Australia Scouts is a trading name of The Scout Association of Australia which is the largest Scouting organisation in Australia. It is a member organisation of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. It operates personal development programs for children and young adults from 5 to 25 years of age in Australia and Australian territories. It was formed in 1958 and incorporated in 1967. Scouts Australia's programs were opened to girls after 1971.[citation needed]
The current stated purpose of Scouts Australia is to "contribute to the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual potentials as individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of their local, national and international communities".
Despite opening participation to girls and ever younger children and Australia having a high population growth rate, well above the world average, participation in the organisation's programs declined in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. According to a 2014 media article, "Scouts Australia is hoping [to] arrest a steady decline in membership. In 1979 the organisation had 114,500 youth members, today there are 52,000." According to its own annual reports participation decreased from 84,502 in 2,126 groups in 2001 to 63,200 in 1,836 groups in 2005, and in 2012 there were 49,181 youth, 2,587 young adult Rovers and 14,113 adult leaders and support roles in 1,486 groups. This means the organisation has an exceptionally high number of adults compared to its number of youth participants with a ratio of more than one adult for every three youths.
Scouts Australia Program Resources
Structure
Australia Scouts is a council consisting of a majority of members elected by the council itself, office bearers appointed by the council or its executive committee, state and territory office bearers appointed by the national executive committee and a smaller number of representatives from state and territory branch councils which are similarly not elected by or representative of the Scouts, the adults in Scouting or Scout groups. The national council usually meets just once a year. Its national executive committee seeks to achieve co-operation and coordination of the state and territory branches. The New South Wales, Victorian and Tasmanian state branches are incorporated under special Acts of the state parliaments. while the Western Australian, South Australian, Queensland, Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory branches are incorporated by registration under the ordinary Associations Incorporation Acts. Each state or territory branch maintains its own structure and operational methodologies and rules. However, all branches operate programs for children and young adults under a common uniform and common award scheme structure.
The organisation's current Chief Scout is David Hurley, the Governor-General of Australia. The Chief Scout of each state branch had usually been the governor of the state. In 2015, the actor Shane Jacobson was appointed as the Chief Scout of the Victorian branch. In 1942, Sir Leslie Orme Wilson, the Governor of Queensland, resigned as the Boy Scouts Association's Chief Scout of Queensland because of the failure of the Queensland branch to respond to his call for reforms to its centralisation effort that led to the severance of the Mount Morgan Blue Boy Scouts.
New Logo and Identity for Scouts Australia by Cato Brand Partners
History
For the history of Boy Scouts and the Scout Movement in Australia generally, see Scouting and Guiding in Australia. The organisation was formed in 1958, under the name Australian Boy Scouts Association, as a branch of the Boy Scouts Association of the United Kingdom. Prior to its formation, branches of the Boy Scouts Association had been formed in each of the Australian states. Initially each Australian state branch was directly responsible to Imperial Headquarters of the Boy Scouts Association in London. In 1922, the Boy Scouts Association formed its Australian Federal Council, consisting of nominees of its Australian state branches, to achieve co-operation and co-ordination at a national level. The Boy Scouts Association later appointed an Australian commissioner. The Australian Federal Council functioned as a branch of the Boy Scouts Association of the United Kingdom and the Australian commissioner was appointed by the Imperial Headquarters in London. The Australian Federal Council of the Boy Scouts Association became a member of the International Conference of the Boy Scout Movement in 1953, rather than being represented through the Boy Scouts Association of the United Kingdom. In 1958, when the Australian Boy Scouts Association was formed, it succeeded the Australian Federal Council of the Boy Scouts Association.
In 1969 the organisation began a review of its youth programs under its Design for Tomorrow Committee and implemented its New Design program from 1971. The program involved a new name, new branding, new uniforms and new award schemes. It failed to attract an increase in participants and led to considerable disaffection and loss of long-term leaders and supporters and the formation of Australian affiliates of the traditionalist Baden-Powell Scouts'
A further program review commenced in 2013. In 2019, a new program, along with new logo and branding, was launched, again hoping to appeal to a larger audience. Elements of this program include the catchphrases "youth leading, adults supporting", "plan, do, review", another overhaul of its award scheme and a return to a focus on outdoor adventure.
Religion
Scouts Australia is a non-religious organisation. To enrol with Scouts Australia you are required to make the Scout Promise. The unique wording in the Australian Scout Promise of “do my best to do my duty to my God" allows some flexibility and Scouts Australia is open to people of all religious faiths that can make this promise. In 2017, with the launch of "The Adventure Begins", a new promise option allows Scouts to "do my best to be true to my spiritual beliefs", to further open the promise to all religious faiths.
Historically, Scouting in Australia was rooted in Christianity as that was the world view of Scouts founder, Lord Baden-Powell. Although Britain is now a majority non-religious nation Christianity was the dominant faith in both Britain and Australia in Scouting's early days.
More recently, [clarification needed] participants have come from many faiths and although the majority of Scout groups promote an interfaith approach to religion. Many Scout groups have been formed within existing communities and specific religious traditions as "sponsored groups", such as Coptic Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Islamic and Jewish.
Youth participants at a Scouts' Own, an informal act of worship, at a Scout campsite
Children & Youth Programs
Age sections
Youth development in the organisation's programs is divided into several age group stages. The age groups encourage movement through the sections as the youth matures. The sections are:
1. Joey Scouts (5–7 years): helping to develop a child's sense of personal identity
2. Cub Scouts (8–10 years): aims to develop a sense of adventure and achievement and a chance to grow their character
3. Scouts (11–14 years): promotes leadership and teamwork, as well as an appreciation of the outdoors
4. Venturer Scouts (15–17 years): develops leadership and management skills, as well as an understanding of camping and the environment
5. Rover Scouts (18–25 years): continues to develop leadership skills, as well as placing a strong emphasis on service to the community and other parts of the organisation
Uniform
The core uniform is a navy blue shirt with the relevant youth section colour across the sleeves and collar, a scarf and woggle. The leaders' shirt is only dark blue.
The section colours are:
1. Tan for Joeys
2. Yellow for Cubs
3. Green for Scouts
4. Maroon for Venturers
5. Red for Rovers
Award Scheme
The youth award scheme in Australian Scouting consists of awards for proficiency in an adventurous activity, participation in major events, recognition of service, gallantry and meritorious service, and for the practice of Scouting (Queen's Scout, Baden-Powell Award, etc.).
Grey Wolf Award
Lone Scouts
The Lone Scout Group is for youth unable to attend or find a local Scout group. Lones include people with disabilities and are therefore unable to attend regular group meetings, people who are constant travellers or go to places at which they are unable to attend a group i.e. boarding school or isolated communities. They hold annual week-long camps for members and their families. Lone scouts have meetings over the radio.
The organisation operates in the non-sovereign Australian Indian Ocean Territories of:
Christmas Island
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Two Scout troops in Singapore are affiliated with the organisation. The organisation is a founder member of the Asia-Pacific Region of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. In the field of support and co-operation with other national member organisations of the Asia Pacific region, the organisation has contributed to a number of international friendship and community development oriented projects. Over the years, Australian Scouts have supported emerging Scout organisations in the South Pacific. A twinning project with the Bangladesh Scouts, known as the "Bangladesh-Australia Child Health" (BACH) project, made a dramatic impact on child health in project villages during its operation from 1986 to 1992. The organisation has a twinning project with the Nepal Scouts known as NATURE Project and involves the reforestation of the Kristi Landslide.
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