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IN THIS ISSUE:

Helping your Scouts and Venturers get the most from the Youth Program; Boer War Memorial Day; e-Learning on track for January 2011 launch; Skills Recognition for Leaders; Scouts Australia Diplomas; National Environment Conference; Clean Up The World; environment grants and competitions; Scouts NSW Youth Environment Forum; National Youth Council; National Rover Council; Rovering Towards 2020; NTerra; Ozmoot; World Moot; Scouts Australia's National Ambassador - adventurer Andrew Lock; 2010 National Annual Report; Scouts Australia Online... what's new; Scouts Australia Solar Panel Project

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Do we really know what our youth members want from Scouting?

This is a perplexing question and one that we must ask ourselves every time we have anything to do with the design or review of an activity or program of activities. If our method for delivering the Youth Program is about providing youth with more involvement and autonomy in determining and conducting their own programs as they step up through the Sections, why is it that we lose so many in the older Sections due to dissatisfaction with the Program?

Many will say dissatisfaction with the activities (program) is only one of the reasons youth leave Scouting and, of course, they are correct. However, it is by far the major reason and it is the one that is probably the easiest for us as Leaders to fix. Generally, we do reasonably well at delivering activities at the Joey and Cub level, mainly because we have a plethora of activities and equipment appropriate to their age groups and Leaders largely manage the activities and thus influence their outcomes.

As youth members progress into Scouts and then to Venturers they get to work in Patrols and then Units, and progressively gain more control over their own programs. In theory, they don’t need much Leader support. However, in practice they need more. (Click here for the full article: How to support your Scouts and Venturers!)

Reg Williams
Chief Commissioner of Australia
chief.comm@scouts.com.au

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Boer War Memorial Service

In June I was fortunate enough to be invited to the Boer War Memorial Service at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne.

The Boer War was special for Scouts, as it was at Mafeking where Baden-Powell held out against overwhelming forces of Boers and Zulus and become famous for his exploits as a soldier. He taught young boys in the town how to scout the enemy and such things as tracking and other bush skills.

The ceremony was attended by the Hon. Michael Baden-Powell, the great grandson of our Founder, as well as many other dignitaries and descendants of the Boer War veterans (of which my wife is one).

Scouts carried flags and helped with the ceremony and some people were dressed in the uniform of the day. (Click here for full article and photos.)

David W. Jones AM, FCA
Chairman, National Executive Committee
nec.chair@scouts.com.au

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The e-Learning Project: On track to launch in January 2011!

Hello again for this edition of E-News for 2010. Last edition we gave you an update on the progress of our e-Learning project - Leader Training – Access for All. Things have really moved since then, and with the current funding arrangements now in the process of finalisation, we have a busy six months ahead to have everything ready for 2011.

Your respective BCATD will have already convened a working group to address issues such as administration and operational issues associated with training as well as involve Branch office staff in the likely processes for implementation and Branch records management. Branches made a commitment to work through the review of selected modules associated with the training, and for the next few months look at what is great, what can be improved, and what we need to do to ensure a complete product worthy of release and easy in operation for Branches to administer and record individual training achievements.

(Click here for the full article: More on the the e-Learning Project; Skills Recognition (RPL); Diplomas - they're well within your reach!)

Paul Parkinson
National Commissioner for Adult Training & Development
training.comm@scouts.com.au

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A Scout cares for the environment

An exciting but cold and wet weekend at Gilwell Park occurred on the June long weekend when Environment Commissioners from across Australia came together for their annual conference.

Many items were discussed including the World Scout Environment Badge, existing projects and those being developed, budgeting, and so on. We had in attendance Michael Green (National Rover Council) and Charlotte Baker (National Youth Council) as well as Melanie and Petina from Girl Guides Australia. Reg Williams, Chief Commissioner of Australia, joined us on the Saturday and enlightened us on other National programs.

We received updates on various recent representations both here and overseas. Rick Shires (NSW) and Steve Kingham (SA) told us about their recent conference at Kandersteg, Switzerland, and where we will go with SCENES in Australia. Petina (Guides) told us about her attendance at the Copenhagen Conference late last year (Angela Petrow from WA represented Scouts Australia). 

(Click here for full article: More on the annual Environment Conference, the National Savewater! Awards and photography competition, upcoming environment events, and stories and pics from the NSW Youth Environment Forum in May.)   

Gus Lloyd
National Adviser for Environment
environment@scouts.com.au
www.scouts.com.au/environment

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National Youth Council

Wow! I can’t believe we’re over halfway through 2010 already! I’m very excited to be writing this in my new role as NYC Chair. To introduce myself a little, I’m a Rover with Mahogany Rover Crew in South West Victoria, as well as an Assistant Scout Leader in 1st Mount Waverley in suburban Melbourne. I’m currently studying Commerce and Civil Engineering at Monash University, which combined with my Scouting and social commitments keeps me very busy!

2010 has so far been a busy and productive time for the National Youth Council. Back in May, we held our first conference for the year at Woodhouse Activity Centre in the hills of Adelaide. Here our new members were inducted and the new NYC executive members were elected. (Click here for full article: NYC Discussions, National Youth Forum, Contact Details and more!)

Nathan Delaney
National Youth Council Chair
nyc.chair@scouts.com.au

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So it's July! Bring on the vuvuzelas...

You know, I was worried, at the beginning of the year, that I’d be writing these reports monthly. But suddenly half the year is gone, half of my term, and it’s nearly time for Ozmoot!!

My team is well into a productive year with a number of goals progressing steadily, most notably the Northern Territory Rover developments and the Rover Review.

The Rover Review has now officially started; we are calling it “Rovering towards 2020”. The team met on 4-6 June, and mapped out a bit more direction. We have a wonderful team working on this and I’m enthusiastic about the research the team will be collecting from not only current Rovers around the country, but from other members of Scouting, people who didn’t join Rovers, people who might join Rovers in the future, and members of the wider community.

If any of you have thoughts on the direction you’d like to see Rovering take in the next 10 years, and Rovers’ role within the Scouting community, I’d be very interested to hear them.

(Click here for the full article: NTerra, NYC, Ozmoot... and what's this about vuvuzelas?)

Daniel Smith
National Rover Council Chair
nrcchair@scouts.com.au
www.rovers.com.au

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Andrew Lock, Scouts Australia Ambassador:

A lifetime of adventure and friendship!

I have to admit that as a boy I was a bit of a loner. I was really hopeless at most sports except swimming and you don’t make a lot of friends when you’re pounding back and forth for 50 metres with your head under water! And then I joined Scouts. Wow, what a whole new world. Suddenly I was in a group of like minded kids where the focus was on working together to achieve our goals. And our goals were great outdoor adventures!

From group camps and Jamborees to multi day bushwalks, we developed our skills and learned from both our experiences and our mistakes. Soon we set our sights on bigger adventures and started abseiling, caving, canoeing (we built our own canoes) and cross country skiing. But although we aimed higher and higher in our challenges, we always designed and conducted those trips as a team and planned around the slowest or least experienced member. When one of our team was tired or intimidated by the challenge, the rest of the group would carry that person’s load or help them across the obstacle; whatever was needed to keep us together. It wasn’t a successful adventure if we didn’t finish as one, even if that meant stopping and going back. And the more adventurous the outing, the more fun it was to do it together.

The strength of our friendships grew as we faced our challenges as a team and helped each other through the hardships. By the time we finished Rovers, our group had skied the length of the Snowy mountains many times, bushwalked throughout Tasmania and NSW, caved throughout NSW, and canoed or rafted many of eastern Australia’s rivers. The adventures were fantastic but the friendships that developed from facing our challenges together were everlasting.

 

Andrew and his Scouting mates in 1979, and 30 years later in 2009.

Today, 30 years later, some of my closest friends are my old Scouting mates. And we still tell the same stupid jokes. Right now we’re planning our next cross country ski trip to the Snowies. I can’t wait to hit the snow and stride out on my skinny skis. But most of all, I can’t wait to do it with my old fellow Scouts. We don’t ski quite as quickly as we used to and we’ll probably stop for more rests, but we’ll do it together. Scouts are for life.

Andrew Lock
Adventurer & Scouts Australia National Ambassador
info@andrew-lock.com
www.andrew-lock.com

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2010 National Annual Report now available

The 50th Scouts Australia Annual Report to the Nation is now available for free download from the Scouts Australia website. It's a great read, providing a concise and interesting overview of the past year's activities from a national perspective.

The report looks fantastic too, largely thanks to the amazing photos submitted by Scouts Australia members during 2009-10. This year the design is based on Scouts Australia's new marketing tagline:

"Be Prepared... for new adventure!"

Want to know more about the exciting new marketing strategy? Read all about it on page 4 of the report!

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Scouts Australia Online... what's new?

The national website has a new 'National Projects and Partners' section at www.scouts.com.au/projects. This area is regularly updated with information on upcoming projects in which EVERYONE can get involved!

The 'Resources & Information for Members' area at www.scouts.com.au/resources has also been updated with heaps of new material. Find details on events and projects, competitions for both adults and young people, surveys and forums; links to Scouts Australia's social networks and the Scouts Australia Career Network; downloadable resources for Leaders including publications and uniform badge diagrams; info on the NYC, NRC and National Youth Forums; downloadable promo materials for Scout Groups; and heaps more! Make sure you check back regularly for updates.

Following a series of excellent recommendations from the 2009 National Youth Council, as well as the results of Scouts Australia's 2009 brand positioning research, the Section pages on the 'Join the Adventure' area of the national website have now been revamped. The main purpose of these pages is to market Scouting to prospective members, so please feel welcome to 'borrow' any of the text or pics for use on your own Scout Group website! Each Section page also features a photo gallery, thanks to all the amazing Scouting photographers out there. Soon we will also be adding more general info about major national events such as Jamborees, Ventures and Moots.

Scouts Australia is now on YouTube! View our videos at www.youtube.com/ScoutsAustralia. Latest additions include a 10-minute highlights reel from AJ2010, and Bear Grylls' visit to NT Scouts.

Feedback? Email Shanna Bignell, National Marketing Communications Officer, at nat.marcomms@scouts.com.au to let us know what you think!

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The Scouts Australia National Solar Panel Project

Scouts Australia needs your support to approach the Federal Government to request funding for the installation of solar panels on every Scout Hall in Australia!

Scouts Australia is a pioneer in environmental sustainability. The 100 Year Water Tank Project saw over 1200 water tanks installed at Scout Halls and campsites around Australia, resulting in estimated water savings of 110 million litres per year. By installing 1.5kW solar panels on our 1229 facilities, we can reduce power consumption by 2,240MW/h and carbon emissions by 1,990 tonnes CO2 annually.

If Scouts Australia receives funding for the project to go ahead, it will be the first National Scout Organisation in the world to have Scout Halls and campsites that are self-sufficient in both water and energy.

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Don't miss out on...

WORLD SCOUT DOLLAR DAY (01-8-10)

If every member of Scouts Australia donates just $1 by World Scout Day, we can raise over $66,000 which will help to run the Food For Life Scouting program in Africa. Food For Life is a sustainable solution to the issue of food security!

JOTA-JOTI (16-17 October 2010)

It's the biggest annual international Scouting event! Over half a million Scouts and Guides from around the world will take part in this year's Jamboree on the Air / Jamboree on the Internet. Will you be one of them?

MCHAPPY DAY (13 November 2010)

Scouts Australia is once again encouraging all its members to help seriously ill kids by helping to raise funds for Ronald McDonald House Charities on McHappy Day. Lend a hand at your local Macca's, or run your own fundraising event!

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Scouts in Action Week - First Aid

Scouts in Action Week - First Aid has been and gone, and what a tremendous success it was! Almost 33,000 participants registered from Scout Groups all around Australia, as well as some from New Zealand and the USA. That's a lot of people with newly-acquired first aid skills (not to mention theatre make-up skills... some of those staged injuries looked pretty genuine)!

A huge congratulations to John Parr, who almost single-handedly organised and coordinated this event, and to everyone that took part.

The Scouts in Action Week - First Aid website will remain active, and will continue to be updated with first aid resources and program ideas for Scout Groups. You can also view the winning entries in the photo contest.

Whilst on the topic of First Aid...

A recall has been issued on Survival Saline solution (15ml) supplied in 'Leisure Small/Medium/Large' St John First Aid Kits purchased during September to December 2009.

“Saline solution should be clear and colourless. The contaminated batch may be discoloured or there may be signs of foreign matter (floaties) in it,” John Parr said.

“However, this is a timely reminder to everyone to check the use-by dates on the items in their first aid kits, no matter when they bought them. Any items that are out of date should be replaced.”

To see the full recall notice and for more information, visit the Therapeutic Goods Administration website at: www.tga.gov.au/recalls/2010/survival.htm.

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Contact Us Scouts Australia Level 1 Scouts Australia House 8 Help Street Chatswood NSW 2067 Phone: 02 9413 1133 Fax: 02 9413 1177 Email: nat.marcomms@scouts.com.au

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