YEAR IN REVIEW: Celebrating a Successful 2018 and Welcoming a Hopeful 2019
As we are about to transition into a new year, we are coming to you to celebrate 2018, which has been an incredible year for Scouting in Africa, in every aspect.
2018 has been a year of empowerment with many training courses, workshops and capacity building opportunities for young people, adult volunteers and leaders of the National Scout Organizations.
2018 has been a year of evaluation. As we closed the 2015-2018 triennium we evaluated what we had set out to do and recorded great achievements which you can read in our Triennial Report.
2018 has been a successful year, with the election of a new Africa Scout Committee and Youth Advisors as well as the adoption of the resolutions and operational plan for the 2018-2021 triennium, during the 8th Africa Scout Youth Forum and the 17th Africa Scout Conference. The year also saw the election of the youngest ever Chairperson of the Africa Scout Committee signalling a great achievement in youth empowerment in Africa.
2018 has been a year of youth involvement with numerous deliberate efforts made to equip young people with knowledge, skills and attitudes to play a constructive role in society. Through opportunities such as the Messengers of Peace, International Leadership Training, Dialogue for Peace workshops, Young Correspondents and Spokespersons Programme, Africa Scout Day celebrations and their involvement in different operations of Scouting regionally and globally, many young people have been empowered.
2018 has been a hopeful year, as the Africa Scout Foundation has welcomed the pioneer young members after the establishment of the Junior membership category. You are invited to join the Foundation and visit our brand-new website www.africascoutfoundation.org and support us to deliver better Scouting to more young people across Africa.
2018 has been a year of great innovation in the ONE World Scout Bureau with a lot of work going into finding new ways to better support National Scout Organizations and amplify our impact as a movement. The establishment of thematic teams, launch of the WOSM Service Model, appointment of Chief Ambassador for World Scouting and launch of Scouts for SDGs mobilization campaign are some of the strides we have made. The adoption of the OneWSB values has also enhanced unity across all regions.
Above all, we would love to celebrate YOU, the over 3.5 million members of the Africa Scout Region, youth and adults, men and women, boys and girls, staff and volunteers. Thank you for the invaluable hours of efforts and dedicated service towards our movement and your communities. Thank you for your great engagement, ambition, courage, persistence, positivity and smiles. Thank you for making this world a better place!
It is now time to say goodbye to 2018 and welcome 2019, that we believe will be an even more vibrant and flourishing year for the Scout Movement in Africa and worldwide!
Let us make 2019 a year of commitment. To enable us achieve the WOSM Vision 2023, we need to commit to grow our movement in numbers, impact, and influence through the growth initiatives of our National Scout Organizations.
Let us also make 2019 a year of inspiration. Let us share the stories of the wonderful actions Scouts are taking in their local communities to make this world a better place; and to motivate others to join or support us. Remember that you can also fundraise for your Projects on our Scout Donation Platform.
In the words of Lord Baden Powell, Look wide, and even when you think you are looking wide – look wider still,” let’s keep looking even wider to achieve more in 2019. We wish you a happy holiday season and a wonderful New Year 2019!
Scouting in Africa Team