2009/08/16

Kick off!


Every scouting year starts off with a gathering, where all of the group's leaders meet up and plan the term together. This autumn term saw a few changes. As I have advertised earlier, I have left the Cubs and will be the second leader of the Challenger scouts (15-18), and Marie will do the Adventure Scouts (12-15). I will, for now, remain the district training officer, and work on the new national program.

This year we were sent on a quiz walk, and then we had the pleasure of decorating cakes together, and eat them. Of course I had to taste all the available cakes (6).

The scouting term starts in two weeks. I will continue to report from our activities and about general scouting issues.

3 comments:

Nick Wood said...

Congratulations on your new roles! I'm very impressed that you are working on your national programme. Does this mean the Swedish Scouts are making significant changes to their programme in the near future or are they just keeping it up to date?

LottaN said...

I wouldn't say that we're turning everything upside down, because in many ways what's happening is that we're accenturating the basics, lifting the "why" instead of the "what".
The Swedish Scout Council has looked a lot at the British program, I think, picking the good stuff, and then keeping the best stuff from you and elsewhere in the world, taking us into a new century of scouting. The element of charity and community involvement has been very little in Swedish scouting the last 20-30 years, and will be brought up. Also entrepreneurism will be encouraged and the importance of the scout being involved in planning activities from an early age.
Many are worried that it means that we won't do all the pioneering, the basic hiking in the woods and the games, and claim that scouting gets intellectualized and ruined, but haven't realised that it is just a question of asking yourself Why you're doing what you do, and asking the scouts to reflect on that too. Most groups have a very good program today, but we need to shape it up and show new posibilities.
Also, training has been reformed, and is still in a process of change. A national training center has been appointed, which also give non-scouts training for work in the leasure and adventure industry, life training for challenged adults. The training schemes will be monitored in a new way, making sure that the quility is upheld and the course plans don't deviate. Today many districts have their own leader courses, and criteria.
So there is loads happening and it is all so exciting, and I'm so happy being able to be apart of scouting at the moment!

Nick Wood said...

Sounds like you're doing the right thing - keeping all that's best of Swedish Scouting and looking around and getting the best bits from the other programmes!
Charity & community involvement is a large part of the UK programme, especially the Queen's Scout Award.
I think whatever programmes people come up with, the outdoors stuff will always be there. It's what we as Scouts do. To go away from the outdoors is to stop being Scouts.

I look forward to reading how you get on!