Why Scouts are transforming education at the UN

By Thaís Queiroz, WOSM Youth Representative

Have you heard? Education will receive a spotlight during this year’s United Nations General Assembly at the Transforming Education Summit.

Thaís Querioz, Youth Representative for World Scouting, holds the Brazilian flag during a Scout event.
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VCP / Mona Tarrey

The Summit will be an important political moment calling the attention of leaders from all over the world to the urgent need to revolutionise education systems. 

In recent years, the world has experienced tremendous change and innovation in the ways we work, communicate, invest, move, and live - while education systems have seen little to no transformation at all. The global pandemic exacerbated problems with these already outdated education systems.

The result? More and more young people are getting left behind, unable to access adequate education and build a bright future.

Every child deserves the right to thrive and to be a happy, fulfilled being. To make that happen, they need access to adequate education that responds to their needs today and where they can be active actors on their development process, surroundings and realities.

Young people need modern, holistic education systems that fit the digital revolution we’ve undergone and equip them with relevant skills for a life with dignity, including resilience, entrepreneurship, digital literacy, and intercultural communication.

Young people have always needed opportunities outside of classrooms to develop their relationships with themselves, with others, and with their surroundings - and they need this now more than ever.

Dare I say: young people need Scouting (or other non-formal education activities) to complement traditional education.

An adult volunteer walks outside with young Scouts in Kenya
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© WSB / Enrique Leon
In Scouting, children and teens experience and navigate new environments together, developing hard and soft skills through fun and often practical activities.

Transforming education transforms lives

Transforming education means transforming lives. Modernising education systems and making them more inclusive will inevitably support the next generation’s livelihoods, healthy development, economic outcomes, and much more.
Headshot of Thaís Quieroz, WOSM Youth Representative
Thaís Queiroz
WOSM Youth Representative

The Transforming Education Summit is a response to this urgent need, aiming to “mobilize political ambition, action, solutions, and solidarity to transform education: to take stock of efforts to recover pandemic-related learning losses; to reimagine education systems for the world of today and tomorrow, and to revitalize national and global efforts to achieve SDG-4.”

Hmm, this sounds fancy… but what do Scouts have to do with it?

Well, the Scout Movement has been educating young people for more than a century!

With progressive and diverse activities in Scouting, children and teens have the chance to work on their self-fulfillment, practice teamwork, connect with nature, and learn by doing, all while having fun! So if we are discussing a global transformation in education, the Scouts have a lot to contribute!

A group of excited Scouts approach the venue of the World Non-Formal Education Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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© WSB / Enrique Leon
In 2019, my brother and I, along with hundreds of Scouts and organisations committed to youth development met in Brazil for the World Non-Formal Education Forum.

Scouts leading in global non-formal education

Besides providing this value-based educational experience for 57 million people around the globe, the Scout Movement is also a leader in the global non-formal education sector, advocating for more recognition of youth empowerment and education outside of traditional classrooms.

In fact, it was Scouts who convened the first-ever World Non-Formal Education Forum in 2019, where the Rio-Declaration on Non-Formal Education was authored and signed. 

So if there’s a discussion on transforming education, Scouts definitely need to be part of it!

Five panelists sit on stage for a discussion about non-formal education during the Forum in Brazil.
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© WSB / Enrique Leon
At the World Non-Formal Education Forum, I spoke on a panel about where non-formal education fits in a changing world of learning.

Modernising education for today’s youth

There are gaps in today’s outdated formal education systems, and their curricula alone cannot provide young people with the variety of skills and knowledge we need to navigate today’s world.

Non-formal education is too often forgotten in discussions on education - which is why we foster partnerships among NGOs, UN partners, and educators to advance the status and funding of such learning opportunities.

There are many possible ways to bridge the education gap - and Scouting is a powerful one! 

So when we organize a Forum or participate in the Transforming Education Summit, we are there to raise the profile of this unique and vital learning method, based on a century of experiences and data that demonstrate the amazing work that Scouts do.

Most importantly: with greater attention, partnerships, and funding, we can bring more opportunities - and brighter futures - to more children and youth around the world. World Scouting will never stop advocating, innovating, and working for this.

Hundreds of Scouts gatherered in front of a stage during Denmark's National Jamboree in 2022.
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© WSB / Enrique Leon
There is no replacement for the unique experiences Scouts enjoy, like national, regional, and international jamborees.

Scouts at the Transforming Education Summit

Since February, WOSM Youth Representatives - including myself - have been working to enable the engagement of young people in the Summit and to call the attention of global leaders to the transformations we want to see in Education.

During the Summit this week, Scouts will attend and speak at numerous sessions and negotiations to ensure that non-formal education is a serious part of the conversation and that the voices and needs of young people are heard first-hand, especially when it comes to equality and skills for life. Further, recognising that most countries do not have young people among their delegations, Scouts are committed to helping represent the voices of the missing majority.

There cannot be a discussion on education without non-formal education. We Scouts have so much to contribute - and we can’t wait to transform education together with partners and supporters across the fields of education!
Headshot of Thaís Quieroz, WOSM Youth Representative
Thaís Queiroz
WOSM Youth Representative

We want to take you along this exciting journey with us, so please follow our week at the United Nations on WOSM’s Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and/or LinkedIn.

 

The participation of Youth Representatives at events was made possible with support from Alwaleed Philanthropies, a key partner in Scouts for SDGs, an initiative in which Scouts are making the world’s largest coordinated youth contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

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