Scouts of the World Award
The Scouts of the World Award is the only youth award by the World Organisation of Scout Movement (WOSM). It is open to Scout and non-Scout members between 17 and 26 years of age in Singapore. It is an educational programme that helps participants understand and act on global issues, so that they may bring about social change at local or international level, in order to create a more open, just and peaceful society.
The programmme focuses on three fields for actions:
Development – change, growth, or improvement over a period of time.
Health, education, respect for human rights, and the sustainable use of natural resources are as important as economic growth when it comes to development matters.
Peace – a situation in which there is no war between countries or groups.
As world citizens, Scouts can build a culture of peace, to fight against prejudices and racism, to mediate tense situations and resolve conflict, to promote intercultural understanding, and to create dialogue in their communities and abroad.
Environment – the natural world, including land, water, air, plants, and animals especially considered as something that is affected by human activity.
Effects of climate change such as rising temperatures, changes in precipitation patterns, rising sea levels, and more frequent weather-related disasters are evident. In order to address climate change, it requires unprecedented global cooperation across borders.
The Scouts of the World Award consists of two phases. They are
1. Scouts of the World Discovery (SW Discovery)
2. Scouts of the World Voluntary Service (SW Voluntary Service)
Participants have to complete both phases to attain the Scouts of the World Award. They will then join the Scouts of the World Award Network whereby they will be able to share their experience with Scouts all over the world.
Background
In September 2000, world leaders came together at the UN Headquarters in New York to adopt the United Nations Millennium Declaration. This declaration consisted of eight targets, known as the millennium development goals (MDGs), which world leaders agreed to commit and work together to reduce extreme poverty by 2015.
In 2004, WOSM signed an agreement with the UN to contribute actively to the MDG campaign. The Scouts of the World Award was thus launched to encourage Scouts and non-Scouts to adopt world citizenship. The award provides participants the learning experience to understand global issues and run a voluntary service, long-term development project to act on such issues.
The UN sustainable development goals (SDGs) were introduced in 2015 in succession to the MDGs. Moving forward, the Scouts of World Award will continue to address the SDGs and other local and international developmental goals in the implementation of the award.
Aims of SWA
Encourage stronger involvement of youths in the development of society by giving them the attitudes, skills, knowledge, and opportunities to face today’s global challenges.
Recognise and promote Scouts of the World voluntary service project in the areas of development, peace, and the environment. These take the form of long-term development projects (with a long-term vision) run individually or by a team.
Develop more educational opportunities for youths to become world citizens. These initiatives will open up new areas of action and provide genuine responsibility, through partnerships with other key players in society. They will reinforce community service and international cooperation.
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Your Journey to SWA
The Scout of the World Award is split into two phases,
1. Scouts of the World Discovery (SW Discovery)
2. Scouts of the World Voluntary Service (SW Voluntary Service)
Scout of the World Discovery
The SW Discovery is the first phase of SW Award. It provides participants the opportunity to explore and discover issues in their community. These issues can be in one or more areas: development and/or peace and/or the environment. After understanding the challenges, participants can respond to what they have discovered. They then research and see how it impacts them and the community. During the workshop, participants will acquire relevant skills to help them in the next phase of SW Award.
The SW Discovery is a full residential workshop which lasts for 3 days and 2 nights.
At the end of an SW Award Discovery, participants will:
– Become familiar with the stages of the SW Award Programme.
– Have understood the context of a local situation where a community is facing issues related to development, peace, and/or the environment.
– Develop a feeling of empathy and personal commitment towards these issues.
– Start to plan their SW Voluntary Service.
Scout of the Voluntary Service
After completing an SW Discovery, participants will have to plan for a voluntary service in order to contribute to solving a problem related to development, peace, or the environment. An SW Voluntary Service is a period of personal commitment to developing a long-term community project (80 hours minimum). This voluntary service should be developed in the area of development, peace, and/or the environment. It can be an individual project or a group project with other SW Discovery participants, to be carried out either locally or overseas. However, participants should bear in mind that the nature of their projects contributes to tackling a challenge faced globally.
At the end of an SW Award Voluntary Service, participants will:
– Transform their commitment into action moving towards active world citizenship
– Reinforce their project management skills as well as their knowledge of project dynamics
– Contribute to solving an issue related to development, peace, or the environment while increasing the awareness of the local community regarding this issue
– Create an opportunity for Scouting to reinforce its capacity as a social agent, as well as to develop its partnerships with other organisations and community leaders
Parallel Programmes with Scout of the World Award
Application & Submission
Scouts of the World Discovery
Application
Completion and submission of workshop application form as per instructions indicated in circular disseminated from The Singapore Scout Association.
Successful applicants will be informed and provided with further details of the workshop.
Completion
Successful applicants must attend in full the 3 days 2 nights residential workshop.
Scouts of the World Voluntary Service
Application
New or pre-existing external projects
– Submission of project proposal to [email protected]
– Email title: SWA Project Proposal – Title of Project (Name of applicant)
– Name of applicant and unit
– File size is to be in .pdf format and no more than 10MB
– Project proposal will be reviewed and applicant will be advised accordingly
Pre-existing association projects (Project Orion series)
– Completion and submission of project application form as per instructions indicated in circular disseminated from The Singapore Scout Association.
– Successful applicants will be informed and provided with further details of project.
Completion
Upon completion of project, applicant to email their report (within a month of date of completion) to [email protected] as follows:
– Email title: SWA Report – Title of Project (Name of applicant)
– Name of applicant and unit
– Report file size is to be in .pdf format and no more than 10MB
Reports will be evaluated and applicant will be updated subsequently.
