Γενική Εφορεία
Date Issues: 21/02/2021
Every year, on the 22nd of February, the biggest voluntary pedagogical group for young people in the world celebrates: Which Group? The Scouts! More than 54,000,000 people in 220 countries celebrate the birth of the founder of the Scouts, Lord Baden-Powell.
Because of Founder's birthday, Scouts and Guides organize actions inspired by his quotes. This day is also known as "Thinking Day". Especially this year the actions are adapted to the available health requirements.
In Greece for 111 years, the Scout Movement is the largest and longest-running voluntary pedagogical group for young people with 25,000 active members in 350 neighborhoods, covering almost the entire country. More than 8,000 adult volunteers using group play and experiential activities in nature help children and adolescents discover skills and develop skills that will be useful to them for the rest of their adult lives.
Scouts of Greece, as ambassadors of the voluntary movement with an annual record of more than 6,500,000 hours of voluntary social contribution, feed the Greek society with young people who are active in the communities, act as responsible citizens and are willing to help and take active part role within it. In recent years, they have also been at the forefront of raising public awareness of the need for an institutional framework for voluntary organizations and volunteering in general.
Innovative & modern action and training program:
- Life in nature, adventure and action
- Diverse environmental education activities and development of environmental awareness
- Organization of actions focused on Civil (and Individual) Protection
- Practical support of the local community through dynamic interventions in cooperation with the local government.
- Learning in practice the value of participatory-democratic processes of organization, administration and decision-making
- Original ways of getting to know and studying our cultural heritage
- Initiatives and opportunities to develop skills and competencies
- Original games and access to at least 200 types of activities (sailing, cycling, climbing, hiking, paragliding, canoying)
- Experiential education and cultivation of attitudes and behaviors that promote respect for diversity and human rights
- Participation in international activities and opportunities to meet and get acquainted with different people and cultures
Ambassadors of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals
In addition to the above, from 2018, Scouts contribute substantially to the achievement of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals through substantial simple actions and comprehensive programs that address both society and the organization. Today, Scouts, having contributed more than 2 billion hours of social contribution to peace and sustainable development through the Messengers of Peace Program, have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Research on the benefits and participation of young people in voluntary activities
New research highlights the huge positive impact that volunteering has on the lives of the volunteers themselves. According to the survey, the majority of volunteers reported that since they started offering services as volunteers their life satisfaction (by 70%) and self-esteem (by 66%) has improved, while their emotions have decreased, loneliness (42%) and stress (33%). Also, according to a survey presented in June on behalf of Scouts of Greece, there is a positive attitude of the youth towards voluntary action, mainly by women and young people aged 21 to 29, but also by sufficient knowledge of several voluntary organizations. In fact, 1 in 3 participated in voluntary action in the last year.
In a world facing challenges such as conflict, poverty, climate change and gender inequality, Scouting continues to be a constructive counterweight, empowering young people to actively contribute to finding solutions to these global challenges by acting locally.
On February 22, it celebrates the unique movement for young people that remains evergreen and attractive not only because it listens to the needs of young people, but because it has managed not to be just a duty or an occasional object for its members and has become a LIFE, an EXCITING LIFE!