International Program
Better World Scouting
Earth Tribe
Saving our planet together, one challenge at a time. Taking the lead to preserve, protect and heal nature, begins together under one Earth Tribe. Click on the logo above for further details.
Scouts of the World Award
The Scouts of the World (SWA) Award provides the opportunity for Venturer Scouts and Rover Scouts to “Create a Better World” by facing the challenges of the future as identified by the Sustainable Development Goals. SWA focuses on three main challenges for the future:
- Peace, security and disarmament
- Development and poverty eradication
- Protecting our common environment
The Scouts of the World Award is granted to individuals who successfully complete:
- SWA Discovery: An adventure lasting four days focussed on a SWA theme, comprising three steps: 1) Exploring 2) Responding 3) Taking Action.
- SWA Voluntary Service: A two-week voluntary service contributing to solving a problem related to the SDGs, ideally the issue focussed on during the discovery.
- Report on their SWA experience.
The SWA can be completed in partnership with a section of the Baden-Powell Scout Award or the World Scout Environment Badge as long as appropriate approvals for each of the awards have been received. The expanded guidelines for the SWA and the SWA Passport are available below.
Messengers of Peace
Messengers of Peace is a global initiative, launched by the World Organization of the Scouting Movement (WOSM), based on the WOSM slogan of “Creating a Better World”. Envisioned in 2010 by His Majesty King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, its aim is to create a better world globally by acting locally.
Through the Messengers of Peace Online Platform, it aims to connect people from every National Scouting Organization (NSO) through the sharing of peace projects.
Scouts do good turns and help others because it is part of the Scout Promise and Law. It is also because it is nice to help others and to make a difference, even if it is only a small action.
Whenever we are kind to people, we send a message of love and peace, making a difference to the recipients and also ourselves. It just feels good.
The requirements:
- Learn about the Messengers of Peace initiative in a Scout meeting or online
- Participate in a community involvement action organised together with your Patrol
- Share your actions online with www.scout.org
A scarf and uniform badge can be earned upon successful application.
Other Badges
- Dialogue for Peace
- Patrimonito
- HeForShe
Click on the badges for further details.
Pen-Pals – On Hold in 2024
If you are a Joey Scout, Cub Scout or Scout, have you thought about having an International Pen-Pal?
Our program encourages international friendship by offering a means of communicating with other Scouts abroad with the protection of knowing that the paired contacts are verified members of another National Scout Organization.
As well as exchanging emails, international Pen-Pals can talk to each other on Skype and share photos and videos using any number of online social networking tools.
If you see someone on Facebook requesting a Pen-Pal, please encourage them to register.
STEM
JOTA/JOTI Jamboree On The Air (JOTA) and Jamboree On The Internet (JOTI) is an annual virtual global camp in which around 500,000 Scouts and Guides from all over the world make contact with each other by means of amateur radio and the internet. Through JOTA/JOTI every member of Scouts Australia can make friends, exchange stories, experience different cultures and have fun as part of the largest activity in World Scouting. JOTA/JOTI also gives Scouting members an awareness that they belong to a worldwide Movement. These resources can also be used all year around as part of the youth program. This event is held around the world on the third weekend in October each year. Summits On The Air (SOTA) Summits On The Air (SOTA) is an amateur radio operating award program with the aim to encourage authorised amateur radio operators to operate temporarily from mountainous locations. SOTA combines hiking and mountain climbing with operating an amateur radio station from the summits of hills and mountains. Those who set up a station on a summit (usually for a few minutes to a few hours) are known as activators, and those who contact (“work”) activators on summits are known as chasers. Points are awarded to the activator for operating from (“activating”) a summit, and to each of the chasers contacting (“working”) the activator. The higher the mountain is, the more points the activator and each chaser receive. The rules include that “the method of final access to the Summit must be non-motorised” and “all equipment must be operated from a portable power source (batteries, solar cells, etc)”. Operation is expressly forbidden using permanently installed power sources or fossil-fuel generators of any kind. This usually forces the activators to minimise the total weight of their equipment while still bringing adequate antennas and electrical power (usually batteries) to the summits.