S COU T IN G PR OFIL E
Regional Communications Forum in Bhutan On the initiative of the Scouting’s Profile SubCommittee of the World Scout Committee, regional forums were organized in partnership with the regional offices and supported by the External Relations and Marketing team at the Central Office. Main objective of the forum was to support NSOs in establishing and implementing a communication strategy and, in this way, contribute to the growth of the Movement. The regional forum was a follow-up from those already held between 2006 and 2008. In 2010, the
Regional Communication Forum took place in all six Scouting regions in four working languages: Interamerica (English) in Suriname; Africa (English) in Swaziland; Eurasia (English) in Ukraine; Interamerica (Spanish) in Argentina; Africa (French) in Cote d’Ivoire; Asia-Pacific (English) in Bhutan; Arab (English) in Kuwait; and Europe in Greece. Bhutan hosted the sixth series of Regional Communication Forums within world Scouting in September 2010. Over 25 participants from 13 NSOs together with 17 local participants from various districts of the country attended the forum in a pine-clad resort in Thimpu. At the opening ceremony, Chief Commissioner Chencho Dorji said that the forum was timely for Bhutan and very important for Scouts to have a communications system in place.
Strengthening communications and adopting innovative leadership The Asia-Pacific Regional Workshop on Innovative Leadership and Effective Communication, hosted by Sri Lanka Scout Association, was held in November 2011 at the Galadari Hotel in Colombo. The Chief Guest was Hon. Naveen Dissanayake MP, Minister of the Public Management Reforms was a Scout who described the Scout Movement as strong. He said, “We should be able to communicate effectively when the normal communication machinery is broken down. Differences of opinion exist in all organizations but people need to come together and possess a group mentality. If differences exist where you cannot be part of, then you should leave the group.” On the other hand, Regional Director Mr. Abdullah Rasheed said that NSOs in the region are facing
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APR Triennial Report 2009-2012
three main challenges: First, some NSOs are unable to retain young people in the movement; Second, how to maintain and retain volunteers; and lastly, not being able to seek greater partnerships with external organizations. Seeing the situation, NSOs needed to find innovative ways to meet these challenges.