His Majesty the King of Sweden is welcomed to Helsinki, Finland by Ms. Erja Salo, Chief Commissioner of Finland, at the opening of the new headquarters of Finnish Scouting in March 2009.
Success in Finland
His Majesty the King of Sweden, the World Scout Foundation’s Honorary Chairman, visited neighbouring Finland twice recently in support of Scouting.
In March 2008 he attended the opening of Scoutstation, the new national Scout headquarters in Helsinki. It is the first time His Majesty has visited the country in a Scouting capacity, and the Finns report there was considerable good publicity, and interest in Scouting. Seven percent of young people in Finland are Scouts, a high number in Europe.
The visit provided the opportunity to discuss the World Baden-Powell Fellowship with members of the Finnish Scout Foundation and to offer their national benefactors the possibility to support World Scouting as well. This started the ball rolling!
The Values-Based Leadership Programme, launched by the Swedish Baden-Powell Fellowship Chapter, at the initiative of His Majesty, was also presented to Finnish business leaders. Several executives have announced that they will help make the programme available to Finnish youth.
In October 2009, His Majesty returned to Helsinki where he, and the Chairman of the World Scout Foundation, Lars Kolind, welcomed five Finns into the World Baden-Powell Fellowship. “This is really a Scouting success story,” explained Lars. “Eighteen months ago Finland could claim only three Baden-Powell Fellows. Today they have 16!”
The newest members from Finland are: Mr. Georg J.C. Ehrnrooth, Mr. Peter Fagernäs, Mr. Jaakko Hirvonen, Admiral (ret) Juhani Kaskeala, and Mr. Jari Paasikivi.
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