| EUROFAX 77 | |
| February 1999 | |
"Eurofax is the monthly newsletter of the European Scout Region. It is produced by the European Scout Office and is distributed to all member associations in the European Region, and others. Reproduction of articles without alteration is encouraged but Eurofax should be acknowledged as the source of the information."
The Organization of Bulgarian Scouts (OBS) is now a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. Scouting began in Bulgaria in 1911 and was first recognised by WOSM in 1923. OBS currently has a membership of 2,000 members, both girls and boys, in 57 Scout groups in the 20 largest cities and towns in the country. Its national headquarters is in Sofia. You can contact the association by email: obs@techno-link.com.
The Colombian Scout Association is requesting urgent assistance from other Scout associations in the world to enable them to provide shelter to people affected by the recent earthquake in their country. The following message (extracts) has been received by the World Scout Bureau:
"Dear friends and brother and sister Scouts,
You know the terrible situation caused by the earthquake in the coffee growing
zone of Colombia. More than 200,000 people were left homeless and this is the
most immediate problem that has to be coped with - temporary shelters for the
homeless - President Pastrana has asked the Colombian Scout Association to lead
an effort to build temporary campsites to this effect. The National Scout Council
and the Chief Scout of the Colombian Scout Association are hereby making a call
to all Scouts in America and the world to help alleviate the temporary housing
needs of these families by means of donating money to enable us to buy tents.
It has been estimated that there is a need for at least 10,000 to 14,000 tents
for two to six people each."
Fabia Castaneda Lopez, National Chief Scout and Alejandro Echavarria, Member, National Scout Council
If you wish to make a donation, please contact the Colombian Scout Association directly. Fax +57.1/287 23 56 Email: aechavarr@intic.net
"Dear Scouts of the World,
Due to the minefields surrounding our town, we are not able to go where we want.
We hope that you will never find yourselves in such a situation."
From Kupa Scout Group in Petrinja, Croatia
How can Scouting remain indifferent to a scourge whose victims are often children? How can we remain blind to one of the most shocking scandals of our modern world which affects young people?
Each month some 2,000 people, mainly civilians, are killed or maimed by mine explosions. Today, several million mines are buried in the ground in over 70 countries. Over the past 20 years, mines have been used increasingly to terrorise and force civilian populations to flee. They cause atrocious mutilation. They break up families and destroy lives.
The European Scout Conference requested that the World Scout Committee, the European Scout Committee and national Scout associations take prompt action to lobby the competent authorities to impose a total ban on the manufacture, export, stockage, transport, trade and use of all types of anti-personnel mines, and to use relevant educational material to raise awareness of this problem.
The European Scout Region, in partnership with the Anti-Personnel Mines Team of the Geneva branch of the Swiss Scout Movement and with the technical support of Handicap International, has published a kit called Mines. The kit presents an awareness game for young people aged 8-16. It was developed by a group of Rovers in Geneva who were inspired to pass on their convictions to other young people using one of the fundamental elements of the Scout Method - learning by doing. We hope that other Scout leaders will also run this game with young people in their country. They will thus be able, in a Scouting way, to help turn back this scourge. The kit will soon be distributed via Scoutpak and made available on our web site. We are grateful to the European Commission, the Youth Fund of the Canton of Geneva and the Volkart Vision Foundation for their support in this project.
Two new issues of the second series of Information Exchange (N° 15 and N° 16) have been produced and distributed via Scoutpak in December and January. They can also be downloaded from the European web site.
We hope that you have already visited our new web pages which are available on www.scout.org/europe. The purpose of the site is to facilitate communication within the European Region. One of the most significant improvements is the enhanced possibility to download documents. We apologise that the new pages are only available in English at the moment, but the translations into French should be completed by the end of February.
There are four main sections: The European Scout Plan 1999-2007; Newsletters and Reports; What is the European Scout Region and What is it Doing?; Links from the European Scout Region. Under The Scout Plan, you can find all the elements of the Plan with an update on the progress being made in each area.. Under The European Scout Region, you can find out about the services it provides to its members and see the European Scout Committee members, which responsibilities they have and how to contact them. You can, for example, obtain information on the Europe For You ! programme and European seminars, and download the EuroSteps 1999 database as well as invitations to events such as the Forum on Youth Programme and Adult Resources. Under Newsletters and Reports you can download Eurofax, Information Exchange and resource packs on various topics. Under Links, you can link to national Scout associations, other Scout Regions and partner organisations, such as the Council of Europe, Euro<26, Lonely Planet, UNICEF, UNESCO, WAGGGS and WWF.
We regular analyse the use of the site. Here are a few statistics:
Pay a visit to /www.scout.org/europe and let us know your suggestions for improvement.
The North-South and Overture Networks will meet from 19-21 March in Courrière, Belgium. Both networks will focus on intercultural training for adults and will exchange ideas, experiences and materials. For further information, please contact the host association: Fédération des Scouts Catholiques de Belgique. Fax +32 2 511 46 87.
1999 is the year of the Peace Cruise. 96 youth participants selected through National Scout Organisations and member organisations of the European Youth Forum and the Mediterranean Youth Forum will take part in four peace seminars aboard the Polish Scouts' (ZHP) ship the "Black Knight" from 8 August and 21 September.
The selection process for trainers and participants is already under way. Look out for the call for participants at the beginning of February (deadline for applications 23 April). The call for trainers, which was distributed in December, contains important information on how to apply to join the Peace Cruise training team (deadline for applications 5 March). Both of these documents are available from the European Scout Office, and further information on the Peace Cruise in general can be obtained from Anna Keep or Richard Amalvy, Bureau Européen du Scoutisme, Avenue de la Porte de Hal 39, B-1060 Brussels. Tel +32 2 534 33 15. Email: peace.cruise@euro.scout.org.
The 7th World Scout Youth Forum will take place in Balgowan, South Africa, from 19 - 22 July 1999 and the 35th World Scout Conference in Durban, South Africa from 26 - 30 July 1999. For each event there is a kit for National Scout Organizations, and multiple copies of kits for individuals to register. These kits, along with Conference Document N° 5 called "Developing a Mission Statement for Scouting" were sent in January's Scoutpak.
The World Conference kit for National Scout Organizations contains an information sheet, two forms for the appointment of official delegates and authorized observers, information on the Conference fee for your country, the Conference logo sheet, information on post Conference tours, the accompanying persons' programme leaflet and a souvenirs leaflet with order form.
If your association has not received these kits, please request them from the World Scout Bureau.
Please send your applications by fax, mail or e-mail to the European Scout Office as soon as possible.
Please send all applications to world events directly to the World Scout Bureau.
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