ISGF Info – June 2010

ISGF Info – June 2010, © International Scout and Guide Fellowship Page 1 of 5

ISGF Info is the tool for information, inspiration and news from all levels in ISGF and particularly from the World Committee and the World Bureau. ISGF Info is sent directly to the National Presidents, International Secretaries, Regional Committees, Regional Network Teams, Sub-Regional Committees, World Committee and World Bureau. Members in these positions without an email address will receive the newsletter in printed version by normal mail direct from World Bureau. ISGF Info is also sent directly to WAGGGS and WOSM bureaus at world and regional level as well as to ISGF Central Branch (CB) contact persons. Those without such a position may also register when they send an email to: worldbureau@isgf.org or write a note to World Bureau, Avenue de la Porte du Hal 38, BE-1060 Brussels, Belgium for a free subscription in English or in French. Please take a subscription, free of charge, and you will be kept up to date with what is happening at ISGF. Your feedback, addressed to World Bureau, is welcome Content:

1. Chairman’s Talk 2. Participation of ISGF members at World Scout Jamboree Sweden 2011 3. Centenary WAGGGS 4. Communication 5. Structure chart of ISGF 6. Overview Regions, Sub-Regions and Areas 7. News from Central Branch 8. Published items website 20 October, 2009 – May 31, 2010

1. Chairman’s Talk

G’day everyone, Welcome to another Chairman’s Talk. There has been a longer period between the last one and this as the feedback to your World Committee (WCom) was that there was too much information being passed on too often. We had produced such full editions because we thought it would be easier to pass on the information to all members rather than require the International Secretaries to access the website, cut and paste the information, then forward it on to the membership. This now will be the case. The International Secretaries are a vital part of the communication network in the ISGF. It is important that the IS’s print and copy the ISGF Info to pass it on to non computer literate members for us to have an open and informed ISGF membership. Since the last ISGF Info several major actions have taken place. First we have had this years WCom meeting. At this we reviewed our first 18 months as a WCom and I am pleased to say, signed off on several parts of the ISGF Action Plan adopted at the last World Conference (WConf) in Austria. These include the new unifying ISGF image that was asked for. The ISGF scarf, woggle and badge will be on sale from the World Bureau (WB) as of the 1

st June 2010. Other items such as banners and pins will be added before the

end of the year. A previous supplier of the ISGF flag is being followed up to produce new ones as well. The re-vitalising of the International Development Fund (ID Fund) to better reflect the support going into it, with the display of where the ID Fund money ends up, has been achieved. Members are now able to better designate which Project their support will go to by contributing directly into designated Specific Action Funds, for example the “Haiti Support Fund”. The WCom International Projects Team (IP Team) will action these funds to find and manage ISGF supported Projects. Members are already working with this method with great success. Support to WOSM and WAGGGS using the Col. J.S. Wilson Fund and Rieck-Müller Ceschi Funds are now up and running again after a couple of years of inactivity due to staff changes and the need to inform WOSM and WAGGGS again on how to apply for the support. We are pleased to have supported two Guides from Bangladesh and Peru to the Young Women’s World Forum in the UK this year for the Centenary of Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting. Check the ISGF website for details of who they are. A list of Guides from other countries looking for support is also listed on the ISGF website. Other support has included the funding of WAGGGS Leader Trainers to Thailand and Fiji as well as WOSM Leaders to a Training Weekend in the Asia Pacific Region.

ISGF Info – June 2010

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Apart from our service to Scouting and Guiding the ISGF has been sourcing non ISGF money to undertake Community Service Projects. This has resulted in the collection of US 1 million dollars in medical equipment to set up medical clinics in Haiti. At the same time our members have been contributing to a select fund in our ID Fund to help support the youth members of Haiti Scouts and Guides. This support will be actioned next January 2011 when the Associations have had time to re- establish themselves. We aim to support Scouts and Guides who require uniforms and books because they may have lost their families or even been placed in an orphanage. Their Group may require balls and other training equipment that has been lost. We aim to support those who no longer have outside support. “Once a Scout/Guide, always a Scout/Guide”, no matter what their economic situation is. Our major Project for Haiti will be to build a Scout/ Guide and Community Hall in a northern town in Haiti. To better carry out the ISGF support, through the IP Team and ID Fund, the WCom is implementing some fundraising actions that will draw on corporate and personal sponsors to fund Scout, Guide and Young Adult Development. This is to be called the Patrons Award and will be based around a Medal of various standards that will upgrade based on the amount of money donated. The “Friends of the ISGF” keyring. Once again we seek to raise funds from non ISGF members. The WB will sell NSGFs the key ring at cost plus 2 Euros to NSGF’s and then the NSGF can on sell to the public for the WB cost plus 2 Euros so they can raise some funds themselves as well. Those of you who are connected to the Internet will have seen the wonderful work that our fellow member Leny Doelman is carrying out in constantly updating our ISGF website. This is a live and interactive website, updated with ISGF as well as NSGF and LSGF news. Through this website Tunisia has been able to promote their National Gathering for all to attend. This is truly the benefit from being part of the ISGF. If you are not getting information on these activities and projects then get onto your IS or ask a friend to copy off the information. As the WCom. progresses you will see greater details of the projects we are promoting as well as the constant update of where they are at. Our Facebook page has over 2,220 members now from all around the world. Most of whom are not ISGF members ”yet”. This is a great medium to pass on all of the good actions the ISGF and its membership are undertaking. Promoting ourselves to potential future members without a cost to the ISGF membership. Thankyou Ales for your work on this. Our website is being visited on a regular basis and I encourage you to visit it at least once a week www.isgf.org Now for some serious matters. One of the points raised with me, as Chairman of the ISGF World Committee, is that “Quote” our members raise funds for Scouting and Guiding and then spend the money on community projects. Not Scouting and Guiding ones. Having looked into this a little I have been informed that Scouting and Guiding Associations are rich and can afford to send their Commissioners around the world. They obtain Government Grants to operate and waste the money. Therefore money raised is spent on non Scout and Guide Community Actions. This is a major point on why our membership is finding it harder to receive WOSM and WAGGGS support in their countries and world wide as we are not seen to be supporting our uniformed youth members. My Guild for instance, funds one third of a needy Scout’s fees to a National Jamboree and has done so for several Jamborees. Single parent families are a common source of support from us. Has anyone gone to an orphanage in their country and funded a uniform, membership fees a well as books to give a child the chance we had to grow as an individual through the teachings of Lord Baden-Powell? Is it possible to run a full Scout and Guide Group in an orphanage? Funds do not have to be given directly to the National Body but can be directed to needy youths who would better benefit from our support. Everyone should be given the opportunity to be a Scout or Guide. We can make that difference. The more youth we can get into Scouting and Guiding the greater our chance of finding world peace. Then inform the WB of these actions so we can promote your service to Scouting and Guiding. In a previous Chairman’s Talk I asked NSGFs to send to our WB photographs of activities in their country with a 10 megapixel quality, so as to enable your WCom. to produce marketing tools for you to use to better promote your NSGFs and our ISGF to potential new members. This is a part of our Action Plan adopted by you. For the WCom to fulfill its part of the Action Plan, you need to complete yours. Photos of activities with the youth of Scouting and Guiding are ideal, activities in national costume would help. Please, be proactive and make the effort to send us the photos via the WB.

ISGF Info – June 2010

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On a good note, the number of NSGF Annual Reports have increased and we have some good information to better manage the ISGF in your name. Keep them coming and upload your stories to the website so all can marvel at the wonderful actions our ISGF members are carrying out. On behalf of the WCom I would like to report that we are on track to completing our ISGF Action Plan and will have some excellent reports for you at the next Word Conference in Italy.

Brett D. Grant, Chairman ISGF World Committee

2. ISGF at the WOSM Jamboree 2011 Sweden As we published before, ISGF will run an Info Center at the World Scout Jamboree 2011. Our aim is to show ISGF, especially its activities, its benefits for our members and for the scouts and guides. We expect at our Center visitors the whole day at our information booth. Therefore we need a staff and we invite persons who are interested in this job to apply. It’s a job, unpaid, not thanked and full of criticism (usually afterwards) but very interesting we can assure. The ISGF staff member should have a basic knowledge of English so we can communicate between us. The more languages we can cover in the team the better! Guild experience and knowledge about Adult Scouting and Guiding is essential. Persons who are interested will receive more details by time when they contact their national International Secretary, who will send an e-mail to the World Committee member in charge, Harald E. Kesselheim harald.kesselheim@bv.aok.de

3. Centenary WAGGGS How does ISGF support the Centenary Celebration of WAGGGS? Because of the Centenary Celebration of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) ISGF will sponsor several actions worldwide. WAGGGS launched a three year celebration worldwide. The themes for the celebration are for 2010 – Plant, 2011 Grow and for 2012 – Share. ISGF granted to fund travel costs for young leaders to assist in the Training of Trainers and moreover supplying funds for young women to attend the first Young Women’s World Forum in the United Kingdom in October 2010. See this link on ISGF website.

4. Communication How do we communicate in ISGF? The World Committee (WCom) works of course to fulfil the Action Plan 2008-2011. One of the headlines is Communication. There are lots of possibilities for communication and we want to share some of the experiences that we have gained during the latest 1½ year:

It is easy to remember the e-mail address for the ISGF World Bureau (WB) as it is now changed to worldbureau@isgf.org

If you want to get in contact with an ISGF member in a foreign country you can ask the International secretary (IS) in your country and he/she will be able to give you information about how to get in contact. All National Presidents (NP) and IS has their personal username and password for the ISGF website so that they can go to the so-called closed part of the web where ISGF gives contact addresses and also other kind on protected information

However it would be great if all NPs and IS’ would use the possibility to go to the closed part. We can see that 87 persons out of the registered 130 with passwords never have used that password. This is not good for our internal communication. So if you are a NP or IS please start using this very important tool for communication.

In these days we are printing a new ISGF folder. The folder has been updated with Benefits of being a member of ISGF.

These benefits are from a document called “Why belong to ISGF?” The document will in very short time be sent out to the NP and IS so that they can pick those benefits that is the most important for their country when trying to tell a person what that person will be missing in his or her life if not joining the ISGF. Remember that we are all members of ISGF through our membership at national or local level.

One of the most important tools for sharing knowledge is the Annual Report that each National Scout and Guide Fellowship (NSGF) should send to the WB once a year by the end of April. The WCom

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will read the reports and share the knowledge by uploading the part of the report that tells about activities, ideas and experiences. See this link. There is a lot of inspiration for you to find in these reports too. So even if you do not make use of the exactly same activity you can change the ideas into what for you and your culture would be a good Fellowship activity – nationally, locally or personally.

Rigmor Lauridsen, ISGF World Committee member

5. Structure chart of ISGF A lot of us have tried to answer a question about how ISGF is organised. To be able to give a fully detailed picture of that one must look in the ISGF Constitution and Bye Law. Click here. The World Committee has now created an ISGF Structure chart so that the main lines of communication are shown together with a short description of the tasks at the different levels in the organisation. This chart is reflecting what is written in the ISGF Constitution and is a very helpful tool to get an understanding of ISGF organisation. WCom hope that you will find it helpful when you want to have an overview. Click here.

6. Overview Regions, Sub-Regions and Areas According to the ISGF Constitution and Bye-Laws Article 13 the “National Scout and Guide Fellowships (NSGFs) are grouped together in geographical areas known as Regions” and later in the same Article it says “NSGFs within a Region may form Sub-Regions with the approval of the World Committee”. The World Committee (WCom) has produced an overview of the Regions, Sub-Regions, Areas and Central Branch (CB) countries and we hope that you will find it useful. Remember that you on the website can find links to those NSGFs and CB countries that have their own website. Have a look and enjoy being part of this worldwide network. Click here for the existing links

7. News from Central Branch

As per 31 May, 2010 we have 740 members in 33 countries. Argentina: The Scouts y Guías Adultos de Argentina (SGAA) celebrated on April 4

th their 7

th year of being affiliated to

ISGF via Central Branch. Canada: Agnes BP Trefoil Guild and Amitié Canadienne Francophone, both Central Branch groups have recently started negotiations on request of World Committee with the Canadian Fellowship of B-P Guilds to come up with a proposal as only one NSGF per country can be recognised. Solutions have been given to form a federation or a similar link as described in the ISGF Constitution. Uruguay The local guild El Ñacuritú, invited volunteers of Red Cross of Uruguay and told them who they are and what they are doing in order to collaborate with them in time of disasters USA The Association des Anciens Scouts et Guides d’Haiti (CASEGHA) has been pretty much involved in the help for Haiti. See this link Burkina Faso: Reseau National des Anciens Scouts et Guides Adultes du Burkina Faso (RENASAB) has fulfilled all criteria to become a National Scout and Guide Fellowship. They will be officially announced NSGF at the next World Conference in 2011. The 15 Central Branch members will merge into this group. Maldives Seven members from B-P Guild of Maldives joined Central Branch and they promised to have more than 50 members within five months from now.

Leny Doelman, Central Branch & Twinning coordinator

8. Published items website 20 October 2009 – 4 June 2010

Newsletter ISGF Info June 2010 Chairman’s Talk, June 2010 Deadline extended for 3rd African Regional Gathering Young women hoping to attend the YWWF2010 in the UK CASEGHA relief effort for Haiti

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36th Twinning between Belgium and the Netherlands Former National President of Curaçao decorated Central Branch Newsletter no 1, 2010 distributed Volcanic ash grounded flights participants after 3rd European Workshop ISGF West Africa consultation meeting in Benin ISGF gives out two grants for seminar WAGGGS Twinning certificates issued in UK The Netherlands honours former World Committee member Closing date European Conference extended Still places available at Gathering in Tunisia Nordic Baltic Newsletter April 2010 St. George's Day, April 23rd Queen's Award for Voluntary Service in Uganda 3rd Africa Regional Gathering Newsflash Aid to Haiti First Caribbean gathering in Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles Swedish guild members support big ski race World Committee annual meeting Haiti relief campaign continues Founders Day - Thinking Day Golden Jubilee celebrations in India France honours former chairman of ISGF Canadian donation medical supplies for Haiti International Projects Team launched European Forum in Grossarl moved to summer Haiti Youth Rebuild Fund Visit to my Norwegian Twinning contact Twinning between the Netherlands and Germany Tunisian Fellowship organizes their 5th gathering 50 years Jubilee India Scout and Guide Fellowship Announcement of the 7th European Conference Central Branch Newsletter no.2, 2009 distributed Nordic Baltic sub-region Newsletter released Burundi project extends deadline to April 01, 2010 New WOSM representative in World Committee Third European workshop 14-18 April 2010, Germany Fellowship Day in Bangladesh Committee sub-region Central Europe 2009 - 2012 Distribution flu pills by local Scout and Guide Fellowship India You Tube World Conference 2008 Community Good Turn at MED gathering Fun at the 13th Mediterranean Gathering in Portugal Fellowship Day - October 25, 2009 Our Central Europe sub region Conference at the Black Sea