Scouting Mission and Vision

The Mission

The mission of Scouting is to contribute to the education of young people, through a value system based on the Scout Promise and Law, to help build a better world where people are self-fulfilled as individuals and play a constructive role in society. This is achieved by:

• involving them throughout their formative years in a non-formal educational process

• using a specific method that makes each individual the principal agent of his or her development as a self-reliant, supportive, responsible and committed person

• assisting them to establish a value system based upon spiritual, social and personal principles as expressed in the Promise and Law.

The mission is being implemented through six challenges that have been identified are essential to be addressed if our mission is to be achieved.

The Six challenges

• Relevance: meeting the needs and aspirations of young people.

• Complementary nature: focussing on the distinctive contribution Scouting can make to the education of young people, particularly through the Scout Method.

• Membership: reaching out to more young people.

• Adults: attracting and retaining the adults we need.

• Relationships and partnerships: working with others to better serve young people.

• Unity: pursuing a common purpose at all levels.

The Three Strategic Areas

The six challenges provide four broad areas of work:

• Young People: encompassing the challenges on Relevance, Complementary nature and Membership in order to bring better Scouting to more young people, especially adolescents.

• Adults: encompassing the challenge on Adults: attracting and retaining the adults we need, with an emphasis on the concept of volunteering.

• Structures and Systems: encompassing the challenge on Relationships and partnerships - which recognises the need to work with others to serve young people - and the challenge on Unity: pursuing a common purpose at all levels. Work in this strategic area should lead to an increase in the overall effectiveness of the Movement.

The Vision for Scouting

• As a global Movement, making a real contribution to creating a better world.

• We see Scouting entering its second century as an influential, value-based educational Movement focussed on achieving its mission, involving young people working together to develop their full potential, supported by adults who are willing and able to carry out their educational role.

• We see Scouting world-wide as attracting and retaining more and more young people (especially adolescents) of both genders and coming from broader segments of society.

• We see Scouting as attractive to adults, women and men, in all cultures - a Movement through which they can make a significant contribution to society by working with young people.

• We see Scouting as a dynamic, innovative Movement with adequate resources, simple structures and democratic decision making processes where organisation, management and communication are effective at all levels.