EUROFAX 86
November 1999 Home

"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."

Peace Sailors evaluate the Peace Cruise

Now that the sun has set over the Peace Cruise for the last time, and the Peace Sailors have returned home, it is time to evaluate the project and to look to the future. The training co-ordinators met members of the Partners' Committee in Brussels from 16-17 October and the whole training team came together in Geneva from 29-30 October to identify how to translate the experiences of the Peace Cruise into future projects. The 15 trainers from all over Europe and the Mediterranean discussed different aspects of the Peace Cruise with Jacques Moreillon and with institutional partners from the European Union and the European Youth Forum.

As Tarek Fayed, Youth Programme Director, Arab Scout Region, explained: "We live in a culture of war, but now we have proved that in practice, it is possible to create an atmosphere of cooperation". The Peace Sailors said that the experience had changed each one of them and that they were now ready to work actively towards peace upon their return home.

Proposals for future work include the development of the web site www.peacecruise.org to help the Peace Sailors keep in touch with each other and keep up the momentum of their experience. As one of them said: "Let's keep the excitement of sleeping on deck, under the stars, during this new week".

New European Scout Voluntary Programme

For many years, young people from different parts of the world have benefited from the chance to work as a volunteer at Scout and Guide sites in Europe. For the year 2000, the new European Scout Voluntary Programme offers any young man or woman aged between 18 and 30 who is a member of a WOSM member organisation the chance to come and work as a volunteer at one of 25 sites in 10 European countries. The young people will develop and learn leadership skills and intercultural learning during at least 4 weeks at one of the sites. They will also be able to apply to receive support towards their travel costs from the Fund for European Scouting.

The sites involved have to offer certain minimum standards to their volunteers and have responsibilities to fulfil during the period, which must be for at least 4 weeks between 1 May and 30 September.

Copies of the new booklet will be sent to every association in the next ScoutPak and directly to those who have ordered them in advance. Further copies and more information can be obtained from John Moffat, Kandersteg International Scout Centre: tel. +41 33 675 82 82, fax +41 33 675 82 89, email director@kandersteg.scout.org.

New EuroSteps for 2000

In 2000, there will be 61 EuroSteps in 22 countries, offering opportunities for young people aged 16-22 to take part in projects relating to the Passport for Europe with young people from other countries. We are especially happy to include two exciting Rover projects from the Arab Scout Region: the Sinai Rover Gathering in Egypt and the Desert Safari in Libya.

The EuroSteps booklets go to the printers' next week. If you haven't yet ordered copies for your local groups (in English, French or German), please do so immediately from ESO-Geneva. A web version of the booklet will be made this month. You will be able to download the whole booklet, or only the projects in the countries of your choice, from www.scout.org/europe. Please distribute this month's special EuroSteps 2000 supplement to local groups in your country and publish it in your national Scout magazines and newsletters.

Poland hosts 6th European Scout and Guide Centre Managers' Conference

From 13-17 October, 73 participants representing 42 Scout and Guide centres in 16 different countries met at the National Training Centre of ZHP "Perkoz" in Poland for this successful and enjoyable event. Participants took part in plenary sessions on "marketing and PR", "European update" and "opportunities". On two evenings, the "my centre, my country" session provided a great opportunity to share experiences and ideas.

Participants could take part in three workshops run by other participants on topics ranging from "Europe For You !" to "interactive Nature" to "who are our customers?". There were also sessions on fundamental aspects of managing centres such as "staffing", "fund-raising" and "activity safety standards". The Perkoz staff ran some of their centre's activities and hosted a "Polish evening" with the help of local Scouts and Guides. This was a great end to a great conference. Thanks to all those who helped organise the event and make it such a success.

The conference report will be sent in the next EuroPak. Any centre or association interested in hosting the next conference in October 2001 can contact John Moffat in Kandersteg for information.

Input for the Mission of Scouting Symposium

Don't forget to visit our web site to give your input for the Mission of Scouting Symposium. The European Scout Committee would like to receive ideas from national associations on how to make the best use of WOSM's mission statement at European level, as well as at national and local level.

A reminder that the symposium will be held in Slovenia from 21-23 January and that the invitation can be found in October's EuroPak. This event will ensure follow-up in Europe of decisions taken by the World Scout Conference, particularly relating to the Mission of Scouting and the sharing of responsibilities between men and women at all levels within WOSM. There will also be an opportunity to identify ways of strengthening partnership and developing Scouting especially in the Balkan area.

Survey on Progressive Schemes

The youth programme working group is doing a survey on progressive schemes developed by national associations in Europe. It would like to identify different ways of motivating young people to make progress and is collecting examples of case studies and materials on progressive schemes. Please fill in the questionnaire in the next Europak and return it to Jacqueline Collier at the European Scout Office.

Friends of Scouting in Europe

From 8­10 October, the Friends of Scouting in Europe met in Györ, Hungary, for their first annual meeting. Besides cultural activities, they had the pleasure of meeting some very enthusiastic leaders of Slovensky Skauting and seeing first hand the difficult conditions under which they are working. The new Slovak handbook for Cub Scout leaders, which has been produced with the support of the Hall Foundation, was presented with evident pride.

This meeting gave the participants a clearer picture of the needs for financial support of the newer associations in Europe. Everybody is looking forward to the next meeting, which will take place next autumn in a central or eastern European country. If you would like to become a member or receive more information on the Friends of Scouting in Europe, please contact the European Scout Office (e-mail: cnoser@euro.scout.org).

News from the Informal Networks

The networks met in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 22-24 October and each welcomed more than 20 participants from approximately 10 countries. The North-South Network had external inputs on development education and project planning and discussed the implementation of the Marrakech Charter. The Overture Network gained an insight into the situation faced by minorities in Denmark from its guest speaker and members of newly-established Muslim Scout groups. It examined ways of using video to improve Scouting's image and tested some intercultural learning tools. Better use could be made of the network as a platform to strengthen bilateral contacts at all levels between associations.

The next network meetings will be held near Lisbon in Portugal, hosted by the Associação dos Escoteiros de Portugal. The Overtures Network will meet from 16-19 March and the North-Scout Network from 17-19. For more information, contact Nuño Pintão, international commissioner: nunopintao@netc.pt

Italy welcomes our representatives

The annual meeting of Scouts and Guides who represent our Movements in Europe's national youth councils and in the European Youth Forum took place in Rivalba, near Turin, from 21-24 October. The 30 participants exchanged their experiences and developed their skills and knowledge of youth policy issues. A series of "Frequently Asked Questions" tackled issues such as lobbying, European funding, the European institutions and oral presentations. Later sessions discussed how active involvement in a national youth council helps Scouting and Guiding.

If your association is not active in your national youth council, or if your representatives need support in their role, then why not encourage them to join the network. A report will soon be available on this meeting, which will be full of ideas and conclusions from the discussions. The network meets every year, communicating by e-mail in between.

Turkey to host seminar on "Challenging programmes for young people over 16"

This will be an opportunity to bring together members of national and regional teams responsible for developing programmes for Rovers, Venture Scouts or Rangers, as well as managers of EuroSteps and participants in the Europe For You ! programme. The seminar will take place in Olympus, Turkey, from 20-26 May 2000. It will encourage national Scout and Guide associations to share their ideas and experiences and identify ways of improving programmes for young people over 16.

The seminar programme will include modules on exploration and discovery, environment and community development, Europe For You! and intercultural learning, as well as hikes, an exhibition and project fair, workshops and work on projects for implementation in national associations. Participants will have the chance to develop a new concept for a joint European event for young people. It is for this reason that the call for associations to host Eurofolk in 2003 will not be made until after this seminar.

Participants should communicate well in English or French and be aged 18-30, reasonably fit and willing to take part in challenging activities. The seminar invitation will be distributed in the next EuroPak and made available on our regional web site.

ESO Staff Changes

The European Scout Offices welcomes Yarif Friedman from Israel as its new Finance Assistant, replacing Kristel Meunier who left during her probationary period.

Deadline Check-list

EuroSteps 2000 Overview

Here are summaries of all the EuroSteps for 2000. The projects are coded so that you can identify the main topic relating to the 6 key areas of the Passport for Europe: exploration and discovery "E&D"; quality of life "QL"; democracy "D"; culture "S"; solidarity "C"; career and social skills "C&S". Projects of special interest to Sea or Water Scouts have been marked "W".

Belgium

Croatia

Czech Republic

Denmark

Egypt

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Libya

Netherlands

Poland

Portugal

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

United Kingdom

Yugoslavia

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