Federazione Italiana dello Scautismo
| Federazione Italiana dello Scautismo | |||
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| Country | Italy | ||
| Membership | 184,241 | ||
| President | Chiara Sapigni | ||
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The Federazione Italiana dello Scautismo (FIS, Italian Scout Federation) is the national Scouting and Guiding federation of Italy. Scouting and Guiding in Italy started in 1910, the Boy Scouts were among the charter members of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1922, the Girl Guides joined the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 1948. The federation serves 100,640 Scouts (as of 2004) and 83,601 Guides (as of 2003).
History
The first attempts at Scouting in Italy go back to 1910. They are due in part to the meeting of English gentlemen who were directly influenced by the work and ideas of Robert Baden-Powell, with Italian educators already engaged in pedagogic activity within the new education of the beginning of the century.
The meeting between teacher Remo Molinari and Francis Vane, an old aide of Baden-Powell's and a former Scout Commissioner of London before Baden Powell ousted him from the Scout Association, led to the founding of the Ragazzi Exploratori Italiani on July 12, 1910, in Bagni di Lucca, in Tuscany. The press coverage and the presence of King Vittorio Emanuele III at San Rossore on November 6, 1910 gave much publicity to their initiative. This saw the creation of new troops under the name of Ragazzi Patrioti in Tuscany's cities of Lucca, Pisa and Florence. The interest of authorities and educators peaked in Genoa and Lombardy. The organization was also known with other names, including Boy Scouts della Pace (Peace Boy Scouts).
Another important meeting took place in 1910, between English doctor and educator James Richardson Spensley, who had met Baden-Powell, and a Catholic educator from Genoa, Mario Mazza, would bear more durable fruits for Italian Scouting.
Mazza had founded, in Genoa in 1905, a movement of active education "Juventus Juvat" splintered in groups of boys known as "Gioiose". Mazza understood that the principles and methods of his organization would better work out within the Scouting Movement, as he knew it from meeting Spensley and attending a conference given by Sir Vane. This would later expand into all of Liquria and also in Florence and Naples and by the way of absorbing some of the troops left over from Vane's experience. On New Year's Day 1911, the REI sent their wishes to Baden-Powell and all their Boy Scout brothers of Great Britain.
Vane was busy with all these initiatives which he qualified as an Italian Section of the British Boy Scouts, which he had founded in England when he was expelled from the Scout Association, until 1914 when he was called to war. By that time, however, REI had disbanded, and in 1912 another organization was born, called CNGEI.
For this reason, the official birthdate of Scouting in Italy is often listed as 1912. Italy was a founding member of the World Organization (WOSM) in 1922. Italy was readmitted to WOSM in 1946.
Members
The members of the federation are
- File:Agesci.png Associazione Guide e Scout Cattolici Italiani (AGESCI, Italian Catholic Guide and Scout Association, coed)
- File:CNGEI logo.png Corpo Nazionale Giovani Esploratori ed Esploratrici Italiani (CNGEI, National Boy and Girl Scout Organisation, interreligious, coed)
Affiliated to AGESCI are two minority Scouting organizations:
- the Südtiroler Pfadfinderschaft is the Catholic Scout association of the German-speaking minority in South Tyrol
- the Slovenske Zamejske Skavtske Organizacije serves the Slovenians living in Friuli-Venezia Giulia.
See also
External links
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