Scouts of Syria

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Membership badge of the Boy Scouts de Syrie
Postage stamp of Syrian Scouting during the period it was the United Arab Republic

Syria is one of 35 countries where Scouting exists but where there is no National Scout Organization which is presently a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM).

Although Syria is not at present a WOSM recognized nation, the Arab Scout Region points to Syria as among the first founders of the Scout Movement in the Region; in fact the original headquarters of the Region was in Damascus. Scouting was founded in Syria in 1913, during the Ottoman Empire, and originally became a member of WOSM in 1924.

Ali al-Dandachi served on the World Scout Committee of the World Organization of the Scout Movement from 1951 until 1957. In 1969, Mr. Dandachi was awarded the Bronze Wolf, the only distinction of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, awarded by the World Scout Committee for exceptional services to world Scouting. In 1980, Ibrahim Zakaria was also awarded the Bronze Wolf.

Syrian Scouts have a national training center at Zabadani, where the first Arab Jamboree was held in 1954. In 1959, during the period when the Boy Scouts de Syrie (Arabic: كشافة سورية) was recognized as a unified Scout federation with Egypt, the Levantine nation had 17,900 Scouts, and in 1990 membership stood at 11,073.

The Boy Scouts de Syrie were removed from WOSM-membership in November, 1999 due to non-payment of membership fees. Syria still participates in Scouting activities with Arab Region neighbors while seeking return of WOSM status.

Service projects include planting trees, clean up campaigns, development projects, fire fighting and literacy campaigns.

Although Syria does have a Guiding organization, work towards World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts membership recognition remains unclear.

The Scout Motto is Kun Musta'idan or كن مستعدين, translating as "Be Prepared" in Arabic, but the local variant is Wa-a-iddoo. The noun for a single Scout is Kashaf or كشاف in Arabic.

See also

References

  • Facts on World Scouting, Boy Scouts International Bureau, Ottawa, Canada, 1961
  • World Organization of the Scout Movement (1990), Scouting 'Round the World. 1990 edition. ISBN 2-88052-001-0

External links


Members of the Arab Scout Region

Full members: Algeria | Bahrain | Egypt | Jordan | Kuwait | Lebanon | Libya | Mauritania | Morocco | Oman | Palestine | Qatar | Saudi Arabia | Sudan | Tunisia | United Arab Emirates | Yemen
Potential members: Iran | Iraq | Syria