World AIDS Orphans Day will occur on 7 May. More than 25 million children worldwide have lost one or both parents to AIDS – equivalent to the number of people living in New York, Paris, Rome and Bangkok combined. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, 12 million children have been orphaned by the pandemic. In addition to being especially vulnerable to all forms of exploitation, these children face financial difficulties, disease, and stigmatisation.

The ANZAC Peace Prize, announced annually, is awarded by the Returned and Services League (RSL) to ‘recognise any outstanding effort by an Australian citizen who has promoted the concept of international understanding and who, in so doing, has made a contribution to world peace.’ The RSL ANZAC Awards Committee has awarded the 2008 ANZAC Peace Prize to Scouts Australia. 2008 is the Year of the Scout and marks the centenary of Scouting in Australia. The award of the ANZAC Peace Prize recognises the part that Scouting has played in the development of two million Australians over the past 100 years, both as individuals and as citizens.

On Monday 14 April 2008, Uganda's former Chief Scout, Hon. Manuel Pinto passed away at Nsambya Hospital where he was taken after being involved in a car accident. He was a Bronze Wolf holder and served as the Chairman of the Africa Scout Committee. He was born on 25 December 1938. A former Member of Parliament, Manuel Pinto, left parliament to become the Director of the Parliamentary Professional Development Unit. He was a renown debater in parliament who served on various commissions and statutory committees in Uganda.

A seminar was held at Kandersteg International Scout Centre (KISC) for SCENES (Scout Centres of Excellence for Nature and Environment) Centres from around the world in preparation for the re-launch at the World Scout Conference this July in Korea.

Geneva, 3 April 2008 - Youth are a powerful resource for development and are critical actors in the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals. This was one of the key messages of the World Youth Report 2007, which was presented in Geneva on 3 April 2008 at an event hosted by the CONGO Committee of Youth NGOs which is currently chaired by the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM). The event was also attended by representatives of international youth organisations and UN agencies.

On Wednesday April 2, 2008, Burkina Faso’s Minister of Youth and Employment, Hon. Justin Kouataba, officially opened the Regional Communication Forum . The ceremony took place at Notre Dame de Lorette in Ouagadougou. Also present were, Hon. Salif Sawadogo, the Minister for the environment and Mr. Seydou Zagre, Permanent Secretary in the office of the Speaker of the Assembly.

In conjunction with the Forest Services, the Scouts Musulmans Algériens, Tlemcen Department, carried out a range of environmental activities during March 2008. More than 300 Scouts from different Scout groups took part in tree planting, cleaning up their local environment and environmental education activities.