European Scout Region (World Organization of the Scout Movement): Difference between revisions

| headquarters = [[Geneva, Switzerland]]

The '''European Scout Region''' is the divisional office of the World Scout Bureau of the [[World Organization of the Scout Movement]], headquartered in [[Geneva, Switzerland]], with two regional offices, in [[Brussels, Belgium]], which focuses more on external relations and partnerships; and in [[Belgrade, Serbia]], to support the national Scout associations in [[Southeast Europe]].  

The European Scout Region comprises 40 National Scout Organizations that are members of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, and services [[Scouting]] in [[Western Europe|Western]] and [[Central Europe]], excluding the former Soviet Republics of [[Armenia]], [[Azerbaijan]], Belarus, [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], Moldova, [[Russia]], and Ukraine, but inclusive of Cyprus (technically not part of [[Europe]]) and [[Turkey]] (which spans across two continents), for cultural reasons, and [[Israel]] for political ones.

All the formerly Communist states of [[Central Europe|Central]] and [[Eastern Europe]] and the Soviet Union have developed or are developing Scouting in the wake of the renaissance in the region. These include [[Albania]], Bulgaria, [[East Germany]], Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the successor states to [[Czechoslovakia]], Yugoslavia and the [[Baltic countries|Baltic nations]] independent of the former Soviet Union. Of these, Poland, the [[Czech Republic]] and Hungary have been most successful in regrowing their Scout movements and are very well-developed, thanks in part to the existence of [[Scouts-in-Exile]] movements for the diaspora of each nation.

The needs of Scout youth in unusual situations has created some interesting permutations, answerable directly to the [[World Scout Bureau]]. For years there was an active [[Boy Scouts of the United Nations]] in [[Geneva]], as well as 84 Scouts of the [[European Coal and Steel Community]], an early precursor to the [[European Union]].

Full members status is held to the [[European Youth Forum]] (YFJ) which operates within the [[Council of Europe]] and [[European Union]] areas and works closely with both these bodies.

The ''European Scout Jamboree 2005'' (EuroJam 2005) was held in the summer 2005 and lasted for 12 days between July 29 and August 10, in Hylands Park, Chelmsford, [[Essex]], near [[Gilwell Park]], an important campsite and training center for [[Scout Leader]]s. About 10,000 Scouts from 40 countries were involved; it was considered the biggest Scout gathering in Europe for over 10 years and 50 years in the United Kingdom.{{Fact|date=March 2008}} It was also a [[Dry Run (testing)|dry run]] allowing the organization team of the [[21st World Scout Jamboree]] to test a number of aspects of the upcoming event, e.g. traffic issues, necessary infrastructures and logistics.

* Roverway 2006 in [[Florence]], Italy; motto: "Dare to share"

Andorra is one of only five of the world's independent countries that do not have Scouting. The population is sufficiently large to sustain Scouting, but the Scout association of the tiny enclave in the [[Pyrenees]] has been dormant since the 1980s and at present there is no Scouting movement.

As far as is known, there has never been a Scouting organization in [[Vatican City]].{{fact|date=December 2009}}