task Forces, National Staff not at all Members and Volunteer groups)?) Answer Response Response 11% 15% little Options Percent Count

Not at all 15,2% 7 22% neither little or a 26,1% 12 Little 26% lot Neither little 26,1% 12 nor a lot a lot 21,7% 10 A lot 26% Greatly 10,9% 5 greatly Total 100,0% 46 Skipped Question 16

Table 3: Question 3 (To what extent has the participation of your members in the WSYF enhanced youth participation in your NSO/NSA structures (National Scout Committees, Task Forces, National Staff Members and Volunteer groups)?) Answer Asia- Interame Response Respons Africa Arab Eurasia Europe Options Pacific rica Percent e Count

Not at all 1 0 1 0 3 2 15,2% 7 Little 0 1 6 0 2 3 26,1% 12 Neither little nor 1 0 5 0 5 1 26,1% 12 a lot A lot 2 1 2 1 3 1 21,7% 10 Greatly 2 0 0 1 1 1 10,9% 5 Total 6 2 14 2 14 8 100,0% 46 Skipped Question 16

Comments:

• The overall distribution of answers is much dispersed, and there could be no majority view presented. • An equal number of respondents (12) stated that the participation of their members in the WSYF had “little” or “neither little nor a lot” influence on youth participation in their NSO/NSA structures. • However, when comparing the results per Region, a different dispersion of answers is visible. The Regions with the highest rating are the Africa and Eurasia Region (66% of respondents from the Africa Region chose “a lot” or “greatly” as their response, while a 100% of respondents chose those answers from the Eurasia Region). • The Asia-Pacific Region has about 43% of respondents stating that the WSYF participants had “little” influence on enhancing youth participation, and 35% stating that they had “neither little nor a lot” of influence. A very similar dispersion of responses is visible in the Europe Region. • The Arab Region has two answers on the opposites – 1 respondent claiming that the WSYF participants had “little” influence, and another respondent claiming they had “a lot” of influence. • The Interamerica Region had the majority of respondents (5 out of 8) saying that the WSYF participants had no influence at all or little influence.

Question 4 asked the respondents to indicate to which extent the participation of young members in their NSO/NSA has influenced their motivation to take part in decision-making bodies in the NSO/NSA and international decision-making bodies. Table 4 shows the overall results and Chart 3 the responses per Region.

Table 4: Question 4 (Please indicate to what extent has the participation of youth from your NSO/NSA in the WSYF influenced their motivation for taking part in: ) Neither Response Answer Options Not at all Little little nor a A lot Greatly Count lot Decision-making bodies 5 11 13 12 5 46 (e.g. general assembly) (10,86%) (23,92%) (28,27%) (26,09%) (10,86%) International decision- 7 11 12 12 3 making bodies (e.g. 45 (15,55%) (24,44%) (26,67%) (26,67%) (6,67%) Regional Conference) Total 46 Skipped Question 16

Comments:

• About 24% of all respondents stated that participation in the Forum had little influence on their members to take part in decision-making bodies within their Organization/ Association. However, 26% of them stated that it had a lot of influence.

• As for the motivation for Chart 3: Question 4 participating in international decision- 5.00 making bodies, two answer options gained the same number of 4.50 respondents (“neither a little nor a lot” 4.00 and “a lot” – 12 respondents each). 3.50 Africa • When comparing the responses per WOSM Region (Chart 3.00 Arab 3), it is visible that respondents from 2.50 Asia-Pacific Eurasia gave the most positive 2.00 responses, while the respondents from Eurasia 1.50 other Regions were more similar to in their choice of responses, with a rating 1.00 Europe average for both questions between 0.50 Interamerica 2,5 and 3,5. 0.00 Decision-making International decision- bodies (e.g. general making bodies (e.g. assembly) Regional Conference) Question 5 asked the respondents to rate their satisfaction with the participation of their members at the WSYF when it comes to the motivation to stay involved in the NSO/NSA, the knowledge and skills and ideas for projects and partnerships the participants brought back from the WSYF. Table 5 shows the overall responses and Chart 4 shows the responses per WOSM Region.

Table 5: Question 5 (Please rate your satisfaction with the participation of your members at the WSYF in accordance with the scale provided below: ) Neither Completely satisfied Very Response Answer Options Unsatisfied Satisfied unsatisfied nor satisfied Count unsatisfied Motivation to stay 1 6 8 23 8 involved with your 46 (2,18%) (13,04%) (17,39%) (50,00%) (17,39%) NSO/NSA. The knowledge and skills 1 6 8 23 7 the participants brought 45 (2,22%) (13,34%) (17,78%) (51,11%) (15,55%) back from the WSYF The ideas for projects and partnerships the 0 6 13 19 6 44 participants brought back (0,00%) (13,64%) (29,54%) (43,19%) (13,63%) from the WSYF Total 46 Skipped Question 16

Comments:

• As visible from Table 5, overall, the respondents were satisfied with the motivation the participants had for continuing their commitment to their NSO/NSA after attending the Forum, as well as the skills and knowledge and ideas for projects they have brought back from the Forum. • In percentages, over 67% of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with the motivation the Forum gave their participants to continue their work in their NSOs/NSAs. • Over 66% of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with the knowledge and skills the participants brought back home from the Forum. • Over 56% of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with the ideas for projects and partnerships the participants brought back from the WSYF. Here it is noticeable that there is also a large proportion of those who are “neither satisfied nor unsatisfied” (29,54%). • When observing the responses per Region, the most satisfied Regions in all three issues are the Eurasia and Arab Regions, while the other four Regions have very similar rating averages (all within the interval of 3,0 to 4,0).

When asked in Question 6 to share Chart 4: Question 5 short descriptions of the ideas for 6.00 projects or partnerships their WSYF participants have brought back to 5.00 their NSO/NSA, 5 respondents gave the following answers: 4.00 Africa - “Launch of an environment 3.00 Arab project (after WSYF 2008), which 2.00 Asia-Pacific eventually lead to the set-up of an "environment working group" within 1.00 Eurasia our Association (MSdS)” “Scouts from Canada Europe - 0.00 developed a Scouts of the World (it Motivation to The knowledge The ideas for stay involved and skills the projects and Interamerica has a different name in Canada) with your NSO. participants partnerships the project in Paraguay thanks to brought back participants networking in the WSYF” from the WSYF brought back - “Brilliant ideas, but due to from the WSYF too much autonomy and supervision by senior structures of the NSO, got totally out of control.” - “Towards Scouts Values - Scouts Principals and Norms in struggle against HIV” - “The participation of some of our scouts in the 9th WSYF resulted in the initiation of a strong partnership between the Tunisian Scouts and the YMCA scouts of Denmark. Actually, this partnership resulted in having more than 300 Tunisians going to Denmark and more than 500 Danes coming to Tunisia and with some projects with huge budgets (like the Future Leaders of Tunisia project which budget is a bit more than 600,000 Euros).”

1.2.4. Interviewees’ Opinions about the World Scout Youth Forum

This chapter focuses on the input gained from 15 interviews with WSYF participants, former and current Youth Advisors and people who had significant ties to the WSYF. It focuses on the interviewees’ perception of the nature of the Forum and youth participation in decision-making in general, the recommendations for the Planning Committee of the next Forum and personal impressions and stories from former Forum participants.

1.2.4.1. The WSYF as a Tool for Enhancing Youth Participation in Decision-Making

The nature of the Forum, an often-discussed topic, is indeed perceived differently among the interviewees. Some of them insist on its educational values, while others state that there is a political note to it as well. Here are some of their impressions:

“The Forum has a very strong educational aspect. It provides a space for young people who are not able to express their views in their NSOs, to experience having their opinion being heard and listened to. With the Forum young people tend to gain confidence in expressing themselves, which makes them more capable of achieving things. Forums also empower participants, allowing young people to put into practice democratic values, and acquiring life skills that they can take back to their NSOs.” Nadia Soledad Morrone, Youth Advisor, 2008 – 2011

“I am against the Forum being used as a tool to push forward interests from NSOs. The goal of the Forum should be educational in its essence, but the goals became much more political in the latest Forums. If the methodology and the mindset changes, Youth Forums could be an educational tool once again. I have benefited greatly from the educational value of the Forum as a person within and outside Scouting. Nevertheless, I’m sceptical about the possibility to recreate an educational environment at the Forum in its current format at this point in time.”

Melissa Martins Casagrande, WSYF Participant, 1996, Moss, Norway WSYF Planning Committee member,1999, Balgowan, South Africa WSYF Planning Committee member, 2002, Metsovo, Greece

“There was a debate in the plenary of the WSC back in 2002 in Thessaloniki (as well as in Durban in 1999) if the WSYF is a decision-making body parallel to the Conference or a toy for the "kids" to play while the “grown up” leaders take the decisions (I think I remember the word “toy” used in the plenary!). To my opinion both definitions are wrong. The WSYF never was and should not be a decision-making body. The World Scout Conference is the only decision-making body of the Movement and the impact of young leaders’ ideas and points of view must be visible and active in the Conference. As for the "toy", the WSYF was never a "toy". The Forum “gave birth” to a lot of young leaders that served and affected the administration of the Movement at world, regional and national level. I – and I am not the only one – consider my own capacities and first experiences in decision-making at world level a product, a result of the WSYF! Therefore, to my opinion the Forum is not a decision-making body nor an event to meet and “play the Conference”, it is an important tool!” Antonis Papatheodoulou, WSYF Participant, 1999, Balgowan, South Africa Chairperson, 8th WSYF, 2002, Metsovo, Greece

“The Forum plays an important role in preparing young people for efficient participation at the World Conference. I have seen several examples of young people making outstanding contributions at the Conference - but this takes good preparation. While the preparation of Conference delegations is the responsibility of NSOs, in cases where an NSO does not have sufficient bandwidth the Forum provides an excellent space for developing the knowledge and networks necessary for efficient participation in Conference decision-making”.

Karin Ahlbäck, World Scout Committee Member, 2011 – Youth Advisor, 2008 – 2011

“The relation between the Conference and the Forum is a gauge of how in tune we are with our members. And the more tension there is between the Youth Forum and the Conference, the more it signals that we are not in tune with our membership.” Håkon Lund, Chairperson, 6th WSYF,1996, Moss, Norway WSYF Participant, 1999, Balgowan, South Africa

Some interviewees have pointed out that the participants are those who give the Forum its character – here are some of their impressions:

“The advantage of the Forum is that it empowers young people; it is a good tool to put them in a position where their value is shown. However, an analysis of what is the goal of youth participation in WOSM should be updated: What do we mean by youth participation? Do we also mean full participation in World Scout Committees and Conferences? If so, we should also see which instruments are available to achieve this. On the other hand, if the Forum exists for an educational reason – why then send young people with political capacity to it? It has to be decided to which goal it is striving to, and its nature should be related to its goal. If the Forum should be educational, then it should be done for venture scouts. But if you put together a venture scout and an IC – it is a mess. And in the end it is neither a political or educational event.”

Eduard Vallory, WSYF participant, 1996, Moss, Norway

“Some people go unprepared and then spend the whole Forum trying to understand it; that is why the regional Forums are important as a preparation. It is a waste of time and money if sending someone who has no idea about the Forum.” Leonardo Morales Morales, Interamerica Scout Committee, Member 2010 – 2016

The future of the Forum is also a point of debate. Some interviewees state that the Forum should stop existing immediately, as it is slowing down the “true” involvement of young people in decision-making at World level – at the

World Scout Conference. However, others state that it would be a “great mistake” to stop holding the Forum as an event, since there are several benefits from it. Some of the interviewees’ thoughts are:

“The WSYF should be discontinued with immediate effect and effort should be put into having the young people at the Conference. As long as we have the Forum, we will never be able to move forward. The system is self-perpetuating.” Craig Turpie, Youth Advisor to the World Scout Committee from the Europe Region, 2004 – 2007 Europe Regional Scout Committee, Chairperson, 2010 – 2013

“I think the Forum should continue to exist because it gives a great opportunity for youth involvement at the institutional level. But maybe it would be better to aim to have one big event in which there are specific moments and general moments. For example, specific moments for young people to have their forum, national leaders to deal with the budget and reports from SG and Chairperson of the WSC, and other areas to do something similar to a forum (e.g. Programme Commissioners), and after these specific moments per area have a plenary involving all those participants in which resolutions are adopted, benefiting in this way the involvement of young people and intergenerational dialogue in all the decisions that affect the future of the organization.” Nadia Soledad Morrone, Youth Advisor, 2008 – 2011

“It would be a great mistake for Scouting to end the Forum. The Forum gives an NSO an excuse to have young people at the Conference. A lot of nations need that excuse to involve young people.” Håkon Lund, Chairperson, 6th WSYF,1996, Moss, Norway WSYF Participant, 1999, Balgowan, South Africa

Youth participation in decision-making can be achieved using other methods as well. Some of the interviewees reflected on the possibility of having young people in the World Scout Committee as one of those methods:

“There needs to be a strong political will within a NSO to promote a young candidate for the World Scout Committee. A suggestion for increasing the number of young candidates could be that a NSO is entitled to nominate two candidates as long as the first nominee is a young person.” Luc Panissod, Secretary General, WOSM, 2007 – 2011

“If you compare the youth issue to the women issue it becomes more clear: imagine having a parallel structure to the Conference which would be a Women’s Forum. The goal would be, clearly, to have the women fully incorporated into the Conference and Committee, and not to keep them separate. The same goes for quotas. The logic of positive discrimination is right – because, at the end, the percentage forces the change of culture. If you have 80% of men, for sure some of them are not that good, as some of the 20% of women will not be that good. But in the end, this percentage will force better candidates to be nominated. The same goes for prepared youth. There is a conceptual key issue – which is that Scouting is a Movement where young people must play a role in decision-making. The Movement’s governance should be intergenerational. Young people should be enabled to play a key role in Scouting at all levels. If we want a Movement that will understand what young people want – we must have them in the decision-making process.” Eduard Vallory, WSYF participant, 1996, Moss, Norway

1.2.4.2. Recommendations for the next World Scout Youth Forum

Some of the interviewees gave several suggestions for the Planning Committee of the next Forum, mostly speaking from their own perspective as a member of one of the previous Planning Committees for the past Forums. Their recommendations are the following:

“I would encourage YAs to try to strike a balance in the programme to cater for those more experienced and those for whom it is the first event of this nature.” John Michael Lawlor, Youth Advisor, 2005 – 2008

“The first thing the Planning Committee of the Forum has to have in mind is – will the agenda really respond to the needs of young people in scouting? Are we really dealing with the challenges of young people?” Mehdi Ben Khelil, Youth Advisor, 2005 – 2008

“The Planning Committee of the Forum should keep in mind that there are people from very diverse backgrounds, political systems – and the PC needs to make sure that everyone can feel at home. The PC should try to embrace the diversity of participants, and enable them all to experience something from the host country, as well as each of the other countries represented. An example could be having music from all countries.” Rodney Abson, Youth Advisor, 2005 – 2007

1.2.4.3. Interviewees’ Impressions and Stories

Some of the interviewees shared their personal stories which were affected by their participation at the Forum, as well as their personal impressions of the impact the Forum had on their personal development, and development of other participants.

“The Forum was tremendous fun, a great experience. As a direct result of the Forum, I have worked with a fellow participant from Swaziland through the Gifts for Peace framework on a project which helped reconstruct a scout and community centre in Swaziland. Through the project we facilitated an exchange of UK and Swaziland scouts.” Daniel Wood, WSYF Participant, 2002, Metsovo, Greece

“For those who participate, it is a fantastic experience which enables them to discuss and debate. For the NSOs it is an opportunity to test young delegates and observers, and plant the seeds of issues that might come up during the Conference.” Craig Turpie, Youth Advisor to the World Scout Committee from the Europe Region, 2004 – 2007 Europe Regional Scout Committee, Chairperson, 2010 – 2013

“It is very important to stress that Scouting has a huge impact on societies by teaching young people as members to voice our opinion, to be a part of a team, to take charge of our own future and destiny, and these things should not be overlooked when you talk about the WSYF. There is no doubt that the Forum helped in my personal development – it helps in developing communication skills and reaching understanding across cultures and traditions. We have a lot of peace initiatives in Scouting, but the Forum is special tool, because it is all about democracy, it is about making young people (the future of our nations) build international networks and contribute to society.” Håkon Lund, Chairperson, 6th WSYF,1996, Moss, Norway WSYF Participant, 1999, Balgowan, South Africa

“There will always be a new generation of scouts who can benefit from the Forum as an international training ground, and at the moment not all countries have systems in place for youth involvement in decision-making. The Forum was a unique experience. Having experienced its international character helped me a lot in the business where I currently work, since it is an international company.” Ian Webb, WSYF Participant, 1996, Moss, Norway Planning Committee Member, 1999, Balgowan, South Africa

“The Forum “gave birth” to a lot of young leaders that served and affected the administration of the Movement at world, regional and national level. I – and I am not the only one – consider my own capacities and first experiences in decision-making at world level a product, a result of the WSYF! Therefore, I emphasize: the Forum is not a decision-making body, it is not an event to meet and “play the Conference”, it is a tool!” Antonis Papatheodoulou, WSYF Participant, 1999, Balgowan, South Africa Chairperson, 8th WSYF, 2002, Metsovo, Greece

1.2.5. Qualitative Analysis of WSYF Output

This chapter is based on a comparative study of the Recommendations from the past five World Scout Youth Forums and the past five World Scout Conferences. It presents an overview of the Recommendations that have been partially or completely passed as Conference Resolutions, as well as a number of Resolutions that were directly aimed at enhancing youth participation in decision-making in WOSM and Resolutions with a reference to the World Scout Youth Forum and its impact.

Subsequently, the chapter presents a review of 12 interviewees’ opinions about the Recommendations from the WSYFs they have attended, their importance and influence on the World Scout Committee decisions.

Annex 8 offers a review of the WSYF participants’ evaluations after the 7th and 10th Forum. A review of the evaluation results for the 8th, 9th and 11th Forum is not available.

1.2.5.1. WSYF Recommendations conducted and approved as WSC Resolutions

Prior to presenting the WSYF Recommendations that were passed as WSC Resolutions, it is worth noting that the “youth participation in decision-making” issue has been raised several times prior to the establishment of the World Scout Youth Forum as an interim measure for enhancing youth participation in decision-making in WOSM, immediately held prior to the World Scout Conferences. These Resolutions date far back to 1969, when “the Conference urge[d] member countries to include in their delegations to World Conferences at least one young adult qualified by experience to participate.” (Resolution 13/69, see Annex 1). This was followed by a series of Resolutions “recognizing the value of youth participation in decision-making” (Resolution 15/88, see Annex 1), culminating in an adoption of the “Policy on Involvement of Young Members in Decision-Making” (Resolution 2/93, see Annex 1).

After the 33rd World Scout Conference (1993), the World Scout Youth Forum was held immediately prior to the Conference, starting from 1996. The Forums organized subsequently are in the focus of this research (the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th WSYF). The following text gives an overview of the WSYF Recommendations that have been passed as WSC Resolutions, partially or completely.

7th WSYF/35th WSC, South Africa, 1999

The 7th WSYF produced 13 Recommendations, while the 35th WSC produced 19 Resolutions.

After the 7th WSYF, there was one Recommendation that managed to be fully conducted as a WSC Resolution, and that was the Recommendation: Youth Participation, with the corresponding Resolution: 13/99, titled: Youth Participation (see Annex 2). It recommended to the World Scout Committee that at the next Conference “day is spent in workgroups critically discussing Youth Participation”, with the workgroups focusing on exchanging experiences “between youth and adult members as to how each interacts in the decision-making process within their organizations today”, as well as evaluating the progress made based on Resolution 2/93.

8th WSYF/36th WSC, Greece, 2002

The 8th WSYF produced 5 Recommendations, while the 36th WSC produced 17 Resolutions.

The World Scout Youth Forum held in Metsovo, Greece, in 2002, had a specific format of recommendations, which concentrated on the following topics:

- Are we making a difference? (Impact) - Where are the young people? (Users) - Are our programmes attractive to adolescents? (Tools) - Is the Scout Method really used? (Process) - Are we preparing youth to be active members in society? (Results)

Each of the topics had working groups and several discussions devoted to it, which resulted in several concrete proposals for action (after an identification of the challenges was conducted within the above mentioned topics).

Due to the specific format of the Recommendations of this Forum, it is not possible to generate a simple comparison with the Resolutions of the 36th WSC. However, one Resolution in particular, 6/02 Youth Involvement in Decision-Making (See Annex 3), encompasses a number of the particular recommendations from some of the above mentioned topics.

9th WSYF/37th WSC, Tunisia, 2005

The 9th WSYF produced 16 Recommendations, while the 37th WSC produced 25 Resolutions.

At the 37th WSC in Tunisia in 2005, there was a total of 3 Recommendations that were passed as Conference Resolutions. These dealt with the following topics:

- Recommendation 5, partially encompassed in Resolution 25/05 (Centenary of Scouting). Some of the suggestions for marking the Centenary of Scouting proposed in Recommendation 5 were accepted in Resolution 25/05. - Recommendations 14 and 15, encompassed completely in Resolution 18/05 (Scouting and the Environment). Each of the above mentioned Recommendations gave specific proposals for activities to be conducted in order to enhance the environment education programmes in NSOs.

Recommendation 16 was mentioned in Resolution 11/05 (World Scout Youth Forum), where the “Conference requests the World Scout Committee to give serious consideration to the recommendations proposed by the Youth Forum and particularly to the recommendation n° 16 related to the involvement of Youth Advisers in the meetings and work of the World Scout Committee”.

For the above-mentioned Recommendations and Resolutions from the 9th WSYF/37th WSC, see Annex 4.

10th WSYF/38th WSC, Republic of Korea, 2008

The 10th WSYF produced 12 Recommendations, while the 38th WSC produced 30 Resolutions.

The 38th Conference had a total of 2 Forum Recommendations adopted as Conference Resolutions. These were the following:

- Recommendation B: Youth Involvement in Decision-Making – A Strategic Approach, with slight modifications, was adopted as Conference Resolution 14/08 (Youth Involvement in Decision-Making). - Recommendation E: The Scouts of the World Award, with slight modifications, was adopted as Conference Resolution 21/08 (Scouts of the World Award).

For the above mentioned Recommendations and Resolutions from the 10th WSYF/38th WSC, see Annex 5.

11th WSYF/39th WSC, Brazil, 2011

The 11th WSYF produced 25 Recommendations, while the 39th WSC produced 17 Resolutions.

The 11th WSYF produced 3 Recommendations that were adopted as Conference Resolutions with only minor changes in wording, and 2 Recommendations that were partially incorporated in two Conference Resolutions. This characterizes this Forum as the one with the highest number of Recommendations passed as Resolutions so far.

They were the following:

- Recommendation A: Youth Involvement in Decision-Making, adopted as Resolution 8/11 (Youth Involvement in Decision-Making in National Scout Organizations and within WOSM) with only minor changes in wording. Furthermore, the Conference adopted Resolution 9/11 (World Scout Youth Forum Recommendations), resolving “that a session be devoted at the 40th World Scout Conference and subsequent Conferences for debate on the issues raised by the World Scout Youth Forum's Recommendations at a point in the proceedings that is early enough for such a debate to inform the development of appropriate resolutions”.

- Recommendation I: Sharing Best Practice in the Field of Promoting Materials, adopted as Resolution 14/11 Sharing Best Practice of Promotional Material Among National Scout Organizations, with only minor changes in wording. - Recommendation M: Representing World Scouting, adopted as Resolution 10/11 Advocacy for World Scouting, with only minor changes in wording. - Recommendation N: Partnerships WOSM/Community Groups, United Nations and NGOs, partially adopted as Resolution 15/11 Partnerships Between WOSM and Community Groups, the United Nations, and NGOs. - Recommendation P: Youth, Peace and Security consists a part of Resolution 16/11 Youth, Peace and Security in External Relations.

Recommendation O: WOSM and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – Reaching Out, Creating a Better World was proposed as a resolution at the 39th World Scout Conference, but was not adopted as such. Instead, it served as a motivation for the World Scout Committee to issue a Declaration to the 39th World Scout Conference (See Annex 7).

1.2.5.2. Interviewees’ Input

A total of 12 interviewees were asked to give their comments on the recommendations that came out of the Forums they have attended, their impact and the follow-up they have received from the Youth Advisors and the World Scout Committee.

When discussing the overall importance of WSYF Recommendations, there is a wide disparity in the answers given by interviewees. They vary from stating that the Recommendations are very important, to those stating that they do not have a big importance in decision-making. Here are some of their impressions:

“The Recommendations from the WSYFs are very important, because they are an expression on a collective level of what the youth think our movement should be doing.” Daniel Wood, WSYF Participant, 2002, Metsovo, Greece

“We are always looking at the Recommendations, whether in the planning of the Next Forum, or at the WSC meetings. The Youth for Change Priority Area Work Group is taking them into consideration as well, to see what is really needed by young people.” Sarah-Rita Kattan, Youth Advisor, 2011 - 2014

“As a Youth Advisor, I have seen that the WSYF Recommendations meet with challenges in terms of implementation - unless obliged there is but limited interest from the World Scout Committee.” Karin Ahlbäck, World Scout Committee Member, 2011 – Youth Advisor, 2008 – 2011

“To be honest, they are not very important. If they are not carried as resolutions at the Conference, it is often the case that no resources are allocated for them and therefore, it is not possible to carry them through. However, the recommendations about the next WSYF, we have used a lot in the preparations.” Esben Holager, Youth Advisor, 2011 – 2014

“I remember presenting the Forum results, the first day of the Conference in Thessaloniki, there was a question from a delegation if the Forum was successful. My answer was „I don't know yet! We have to wait until the end of the Conference to see who of the Forum participants will be active delegates and or observers in this plenary and which opinions heard at the Forum will be turned into actual resolutions and voted for by the WSC.“ Antonis Papatheodoulou, WSYF Participant, 1999, Balgowan, South Africa Chairperson, 8th WSYF, 2002, Metsovo, Greece

When it comes to the number and quality of Recommendations, interviewees agreed that the quality of the Recommendations should be the priority:

“The last forum produced a lot of recommendations, and this is not an achievement, sometimes quality is not related to quantity. I think recommendations have to be more global, coming from a wide perspective, not a point raised from NSOs to solve internal/national issues.” Felipe de Paulo, Youth Advisor, 2011 – 2014

“I do not think that the number of Recommendations is a problem, what matters is their quality. It is very difficult to follow them if they do not have actions that can be done and goals that can be achieved.

In a way, it is good to have a lot of recommendations, because it means that young people are expressing themselves.” Nadia Soledad Morrone, Youth Advisor, 2008 – 2011

“The Recommendations are sometimes unconstitutional, not well formulated, yet somehow they pass in the Forum. There is a lack of support from the World Scout Bureau to craft the Recommendations.” Craig Turpie, Youth Advisor to the World Scout Committee from the Europe Region, 2004 – 2007 Europe Regional Scout Committee, Chairperson, 2010 – 2013

Some interviewees stressed that the preparation of participants to produce Recommendations is of great importance for having good quality Recommendations:

“The recommendations are supposed to be the most important output of the WSYF, but the problem is that most participants are not familiar with such a thing. In the end we have 5-10% of participants who are ready for this, with an agenda from their NSO. There needs to be additional thought given to how to prepare the participants to choose the area in which they want to work on a recommendation.” Mehdi Ben Khelil, Youth Advisor, 2005 – 2008

Interviewees stated that it is the job of the Youth Advisors to follow up on the Recommendations, and push for their realization. They have also stressed the importance of having a regular check-up on the progress of each Forum Recommendation:

A part of the YAs' responsibility is to keep track of the Recommendations; they need to insist on their implementation. I think there should be an annual follow up on the progress of each recommendation, to see if there are any „red flags“. Rodney Abson, Youth Advisor, 2005 - 2008

One of the proposals that came from interviewees for enhancing the success of Recommendations is the following:

“A solution could be to formalize a meeting at the Conference between the newly elected Youth Advisors, the Steering Committee of the Forum, people that have put forward Recommendations at the Forum and representatives of delegations. This way the youth would have an opportunity to explain to the Conference why they have passed the Recommendations, what do they want to achieve with them, etc. Another way is for Forum participants to push through their own delegations for support for the Recommendations.” Luc Panissod, Secretary General, WOSM, 2007 – 2011

An interesting situation occurred at the last World Scout Conference, where one of the Forum Recommendations (Recommendation O) was proposed at the Conference as a resolution, but was not adopted. Rather than that, it motivated the World Scout Committee to issue a Declaration to the Conference (See Annex 7 for both the Recommendation and the Declaration). Three interviewees referred to this situation in particular:

“That was not the smartest political move by young people, which revealed a lack of knowledge and appreciation of the capacity and of the organization to react under pressure as well as of its maturity to deal with this issue. A wider "political experience" of WOSM as an institution would have helped to bring the matter up in a different and certainly less aggressive way. This should have been preceded by an in- depth dialogue to avoid the uncomfortable surprise to many participants." Luc Panissod, Secretary General, WOSM, 2007 – 2011

“The behaviour of young people at the last Conference showed lack of training. The 11th Forum was not educational in this sense; it did not teach the participants how to navigate at a Conference. At the Forum in Metsovo, we informally trained the participants about the sensitivities, while the last Forum, as a structure, empowered people in a wrong way. There is an arrogance that could be attributed to the whole generation, it is losing tact, and not thinking responsibly of the consequences for themselves. It is a daring that goes a bit too far.” Melissa Martins Casagrande, WSYF Participant, 1996, Moss, Norway WSYF Planning Committee member,1999, Balgowan, South Africa WSYF Planning Committee member, 2002, Metsovo, Greece

“It is not surprising that we have fear when any changes are proposed. There has always been, in society in general, some radicalism from youth that adults find challenging. We ought to embrace dialogue even when it is difficult. We should not shut off all possibilities for challenge; by doing this, we might stem the appetite of young people for the Movement.” Daniel Wood, WSYF Participant, 2002, Metsovo, Greece

1.2.6. Summary

WSYF Participants’ Survey

• The number of participants that have completed the Survey for former Forum participants (106) accounts for 15,01% of the total number of participants of the past five Forums (706). However, since the contact information was available for only 396 participants, it is more accurate to conclude that the response rate is 26,76% (106 of 396). • The greatest response was from the last Forum (40,6% of the Forum participants completed the Survey). • The average age of respondents at the time of attending the Forum is 21, while the ratio of men to women is 60% - 40%. The distribution of respondents per WOSM Region is the following: 52% from Europe, 21% from Asia-Pacific, 13% from Interamerica, 5% from Africa, 5% from Eurasia and 4% from the Arab Region. • Out of 106 respondents, only 8 have not attended the World Scout Conference that has followed the WSYF they have attended (7,5%). • About 47% of the respondents claim that the WSYF has contributed “a lot” in “Enhancing youth participation in decision-making at World level”. About 24% stated as their answer “neither a little nor a lot”. • A vast majority (93,2%) of respondents stated that the Forum has contributed “a lot” or “greatly” to “Providing opportunities for networking and establishing contacts between participants“. • About 64% of the respondents stated that the Forum contributes “a lot” or “greatly” to “Providing participants with new skills and knowledge that enable them to play a constructive role in society“. • Over 80% of the respondents are either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with “the usefulness of the knowledge and skills gained at the WSYF for [their] education or professional life“. Some of the interviewees reiterated this by sharing their personal experiences. • Over 94% of the respondents are either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with “The intercultural exchange [they] have experienced during the WSYF“. • Over 75% of the respondents are either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with “The outcome [they] have had from the contacts [they] have made during the WSYF“. • About 41% of the respondents state that they are satisfied with „The Recommendations of the WSYF to the World Scout Committee“, however, a large percentage of those who are „neither satisfied nor unsatisfied“ is visible (30,1%). • Over 65% of the respondents stated that they have used the experience gained during the WSYF in presenting themselves to potential employers or when applying for educational programmes. The largest percent of positive responses came from the Africa (100%) and Interamerica (78%) Regions. • Over 91% of the respondents said their participation at the WSYF has motivated them to participate in other international Scout events. • Over 81% of respondents stated that the WSYF helped “a lot” or “greatly” when it comes to becoming acquainted with the working methods of the Conference. • About 70% of respondents claimed that the WSYF helped “a lot” or “greatly” in preparing them for participating in plenary and group discussions at the Conference. • Over 67% of respondents stated that the WSYF prepared them “a lot” or “greatly” for participating in writing resolutions at the Conference. • Over 71% of respondents stated that the WSYF helped “a lot” or “greatly” in preparing them for participating in discussions within their delegations regarding voting at the Conference. • Over 89% of respondents stated that their participation in the WSYF helped them understand the decision- making process in The World Scout Conference and World Scouting in general. • About 83% of the respondents participated in creating a Forum Recommendation. • Over 67% of the respondents stated that they have brought home from the Forum ideas for projects and partnerships. • Overall, 65% of the respondents stated that they have been a member of a decision-making body on national, regional or World level. However, the results differ greatly by WOSM Region (Asia-Pacific and Eurasia have over 60% respondents replying negatively). Over 53% of respondents who gave a positive answer to this question stated that their participation in the decision-making body was influenced “a lot” or “greatly” by their participation in the WSYF.

• About 31% of respondents stated that they have been a member of a task force or volunteer group or have worked for WOSM as a professional at World or Regional level. However, the responses vary widely from Region to Region.

NSO Representatives’ Survey

• The Survey for NSO/NSA representatives had a response rate of 31,72% (46 out of 145 NSOs/NSAs which have sent participants to the Forum). • The distribution of respondents is as follows: 14,5% (9 NSOs/NSAs) came from the Africa Region, 9,7% (6 NSOs/NSAs) from the Arab Region, 24,7% (15 NSOs/NSAs) from the Asia-Pacific Region, 8,1% (5 NSOs/NSAs) from the Eurasia Region, 30,6% (19 NSOs/NSAs) from the Europe Region and 12,9% (8 NSOs/NSAs) from the Interamerica Region. • The most often role the respondents hold is International Commissioner. • An equal number of respondents (12) stated that the participation of their members in the WSYF had “little” or “neither little nor a lot” influence on youth participation in their NSO/NSA structures. Ten respondents said it had “a lot” of influence. • About 24% of all respondents stated that participation in the Forum had little influence on their members to take part in decision-making bodies within their Organization/ Association. However, 26% of them stated that it had a lot of influence. • Overall, the respondents were satisfied with the motivation the participants had for continuing their commitment to their NSO/NSA after attending the Forum, as well as the skills and knowledge and ideas for projects they have brought back from the Forum. • Out of the 46 respondents, 10 indicated that they had a Youth Advisor to the World Scout Committee elected from their NSO/NSA.

• The interviewees provided valuable insight about the nature of the Forum; the Recommendations from the Forums, and gave valuable recommendations to the Planning Committee of the next Forum.

Evaluating the Qualitative Output of the WSYF - Recommendations

• Overall, there were a total of 9 WSYF Recommendations from the past five WSYFs that were passed as Conference Resolutions with slight modifications. Three Recommendations were partially adopted. The total number of Recommendations that came out of the past five Forums is 71. • Out of the total 71 Recommendations, 13 at the 7th WSYF, 5* at the 8th WSYF, 16 at the 9th WSYF, 12 at the 10th WSYF and 25 at the 11th WSYF. *The 8th WSYF had a specific Format of Recommendations, explained in the chapter text. • The common opinion of interviewees is that more attention should be devoted to the quality of Recommendations coming out of the Forums. • There is a disagreement among interviewees with regards to the importance of the Recommendations. However, most of them draw attention to the fact that Recommendations receive a lot more attention once they are also passed as Conference Resolutions. • Interviewees stress that the prior knowledge and preparation of participants for drafting Recommendations is a factor that plays a big role in the quality of Recommendations, as well as the topics they cover. • Some interviewees emphasized that there are participants who come to the Forum with an already prepared agenda and drafted Recommendations from their own NSOs.

2. Youth Advisor System

2.1. Quantitative Analysis

2.1.1. Introduction

Over the course of the past 8 years (past two and current triennia), there have been 18 Youth Advisors (YAs) elected in total at the previous three World Scout Youth Forums. The existing format of the Youth Advisor system was firstly introduced at the 9th World Scout Youth Forum in Hammamet, Tunisia, 2005.

These Youth Advisors are:

At the 9th World Scout Youth Forum, Hammamet, Tunisia, 2005:

• Mr. Raymundo Tamayo, Mexico • Mr. John Lawlor, Ireland • Mr. Ange Rodrigue Aye Ake, Cote d’Ivoire • Mr. Rodney Abson, Australia (Chairperson) • Mr. Johan Ekman, Finland • Mr. Mehdi Ben Khelil, Tunisia

At the 10th World Scout Youth Forum, Iksan, Korea, 2008:

• Miss Karin Ahlbäck, Finland • Mr. Jaemin Choi, Republic of Korea • Mr. Kevin Li, Canada • Miss Milena Pecarski, Serbia (Chairperson) • Miss Fernanda Soares, Brasil • Miss Nadia Soledad Morrone, Argentina

At the 11th World Scout Youth Forum, Blumenau, Brazil, 2011:

• Mr. Esben Holager, Denmark • Miss Sarah Rita Kattan, Lebanon • Mr. Vemund Ovesen, Norway • Mr. Felipe de Paulo, Brazil (Chairperson) • Miss Doina Postica, Republic of Moldova • Mr. Muath Zmaili, Jordan

The following chapter will give an overview of the background information (gender, country of origin, WOSM Region) of all former and current Youth Advisors.

2.1.2. Youth Advisor’s Background Information

Out of the 18 elected Youth Advisors, 12 were Chart 1: Gender Distribution of YAs men and 6 were women. This, in percentages, accounts for a ratio of 33% women and 67% of men (Chart 1).

When it comes to the countries of origin of the 18 participants, they come from: Mexico, Ireland, 33% Cote d’Ivoire, Australia, Tunisia, Finland (2x), Republic of Korea, Canada, Serbia, Brazil (2x), Male Argentina, Denmark, Lebanon, Norway, Republic Female of Moldova, Jordan.

67% If observing the elected Youth Advisors per WOSM Region they come from, the situation is the following: 1 YA is from the Africa Region (5,56%), 3 YAs are from the Arab Region (16,67%), 2 YAs are from the Asia-Pacific Region (11,11%), 6 YAs are from the Europe Region (33,33%), 1 YA is from the Eurasia Region (5,56%) and 5 YAs are Chart 2: Distribution of YAs per WOSM Region from the Interamerica Region (27,78%). When making the comparison per Region, it has to be 5,5% noted that Youth Advisors are nominated on behalf of their NSOs, and it therefore, has to be taken into consideration here how many NSOs are Africa there per WOSM Region (Africa 37, Arab 18, Asia- 28% 17% Pacific 24, Europe 41, Eurasia 9 and Interamerica Arab 32). Asia-Pacific A comparison of the candidates per WOSM Region Europe is only available for the past two WSYFs, since the 11% th candidates at the 9 WSYF in Tunisia were not 5,5% Eurasia requested to put up forward their candidature Interamerica before the Forum. At that Forum, there were a total of 25 candidates, but the information about 33% their country of origin or WOSM Region is unavailable.

Table 1 and Chart 3 show the comparison of candidates per WOSM Region (the total number of candidates as well as the number of successful candidates, and the success rates):

Table 1: Distribution of candidates (total number and number of successful candidates) for YA per WOSM Region 10th WSYF 11th WSYF Total 10th and 11th WSYF Total Successful Total Successful Total Successful Candidates Candidates Candidates Candidates Candidates Candidates Africa 4 26,67% 0 0,00% 3 21,43% 0 0,00% 7 24,14% 0 0,00% Arab 1 6,67% 0 0,00% 2 14,29% 2 100,00% 3 10,34% 2 66,67% Asia-Pacific 2 13,33% 1 50,00% 3 21,43% 0 0,00% 5 17,24% 1 20,00% Europe 3 20,00% 2 66,67% 3 21,43% 2 66,67% 6 20,69% 4 66,67% Eurasia 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 2 14,29% 1 50,00% 2 6,90% 1 50,00% Interamerica 5 33,33% 3 60,00% 1 7,14% 1 100,00% 6 20,69% 4 66,67% Total 15 100,00% 6 14 100,00% 6 29 100,00% 12

Comments: Chart 3: Distribution of YA Candidates per WOSM Region • As visible from Table 1, 35.00% the WOSM Region that has had the most candidates coming 30.00% from it is the Africa Region (7 Africa candidates), followed by the 25.00% Europe and Interamerica Arab Regions (6 candidates each), 20.00% and then by the Asia-Pacific Asia-pacific Region (5 candidates), while 15.00% Europe the Arab and Eurasia Regions have sent 3 an 2 candidates 10.00% Eurasia accordingly. Interamerica • Chart 3 shows a large 5.00% discrepancy in the number of candidates per Region at the 0.00% 10th WSYF (standard deviation 10th WSYF 11th WSYF Total 1,87), while the difference in the number of candidates is significantly less at the 11th WSYF (standard deviation 0,82). • In total (10th and 11th WSYF together), the mean of the number of candidates is 4,83, with a standard deviation of 1,94, meaning that, on average, Regions have sent 4 or 5 candidates, and the number of candidates sent by the different Region varies from this average by almost 2 candidates. • However, a comparison of the success rates of candidates per Region gives an interesting picture. As visible from Table 1, there cannot be a correlation drawn from the number of candidates sent and the number of successful candidates. A clear example for this conclusion is a comparison between the Africa, Europe and Interamerica regions: • The Africa Region, even though it has the highest number of candidates sent, has a success rate of 0,00%. The Europe and Interamerica regions both have 6 candidates sent, and both have a success rate of 66,67% (4 out of 6 candidates were successful). • This leads to a conclusion that the number of successful candidates does not depend greatly on the number of sent candidates. (The correlation coefficient is 18%).

2.2. Qualitative Analysis

2.2.1. Introduction

The qualitative analysis of the Youth Advisor system is based on:

a) Survey on the Impact Assessment of the Youth Advisor System for former and current Youth Advisors; b) Survey on the Impact Assessment of the World Scout Youth Forum and Youth Advisor System for NSO/NSA representatives; c) Survey on the Impact Assessment of the Youth Advisor System for former and current World Scout Committee members; d) Insights from 12 interviews conducted with former and current Youth Advisors, Forum participants and people who had significant ties with the Forum or the YA system.

Each of the following subchapters represents the results of these surveys and interviews in the above presented order.

2.2.2. Youth Advisors’ Opinions about the Youth Advisor System

This chapter is based on a total of 13 responses gained from the Survey on the Impact Assessment of the Youth Advisor System for (past and current) Youth Advisors, conducted from November 30th 2012 to January 13th 2013. The Survey was sent to a total of 18 Youth Advisor (12 past and 6 current) via email invitations.

When compared to the total number of Youth Advisors, this number of responses accounts to a response rate of 72,22%. Out of the 13 sent responses, 11 are complete (2 gave only background information presented in the next chapter), which accounts for a response rate of 61,11%. This chapter will, therefore, base its analysis on the 11 complete responses.

The second part of this report is based on 12 interviews conducted with Youth Advisors, Forum participants and people who had significant ties with the Forum or the YA system. These interviews were conducted via Skype, email and personally. Conversation notes (or email answers) are available for all conversations.

2.2.2.1. Survey Respondents’ Background

When it comes to the results of the Survey, out of the 13 respondents, the average age when elected is 23, but the most common age is 24.

With regards to the gender distribution of respondents, four are female (30,76%) and 9 are male (69,24%), which means that 66,66% of total female YAs have responded to the Survey, and 75% of the male YAs responded to the Survey.

If observing the respondents per WOSM Region, the distribution is the following: 3 respondents from the Arab Region (100% of total number of YAs from this Region), 1 respondent from the Africa Region (100% of total number of YAs from this Region), 2 respondents from the Asia-Pacific Region (100% of total number of YAs from this Region), 4 respondents from the Europe Region (66,67% of total number of YAs from this Region), 3 respondents from the Interamerica Region (60% of total number of YAs from this Region) and no respondents from the Eurasia Region.

When observing the responses per triennia, the 2005-2008 group gave 4 responses (30,77%), the 2008-2011 group gave 4 responses (30,77%) and the 2011-2014 group gave 5 responses (38,46%).

2.2.2.2. Added Value of the Youth Advisors to the Work of the World Scout Committee

This chapter will focus on the added value of the Youth Advisors to the work of the World Scout Committee (WSC). In particular, it will examine the level of satisfaction of YAs with their work on representing the voice of young people in WOSM structures, their participation in WSC meetings, their interaction with young people when creating an opinion on a certain issue, and their satisfaction with ScOutPost as a communication tool.

Table 1: Question 6 (To what extent has the description of the position of a Youth Advisor matched Chart 1: Question 7 your actual work as a Youth Advisor?) 0% not at all Response Response Answer Options Percent Count 9% 18% little Not at all 0,0% 0 18% Little 0,0% 0 neither little nor a lot Neither little or a lot 27,3% 3 55% a lot A lot 63,6% 7 Greatly 9,1% 1 greatly Total 100% 11

Question 6 asked the participants to identify to which extent the work they have done as a YA has matched the description of the position. Over 63% of them responded that it matched “a lot” (Table 1).

The figures do not vary greatly throughout the Table 2: Question 7 (To what extent has your work as different groups according to the triennia in which a Youth Advisor enabled you to represent the opinions they were YAs. of young people in WOSM structures (i.e. World Scout Committee, subcommittees and task forces)?) Table 2 and Chart 1 present the answers to Question 7 (To what extent has your work as a Youth Response Response Answer Options Advisor enabled you to represent the opinions of Percent Count young people in WOSM structures (i.e. World Scout Not at all 0,0% 0 Committee, subcommittees and task forces)?). The majority of the respondents (54, 5%, 6 of them) Little 9,1% 1 stated that their work as a Youth Advisor enabled 18,2% 2 Neither little nor a lot them to represent the opinions of young people in A lot 54,5% 6 WOSM structures. Table 3 shows a comparison of Greatly 18,2% 2 answers per YA group: Total 100% 11

Table 3: Question 7 (To what extent has your work as a Youth Advisor enabled you to represent the opinions of young people in WOSM structures (i.e. World Scout Committee, subcommittees and task forces)?) Response Response Answer Options 2005 - 2008 2008 – 2011 2011 - 2014 Percent Count

Not at all 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 0,0% 0 Little 1 33,33% 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 9,1% 1 Neither little nor a lot 0 0,00% 2 50,00% 0 0,00% 18,2% 2 A lot 2 66,67% 1 25,00% 3 75,00% 54,5% 6 Greatly 0 0,00% 1 25,00% 1 25,00% 18,2% 2 Total 3 100,00% 4 100,00% 4 100,00% 11 11

As visible from the upper table, the majority of respondents from the 2005-2008 and 2011-2014 triennia state that their work enabled them “a lot” to represent the opinions of young people in WOSM structures, while the majority of respondents from the 2008-2011 triennia stated that it enabled them “neither a little or a lot” to represent the opinions of young people in WOSM structures.

In Question 8, respondents were asked to rate their opinion of their participation in: suggesting items for inclusion on the agenda of the World Scout Committee, participating in discussions during the WSC meetings, representing the views of young people during the WSC meetings, and influencing the decisions of the WSC (Table 4 and Chart 2 present the overall ratings).

Table 4: Question 8 (Please indicate on the scale your opinion of your participation in the following: )

Neither Answer None at Response Response Poor poor nor Good Very good Options all Percent Count good Suggesting items for inclusion on the agenda of World 0 0,00% 5 45,45% 4 36,37% 2 18,18% 0 0,00% 100,00% 11 Scout Committee meetings. Participating in discussions 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 2 18,18% 6 54,55% 3 27,27% 100,00% 11 during WSC meetings Representing the views of young people 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 2 18,18% 9 81,82% 0 0,00% 100,00% 11 during WSC meetings. Influencing the decisions of the 0 0,00% 2 18,18% 5 45,45% 4 36,37% 0 0,00% 100,00% 11 WSC Total 11

Comments:

• When asked to rate their participation in suggesting items for the agenda of the WSC meetings, the majority of respondents (45,45%) answered that it was “poor”. Another 4 of them (36,37%) rated it as “neither poor or good”. • When rating their participation in discussions during the WSC meetings, 6 of them (54,55%) stated that it was “good”, while 3 of them stated that it was “very good”. • Participation in Chart 2: Question 8 “Representing the views of young people during WSC 4.5 meetings” was rated highly 4 by the vast majority of respondents (9 of them, or 3.5 81,82%) as “good”. 3 • When asked to rate 2.5 their participation in 2 influencing the decisions 2005 - 2008 1.5 made by the WSC, 5 of the respondents (45,45%) stated 1 2008 - 2011 that it was “neither poor or 0.5 2011 - 2014 good”, while 4 of them 0 (36,37%) stated that it was Suggesting Participating in Representing Influencing the “good”. items for discussions the views of decisions of • If comparing the inclusion on during WSC young people the WSC the agenda of meetings during WSC responses to the questions by World Scout meetings. YA group, it is visible that the Committee differences in responses do meetings. not vary greatly, except in the last point of the question,

60 where respondents rated their participation in influencing the decisions of the WSC. The highest rating average for this question was given by the current YA group (2011 – 2014 triennia), while the lowest was given by the 2005 – 2008 triennia YA group, which indicates a trend of growth in the influence the YAs feel that they are achieving on the decisions of the WSC.

Question 9 asked the respondents to rate their level of interaction with the young people (in particular participants of the WSYF) when establishing an opinion on a certain issue of World level importance in Scouting. Tables 5 and 6 and Chart 3 present their answers:

Table 5: Question 9 (To what extent have you interacted with the young people, in Chart 3: Question 9 particular participants of the WSYF, when establishing an opinion on a certain issue of 0% World level importance in Scouting?) Not at all Answer Response Response Options Percent Count 27% A little 46% Not at all 0,0% 0 Neither a little nor A little 45,5% 5 a lot Neither a little A lot 27,3% 3 nor a lot 27% A lot 27,3% 3 Greatly Greatly 0,0% 0 Total 11

Table 6: Question 9 (To what extent have you interacted with the young people, in particular participants of the WSYF, when establishing an opinion on a certain issue of world level importance in Scouting?)

Response Response Answer Options 2005 - 2008 2008 - 2011 2011 - 2014 Percent Count

Not at all 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 0,0% 0 A little 2 66,67% 2 50,00% 1 25,00% 45,46% 5 Neither a little nor a lot 0 0,00% 1 25,00% 2 50,00% 27,27% 3 A lot 1 33,33% 1 25,00% 1 25,00% 27,27% 3 Greatly 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 0,0% 0 Total 3 100,00% 4 100,00% 4 100,00% 100,00% 11

Comments:

• As visible from Table 5 and Chart 5, about 46% of the respondents stated that they have had “little” interaction when communicating with young people (participants of the WSYF) when forming an opinion about a certain issue of World level importance. • The same number of respondents (3) stated that they had “neither a little nor a lot” of interaction, and that they have interacted “greatly” with young people (participants of the WSYF). • When comparing answers per YA group, little difference is visible in the ratings. Overall, it is possible to conclude that the majority of respondents feel that they had little interaction with young people when forming opinions about certain issues of World level importance of Scouting.

The following questions (Question 10 and 11) provide a Table 7: Question 10 (To what extent do you partial explanation to the answers given in Question 9, as believe ScOutPost has achieved its objectives?) they address ScOutPost as a communication tool for the WSYF participants. Response Response Answer Options Percent Count Table 7 shows the answers to Question 10 (To what extent do you believe ScOutPost has achieved its objectives?). When Not at all 45,45% 5 comparing the answers per YA group, there is very little 18,18% 2 A little difference; therefore, it is justifiable to observe the responses Neither a little nor a lot 36,36% 4 to this question as a whole. A lot 0,00% 0 The majority of respondents (5 of them, or 45,45%) stated Greatly 0,00% 0 that ScOutPost has not achieved its objectives at all. However, 4 respondents (36,36%) are unsure about the Answered Question 100,00% 11 achievements of ScOutPost. When asked to propose alternatives to ScOutPost, 9 respondents answered, and here are their answers:

- “Transferring ScOutPost to Facebook was a good idea, but still the initial enthusiasm and engagement of participants’ drains, and sometimes you get zero feedback…” - “Problem is that ScOutPost is trying to be both an informal discussion group + a "more serious" feedback collection channel. I would divide the 2 - position a decision channel as "advisory group" to YAs to which WSYF participants (and other young people) can get invited, but accompanied by description of what is expected (every once in a while YAs will post issues of great importance for WOSM decision-making, please give your feedback). You can also have a separate more informal discussion group (like ScOutPost now) but don't expect big input on serious stuff since most people have not committed to this.” - “I don't have any. Not because I haven't given thought on the matter but because I came to the conclusion that there isn't any good alternative to ScOutPost. We moved ScOutPost to Facebook because that's where young people interact with each other these days and we still didn't achieve its true goals. It doesn't matter what the tool is if people do not wish to be involved. I hate to point fingers at a flaw without giving a suggestion for a solution and for that, I'm sorry. But there must be a way to make sure people carry on the same level of enthusiasm they show at the end of each WSYF and continue to give their valuable contribution to the world level. Honestly, I just don't know how.” - “Make use of social networking platforms which people already use, most likely Facebook is the most suitable at present. It is important to maintain the networks of participants of the WSYFs as easily as possible for the participants. They should be invited from time to time to comment on specific proposals, invite suggestions for World or international initiatives or encouraged to participate in existing world or international initiatives within their own Scouting communities.” - “Use ScOutPost more interactively before and after punctual events.” - “Website especially for WSYFs.” - “Facebook, Regional fora/ Sub-committees.” - “www.scoutmessengers.org” - “I like the way we use now, inside Facebook, but I also think we need to improve: sharing with other media and the most important, a professional to give support not only in this but in the whole structure.”

Table 8 and Chart 4 show the respondents overall answers to Question 12 (Please rate the level of acknowledgement members of the World Scout Committee gave to your opinions.)

Table 8: Question 12 (Please rate the level of acknowledgement members of the World Scout Chart 4: Question 12 Committee gave to your opinions.) 0% Response Response Answer Options Percent Count little acknowledgement Little acknowledgement 0,0% 0 45% some 54,5% 6 acknowledgement Some acknowledgement 55% complete 45,5% 5 Complete acknowledgement acknowledgement

Total 100,0% 11

The majority of respondents (6 of them, or 54,5%) stated that their opinions have received some acknowledgement from the WSC members, while 5 of them (45,5%) stated that their opinions have received full acknowledgement from the WSC members. A comparison of answers per YA group is shown in Table 9.

The answers vary from YA group to group. The majority of respondents from the 2005 – 2008 and 2011 – 2014 triennia state that their opinions had full acknowledgement from the WSC members, and all the respondents from the 2008 – 2011 YA group state that their opinion was somewhat acknowledged.

It is worthy of noting that none of the respondents stated that their opinion received little acknowledgement from WSC members.

Table 9: Question 12 (Please rate the level of acknowledgement members of the World Scout Committee gave to your opinions.)

Response Response Answer Options 2005 - 2008 2008 - 2011 2011 - 2014 Percent Count

Little acknowledgement 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 0,00% 0 100,00 1 33,33% 4 1 25,00% 54,50% 6 Some acknowledgement % Complete acknowledgement 2 66,67% 0 0,00% 3 75,00% 45,50% 5 100,00 100,00 100,00 Total 3 % 4 % 4 % 100,00% 11

2.2.2.3. Added Value of the Youth Advisors towards their WOSM Region and National Scout Organization

Question 13 asked the respondents to rate the extent to which their work as a YA enabled them to contribute to the work of Regional structures. Table 10 and Chart 8 present the overall responses:

Table 10: Question 13 (To what extent has your work as a Youth Advisor enabled you to contribute Chart 5: Question 13 to the work of Regional structures (Regional Scout Committees, Task Forces, Regional Offices, Regional working groups)?) not at all Response Response Answer Options Percent Count 18% 28% little not at all 27,27% 3 neither little nor 27,27% 3 little a lot neither little nor a 27% 0,00% 0 a lot lot 27% a lot 27,27% 3 greatly 18,18% 2 greatly 0% Total 100,00% 11

As visible from both the table and chart, the responses are very widely dispersed. About 27% of respondents stated that their work as a YA did not enable them at all to contribute to Regional structures, the same percentage chose as their answer “little” and the same chose the response “a lot”. Two respondents stated that it enabled them “greatly” to contribute to the work of Regional structures.

Table 11: Question 13 (To what extent has your work as a Youth Advisor enabled you to contribute to the work of Regional structures (Regional Scout Committees, Task Forces, Regional Offices, Regional working groups)?) Response Response Answer Options 2005 - 2008 2008 - 2011 2011 - 2014 Percent Count

Not at all 2 66,67% 1 25,00% 0 0,00% 27,27% 3 Little 1 33,33% 1 25,00% 1 25,00% 27,27% 3 Neither little nor a lot 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 0,00% 0 A lot 0 0,00% 2 50,00% 1 25,00% 27,27% 3 Greatly 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 2 50,00% 18,18% 2 Total 3 100,00% 4 100,00% 4 100,00% 100,00% 11

When comparing the results per YA group (Table 11) it is visible that different generations had a different choice when answering this question. The majority of the 2005 – 2008 group (2 respondents, 66,67%) stated that their work as a YA did not enable them at all to contribute to the work of their Regional structures. Half of the respondents from the second YA group stated that it enabled them “a lot”, while half of the respondents from the current YA group stated that it enabled them “greatly”. When asked in Question 14 to provide examples of their contribution to the work of regional structures, 6 respondents gave the following answers:

- “I was invited and then appointed to participate in one task force, but the chairperson of the task force was removed because the regional committee wanted to have one of its members in charge of it, and then the members of the task force (which we were previously approved by the regional committee) never received an email again...” - “I was invited to be a member of a regional working group, invited to regional working meetings, invited to some Regional Committee meetings, welcomed at regional events as WOSM representative and used as such.” - “As a World level Youth Advisor, I focused more on world level matters and was not a member of any structured organization at a regional level. There was always an open working relationship with regional bureau staff, but it was an ad-hoc relationship, rather than a structured contribution.” - “I have been invited to regional committee meetings. There our contribution as youth advisors was important as we influenced the decisions of the regional committee.” - “Representing the young adult people in Regional Scout Committee; participating in the regional events as a world level representative.” - “Attending Regional Committee Meetings, being part of the regional task forces.”

Similarly to the previous question, the following one asked the respondents to rate the extent to which their work as a YA has enabled them to empower young people in national structures of their NSOs. Table 12 and Chart 6 present the overall responses, while Table 13 presents the responses per YA group.

Table 12: Question 15 (To what extent has your work as a Youth Advisor enabled you to Chart 6: Question 15 empower young people in national structures of your NSO (National Scout Committees, Task 0% Forces, working groups and National offices)?) not at all Response Response Answer Options little Percent Count 27% 37% Not at all 0,00% 0 neither little nor a lot Little 36,36% 4 18% a lot Neither little nor a lot 18,18% 2 18% 18,18% 2 A lot greatly Greatly 27,27% 3 Total 100,00% 11

Table 13: Question 15 (To what extent has your work as a Youth Advisor enabled you to empower young people in national structures of your NSO (National Scout Committees, Task Forces, working groups and National offices)?) Response Response Answer Options 2005 - 2008 2008 - 2011 2011 - 2014 Percent Count

Not at all 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 0,00% 0 Little 2 66,67% 1 25,00% 1 25,00% 36,36% 4 Neither little nor a lot 0 0,00% 2 50,00% 0 0,00% 18,18% 2 A lot 0 0,00% 1 25,00% 1 25,00% 18,18% 2 Greatly 1 33,33% 0 0,00% 2 50,00% 27,27% 3 Total 3 100,00% 4 100,00% 4 100,00% 100,00% 11

Comments:

• Even though the answer with the overall highest percentage is “little” (36,36%), due attention needs to be given to those respondents who have stated that their work as a YA has enabled them “greatly” to contribute to the work of their NSO structures. • When comparing the answers per YA group, a similar pattern of responses as in the previous question could be noticed: the majority of the 2005 – 2008 YA group stated that their YA work played a small role in their efforts in empowering young people in NSO structures, half of the 2008 – 2011 YA group answered with “neither a little nor a lot”, and half of the 2011 – 2014 YA group stated that their work as YAs enabled them “greatly” to empower young people in their NSOs’ structures.

The following question asked the respondents to provide examples of their contribution to their NSOs’ structures. The answers (10 of them) are the following:

- “Reported to National Youth Forum, facilitated in council youth forums and I was invited to one meeting of the National Council. For some time I was also part of the International Commission, but it was prior to my election as YA.” - “My NSO considered YA to be a formal representative position in the world organization and supported me to prioritize this position. I also functioned as advisor on WOSM issues in the International committee of my NSO + gave presentations/updates to the board and council (highest national decision-making structures) on international affairs + topics of interest in which WOSM had some special expertise to offer.” - “I had the opportunity to volunteer as the vice-chairperson of the National Rover Scout Committee.” - “My work as Youth Advisor gave me great knowledge and opened my mind to different perspectives. This was very helpful during my role as coordinator of the National Youth Network and youth representative on the National Board. I came up with different proposals and different discussions; very relevant to the youth issue in my NSO.” - “I was able to set an example of the potential of the game of Scouting, that it can literally take you anywhere in the world and you can contribute at a global level if that is what interests you and you are willing to make the effort. I tried to keep my Scouting colleagues informed as relevant of matters of interest, particularly with regard to the Rover programme.” - “Sharing best practices with other countries; think about the 4 priorities of WOSM for the triennium and adapting them where necessary.” - “An acknowledgement from my association to the achievement in Brazil by giving more freedom to work and to give my opinion in youth matters; election of national youth advisors through the 1st National Youth Forum in Jordan; representing my NSOs in the international events like Arab International Commissioners gathering and meeting of the Arab National Scout organizations’ presidents in January 2013.” - “Participation in the unit leaders training sessions with specific topics on participation in decision making bodies (tools, process, capacities...); serve as a success story; being involved in several national sub-committees.” - “I served as "Participation Commissioner" for Scouting Ireland between 2006 and 2007 supporting the NSO's network of national youth representatives for the Scout and Venturer age ranges.” - “National Council with seats to young people; national youth network; attending NGO or even Government opportunities to young people.”

2.2.2.4. The Impact of the Youth Advisor Experience on the Youth Advisors Themselves

This chapter will examine the impact of the being a Youth Advisor on the individuals that have been elected to these positions. Table 14 and Chart 7 show the respondents answers to Question 17 (How much has the role of Youth Advisor influenced you to stand for election for other elected roles in Scouting?)

Table 14: Question 17 (How much has the role of Youth Advisor influenced you to stand for election Chart 7: Question 17 for other elected roles in Scouting?) not at all Response Response Answer Options Percent Count 9% little Not at all 9,09% 1 18% Little 27,27% 3 neither a little nor a lot Neither a little nor a 27% 0,00% 0 lot a lot A lot 9,09% 1 37% 9% greatly Greatly 36,36% 4 0% Not applicable 18,18% 2 not applicable Total 100,00% 11

The responses to the question were quite diversified. About 36% of the respondents (4 of them) indicated that their work as a Youth Advisor influenced them greatly to stand for elections for other roles in Scouting. Three of them (27,27%) stated that it had little influence, while one stated that it had no influence at all.

When comparing the responses per YA group (Table 15), a large dispersion is also visible – the majority of the 2005 – 2008 group stated that their YA work had “little” influence, while 50% of the 2008 – 2011 group stated that it influenced them “greatly”. Half of the current YA group stated that it is not applicable for them (since their term as YA is still ongoing).

Table 15: Question 17 (How much has the role of Youth Advisor influenced you to stand for election for other elected roles in Scouting?)

Response Response Answer Options 2005 - 2008 2008 - 2011 2011 - 2014 Percent Count

Not at all 0 0,00% 1 25,00% 0 0,00% 9,09% 1 Little 2 66,67% 0 0,00% 1 25,00% 27,27% 3 Neither a little nor a lot 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 0,00% 0 A lot 0 0,00% 1 25,00% 0 0,00% 9,09% 1 Greatly 1 33,33% 2 50,00% 1 25,00% 36,36% 4 Not applicable 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 2 50,00% 18,18% 2 Total 3 100,00% 4 100,00% 4 100,00% 100,00% 11

The following question (18) asked the participants who have been elected to another position in scouting to indicate the level at which they have been elected. 0ut of 11 respondents, 6 have been elected to another position in scouting, and out of that number, 5 were elected at national level, and one at World level. When compared by YA groups, 2 from the 2005 – 2008 group stood for elections at national level, 1 from the 2008 – 2011 group, and 2 from the 2011 – 2014 group.

Question 19 asked the respondents to indicate the exact position to which they have been elected or appointed, regardless of the level. Out of the 11 respondents, 7 answered the question, with the following answers:

- “I’ve been appointed to a position at the council team (which works as kind of a branch of the national team). Also, I kept contributing at volunteer roles at subcommittees at world level.” - “Member, World Scout Committee” - “Vice-chairperson, National Rover Scout Committee”

- “I finished my term as Youth Advisor when I was appointed to a position in the World Scout Bureau, so after that I did not play an active role in the volunteer sections of Scouting.” - “Chairman of the 2nd National Youth Forum in Jordan” - “Elected member of the national council (2010); Appointed as International Commissioner (2011).” - “Programme Commissioner, Participation, Scouting Ireland, 2007. Unit Manager, World Events, World Scout Bureau, 2009.”

The following question (20) asked the respondents to indicate whether or not their work as a YA has motivated them to stand for election for other positions in a governmental or non-governmental setting (e.g. elections for municipal council, member of board of an NGO). Table 16 presents the distribution of responses per YA group.

Table 16: Question 20 (How much has the role of Youth Advisor influenced you to stand for election for other positions in either a governmental or non-governmental setting (e.g. elections for municipal council, member of board of an NGO)?) Response Response Answer Options 2005 - 2008 2008 - 2011 2011 - 2014 Percent Count

Not at all 3 100,00% 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 27,27% 3 Little 0 0,00% 1 25,00% 0 0,00% 9,09% 1 Neither little nor a lot 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 1 25,00% 9,09% 1 A lot 0 0,00% 1 25,00% 0 0,00% 9,09% 1 Greatly 0 0,00% 1 25,00% 0 0,00% 9,09% 1 Not applicable 0 0,00% 1 25,00% 3 75,00% 36,36% 4 Total 3 100,00% 4 100,00% 4 100,00% 100,00% 11

As visible from the table, 4 respondents stated that this question is not applicable to them, while 3 stated that their YA experience had no influence at all for them to stand for elections in a governmental or non-governmental setting. Three respondents stated that it had little influence, and a lot or great influence (1 respondent each), and one respondent stated that it had neither a little nor a lot of influence.

The following question (21) asked the respondents to indicate if they have been elected to a position in a governmental or non-governmental setting, and if yes to indicate the level (national, regional, World). None of the respondents replied positively.

Table 17 and Chart 8 present the answers to Question 22, which asked the Chart 8: Question 22 respondents to indicate whether or not 12 they have been appointed or elected as a member of the board of their NSO, their Regional Committee, or another 10 non-governmental organization.

8 Out of the 11 respondents, 6 stated that they have been elected/appointed for the board of their NSO, none stated that 6 YES they have been elected/appointed for their Regional Scout Committee, and 2 4 NO stated that they have been elected/appointed to a board of another 2 non-governmental organization.

0 When comparing the responses per YA Your National Your Regional Another non- group (Table 17), it is visible that the Scout Organization Scout Committee governmental 2005 – 2008 and 2008 – 2011 groups organization have had positive responses only when it comes to being elected/appointed to the board of their NSOs, while the current group has had positive answers for being elected/appointed for boards of other non-governmental organizations.

Table 17: Question 22 (Have you ever been appointed or elected as a member of the board of: )

Response Response Answer Options 2005 - 2008 2008 - 2011 2011 - 2014 Count Percent

Your National Scout Organization YES 2 66,67% 1 25,00% 3 75,00% 6 54,55% NO 1 33,33% 3 75,00% 1 25,00% 5 45,45% Your Regional Scout Committee YES 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 0 0,00% NO 3 100,00% 4 100,00% 3 100,00% 10 100,00% Another non-governmental organization YES 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 2 50,00% 2 18,18% NO 3 100,00% 4 100,00% 2 50,00% 9 81,82%

In Question 23, respondents were asked to indicate if they were ever employed as professional staff in their NSO, the World Scout Bureau, or another NGO, regardless of the level. Table 18 presents the responses per YA group.

Table 18: Question 23 (Have you ever been employed as professional staff within: )

Response Response Answer Options 2005 - 2008 2008 - 2011 2011 - 2014 Count Percent

Your National Scout Organization YES 0 0,00% 1 25,00% 1 33,33% 2 22,22% NO 2 100,00% 3 75,00% 2 66,67% 7 77,78% World Scout Bureau YES 2 66,67% 0 0,00% 0 0,00% 2 20,00% NO 1 33,33% 4 100,00% 3 100,00% 8 80,00% Another NGO (local, national, regional, world level) YES 1 50,00% 0 0,00% 1 33,33% 2 22,22% NO 1 50,00% 4 100,00% 2 66,67% 7 77,78%

Out of the 11 respondents, 10 gave answers to this Chart 9: Question 24 question, and out of these 10, 2 indicated that they were employed by their NSO, 2 by the World Scout Bureau (WSB) and 2 by another NGO. When comparing per YA group, the 2005 – 2008 group stands out as the only group having employees at the WSB. Both the 2008 – 27% 2011 and 2011 – 2014 groups had one respondent employed by their NSO, and the 2011 – 2014 group also YES had one respondent employed by another NGO. NO The following question (24) asked the respondents to 73% indicate if they have in their capacity as a YA been involved in the work of any workgroups, task forces, subcommittees of the World Scout Committee. Chart 9 presents the overall responses, and it shows that 73% of the respondents (8 out of 11) have responded positively. When comparing the responses per YA group, there was one respondent in each group that responded negatively.

The respondents were asked in the following question (25) to indicate which workgroups, task forces, and subcommittees they have taken part in specifically, and out of the 11 respondents, 8 gave the following answers:

- “Constitutions Committee; Strategy Coordination Group” - “As Youth Advisor, I was member of the Educational Methods Committee (subcommittee to the WSC)” - “I was part of the Scouting's Profile Committee.” - “Communication task force, Youth for Change workgroup.” - “Membership task force, Finance Committee” - “Involved in 2 task forces of the Educational Methods Committee (2005-2008); Spiritual development task force; Scouting and children with special needs task force with active participation in the relative guidelines to NSOs.” - “Registration Fee Task Force 2005-2008. Working group on Peace Education, 2008.” - “Youth for Change workgroup, Educational Methods Team.”

In Question 26, the respondents were asked to indicate if their experience as a YA has enabled them to gain skills and knowledge they are/were able to use in a different setting (e.g. when applying for jobs, or different educational programmes). All of them responded either „a lot“ (54,5%) or „greatly“ (45,5%). The distribution of answers per YA group is almost identical (the 2008 – 2011 and 2011 – 2014 groups have equally 2 respondents in each of the categories, and the 2005 – 2008 group has 2 respondents choosing as their answer „a lot“ and one „greatly“). Table 19 and Chart 10 present the answers.

Table 19: Question 26 (To what extent has your experience as a Youth Advisor enabled you to Chart 10: Question 26 gain skills and knowledge you were/are able to use in a different setting (e.g. when applying for 0% not at all jobs, or different educational programmes)?) Response Response Answer Options little Percent Count

0,0% 0 45% Not at all neither little nor Little 0,0% 0 55% a lot Neither little nor a 0,0% 0 lot a lot A lot 54,5% 6 Greatly 45,5% 5 greatly Total 11

2.2.3. NSO/NSA Representatives’ Opinions about the Youth Advisor System

The answers presented in this chapter are based on the responses given in the Survey on the Impact Assessment of the World Scout Youth Forum and Youth Advisor System for NSO/NSA representatives (mentioned in Chapter 1.2.3. NSO/NSA Representatives’ Opinion about the World Scout Youth Forum).

Question 7 of the Survey asked the respondents to Chart 1: Question 7 indicate whether or not there was a Youth Advisor to the World Scout Committee elected from their NSO/NSA. Out of the total 46 NSOs/NSAs that responded, 22% (10 NSOs/NSAs) gave a positive response (Chart 1). 22% Table 1 presents the distribution of responses per WOSM Region. YES

NO There are 2 positive responses from each WOSM Region apart from Eurasia, which has no positive answers. 78% Note: There was only one Youth Advisor to the World Scout Committee from the Africa Region, and it is likely that one respondent confused the Youth Advisor to the World Scout Committee to a Regional Youth Advisor.

Table 1: Question 7 (Has a member of your NSO been elected as a Youth Advisor to the World Scout Committee?)

Answer Asia- Inter- Response Response Africa Arab Eurasia Europe Options Pacific america Percent Count

YES 2 2 2 0 2 2 21,7% 10

NO 4 0 12 2 12 6 78,3% 36 Total 6 2 14 2 14 8 100,0% 46 Skipped Question 16

In Question 8, respondents that have previously stated that they had a Youth Advisor to the WSC elected from their NSO/NSA were invited to assess the extent to which the work of the YA was influential in promoting youth participation in the national structures of the NSO/NSA. Table 2 shows the dispersion of responses per WOSM Region, while Chart 2 shows the overall distribution of answers.

Table 2: Question 8 (If YES, please indicate to what extent her/his work as a Youth Advisor has been influential in promoting youth participation in the national structures of your NSO/NSA?)

Asia- Response Response Answer Options Africa Arab Europe Interamerica Pacific Percent Count

0 0 0 0 0 0,0% 0 No influence

0 0 1 0 1 20,0% 2 Very little influence Neither influential 0 0 0 1 0 10,0% 1 nor not influential

1 1 0 1 0 30,0% 3 Some influence

1 1 1 0 1 40,0% 4 Great influence Total 10

Two respondents (one from the Asia-Pacific and Chart 2: Question 8 one from the Interamerica Region) responded that the YAs had little influence in promoting youth 0% participation in national structures; while the No influence majority of respondents (7) stated that it had some influence or great influence.

20% Very little influence The situation is slightly different in the responses to 40% the following question, where the respondents were 10% Neither influential asked to indicate if the work of the YA has inspired nor not influential other young people to take part in decision-making bodies on a Regional level. Some influence

30% Great influence

Table 3 shows a comparison of answers to question 9 per WOSM Region.

Table 3: (If you answered YES in question 7, please indicate the extent to which having a Youth Advisor has inspired other young people in your NSO to take part in international decision-making events (e.g. Regional Conference).) Asia- Response Response Answer Options Africa Arab Europe Interamerica Pacific Percent Count

0 0 0 0 0 0,0% 0 Not at all

0 1 0 1 1 30,0% 3 Little Neither little nor 0 0 2 1 0 30,0% 3 a lot

2 1 0 0 0 30,0% 3 A lot

0 0 0 0 1 10,0% 1 Greatly Total 10

Each of the following answer options received 3 Chart 3: Question 9 responses: “little”, “neither little nor a lot” and “a lot”. One respondent stated that having a YA “greatly” inspired other you members to take 0% part in international decision-making bodies (respondent from Interamerica). not at all 10% When comparing the responses per Region, a 30% little disparity is noticeable. The respondents from the Africa Region both stated that having a YA influenced “a lot” the motivation of other young 30% neither little or a lot people to take part in international decision- making bodies, while the respondents from the a lot Arab Region were divided between “a little” and “a lot” as chosen responses. Both 30% respondents from Asia-Pacific chose as their greatly answer option “neither a little nor a lot”, while the respondents from Europe stated that it had “little” and “neither little nor a lot” of influence. The other respondent from the Interamerica Region stated that it had “little” influence.

2.2.4. World Scout Committee Members’ Opinion of the Youth Advisor System

2.2.4.1. Introduction

The analysis presented in this chapter is based on the responses gained from the Survey: Impact Assessment of the Youth Advisor System for World Scout Committee Members, conducted from November 30th, 2012 to January 13th, 2013. Invitations for completing the survey were sent to 10 former and current members of the World Scout Committee, indicated by the Chair of the Youth for Change Priority Area Workgroup of the World Scout Committee, João Armando Gonçalves.

Out of the 10 WSC members that have received the invitation for completing the Survey, six responded. Their answers are presented in the following analysis.

2.2.4.2. Assessing the Quality of Input of Youth Advisors at World Scout Committee Meetings

Table 1 and Chart 1 present the responses given to the first question of the Survey, where the respondents were asked to indicate their opinion about the participation/quality of input of Youth Advisors in the World Scout Committee meetings.

Table 1: Question 1 (Please mark on the scale your opinion of the participation/quality of input of YAs in the WSC meetings: ) Neither Very Very Don't Rating Response Answer Options Bad bad nor Good bad good know Average Count good Suggesting items for inclusion on the 0 0 4 2 0 0 3,33 6 agenda for WSC meetings Participating in discussions during 0 0 0 4 2 0 4,33 6 WSC meetings Representing the views of young 0 0 1 4 1 0 4,00 6 people in WSC meetings Influencing the decisions of the WSC 0 0 2 4 0 0 3,67 6 Working independently on the preparation of the next World Scout 0 0 0 0 4 2 5,33 6 Youth Forum Providing the perspective of young people to the work of subcommittees 0 0 1 3 2 0 4,17 6 and task forces Total 6

Chart 1: Question 1

Providing the perspective of young people to the work of subcommittees and task forces

Working independently on the preparation of the next World Scout Youth Forum

Influencing the decisions of the WSC

Representing the views of young people in WSC meetings

Participating in discussions during WSC meetings

Suggesting items for inclusion on the agenda for WSC meetings

0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00

2.2.4.3. Assessing the Impact of the Youth Advisor System

Question 2 asked the respondents to indicate their opinion about the usefulness of the Youth Advisor system. Three of them responded that it is useful, and two responded that it is very useful, while one said it was extremely useful.

Table 2: Question 2 (Please indicate on the scale your opinion of the usefulness of the Chart 2: Question 2 Youth Advisor system.) 0% Response Response Answer Options Percent Count 17% not useful at all Not useful at all 0,0% 0 not very useful

Not very useful 0,0% 0 50% useful

Useful 50,0% 3 33% very useful

Very useful 33,3% 2 extremely useful

Extremely useful 16,7% 1

Total 6

When asked to elaborate on their choices to the previous questions, the respondents stated the following:

- “The system has proved itself quite useful to bring young people to the spaces where big decisions on world scouting are taken.” - “It is useful but it does not have to be the current system especially the number of YA does not have to be six.” - “The youth advisors I have worked with are willing and able to "work" and are very helpful. This allows the committee to get more things accomplished. I think the usefulness will be seen over a long period of time as these young leaders become more involved with their NSO, Regions and hopefully for some to serve on the WSC. In my opinion the WSC, Youth Advisors, Regional Chairman has become a very large group and is limited by its size. If all the members of the group were active then the size would not matter as much - maybe just like the WSB-Co - the volunteer group needs to reinvent itself to become more functional.” - “Youth Advisers would be more useful if the Committee actually listened to and acted on their views.” - “BP said, "Ask the boy". Scouting cannot be a movement for children and young people led exclusively by old people.” - “The role of the Youth Advisors is too ambiguous, undefined. As a result it is difficult to really understand their raison d’être.”

In the following question, the respondents were asked to indicate how strongly they believe the Youth Advisor system has enhanced youth participation in decision making in the World Scout Committee.

Table 3: Question 4 (Please indicate on the scale how strongly you believe the Youth Advisor Chart 3: Question 4 system has enhanced youth participation in decision making in the World Scout Committee. ) 0% Response Response not at all Answer Options Percent Count little 0,0% 0 Not at all 33%

50,0% 3 neither little or a Little 50% lot Neither little nor a 16,7% 1 lot a lot

0,0% 0 0% 17% A lot greatly 33,3% 2 Greatly Total 6

Three of them stated that it has had little impact on youth participation in decision-making in the World Scout Committee; one has answered “neither a little nor a lot”, whilst two answered “greatly”. When asked to elaborate on their choice, the respondents provided the following comments:

- “The average age of WSC meetings, without YA is more than high. Even without voting rights, Youth Advisors are part of WOSM decision making process in the debates and exchange of points of view of the WSC.” - “Their presence is important but not much influence on decision making.” - “I wish I could say that I see the YA have “Greatly” enhanced youth participation at a world level. The young adults in the YA program have / are doing well – and provide input to the WSC – but I really think there is much, much more we can do with the YA system to educate other youth about world scouting. So it’s not the Youth – it’s what is the long & short term mission of the program and how do we utilize them?” - “Sadly, the WSC as a whole does not really seem to be very interested in youth participation.” - “The YA have been a clear referent when taking decisions in some aspects, especially those referring to participation of young people.” - “The primary role of the World Scout Committee is to represent World Scouting as a whole, not segments of Scouting. Decisions are thus made on the world concept, not segment aspects.”

2.2.5. Interviewees’ Input

This chapter of the report will present opinions of several interviewees about the current Youth Advisor (YA) system, the election system in place for YAs, the representativeness of YAs, ways in which the system could be enhanced, and finally, examples of the impact the YA experience has had on some of the interviewees.

The Youth Advisors – “Voice of the Youth”?

There is an evident difference in the perception of the efficiency the YA system has in representing “the Voice of the Youth” at the World Scout Committee (WSC) meetings (and subcommittee, task forces, work group meetings) among the interviewees. The following quote is an excerpt from the Call for nominations for Youth Advisors to the WSC for the last Forum, held in Blumenau, Brazil, 2011, and it explains the official role of Youth Advisors to the WSC.

“The World Scout Committee:

Referring to ● Strategic Priority Number 1 “Youth Involvement”; and ● Resolution 11/05 World Scout Youth Forum, adopted at the 37th World Scout Conference.

Defines the role of the Youth Advisors as following: Increasing youth participation in decision making and strengthening youth involvement within the Scout Movement is a key issue for the World Scout Committee. The system of Youth Advisors has been created in the spirit of strengthening youth participation in World Scouting, and is considered as an interim measure in achieving that goal. The Youth Advisors have the responsibility to individually work for WOSM as a whole - not only the young members of the organization - however bearing in mind that the Youth Advisors elected at the World Scout Youth Forum have a responsibility towards their constituency.” Circular No 19/2010, Call for nominations for Youth Advisors

When the interviewees were asked to comment on the efficiency of the YA system in representing the “voice of youth” in the WSC, the replies were diversified, ranging from interviewees saying that the system is cutting short the possibilities for empowering more young people, to replies that praised the system and stated that it has been efficient in enabling the presence of young people in the decision-making process. One common remark was that the system is as efficient as the individuals elected for the positions of Youth Advisors make it, emphasizing that a lot depends on their own self- determination to participate and make their voice heard. Here are some of the responses:

“The system is as efficient as a Youth Advisor makes it; a lot of it depends on individuals.” Rodney Abson, Youth Advisor, 2005 - 2007

“In a way yes, the system has been efficient. It brings youth air to the table, because there are people in the World Scout Committee that have been away from the programme for a long time. If you push your

voice through, your voice will be heard. I think that it has also been useful to prove that is not the age what matters, but capacities. ” Nadia Soledad Morrone, Youth Advisor, 2008 – 2011

“The Youth Advisors give focus and presence for young people in important spheres of decision-making. For the young people that are Youth Advisors it is a space for them to develop, probably they will have senior leadership roles afterwards. The system sends out a message: listening to young people at all levels is very important – we practice what we preach.” Daniel Wood, WSYF Participant, 2002, Metsovo, Greece

“I do not believe that it should be necessary to have someone in a special position in order to represent the youth of WOSM. This should be the responsibility of all WSC members.” Esben Holager, Youth Advisor, 2011 - 2014

“There are challenging parts regarding the involvement of the YAs, in practice - when it comes to deciding whether or not to participate in a discussion (e.g. budget discussions). It is important to stress that Youth Advisors are not there as the “youth voice” on “youth issues” only. One could argue that young people maybe do not necessarily always have that much of experience required from a Committee member, but that should not be regarded as a weakness – on the contrary – the point is that the governance of WOSM gets people who are its target audience, who tend to challenge ideas, and think outside the box (at the same time with the very same level of responsibility, devotion and very knowledgeable).” Milena Pecarski, Youth Advisor, 2008 – 2011, Chairperson, 11th WSYF

“Recent Youth Forums have been more political than educational and have not focussed on participants learning how to navigate the Conference and other decision-making structures in Scouting as past Forums such as Norway, South Africa and Metsovo, have done. “I do not agree with the model itself. I am part of a generation of young people trained for different positions in Scouting, which gave a bigger grasp of the places where we could operate with our knowledge, and places within and out of Scouting where we could operate as young people that were ready to get involved in decision-making. Through this model we were trained fairly equally and had equal chances of learning about the decision-making process in the Youth Forum itself, without having such a specific role in representation (as the Youth Advisors). I disagree with the Youth Advisor system as it focuses in one person and this might alienate and not give enough opportunities for empowerment to others whom the Youth Advisors are meant to represent.“ Melissa Martins Casagrande, WSYF Participant, 1996, Moss, Norway WSYF Planning Committee member,1999, Balgowan, South Africa WSYF Planning Committee member, 2002, Metsovo, Greece

The Youth Advisor System and Its Representativeness

The interviewees had different opinions when it comes to defining the level of representativeness of the Youth Advisor system. Some reflected on comparing the election system for the YAs to the election system for WSC members, some gave their opinion about regional representation in the current YA system, and some reflected on the necessity of Youth Advisors being responsible to their constituency. Here are some of their opinions:

“I think the election should reflect the one of the WSC members.” Esben Holager, Youth Advisor, 2011 – 2014

“Right now I feel a tendency to transform WOSM to a federation of continental regions, and in my opinion this would be very wrong! When you have a good member of the Committee – s/he is good no matter what country comes from. Some have this vision to transform WOSM into a “federation of regions”, attempting against its unity – but where is the diversity then? I understand Scouting as movement of individuals working together, organized in countries, then in regions. If a quota for Regions

would be introduced in the Youth Advisor elections, then we would be introducing the wrong logic of federalization.”

Eduard Vallory, WSYF participant, 1996, Moss, Norway

“I think that the current system of election for the YAs is the best – WOSM is not a federation of Regions, but of NSOs – 6 people are chosen from 161 NSOs, not one per Region. It is also important to be in contact with regional YAs in regions that have such roles, and engage as many young people as possible.” Nadia Soledad Morrone, Youth Advisor, 2008 – 2011

“Currently, there are about 50-60 countries sending representatives to the WSYFs. The question is – are the Youth Advisors representative of the 162 NSOs in WOSM? If there were more NSOs sending representatives to the Forums, the YA system would be more representative.” John Michael Lawlor, Youth Advisor, 2005 - 2008

“The first criteria for election is competence. You can have input from a region without having a YA from the region. One of the ways might be formalizing a meeting with regional YAs.” Sarah Rita Kattan, Youth Advisor, 2011 - 2014

“There is challenge about representativeness – people come with their own background, wishing to stress what is important in their region, their issues – when it would be better if they represent the Forum. Still, stronger ties are needed between the YAs and regional structures for addressing better the needs of youth at the regional/local levels.” Milena Pecarski, Youth Advisor, 2008 – 2011, Chairperson, 11th WSYF

“Paper Scouting” versus “Real Scouting”

The position of a Youth Advisor to the WSC has an initial description of tasks and responsibilities as follows:

“Responsibilities of the Youth Advisors to the World Scout Committee: • Youth Advisors should be able to help the World Scout Committee whenever requested by the Committee. • Given the current working structure of the World Scout Committee, this may include attending meetings and undertaking tasks for the working groups. • Through the working groups, the Youth Advisors should be able to bring to the reflections and debates of the World Scout Committee the genuine opinion, views and proposals of young members of WOSM. • Youth Advisors have an open invitation to participate in all meetings of the World Scout Committee. Within the meetings the Youth Advisors have the right to speak and make suggestions. • Youth Advisors should be encouraged to assist the World Scout Committee by joining any task forces and/or commissions set up by the World Scout Committee for specific purposes as individuals. • The Youth Advisors present an ideal possibility to include young volunteers in the external representation of WOSM.

Responsibilities of Youth Advisors to other young members of WOSM: • The Youth Advisors form the Planning Committee of the next World Scout Youth Forum in accordance with the World Scout Youth Forum Guidelines. They shall plan and recommend to the World Scout Committee for approval, the main content of the programme and agenda of the following World Scout Youth Forum. • Youth Advisors shall report regularly to ScOutPost. • The Youth Advisors shall present a report of their activities over the past triennium to the World Scout Youth Forum. • The Youth Advisors shall present regular reports on their work to the World Scout Committee. • The Youth Advisors shall present a final summary report of their work over the triennium to the World Scout Committee.” Circular No 19/2010, Call for nominations for Youth Advisors

The following questions were addressed only to the former and current YAs: “Do you think that the workload you were assigned as a YA was too much/too little? How did it influence the positions in Scouting you have already held at the

76 time of your election as a YA? Were you able to remain active at other levels apart from World level? Here are some of their responses:

„The workload is very individual, and individual work is expected, but discussing some agenda points of the meetings in a group enhances the performance of YAs at the meeting, as it might be the case in other settings. It helps in creating a supportive environment for further individual participation.” Milena Pecarski, Youth Advisor, 2008 – 2011, Chairperson, 11th WSYF

“At a certain point I have participated in multiple levels of scouting during the time I was a YA. I found it to be useful to be involved in various levels.” Rodney Abson, Youth Advisor, 2005 – 2007

“It depends a lot on your commitment, the work for task forces and subcommittees was very interesting, but it took a lot of time. Preparing the Forum did not take a lot of time.” Mehdi Ben Khelil, Youth Advisor, 2005 – 2008

“This depends on what work you have on other levels – if you have work on another level it could be too much.” Muath Zmaili, Youth Advisor, 2011 – 2014

“I continued being a Cub Scout leader and subsequently a Rover Scout leader during the term I became commissioner for participation at national level but only served 9 months in that role. In hindsight, I might have taken on too much. Being a YA was enough ‘paper scouting’, when I was back at home, I wanted to do ‘real scouting’.” John Michael Lawlor, Youth Advisor, 2005 – 2008

“The workload should be clearer in the information for candidates. I think it surprised some of the YAs. It takes a lot of time if you want to contribute and stay on top of things.” Esben Holager, Youth Advisor, 2011 – 2014

Enhancing the Youth Advisor System

The Youth Advisor system, as it is currently in place, has been established in 2005. Since then, there have been some developments in it. For example: the Youth Advisors initially did not receive financial support for attending all the WSC meetings, now they do; not all Youth Advisors from the first group (2005 – 2008) participated in subcommittees, task forces, work groups, now they do. Nevertheless, there is always room for improvement. Here are some of the interviewees’ suggestions for enhancing the YA system:

“Having the YAs is a kind of motivation for young people, even if it is not as good as it should be, it can still be interesting for young people. There is a need to create a real network (similar to ScOutPost) in order to really have representation of young people.” Mehdi Ben Khelil, Youth Advisor, 2005 – 2008

“A mentorship by one previous YA could improve the start up in the beginning of the triennium. Also team building within the youth advisors would be good. It has been very difficult to be in contact with our constituency and in order to enhance the system there should be a better platform for this than ScOutPost.” Esben Holager, Youth Advisor, 2011 – 2014

“The Youth Advisors are great human resources and they tend to be more available than Committee members for attending events (trainings, workshops), and have huge a personal motivation to make a name for themselves at the beginning of their professional careers. Their presence and knowledge should be used more in these purposes.” John Michael Lawlor, Youth Advisor, 2005 – 2008

“Maybe it would be helpful to have a personal evaluation report for each of the YAs at the end of their term. If a YA knows that s/he will be evaluated in the end, they would be more responsible. Also, when it comes to regional representation, it would be good to include regional YAs more formally into the system.” Muath Zmaili, Youth Advisor, 2011 – 2014

“The system should start to disappear or at least a plan to put an end to this interim measure be designed. Young people should become full members of the WSC, not as young people, but as simple another member. We had the proof that if an NSO puts forward a young person, it is possible that this person gets elected. The system should not be established more permanently, because then it would be difficult to dismantle it. Also, it should be considered what is expected from this system after the term is completed in order to avoid losing the experience acquire and the opportunity of having YA contributing in some aspect as a way to transfer what they have learnt and received.” Nadia Soledad Morrone, Youth Advisor, 2008 – 2011

“The YAs should be driving discussions with the participants from the Forum, but they should be open for receiving proposals from anyone to give a topic. They should raise issues important for different regions. By doing that, they would have a solid foundation in arguments, when they’re speaking in front of the WSC.” Rodney Abson, Youth Advisor, 2005 – 2007

“The people that are elected for Youth Advisors are usually very outspoken, capable of speaking in front of a big audience, and are able to present themselves to others in an interesting way. Perhaps a system that prepares young people who want to run for Youth Advisors in the form of a seminar/training would be useful. This training would enable them to strengthen their communication skills and be better prepared for presenting themselves at the World Scout Youth Forum, and by that, it would increase their chances of becoming a Youth Advisor.” Luc Panissod, Secretary General, WOSM, 2007 - 2011

Being a Youth Advisor – “a good apprenticeship for World Scouting”

The Youth Advisors spend three years working closely with the World Scout Committee (as well as in different task forces and subcommittees within the WSC). They also work as a Planning Committee for the next Forum. Moreover, they have the opportunity to meet many young and old scouts around the globe during their term and be inspired by their activities. Their experiences are very valuable for themselves, and very often their NSOs and Regions. Here are some of their stories about the contribution they have given to scouting in their home countries, their Regions, and the influences the YA experience had on them personally.

“In the Arab Region, I was invited to a Regional Scout Committee meeting as a Youth Advisor to the World Scout Committee. By doing this, the Committee acknowledged the importance of YAs, and I was able to present my work, and encourage the participation of the regional youth advisors to the Regional Scout Committee meetings regularly. Within my NSO – I encouraged young people to participate in the World Scout Youth Forum, to be open to other cultures, and to understand ways scouting is conducted in other countries.” Sarah Rita Kattan, Youth Advisor, 2011 – 2014

“The Youth Advisor experience enabled me to start modifying the strategy of my NSO in accordance to WOSM’s strategy. I have been trying to take what I have learned at World level to national level – the working methods and the content. Being a Youth Advisor gave me great power to influence scouting in my NSO and in my Region.” Muath Zmaili, Youth Advisor, 2011 – 2014

“During my term as a Youth Advisor, in 2007, I got in contact with the YMCA Scouts of Denmark, and step by step, we have created a very strong partnership, which resulted in the project “Future Leader of Tunisia” (worth 600 000 Euro). Most probably the YA status helped a lot for having some credits with the Danish scouts. This is one of the success stories on Euro-Arab relations. I personally gained a lot of confidence. The experience helped a lot in having a good image of myself, and it definitely helped me in my future life. It gave me a big experience in dealing with big events, such as the World Scout Youth Forum. Afterwards, I became one of the youngest elected members of the national board of my NSO. Afterwards, I was also appointed for one of the youngest International Commissioners of my NSO. The Youth Advisor experience had a lot of influence in both matters.” Mehdi Ben Khelil, Youth Advisor, 2005 – 2008

“My Youth Advisor experience influenced me to initiate a project in 2007/2008, called “The Rainbow Challenge”, as a part of the Scouts of the World Award programme. It took place in India, where 18

young people from Ireland worked in an orphan – street children school in Calcutta. It also included a reconstruction of another school in the north-eastern part of India. We raised 30,000 Euros during the project, which we donated to our partners in India to continue the work started. This was a great experience for the Irish rovers going there, and at a national level it was seen as a flagship project and was praised as one of the big successes in Scouting Ireland.

Furthermore, getting my job at the World Scout Bureau was absolutely influenced by being a Youth Advisor previously. The Youth Advisor experience changed my life at the time – I had the opportunity to meet scouts from all over the world, work on exciting projects… It was truly an incredible experience.” John Michael Lawlor, Youth Advisor, 2005 – 2008

“Being a Youth Advisor is a good apprenticeship for World Scouting. It gives a chance to young people to learn by doing. It certainly helped me, although it wasn’t the only factor, to become employed by the World Scout Bureau.” Rodney Abson, Youth Advisor, 2005 – 2007

2.2.6. Summary

Youth Advisors’ Background

• The gender ratio is 12 male – 6 female Youth Advisors. When observing per WOSM Region, the situation is the following: 1 YA is from the Africa Region (5,56%), 3 YAs are from the Arab Region (16,67%), 2 YAs are from the Asia-Pacific Region (11,11%), 6 YAs are from the Europe Region (33,33%), 1 YA is from the Eurasia Region (5,56%) and 5 YAs are from the Interamerica Region (27,78%).

Survey for Youth Advisors

• The majority of the respondents of the Survey for former and current Youth Advisors (54,55%, 6 of them) stated that their work as a Youth Advisor enabled them to represent the opinions of young people in WOSM structures. Opinions about the efficiency of Youth Advisors in representing the “voice of the youth” among the interviewees were diversified, ranging from interviewees saying that the system is cutting short the possibilities for empowering more young people, to replies that praised the system and stated that it has been efficient in enabling the presence of young people in the decision-making process. One common remark was that the system is as efficient as the individuals elected for the positions of Youth Advisors make it (emphasis on individual commitment and self-determination for participation). • When asked to rate their participation in influencing the decisions made by the WSC, 5 of the respondents (45,45%) stated that it was “neither poor or good”, while 4 of them (36,37%) stated that it was “good”. • About 46% of the respondents stated that they have had “little” interaction when communicating with young people (participants of the WSYF) when forming an opinion about a certain issue of World level importance. Some interviewees noted that the Youth Advisors need to have a greater connection with Forum participants, in order to be representative of the young people in WOSM. • The survey respondents, as well as the interviewees rated ScOutPost very poorly as a communication tool. A general remark was that there needs to be a stronger facilitation of discussions led after the Forums, which should be a task of the Youth Advisors. • The majority of Survey respondents (6 of them, or 54,5%) stated that their opinions have received some acknowledgement from the WSC members, while 5 of them (45,5%) stated that their opinions have received full acknowledgement from the WSC members. However, some of the interviewees pointed out that there still is a barrier to the Youth Advisors fully participating and having their opinions acknowledged by WSC members in all discussions (e.g. budget issues). • When it comes to rating the added value of the work of the Youth Advisors to their respective WOSM Regions and NSOs, responses vary greatly and there could be no general conclusion drawn from them. There are, however, a certain number of “success stories” – presented in the Interviewees’ Input sub-chapter. • Four out of eleven respondents (about 36%) stated that their YA experience has influenced them greatly to stand for other positions in Scouting. When asked if they have been elected/appointed to any other position in Scouting, 5 indicated that they have been elected/appointed at national level, and one at World level (Karin Ahlbäck, Member of the World Scout Committee). • Two respondents have been employed by their NSO, two by the World Scout Bureau, and two by another non- governmental organization. • Eight out eleven respondents stated that they have been members of task forces, subcommittees and workgroups during their term as Youth Advisors. Some interviewees stated that this experience was very valuable for them. • When asked if their YA experience has enabled them to gain skills and knowledge they are/were able to use in a different setting (e.g. when applying for jobs, or different educational programmes) all of the Survey respondents stated that it either enabled them „a lot“ (54,5%) or „greatly“ (45,5%). The interviewees point out that the experience helps greatly in increasing the level of self-appreciation.

Survey for NSO Representatives

• Two respondents of the Survey for NSO/NSA representatives (one from the Asia-Pacific and one from the Interamerica Region) responded that the YAs had little influence in promoting youth participation in national structures; while the majority of respondents (7) stated that it had some influence or great influence. • The respondents from the Africa Region both stated that having a YA influenced “a lot” the motivation of other young people to take part in international decision-making bodies, while the respondents from the Arab Region were divided between “a little” and “a lot” as chosen responses. Both respondents from Asia-Pacific chose as their answer option “neither a little nor a lot”, while the respondents from Europe stated that it had “little” and “neither little nor a lot” of influence. One respondent from Interamerica stated it had “great” influence, while the other respondent stated that it had “little” influence.

Survey for World Scout Committee Members

• Four out of six respondents of the Survey for WSC members indicated that the YAs were good in representing the views of young people in WSC meetings. • Four out of six respondents indicated that the YAs were good in influencing the decisions of the WSC. • Four out of six respondents indicated that the YAs were very good in working independently on preparing the next WSYF, while two indicated that they are unaware of it. • Three out of six respondents indicated that the YAs were good in providing the perspective of young people to the work of the sub committees and task forces. • Three of the respondents indicated that the Youth Advisor system is overall useful, and two responded that it is very useful, while one said it was extremely useful. • Three of the respondents stated that the Youth Advisor system has had little impact on youth participation in decision-making in the World Scout Committee; one has answered “neither a little nor a lot”, whilst two answered “greatly”.

Interviewees’ Input

• The interviewees by majority stated that the elections for the Youth Advisors as they are currently are fair, and enable the Forum participants to elect the candidates with the best qualities for the work. The interviewees indicated that regional representation can be achieved through other channels if there is no Youth Advisor from the given Region elected. • The interviewees gave proposals for enhancing the current Youth Advisor system, ranging from proposals for strengthening the communication with the Forum participants, organizing a training/seminar for YA candidates in order to facilitate their better preparation for the elections, to having a personal evaluation system in place for each of the Youth Advisors at the end of the triennium in which they are serving.

3. Regional Forms of Youth Participation

3.1. Introduction

The following six subchapters are based on questionnaires sent to Regional Scout Offices of the six Regions of WOSM. Youth Programme Officers/Directors or staff members closely working on the preparation of regional youth Forums have responded them.

Five out of six WOSM Regions hold Regional youth Forums and elect Youth Advisors (or a structure of similar purpose). This part of the Report provides details about these Forums and Youth Advisors (or similar), as well as alternative methods/tools/initiatives that are in place in various WOSM Regions, used for enhancing youth participation in decision- making on a Regional level.

The full questionnaires are available upon request to the World Scout Bureau – Central Office.

3.2. Africa Scout Region

The Africa Scout Region has been holding a Regional Youth Forum for 18 years now. The Forum occurs every 3 years, and so far, there have been six Forums held. The Forum is held immediately prior to the Regional Scout Conference, and on average, 80% of Forum participants also attend the Conference (“almost all international delegates at the Forum attend the Conference”). The Forum offers “youth generated content, global issues affecting WOSM in general and Youth in particular, Global themes like Climate Change, economic empowerment, peace building and Youth Leadership”. The average number of participants at a Forum is 30. The African Regional Office indicates that a key weakness of the Forum is “low participation where there is no financial support forthcoming for support participants to attend”. Ideally, the Forum is planned by young people, with the organizing team consisting of: “the 6 Youth Advisors elected at the previous Forum, a Host Committee of about 5 young people led by a Forum Director and a designated staff of Africa Scout Region and a member of the Africa Scout Committee”.

As indicated above, this Region also has Youth Advisors, elected by and from the Forum delegates. Their term is 3 years, and there are six of them serving at one term. So far, the Africa Scout Region has had 36 elected Youth Advisors. They bear the core responsibility of organizing the Regional Youth Forum, with the support of the Africa Scout Region, Africa Scout Committee and the Host Committee. Their role could be seen as three-fold: A) Before the Forum they are organizing, they “ideally work to support the work of the Zones and National Youth Forums by giving technical support, steer a youth strategy developed during the past Forum, participate in planning the next Forum and perform other functions as assigned by the Africa Scout Committee” (they are assigned roles at the Committee level with the Chairperson of the YAs sitting in the Committee). B) During the Forum, “they steer the running of the Forum” through providing leadership and they ensure effective delivery of the Forum’s outcomes, as well as the formulation of recommendations to the Conference. C) “One year after the Forum, they provide advisory support to the newly elected Youth Advisors on a mentorship basis”.

The African Regional Office identifies the following as some of the weaknesses of their Region’s Youth Advisor system: “Dynamism lacks in all members and this brings about coordination challenge and effective steering of the Youth Agenda. Technical capacity and competencies are also a weakness that inhibits strategic thinking and execution of their mandate. Language also proves are a barrier in their deliberations. NSO support is also not guaranteed to all the Youth Advisors”.

When asked to indicate if the Region uses any other tools or methods for enhancing youth involvement in decision- making, the Office refers to the “recently launched the Africa Scout Award which seeks to recognise youth driven initiatives that positively impact on their respective communities and as a result award them at the regional level which would among other things serve as an entry point for them to play an active role in decision making”. Although this programme is young, and it is therefore hard to assess its impact, a great potential can be recognized in it. The Region also tries to enhance participation of youth in International events with emphasis on selection by merit. “Through international exposure of young people in international events, they have improved on their competencies and we have evidence of a number of them being engaged at decision making levels in their NSOs”.

3.3. Arab Scout Region

The Arab Scout Region has so far held one Regional Youth Forum in 2010, and will hold its second one in May 2013. The Forum is held every three years, immediately prior to the Regional Scout Conference. The last Forum had 25 participants from 11 NSOs, all of which attended the Regional Conference. The Forum’s programme has the same main topic as the Conference following it, and it provides information about: “ the last World and Arab Youth Forum reports, Arab and World youth public/General issues, Arab and World Scout Programmes (Arab Rover Curriculum, Scouts of the World Programme, Environment Programme, Messengers of Peace … etc) updates, Arab and World Events (Jamborees, Moots … etc.)”. The Arab Regional Office identifies the following weaknesses of the Forum: “low number of participants, low awareness of the Forum among young people in the region and low responses from NSOs to Youth Participation in general”. The Planning Committee of the Forum consists of nine members: “six young people, elected in the last Forum, one Arab Scout Committee member, and one staff member from the WSB Arab Regional Office and the head of the Organizing Committee (which in Algeria was also a young person). The role of the Planning Committee is to plan for the Forum agenda and topics and they also have to deliver the sessions during the Forum”.

The Region does not have a group of Youth Advisors, but there is a similar structure in place. Namely, there are six young people elected at each Forum, who are the members of the Planning Team for the next Forum. The Chairman of the Team is an ex officio member of the Arab Scout Committee. The responsibilities of this Team during their term (one triennium) are to plan the agenda and content of the next Youth Forum. They are also representing the youth voice inside the Regional Scout Committee through the Chairman of the Planning Team. This ex officio member of the Committee participates in discussions in the Regional Committee meetings, without a voting right. As a weakness of the current system, the Regional Office indicates that “The young people who are elected are those who can afford to come or supported by their NSO but nor merely the competent ones or real youth representatives”.

The Regional Office indicated that the Region has other methods/tools for enhancing youth participation in decision- making, and among them they indicate that “since the 1980s, the Region has [organized] patrol leaders Symposiums in each large-scale event for the different age sections. It concentrates on the training of young people on the methodology of decision-making, dialogue and [familiarizing them] with the different top issues in the Region at the time”. In this triennium, the Region has also endorsed the importance of having a “percentage/quota of young people in the technical subcommittees that branched from the Arab Scout Committee”. Currently, there are also two young people in each of the 10 Regional Subcommittees affiliated to the Arab Regional Committee. The Regional Office indicates that these tools “are working very well and many leaders at national, regional and World level have been introduced to the real work because of these tools”.

3.4. Asia-Pacific Scout Region

The Asia-Pacific Scout Region has so far held seven Regional Youth Forums, immediately prior to the Regional Scout Conference. The statistics for the last three Forums show that, on average, 55% of Forum participants also attend the Regional Conference. On average, there are 75 participants per Forum. Online discussions are held prior to each Forum, which enables participants to propose topics for discussion at the Forum. The top three topics identified in the online discussions are selected as the main Forum topics, with the possibility of adding topics during the Forum itself, upon participants’ requests. The Regional Office identifies as one of the major weaknesses that occurs most of the time that “NSOs are not able to send the right participants. Perhaps [this is] because of the cost of travel.” The members of the Forum Planning Team are: “the Chairman of the APR Programme Sub-Committee, Youth Forum Chairman, Forum Director (from the host) and an executive from the Regional Office. However, the Young Adult Members Group is also involved in the planning of the Forum”.

The Young Adult Members Group (YAMG) is elected at each Forum, has a term of three years (from Forum to Forum) and the number of members depends on the number of subcommittees working in a particular triennium (which is decided by the Regional Scout Committee). So far, there have been four teams elected. The members of the YAMG “are expected to fully participate in either the Regional Committee and/or one of the Sub-Committee/Work Streams they are assigned to, by e-mail, mail and fax, as well as, attend a minimum of one meeting during the triennium”. They “are requested to indicate their interest and availability to participate in the discussions and work towards any issues on which the Asia-Pacific Regional Scout Committee would like to have the input of young people in any of the Sub- Committees / Work Streams (ideally each sub-committee / work stream will have one Young Adult Member. “Any travel costs will be at the individual’s expense or that of the National Scout Organization and/or any external sponsors. The APR Youth Fund is established to support their travelling cost.” The Chairman of the YAMG represents the “youth of the Region at all appropriate forums”. S/he is also a member of the Planning Committee and the Chairman of the next Asia- Pacific Regional Youth Forum. Young Adult Members have the responsibility to “report back and keep dialogue with the participants from the Regional Youth Forum and to continue to discuss issues with young people around the Region during their mandate period of office (up to three years)”. The Chairman of the YAMG “sits in the APR Scout Committee as a member and regularly reports on their work”. The Regional Office indicates travelling as a main challenge of the YAMG, due to cost. “Many of them do not have the support of the NSO and are busy with their school works at times.”

As alternative methods/tools/initiatives for enhancing youth participation in decision-making at Regional level, the APR Office indicates the orientation for new YAMG and the “Youth Fund”. The orientation is provided by “a member of the APR Scout Committee, an outgoing member of the YAMG, a member of the Programme Sub-Committee and the Regional Director”. During this orientation, “expectations from both sides are explained and questions of young people regarding their membership to the YAMG are answered”. The “Youth Fund” provides one-third of the airfare for the members of the YAMG, in order to enable them to attend meetings. It is expected that “other one third comes from his/her NSO and the last one third is shouldered by the YAMG her/himself”. By this, the participation and ownership of the NSO and the YAMG member herself/himself is also ensured.

Additionally, the Regional Office indicates that “the Youth Forum Recommendations are endorsed to the APR Programme Sub-Committee for their appraisal and for [consideration of] possible actions [to] be taken”.

3.5. Eurasia Scout Region

The Eurasia Scout Region has so far held one Regional Youth Forum in 2010, in Georgia. The next one is scheduled for October 2013, in Ukraine. It is held immediately prior to the Regional Scout Conference. The data from the last Forum show that out of 18 Forum participants, 16 participated in the Conference as well. An average number of participants expected at each Forum is 18 (there are 9 NSOs in the Region, each is expected to send on average two participants). At the Forum, participants discuss the Strategy and Action plans for the next Triennium (also discussed at the Regional Conference) and they draft Forum Recommendations to the Regional Conference. The Forum also offers a space for short presentations of successful experiences and implemented projects of the NSOs in the Region, as well as calls for proposals for joint programmes. Furthermore, the Forum participants are provided with information about World/Regional initiatives, programmes and youth events. Apart from these topics, the second Forum’s main topic will be „Building an attractive image of Scouting in the community“, as well as discusions about developing the youth networks of the Region. The Regional Office indicates that the Forum should be interesting and useful for youth; that it should provide good input (from a youth perspective) to the Regional Strategy and that it should in parallel enable young people to realize that they „can make real changes and be involved in the decision-making process on equal terms”. The Office also indicates that “the issue is to make the Regional Youth Forum such event”.

Nine young leaders from seven NSOs from the Region were invited to participate in the preparation of the 1st Forum, along with staff from the Regional Office and members of the Regional Committee, who facilitated the meeting. The preparation of the second Forum will be somewhat different: the two regional Youth Advisors and three young leaders from different NSOs invited to discuss “the program and their propositions for the forthcoming event”.

As indicated above, the Region has Youth Advisors, who are elected at the Regional Youth Forum (held every three years). The main weaknesses of the YA system, as indicated by the Regional Office, are the following: they do not have a position description, they do not have defined areas of responsibility and they “do not have rights in the decision- making process”. However, they will be invited to participate in the preparation of the next Regional Youth Forum.

When asked about other methods/tools/initiatives used in the Region to enhance youth participation in decision-making, the Regional Office indicates that “the only one program that gives possibility to youth to be involved on a Regional level is the annual training–course for Rovers “Excelscout””. This training course aims at developing “leadership skills and executive responsibility”, developing “personal and professional competence of a young person in planning and managing activities in a rover group” and providing an “experience of efficient international and intercultural communication”. The training is held on an annual basis, with three participants per NSO present – in total 27 participants each year. These training courses have “made a significant impact on the NSOs both in terms of increased trained young rovers, better prepared for their work in the NSO, as well as developing strong leadership qualities within the participants themselves”. The international character of the event is also characterised by the Regional Office as being very important, since it is a unique opportunity for “breaking down communicational and cultural barriers, [which] helps a lot in building a more wide perception and attitude to the environment”.

3.6. Europe Scout Region

The Europe Scout Region does not hold a Regional Youth Forum. As indicated by the Regional Office, this is “mainly because the NSOs do not see the reason for a parallel decision-making meeting, when the average age of the delegates to the Regional Conference is constantly around or under 35”.

The Europe Scout Region does not have a Youth Advisor system in place, because “the age of the Committee members and relevant youth involvement through other channels”, as indicated by the Regional Office.

The Region does not use any alternative methods/tools/initiatives for enhancing youth participation in decision-making at Regional level.

3.7. Interamerica Scout Region

The Interamerica Scout Region holds a Regional Youth Forum, as well as a Regional Youth Network (YN). The Forum meetings have not had the same frequency as the YN has, which meets at every Regional Conference. So far, there have been three Forums held, and the last Forum had 35 participants (information for the second and first is not available). Some of the topics discussed at the last Forum were: “Youth Leadership, Production of Publications, Communications, Youth representation, Sugestions to improve the Regional Youth Network and the Regional Youth Forum“. The Regional Office indicates as a weakness of the current structure “the lack of money from the NSOs to support their young people to attend to the Regional Forum”. The Coordinator and Communicator of the Youth Network (elected by the Youth Network) are in charge of planning the upcoming Forum. The Youth Director of Scouts of Argentina provides them support (note: “she is not the Youth Programme Director, she is in charge of the Local Youth Network”).

The Coordinator and Communicator of the Youth Network are also the Youth Advisors to the Regional Scout Committee. The two of them are elected every three years from the Youth Network. So far, there has only been on team elected. They are in charge of “the organization of the Youth Network, they attend the RSC meetings providing information from the YN and [they] participate in the discussions”. When asked about the weaknesses of the current system, the Regional Office indicates that there is a “lack of participation from the Local Youth Networks” and that the Coordinator and Communicator of the Youth Network “need more input from the other young people in the Local Youth Networks to develop a better work”.

The Youth Network, as an alternative tool for enhancing youth participation in decision-making, is one of the networks used in the Region in order to coordinate the work in different strategic areas and to gain input from the NSOs. The Regional Office indicates that “the Youth Network has been effectively promoting Youth Involvement”. “Some of their members now have important positions in their NSOs.”

4. Annexes

Annex 1: Resolutions 12/69, 13/69, 5/73, 7/75, 15/88, 2/93, 7/93, 10/93, 4/96

Resolution 12/69 (Youth Conferences)

The Conference encourages National Scout Associations and regions to arrange youth conferences and forums in order to increase boy participation in the decision-making process of the Movement.

Resolution 13/69 (Conference, Young Leaders)

The Conference urges member countries to include in their delegations to World Conferences at least one young adult qualified by experience to participate. Member countries should also be encouraged to give every opportunity to duly qualified young leaders to express their views and to participate in the decision-making process in every level of the Scout Associations.

Resolution 5/73 (Scout Forums)

The Conference reaffirms Conference Resolution 12/69 encouraging increased boy participation in the decision making process of the Movement and notes with pleasure the increasing number of Scout Forums being held in member countries and regions.

Resolution 7/75 (Second World Scout Forum)

The Conference

• acknowledges with pleasure the receipt of the Report of the Second World Scout Forum and takes note of the resolutions embodied therein

• warmly congratulates the participants for their outstanding work and their positive contribution

• requests the World Committee to study the Forum report, determine an appropriate course of action and advise Member Organizations of the action to be taken.

Resolution 15/88 (Young Adults’ Participation in Conferences)

The Conference

– recognizing the value of youth participation in decision making

• draws attention to Resolution 13/69 regarding the inclusion of young adults in delegations to World Conferences and strongly urges those National Scout Organizations which have not yet implemented this resolution to do so in preparing for all future Conferences

• recommends to the World Committee to consider ways of increasing the involvement of young delegates and observers in Conference presentations and deliberations.

Resolution 2/93 (Policy on Involvement of Young Members in Decision-Making)

The Conference

- recognizing the fundamental importance, in terms of achieving the purpose of the Scout Movement, of involving young members in decision-making

- considering that Scouting is not only a Movement for young people but also a Movement of young people

- believing that Scouting is a Movement based on democratic principles

- recognizing the value to the individuals concerned and to the Movement as a whole of leadership opportunities for young members

- noting with pleasure the successes achieved by the 4 th World Youth Forum in Australia (1990/91) and the 5 th World Youth Forum in Switzerland (1992)

- welcoming the World Committee's decision to encourage participation of young delegates in the 33 rd World Scout Conference by offering a reduced Conference fee

- encouraged by the results of youth participation in the efforts of the World Scout Environment Network

• adopts the Policy on Involvement of Young Members in Decision-Making

• recognizes this new policy as an important contribution towards further strengthening the implementation of the World Programme Policy adopted by the 32 nd World Scout Conference in 1990

• strongly urges National Scout Organizations to implement the policy at all levels within their own associations

• requests the World Committee to consider all means by which the policy may be implemented within the World Organization at regional and world levels.

Resolution 7/93 (Young Adult Members)

The Conference

– considering the adoption of the Policy on Involvement of Young Members in Decision-Making by this Conference

– recognizing the valuable contributions made by young adults to this Conference and the World Programme Committee

– welcoming the reduced fee facility that has assisted young adults’ participation in this Conference

• requests the World Committee to continue the principle of a reduced Conference fee for young adults at future World Conferences

• requests the World Committee to continue to devise ways in which young adults can participate in policy formation and decision-making at world level.

Resolution 10/93 (Youth Forums)

The Conference

– considering the adoption of the Policy on Involvement of Young Members in Decision-Making by this Conference

– believing that Youth Forums constitute one useful method to complement genuine participation by young people in decision-making at all levels

– recognizing that Youth Forums in Scouting provide a dual opportunity for young members to discuss issues of interest to them and to make recommendations on these; and to learn the skills necessary to enable them to take part in decision-making in the Movement

– believing that Youth Forums should be linked closely, as advisory bodies, to the formal decision-making processes of the Movement

• recommends that Youth Forums be held in conjunction with all statutory meetings such as national general assemblies, regional and world conferences; that these Youth Forums make recommendations to and advise the statutory meetings and other decision-making bodies; and that Youth Forum delegates also participate in these statutory meetings as delegates or observers

• recommends that delegates to Youth Forums should be selected by democratic means and receive necessary logistical and material support from their association

• resolves that future World Youth Forums should be held immediately prior to each future World Scout Conference and that delegates to these events should be between the ages of 18 and 26

• directs the World Committee to establish as soon as possible the necessary procedures and guidelines for future World Youth Forums

• recommends that World Youth Forums should be organized on the same basis as World Scout Conferences, with the World Committee ultimately responsible for agenda and procedures of the World Youth Forum and with a Host Committee responsible for facilities and support services

• encourages the World Committee and the Host Committee to delegate to young members the planning, organizing and running of such events

• directs the World Committee to devote the necessary human, financial and material resources, similar to those accorded to other world events such as World Conferences, to ensure the success of future World Youth Forums

• requests the five Regional Scout Committees to organize Regional Youth Forums prior to each future Regional Scout Conference, beginning with Regional Conferences in 1995, along the same lines as World Youth Forums

• encourages national Scout associations to organize Youth Forums along similar lines in conjunction with statutory meetings (for example, general assemblies) at national and local level.

Resolution 4/96 (World Youth Forum)

The Conference

• welcomes the contributions by the 6th World Youth Forum, in particular the Forum’s reflections on the themes “Scouting for what?” and “Scouting for whom?” and the Forum’s recommendations

• invites the World Scout Committee and its educational committees to take into account the outcome of the Youth Forum in their future work

• recommends that each National Scout Association’s leadership meets with their delegates to the 6th World Youth Forum to discuss the outcome of the Forum and its implications for the future work of the association

• recommends that National Scout Associations support their delegates to the 6th World Youth Forum in making the outcome of the Youth Forum known in their own association and in maintaining contact with participants from other associations

• encourages close contact and cooperation between delegates to Regional Youth Forums and the World Youth Forum

• reaffirms the importance of WOSM’s policy on the involvement of young members in decision-making and recommends to all National Scout Organizations to send at least one delegate to future Regional and World Scout Youth Forums and to include at least one participant who is under the age of 26 in the organization’s delegation to Regional Scout Conferences and the World Scout Conference.

Annex 2: Recommendations from the 7th WSYF turned into resolutions at the 35th WSC

Recommendation: YOUTH PARTICIPATION

The Forum

– noting that the World Scout Youth Forum seeks the relationship between adult members and youth to be one of partnership and respect

– recognizing the work that has been done at the “Youth Participation” session of the 7th World Scout Youth Forum

– recognizing that in most National Scout Organizations a lot of progress has been made

– believing that there are still steps to take before World Scout Conference Resolution 2/93 (adopting the Policy on Involvement of Young Members in Decision-Making) is achieved

• recommends that a day be spent in workgroups critically discussing Youth participation at the next World Scout Conference (2002)

• suggests topics for this discussion focus on, among others:

- a discussion amongst youth and adult members as to how each interact in the decision-making process within their organization today;

- evaluation of resolution 2/93 after 9 years of progress

• recommends that work be done before the next World Scout Conference to stimulate critical discussion within NSOs on the above discussion.

Resolution 13/99 (Youth Participation)

The Conference

- noting that the World Scout Youth Forum seeks the relationship between adult members and youth to be one of partnership and mutual respect

- recognizing the work that has been done at the Youth Participation session of the 7th World Scout Youth Forum

- recognizing that in most National Scout Organizations substantial progress has been made

- believing that there are still steps to take before World Scout Conference Resolution 2/93 (adopting the Policy on involvement of young members in decision-making) is achieved

• recommends to the World Scout Committee

- that, at the next World Scout Conference in 2002, a day is spent in workgroups critically discussing Youth Participation

- that suggested topics for this discussion focus on, among others:

- a discussion between youth and adult members as to how each interacts in the decision-making process within their organizations today

- evaluation of Resolution 2/93 after 9 years of progress

- that work be done before the next World Scout Conference to stimulate critical discussion within National Scout Organizations on the above.

Annex 3: Resolution 6/02 (Youth Involvement in Decision-Making)

The Conference

• endorses the World Scout Committee’s statement on Youth Involvement in Decision-Making contained in Conference Document N° 7, as amended

• urges each National Scout Association to ensure an equitable representation of young men and women under the age of thirty in national decision-making bodies and in the delegations to Regional and World Conferences, and invites each National Association to present its efforts and progress made relating to this issue in its annual report to the World Scout Bureau

• urges the World Scout Committee to give priority to young men and women over older persons in the nomination of members of technical committees and working groups at world level provided they offer the adequate competencies, and requests the Regions to apply the same principle

• calls upon each National Scout Association to act upon the commitments to strengthen youth participation made since 1993, by presenting young male and female candidates with the required proﬁle and competence for election to the World Scout Committee

• urges the Regional Scout Conferences to strongly advocate this course of action

• decides that World Scout Youth Forums be considered as educational opportunities for youth members in the oldest age sections. Their purpose shall be to enable young people to: share their ideas and experiences on current issues affecting young people in different parts of the world; suggest ways of strengthening national youth policies and training young people for world citizenship; and contribute new ideas to the Movement on how to enrich educational programmes for young people over 16

• decides that World Scout Youth Forums should continue to be held immediately prior to World Scout Conferences, and allow more young members to be better prepared for the World Scout Conferences

• decides that World Scout Youth Forums be empowered to make such recommendations they feel appropriate to the World Scout Committee for that Committee’s consideration

• urges NSOs to introduce and adopt policies that will allow the involvement of young people in local and national decision-making bodies and develop partnerships between adults and young people

• decides that the World Scout Committee performs an evaluation of the situation of youth involvement in decision-making, after each World Scout Conference.

Annex 4: Recommendations from the 9th WSYF turned into resolutions at the 37th WSC

Recommendation 5

The World Scout Youth Forum:

• Considering that 2007 marks a landmark year in the history of the Scout Movement;

• While considering that 2007 centenary celebrations are a unique chance to promote Scouting’s contribution to societies worldwide;

• Acknowledging the work of the World Scout Committee, World Scout Bureau and initiatives undertaken by National Scout Organizations so far, to implement the plans for centenary celebrations following the decisions of the World Scout Conferences in 1999 and 2002;

Recommends:

• That the World Scout Committee and the World Scout Bureau continue to promote 2007 centenary celebrations;

• National Scout Organizations use the opportunity provided by centenary celebrations to enhance and promote the image of Scouting;

• The World Scout Committee, World Scout Bureau and National Scout Organizations to ensure that young people are fully involved in the management of all activities organized as part of the centenary celebrations;

• That National Scout Organizations ensure that as many of their members have the possibility to participate in the 21st World Scout Jamboree, Join-in-Centenary activities and the Scouting’s Sunrise celebrations;

• That National Scout Organizations take an active role in the Gifts for Peace project, which will both enrich the educational programme of National Scout Organizations and provide opportunities to promote the worldwide contribution that Scouting makes to peace.

Resolution 25/05 (Centenary of Scouting)

The Conference

- acknowledging that the last two World Scout Conferences, meeting in South Africa in 1999 and in Greece in July 2002, adopted resolutions supporting the mobilization of the Movement to beneﬁt from the Centenary of Scouting

- recognizing that Scouting’s Centenary is a unique opportunity for National Scout Organizations to develop their own strategies in line with the Strategy for Scouting

- having approved the worldwide theme “2007: One World One Promise”

- noting the wide variety of tools now available to support the work of National Scout Organizations - noting that the World Scout Committee formally launched the Centenary programme in 1997, and continues to work towards its development at all levels

- having received World Scout Conference Document N° 8, Preparing for Scouting’s Centenary: 2005 to 2007

• urges National Scout Organizations to show solidarity in the implementation of Centenary initiatives to launch Scouting into its second century; these include the Gifts for Peace, Scouting’s Sunrise, the 150th anniversary of Baden- Powell’s birth, the International Colloquium, 21st World Scout Jamboree and Join-in-Centenary national programmes

• encourages National Scout Organizations to develop Centenary initiatives in line with their national strategic priorities within the global Strategy for Scouting

• strongly urges National Scout Organizations to honour their commitment to fully implementing the declared Gifts for Peace programmes and recommends that National Scout Organizations communicate the outcomes of the Gifts for Peace as widely as possible

• urges every Scout and former Scout to join the worldwide celebrations on 1 August 2007 (Scouting’s Sunrise) to celebrate the dawn of a new century of Scouting with their communities

• strongly encourages National Scout Organizations to use all opportunities created by the Centenary to develop Scouting, promote its relationships with the community and increase its visibility as a modern educational youth movement serving society’s needs in the 21st century.

Recommendation 14

The 9th World Scout Youth Forum:

• Reaffirming the role of the environment in the Scout Method, Scout law and educational principles of the Scout Movement;

• Noting the current environmental challenges facing every region of the world and the roles that young people can play in mitigating and adapting to these;

• Further taking note of the Millennium Development Goals;

• Welcoming the Memorandum of Understanding between the World Organization of the Scout Movement and the United Nations Environment Programme;

Recommends that National Scout Organizations develop renewed efforts in order to improve their environment education programmes in all age ranges. These efforts should consider furthering the development of the Scouts of the World Programme, the revitalization of the SCENES (Scout Centres of Excellence for Nature and Environment) programme and the review and implementation of the Scout World Conservation Badge.

Recommendation 15

The 9th World Scout Youth Forum:

• Reaffirming the role of the environment in the Scout method, Scout law and educational principles of the Scout Movement;

• Noting the current environmental challenges facing every region of the world and the roles that young people can play in mitigating and adapting to these;

• Further taking note of the Millennium Development Goals;

• Welcoming the Memorandum of Understanding between the World Organization of the Scout Movement and the United Nations Environment Programme;

Recommends that the World Scout Committee sets up a special task group that will be tasked with developing new resources and training materials to help National Scout Organizations improve environment education within their youth programme. This task group should be supported by the Education, Research and Development Department of the World Scout Bureau.

Resolution 18/05 (Scouting and the Environment)

The Conference

- reaffirming the role of the environment in the Scout Method, Scout Law and educational principles of the Scout Movement

- noting the current environmental challenges facing every region of the world and the roles that young people can play in mitigating and adapting to these

- further taking note of the Millennium Development Goals

- welcoming the Memorandum of Understanding between WOSM and UNEP

• recommends that National Scout Organizations develop renewed efforts in order to improve their environment education programmes in all age ranges; these efforts should consider furthering the development of the Scouts of the World programme, the revitalization of the SCENES (Scout Centres of Excellence for Nature and Environment) programme and the review and implementation of the Scout World Conservation Badge

• recommends that the World Scout Committee sets up a special task group, which will be tasked with developing new resources and training materials to help National Scout Organizations improve environment education within their youth programme, this task group to be supported by the Education, Research and Development Department of the World Scout Bureau.

Recommendation 16

The 9th World Scout Youth Forum:

• Considering that the 35th World Scout Conference decided that youth involvement was the first strategic priority of the Scout Movement;

• Whilst considering that the system of Youth Advisors is not the ultimate solution to youth involvement at the world level, believing that it is important to further strengthen the current system in order to ensure that the aims of Strategic Priority 1 – ‘Youth Involvement’ are implemented in the most effective manner;

• Considering the importance of constant dialogue between the Youth Advisors and the World Scout Committee underlined in the guidelines of the World Scout Youth Forum, when it is considered appropriate;

• Giving Youth Advisors the opportunity to make proposals will allow the World Scout Committee to better take into account concerns of young members of World Organization of the Scout Movement;

• Regretting that at the moment the Youth Advisors may be called upon to attend the World Scout Committee meetings only when the Committee considers it is appropriate;

The World Scout Youth Forum strongly urges that the following recommendations are implemented by the World Scout Committee with the aim of furthering youth involvement at world level decision making:

• The 9th World Scout Youth Forum recommends to the World Scout Committee that Youth Advisors should be represented in all World Scout Committee meetings with the right to speak and make recommendations.

• Youth advisors shall also have right to propose items for the agenda of World Scout Committee meetings.

• That the World Scout Committee ensures that the Youth Advisors or other competent young persons selected in a transparent way are fully involved in all work teams or sub-committees that currently exist, or that may be set up in the future by the World Scout Committee;

• That the World Scout Committee shall ensure that an appropriate number of its members will attend and take part in the World Scout Youth Forum in order to facilitate dialogue between the World Scout Committee and the participants of the World Scout Youth Forum;

• That the World Scout Committee makes its best effort to provide an adequate budget to enable the Youth Advisors to meet on a regular basis and cover personal expenses incurred as a result, during their term of office.

Resolution 11/05 (World Scout Youth Forum)

The Conference

- referring to Resolution 6/02 on youth participation in decision-making adopted by the 36th World Scout Conference in Thessaloniki in 2002

- noting with satisfaction the progress achieved in the implementation of Strategic Priority 1 on Youth Involvement, notably through the publication of new educational tools in the ﬁeld of youth programme, the success of the World Scout Youth Forum including the election of Youth Advisers to the World Scout Committee, and the creation of positions of young Project Officers in the World Scout Bureau

- pointing out that the Youth Advisers and the World Scout Youth Forum are not the ﬁnal solutions to meet Strategic Priority 1 on Youth Involvement but are considered as a transitional tool in order to increase youth participation in World Scouting

• requests the World Scout Committee to give serious consideration to the recommendations proposed by the Youth Forum and particularly to the recommendation n° 16 related to the involvement of Youth Advisers in the meetings and work of the World Scout Committee

• calls on the World Scout Committee, Regional Scout Committees and all National Scout Organizations to expand their efforts consistent with Resolution 6/02 to improve youth involvement and empowerment at all levels, from the local Scout groups to the institutional level in the Movement, and in society itself

• requests National Scout Organizations, Regional Scout Committees and the World Scout Committee, during the next triennium, to adopt the following objectives in developing a youth involvement strategy:

- integrate in the educational programmes for adolescents and young adults (15-25 years) the dissemination of life skills aimed at developing the capacity of young people to fully participate in the life of the Scout Movement and in society

- support the Youth of the World Campaign and integrate the Scouts of the World Award in the programme of the senior age sections

- include in the training of adults the acquiring of skills to enable them to encourage and foster youth involvement in the decision-making process

- ensure greater consistency between all levels of our Movement in the ﬁeld of youth participation, particularly through adapting, at national and regional levels, the youth involvement practical concept implemented at world level

- consider Youth Forums at all levels as a step to train the future leaders of international Scouting

- make the best use of the potential of the young people exposed to the above mentioned training experience, notably by including young people in national delegations to Regional and World Conferences and the

98 selection of candidates for election to decision-making bodies; and by entrusting Youth Advisers, and other young volunteers selected in a transparent manner, with signiﬁcant responsibilities both at Regional and World levels.

Annex 5: Recommendations from the 10th WSYF turned into resolutions at the 38th WSC

Recommendation B: Youth Involvement in Decision Making – A Strategic Approach

The 10th World Scout Youth Forum:

- recalling Strategic Priority 1: Youth Involvement - reaffirming Recommendation 16 of the 9th World Scout Youth Forum - noting with regret that youth involvement in the decision-making of the World Organization of the Scout Movement is still limited - keeping in mind that expertise in only gained through experience - noting that the contributions of both adults and young people are important in successful Scout decision- making - further noting that World Scouting is at the moment provided “by adults for young people” - as opposed to “by adults and young people for young people” - considering that equal opportunities constitute an essential part of good governance;

Recommends that:

• the World Scout Committee encourages National Scout Organizations to nominate young candidates for election to positions of responsibility at all levels. • Regional Committees and the World Scout Committee strive towards the goal of at least a third of sub Committee and Task Force members being under 30 years old. • the World Scout Committee facilitates mentoring for young people appointed to Regional and international positions of responsibility. • the World Scout Committee, in co-operation with the Youth Advisors, develops a strategy and vision on youth involvement. This strategy should address the role of the Youth Advisors and the World Scout Youth Forum and should be considered by the 39th World Scout Conference. • to recognise that Youth Advisors are only a temporary and transitory means in the decision making process. Then it will be important that the Youth Advisors could think about concrete solutions and make suggestions to the next World Scout Youth Forum.

Resolution 14/08 (Youth Involvement in Decision-Making)

The Conference

- recalling Strategic Priority No. 1: Youth Involvement

- reaffirming Recommendation 16 of the 9th World Scout Youth Forum

- noting that the contributions of both young people and adults are important in successful Scout decision-making

- considering that equal opportunities constitute an essential part of good governance

- keeping in mind that expertise is only gained through experience

- noting with regret that youth involvement in the decision-making of the World Organization of the Scout Movement is still limited

- further noting that World Scouting is at the moment provided by adults for young people as opposed to by young people and adults for young people

- recognizing that Youth Advisors are only a temporary and transitory means in the decision- making process

- welcoming Recommendation B on this question of the 10th World Scout Youth Forum

• encourages National Scout Organizations to nominate young candidates for election to positions of responsibility at all levels

• recommends to Regional Scout Committees and the World Scout Committee to strive towards the goal of at least a third of sub-committee and task force members being under 30 years old

• requests the World Scout Committee to facilitate mentoring for young people appointed to positions of responsibility at world level

• encourages Regional Scout Committees and National Scout Organizations to facilitate mentoring for young people appointed to positions of responsibility at regional and national levels respectively

• requests the World Scout Committee, in cooperation with the Youth Advisors, to develop a youth involvement Vision and Strategy; this strategy should be considered by the 39th World Scout Conference.

Recommendation E: Scouts of the World Award

The 10th World Scout Youth Forum:

- considering the current problem of relatively small membership in the Rover Scout Section globally - noting the huge benefits of the Scouts of the World Award to Scouting and to the wider community - endorsing Scouting's mission of 'creating a better world' - recognizing the relatively small amount of National Scout Organizations that are currently implementing the Scouts of the World Award

Recommends that:

• National Scout Organizations, if they have not already done so, appoint their own ambassadors for the Scouts of the World Award, to implement and/or further their National Organizations work on the Scouts of the World Award.

• National Scout Organizations that are not yet participating in the award are further encouraged to implement the Scouts of the World Award.

• National Scout Organizations that currently feel unable to implement the Scouts of the World Award encourage their own Rover Scouts to participate in Scouts of the World projects organized by other National Scout Organizations.

• The World Organization of the Scout Movement make publicising and resourscing the Scouts of the World Award a priority.

• The Scouts of the World Award be considered as a possible response to Strategic Priority 1 of the Strategy for Scouting.

• All National Scout Organizations to play an active role in the implementation of the Scouts of the World Award so as to offer Adolescents and Young Adults projects in line with today's issues.

• National Scout Organizations and the World Scout Committee should encourage Scouts of the World Award projects to be carried out by international teams.

Resolution 21/08 (Scouts of the World Award)

The Conference

- considering the current problem of relatively small membership in Rover Scout Section globally

- noting the huge beneﬁts of the Scouts of the World Award to Scouting and the wider community endorsing Scouting’s mission of “creating a better world”

- recognizing the relatively small number of National Scout Organizations that are currently implementing the Scouts of the World Award

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- considering that the Scouts of the World Award has been developed in the framework of the strategic priorities “Youth Involvement” and “Adolescents” approved by the World Scout Conference in 2002

• urges National Scout Organizations to play an active role in the implementation of the Scouts of the World Award so as to offer adolescents and young adults projects in line with today’s issues

• encourages National Scout Organizations that are not yet participating in the award to implement the Scouts of the World Award

• suggests to National Scout Organizations, if they have not already done so, to appoint their own ambassadors for the Scouts of the World Award to implement and/or further their National Organization’s work on the Scouts of the World Award

• encourages National Scout Organizations and the World Scout Committee to encourage Scouts of the World Award projects to be carried out by international teams.

• urges National Scout Organizations that currently feel unable to implement the Scouts of the World Award to encourage their Rover Scouts to participate in the Scouts of the World Award projects organized by other National Scout Organizations

• requests the World Scout Committee to make publicizing and resourcing of the Scouts of the World Award a priority.

Annex 6: Recommendations from the 11th WSYF turned into resolutions at the 39th WSC

Recommendation A: Youth Involvement in Decision-Making

The 11th World Scout Youth Forum:

- recognising the importance of involving young people in decision-making as a key part of the Scout Method;

- taking note of the several Resolutions carried on the youth involvement (2/93, 10-13/99, 6/02, 11/05, 14/08) and the need of concrete actions to achieve progress;

- recognising that young people are citizens today and that they have a right to be involved in making decisions that affect their lives;

- welcoming the progress made in youth involvement through the adoption of the Strategy for Scouting and particularly Strategic Priority 1: Youth Involvement;

- recognising that many NSOs have made good progress in involving young people in decision-making at unit level, at institutional level and within local communities;

- requesting NSOs to adopt the vision for youth involvement set out in Conference Document No. 14;

- desiring an end goal where Scouts are not judged on age but on ability and experience, resulting in Scouts of all ages working together to give better Scouting to more young people; recommends that the World Scout Committee:

• encourages NSOs to create and identify opportunities for young people to be involved in decision-making at unit level, institutionally and in the community;

• recommends that each NSO sets targets for youth involvement so that progress and achievements can be measured;

• sets targets for youth involvement within the structure of WOSM so that progress and achievements can be measured;

• creates an implementation plan for the targets to be reached within the coming triennium;

• reports to the next Conference the progress made towards the vision on youth involvement in decision-making within the structure of WOSM and how to continue the process;

• develops tools to support youth involvement in NSOs;

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• monitors progress in youth involvement in NSOs;

• focuses on youth involvement in its communications.

Resolution 8/11 (Youth Involvement in Decision-Making in National Scout Organizations and within WOSM)

The Conference

– recognising the importance of involving young people in decision-making as a key part of the Scout Method

– taking note of the several Resolutions adopted on the youth involvement (2/93, 10-13/99, 6/02, 11/05, 14/08) and the need of concrete actions to achieve progress

– recognising that young people are citizens today and that they have a right to be involved in making decisions that affect their lives

– welcoming the progress made in youth involvement through the adoption of the Strategy for Scouting and particularly Strategic Priority 1: Youth Involvement

– recognising that many National Scout Organizations have made good progress in involving young people in decision- making at unit level, at institutional level and within local communities

• desires an end goal where Scouts are not evaluated based on age but on ability and experience, resulting in Scouts of all ages working together to give better Scouting to more young people

• encourages National Scout Organizations to adopt the vision for youth involvement set out in Conference Document No. 14

• encourages National Scout Organizations to create and identify opportunities for young people to be involved in decision-making at unit level, institutionally and in the community

• recommends that each National Scout Organization sets targets for youth involvement so that progress and achievements can be measured

• requests the World Scout Committee to:

– set targets for youth involvement within the structure of WOSM so that progress and achievements can be measured

– create an implementation plan for the targets to be reached within the coming triennium

– report to the next Conference the progress made towards the visions on youth involvement in decision-making within the structure of WOSM and how to continue the process

– develop tools and share resources and best practices to support youth involvement in National Scout Organizations

– monitor progress in youth involvement in National Scout Organizations

– focus on youth involvement in its communications.

Resolution 9/11 World Scout Youth Forum Recommendations

The Conference

– noting Recommendation 2.1.5 of the Governance Review Task Force, accepted by the World Scout Committee, that the Recommendations of the World Scout Youth Forum should be presented in full to the World Scout Conference for debate

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• resolves that a session be devoted at the 40th World Scout Conference and subsequent Conferences for debate on the issues raised by the World Scout Youth Forum's Recommendations at a point in the proceedings that is early enough for such a debate to inform the development of appropriate resolutions.

Recommendation I: Sharing Best Practice in the Field of Promoting Materials

The 11 th World Scout Youth Forum:

- referring to Priority No. 1, Strengthening the World Scouting Brand as proposed by the World Scout Committee in Conference Document no. 8 of the 39th World Scout Conference: “To improve the Scout Movement’s image and strengthen the sense of belonging amongst its members”;

- appreciating the efforts of many NSOs to promote Scouting as a young and modern Movement by producing materials such as TV spots, poster campaigns, post cards, clothing and many more;

- regretful of the fact that exchange of best practise in the above mentioned field is limited today;

- noting that promotion campaigns are highly resource intensive;

- convinced that a lot of local promotion material can easily be adapted to countries and Regions other than the country of origin;

- further convinced of the wish by many Scouts in the world to purchase clothing products of other countries in order to demonstrate the international dimension of Scouting;

- being aware of a section at the World Scout Shop with internal collectibles rather than promotional items;

recommends that:

• the World Scout Committee facilitates the exchange of NSOs’ promotion material by introducing a sharing platform that is easily accessible to Scouts of all levels within the World Scout Movement;

• the World Scout Committee encourages NSOs to share their best practices in the field of merchandising and promotional materials by contributing to this platform;

• the World Scout Committee works towards the launch of a section within the World Scout Shop where successful national clothing products can be purchased.

Resolution 14/11 Sharing Best Practice of Promotional Material Among National Scout Organizations

The Conference

– referring to Priority No. 1, strengthening the World Scouting Brand as proposed by the World Scout Committee in Conference Document No. 8 of the 39th World Scout Conference: "To improve the Scout Movement’s image and strengthen the sense of belonging amongst its members"

– appreciating the efforts of many National Scout Organizations to promote Scouting as a dynamic and modern movement by producing materials such as TV spots, poster campaigns, post cards, clothing and many more

– regretting the fact that exchange of best practise in the above mentioned field is limited at present

– noting the high costs of promotion campaigns in regard to human and financial resources

– being convinced that a lot of local promotion material can easily be adapted to other Regions and National Scout Organizations

– being aware of the fact that differences in national copyright law can make the sharing of promotional material among National Scout Organizations and Regions difficult

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• recommends that the World Scout Committee and the World Scout Bureau facilitate the exchange of National Scout Organizations' promotion material by introducing a suitable sharing platform that is easily accessible to Scouts at all levels within the World Scout Movement

• encourages National Scout Organizations to contribute promotional material to this platform

• recommends that the World Scout Committee and the World Scout Bureau assist those National Scout Organizations so desiring to transfer at no additional cost the ownership rights to their promotional material to the World Scout Bureau and at no additional cost to those National Scout Organizations which are using the material.

Recommendation M: Representing World Scouting

The 11th World Scout Youth Forum:

- applauding the initiative to see Scouting world-wide as a Movement attracting and retaining more and more young people (especially adolescents) of both genders and coming from broader segments of society;

- congratulating the World Scout Bureau and the World Scout Committee for the support and interest in young representation at International Events;

- recognizing the need to develop young people’s full potential, supported by adults who are willing and able to carry out their educational role;

- valuing the opportunities that exist for Scouting to be represented in global Conferences and events related to civil society; recommends to the World Scout Committee:

• that Scouting is represented at key global Conferences, to increase its profile and contribute to decision-making in wider society;

• to recruit delegates among young people with the necessary skills and experience to contribute to these events;

• that financial and human support is provided to ensure the delegation is fully trained and supported in their roles;

• to engage with local National Scout Organization in the planning and delivery of the practical arrangements to support these events.

Resolution 10/11 Advocacy for World Scouting

The Conference

– applauding the initiative to see Scouting worldwide as a Movement, attracting and retaining more and more young people (especially adolescents) of both genders and coming from broader segments of society

– congratulating the World Scout Committee and the World Scout Bureau for the support and interest in young representation at International Events

– recognizing the need to develop young people's full potential, supported by adults who are willing and able to carry out their educational role

– valuing the opportunities that exist for Scouting to be represented in global Conferences and events related to civil society

– reaffirming Recommendation M of the 11th World Scout Youth Forum

• requests that Scouting is represented by young people at key global Conferences, to increase its profile and contribute to decision-making in wider society

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• asks the World Scout Committee to recruit delegates among young people with the necessary skills and experience to contribute to these events; and encourages the World Scout Bureau to engage with the National Scout Organization where the event would be host in the planning and delivery of practical arrangements to support these events

• strongly recommends to the World Scout Committee to provide, in partnership with the National Scout Organization of the country where the event would be held, financial and human support to young people representing WOSM at the event

• requests the World Scout Committee and the World Scout Bureau to fully train and support young delegates representing WOSM in their roles.

Recommendation N: Partnerships WOSM/Community Groups, United Nations and NGOs

The 11th World Scout Youth Forum:

- noting the request expressed by the National Scout Organizations (NSOs) of support from the World Organization of the World Scout Movement (WOSM) in the construction of partnerships with community groups, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the United Nations

- believing in the usefulness for NSOs to benefit from the experience, the competences, skills, training and professionalism of other community groups and NGOs in order to reach and fulfil the objectives of reaching out and diversity established in the strategic plan of 2002;

- recognizing the necessity of reinforcing partnerships between WOSM and the sphere of community groups and NGOs external to our Movement;

recommends to the World Scout Committee that:

• NSOs and the World Scout Committee boldly consider forming relations with other NGOs that share the values of Scouting in order to provide new educational proposals such as the World Scout Environment Badge and the Earth Hour, especially by networking with young Scouts who are already active in other NGOs, as well as the United Nations,

• That the World Scout Committee strengthens its relationship with different NGOs in order to actively facilitate better Scout projects and long-term partnerships between the NGOs and NSOs.

• a stronger consideration of the specific and professional competences and skills of community groups, NGOs and the United Nations to our Movement; competences that can bring concrete help and useful resources to the NSOs and their youth members;

• the idea of a World Scout Movement which is first open to the competences and skills of other organizations and community groups, in order to then ensure together a wider and stronger openness, diversity and impact (ethnic minorities, different wealth levels, different cultures, different religions, openness to people with disabilities…).

Resolution 15/11 Partnerships Between WOSM and Community Groups, the United Nations, and NGOs

The Conference

– noting the request expressed by National Scout Organizations for support from the World Organization in the construction of partnerships with community groups, non-governmental organizations and the United Nations

– believing in the usefulness for National Scout Organizations to benefit from the experience, the competences, skills, training and professionalism of other community groups and NGOs in order to reach and fulfil the objectives of reaching out and diversity established in the Strategy for Scouting

– recognizing the necessity of reinforcing partnerships between WOSM and community groups and NGOs external to our Movement

– taking note of the Resolution 28/08 concerning external relations within Scouting

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– believing in the idea of a World Scout Movement which is open to the competences and skills of other organizations and community groups, in order to ensure together a wider and stronger openness, diversity and impact (ethnic minorities, different wealth levels, different cultures, different religions, openness to people with disabilities,…)

• recommends to National Scout Organizations and World Scout Committee to strongly consider forming relations with other NGOs whose objectives are consistent with the values of Scouting in order to actively spread new educational opportunities such as the Earth Hour within the Scout Movement, especially by networking with young Scouts who are already active in other NGOs, as well as with the United Nations

• recommends to the World Scout Committee to strengthen its relationship with NGOs in order to actively facilitate better Scout projects and long-term partnerships between the NGOs and National Scout Organizations.

Recommendation P: Youth, Peace and Security

The 11th World Scout Youth Forum:

- inspired by the United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1325 (Women, peace and security) and 1612 (War- affected children);

- reaffirming the World Scout Youth Forum Recommendation E/08 on the Scouts of the World Award;

- recognizing the responsibility of Scouting to respond to the needs and challenges of today’s world and young people;

- mindful of the fact that children and young people under 25 years of age constitute more than half of the world's population;

- pointing out the fact that 1.3 billion young people will enter the labour market during the next ten years and only 0.3 billion of these young people are expected to find a job;

- considering that these young people are the bridge-builders of today and the leaders and community-builders of tomorrow and thus play a crucial role in building global sustainable peace;

- recognizing the important role of youth in peace-building; recommends that:

• the World Scout Committee reaffirms its commitment to the Scouts of the World Award and other peace education initiatives;

• the World Scout Jamboree Organizing Committee keep up their good work in ensuring safe environments for cross- cultural understanding and peace education at the World Scout Jamboree 2011;

• the World Scout Committee follows this principle in steering future World Events.

• the World Scout Committee works towards general recognition of the role of young people in peace-building by the international community.

Resolution 16/11 Youth, Peace and Security in External Relations

The Conference

– recalling Resolutions 1/69, 5/88, 8/88, 22/05, 23/05 and 28/08 of the World Scout Conference

– recalling Recommendations O/11 and Q/11 of the World Scout Youth Forum

– considering United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1325 (Women, peace and security) and 1612 (War-affected children)

– inspired by the Mission of Scouting to "Create a Better World"

– celebrating the United Nations International Year of Youth in 2011

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– mindful of the fact that Scouting does not exist in isolation from the wider society

– recognizing the responsibility of Scouting to respond to the needs and challenges of today’s world and young people

– mindful of the fact that children and young people under 25 years of age constitute more than half of the world's population

– further mindful of the fact that 1.3 billion young people will enter the labour market during the next ten years and that only 0.3 billion of these young people are expected to find a job

– considering that each young person without a place in society makes it more difficult to create and sustain peace and security

– further considering that these young people are the bridge-builders of today and the leaders and community-builders of tomorrow and thus play a crucial role in building global sustainable peace

– recognizing the important role of youth in peace-building and development and that this role has not been formally recognized by the United Nations

• reaffirms that the aim of external relations is to serve WOSM members and to impact the quality of Scouting, involvement in society and improve the livelihoods of young people

• reaffirms the need to strengthen relationships of Scouting with decision-makers, the United Nations, civil society, the world of work and the corporate sector at all levels

• reaffirms the role of Scouting in promoting participation and living conditions of young people, sustainable development and human rights

• requests that the World Committee, in its work on external relations with the United Nations in the coming triennium, puts a special emphasis on the issue of peace and security, and in particular works for a United Nations Security Council Resolution on Youth, Peace and Security.

Annex 7: Recommendation O, 11th WSYF and the Declaration from the World Scout Committee to the 39th World Scout Conference

Recommendation O: WOSM and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – Reaching Out, Creating a Better World

The 11th World Scout Youth Forum:

- reaffirming the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Woman, the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, Scouting still has a purpose to fill in the international work needed to be done protecting civil and human rights around the world;

- reaffirming that the recommendation J/08 and the 4th strategic priority “Reaching out”, a number of strategic challenges are identified by the delegates during the 11th World Scout Youth Forum.

- noting that Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that: "Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status";

- recalling that recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world;

- reaffirming that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms the principle of the inadmissibility of discrimination and proclaims that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth therein without distinction of any kind;

- affirming that human rights education is a key to changing attitudes and behaviour and to promoting respect for diversity in societies,

107 recommends that:

• the World Organization of the Scout Movement has to stand up for these civil and human rights. A decision is necessary to give the World Scout Committee the objective of working on giving all members in Scouting all rights and freedoms stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, regardless of any distinction such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, sexual orientation, gender identity, birth or other status;

• the World Scout Committee:

- expresses deep concern at the occurrence of violations and discriminations of human rights in the world against persons on the grounds of their race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, sexual orientation, gender identity, birth or other status;

- stresses that human rights and fundamental freedoms are the birthright of all human beings, that the universal nature of these rights and freedoms is beyond question and that the enjoyment of such rights and freedoms should not be hindered in any way on the grounds of their race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, sexual orientation, gender identity, birth or other status;

- reaffirms the aim and goals stated in the 4th strategic priority “Reaching out”, focusing on Scouting becoming a force in the society giving impact to decision-making when it comes to work with diversity, civil- and human rights and working to reach out to different segments in the society;

- identifies the need to develop partnerships with other non-government organizations to aid Scouting in becoming a greater force of impact in the society;

- identifies the need for a more defined structure within the area, with a clear strategy, to be providing each National Scout Organization with support in working with diversity, civil- and human rights and reaching out to different segments in the society;

- identifies challenges that need to be addressed, e.g. cultural and religious aspects, and that there is a need for National Scout Organizations to develop their own strategies based on the overall mission defined by the World Organization of the Scout Movement, and that reaching out is more about integration than assimilation;

- identifies the need for the World Organization of the Scout Movement to collect and distribute best practices from National Scout Organizations, providing inspiration and help in creating strategies for National Scout Organizations to focus work on diversity, civil and human rights, and reaching out to different segments in society in a national or local perspectives;

- identifies the need for the World Organization of the Scout Movement to implement work on human rights education as a part of the guidelines on the Scout program for all age groups;

- stresses that the key to success is making sure that Scouting is an organization that is not exclusive on any grounds of discrimination, and that the World Organization of the Scout Movement is working on encouraging National Scout Organizations to actively work on diversity, civil and human rights and reaching out to different segments in society.

Declaration from the World Scout Committee to the 39th World Scout Conference: WOSM and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – Reaching Out, Creating a Better World

The World Scout Committee

– building on its Statement on Human Rights Issues issued in March 2010

– reaffirming the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination

– reaffirming Recommendations J/08 and P/11 of the World Scout Youth Forum and Strategic Priority No. 4, "Reaching out"

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– noting that Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that: "Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status"

– recalling that recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world

– reaffirming that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms the principle of the inadmissibility of discrimination and proclaims that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth therein without distinction of any kind

– stressing that human rights and fundamental freedoms are the birthright of all human beings, that the universal nature of these rights and freedoms is beyond question and that the enjoyment of such rights and freedoms should not be hindered in any way

– affirming that human rights education is a key to changing attitudes and behaviour and to promoting respect for diversity in societies believes that:

• Scouting is a Movement based on its Principles of Duty to God, Duty to others and Duty to self expressed in the Scout Promise and Law that does not discriminate on any grounds of human rights

• The World Organization of the Scout Movement has a responsibility to stand up for civil and human rights.

The World Scout Committee sees as its objective to do its best to ensure that all members in Scouting enjoy all rights and freedoms stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, without distinction of any kind.

The World Scout Committee undertakes to:

– include work on human rights education as a part of its guidelines on the Scout programme for all age groups

– express deep concern at the occurrence of violations and discriminations of human rights in the world against Scouts or any other persons on any the grounds

– define a structure with a clear strategy, to provide National Scout Organizations with support in working with diversity, civil and human rights and reaching out to different segments in society

– collect and distribute best practices from National Scout Organizations, providing inspiration and help in creating strategies for National Scout Organizations to focus work on diversity, civil and human rights, and reaching out to different segments in society in a national or local perspective.

Annex 8: Comparative Study of the Participants' Evaluation by the End of the 7th and 10th Forum

The results of the evaluations conducted after each Forum are available for the 7th and 10th Forum. In this chapter, a brief analysis of the results obtained through these evaluations will be presented.

Response rate

At the 7th WSYF, a total of 104 evaluation forms were received, comprising 74% of the total number of participants. The Forum in Iksan, Korea had a return rate of the evaluation forms of 87%, higher than the one at the 7th WSYF.

Objectives rating

The 7th Forum objective with the highest ratings (86% positive ratings) was “to discuss and express views on issues that are of interest to young people”. The other two objectives were not rated as highly, but still, the majority of responses were positive. Those were: “to prepare inputs and make recommendations to the World Scout Conference” (76% positive ratings) and “to develop skills needed to participate more effectively in decision-making” (63% positive ratings).

In comparison to these results, the ratings of the objectives of the 10th Forum were the following: “To share ideas and experiences with young people from different cultures” received the most positive ratings, with a 100% of respondents

109 rating it as either “very positive” or “positive”; „To develop skills to improve youth participation in decision making” received 91% positive ratings; “To identify ways of improving Scouting for adolescents and young people” received 89% positive ratings, while the objective “To help you in the preparation for the World Scout Conference” received 38% “very positive” and 47% “positive” ratings.

Working methods rating

When it comes to rating the working methods used, the highest ranking was given to “sharing of experiences between participants” (87% positive ratings) and “participants getting to know each other” (82% positive ratings). The methods rated less positively were “Active participation by each young person” (70% positive ratings) and “the contribution of each young person to the work of the Forum” (67% positive ratings).

In comparison to these, the respondents from the 10th Forum rated the working methods as follows: “Participants getting to know each other” received 45% “very positive” and 47% “positive” ratings; “Sharing of experiences between participants” received 62% “very positive” and 31% “positive” ratings; “Active participation by each young person” received 24% “very positive” and 57% “positive” ratings and “The contribution of each young person to the work of the Forum” received 22% “very positive” and 56% “positive” ratings.

Selection of participants rating

The respondents of the 7th Forum were furthermore asked to evaluate the manner in which they were selected to be participants. About 41% selected as their answer “selected in a democratic way”, 43% said they were selected “... by a method involving young people”, 46% responded positively to “... on the basis of geographic, ethnic and social representation and by gender”, and 69% responded positively to “... based on their capacity to contribute to the Forum”.

Forum pre-information rating

About 73% of the respondents from the 7th Forum were very satisfied with the content of the pre-Forum documents, but they were less satisfied with the timing of their delivery (43% positive ratings).

In comparison to these results, the content of the pre-Forum information sent to the participants of the 10th Forum received 85% positive ratings, while the arrival of the information in a good time received 67% positive ratings. This was the first Forum where ScOutPost was rated, and it received 41% positive ratings for being useful in preparing for the Forum.

Preparation of participants rating

When asked about their preparation for the Forum, 61% claimed that they have received support from their NSO in their preparation, “individual preparation” received 50% positive ratings and “preparation by delegation” received 51% positive ratings.

In contrast to these figures, 69% the respondents from the 10th Forum rated positively their individual preparation, 70% rated positively their preparation within delegations, and 64% rated positively the support they have received from their NSOs.

Sessions rating

Most of the working sessions of the 7th Forum received positive ratings higher than 70%, with the “Get to know you session” receiving the highest rating (81%), followed by the “Young people’s vision of Scouting” (77%), “Essential Characteristics” (73%) and “Youth Participation” (75%). The lowest positive rating was given to the session devoted to the discussion and voting on the recommendations (56%).

In general, at the 10th Forum, all sessions were rated very positively. Session “Scouting in the new century” and its continuance on the following day received the highest positive ratings (82% and 84% respectively).

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