2010/10/16

JOTI in progress

About 30 scouts from two groups got together to chat with others over the net. After some slight initial shyness most chatted away.
Both my PC and MAC came to very good use, but I spend more time doing ITC support. Got a few words with our mate Nick from Porthill who managed to find my daughter online! what are the odds?
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2010/10/02

AGM and democracy

Autumn is ATM time. First for all groups, then districts. The observer who came last year, who is also on the national committee, criticised us for the lack of motions from the active.members. It hit home, and we felt a bit ashamed: Every year we ask the scouts to sit in on the AGM and also vote. They are usually not particularly amused. So this year we decided to do something new.
The first couple of weeks this term I visited the older Cubs, the scouts and the Challengers. I explained the structure of the movement and the scouts wrote motions: The younger ones on big pieces of paper, some with illustrations, the slightly older ones on ordinary writing paper, and the challengers sent their by e-mail. Some of the leaders took the opportunity to write some too. All in all 14 motions were handed in to the committee.
At the AGM we took care explain the lingua and the proceedings as they happened. The scouts were much more active and questioned, voted and discussed the motions and the budget. The AGM lasted for almost 2 hours, but at the end of it we had a new vice chairperson (27) and two other members under 18. We also decided to build a tree house at our campsite (motion from the older Cubs), to buy some new tents (motion from the Scouts), to start sorting the rubbish at the hut in fractions for recycling (motion from the Challengers) and to buy an electrical chain saw for the campsite (motion from the Rovers).
Now I'm on the train to my first WSJ meeting. Exiting!
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