Scouting and Guiding in Sweden
Scouting and Guiding in Sweden is represented by several national organizations; five of them form the Svenska Scoutrådet (The Swedish Guide and Scout Council, SSR) which is the national member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts and of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.
Scouting in Sweden was founded in 1910 by Ebbe Liberath. Guiding followed in 1910. The Swedish Boy Scouts were among the charter members of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1922. The Girl Guides were among the founders of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 1928.
Swedish Scouting has close relations to the Swedish Royal Family: King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is the most prominent member of the Svenska Scoutrådet, and his children are members of the movement as well.
The Swedish Scout motto is: "Var redo!" - "Alltid redo!" (Be Prepared! - Always prepared!)
Svenska Scoutrådet
The Svenska Scoutrådet is formed by five associations, one of them with a number of affiliates:
- Svenska Scoutförbundet (The Swedish Guide and Scout Association, SSF) is Sweden's largest Scouting organization with 63,500 members. The approach of the Scouting section is interreligious.
- Svenska Missionskyrkans Ungdom Scout (SMU), commonly known as "SMU Scout" is the Guide and Scout organization of the Mission Covenant Youth of Sweden and is Sweden's second biggest Scouting organization with 18,500 members. Includes since 2008 two former member organizations of KFUK-KFUMs Scoutförbund:
- Baptistscouter (Scout Association of the Baptist Union of Sweden) with 3,000 members
- Metodistscouter (Scout Association of the United Methodist Church) with 140 members.
- KFUK-KFUMs Scoutförbund (The Swedish YMCA-YWCA Guide and Scout Association) is Sweden's third biggest Scouting association with 12,500 members. Affiliated are[1]
- EFS-Scouter (Scout Association of the Evangeliska fosterlandsstiftelsen) with 3,000 members
- Svenska Frälsningsarméns Scouter (Swedish Salvation Army's Scouts) with 140 members
- Scout groups within the Swedish Church
- Adventistscouter (Seventh-day Adventist's Scouts) with 250 members; also affiliated to Pathfinders
- Blåbandsscouter (Scouts of the Blue-Ribbon-Movement—a temperance movement founded by Francis Murphy) with 60 members.
- Nykterhetsrörelsens Scoutförbund (The Temperance Guide and Scout Association, NSF) is a Scouting organization in Sweden with 5,000 members.
- Frälsningsarméns Scoutförbund, (The Salvation Army Guide and Scout Association, FA Scout) is a Scouting association in Sweden with 1,400 members. On January 1, 2010 Fa Scout joined SSF.
Muslim Scout groups are part of the KFUK-KFUMs Scoutförbund.
Today the Svenska Scoutrådet has more than 100,000 members of both sexes. The majority of the country's Scout sections are co-educational; only a few remains Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts only.
Age groups
The Swedish Guide and Scout Council decided that the five associations in SSR should have a standard age classification. New age groups as follow (starting in October 2009)
| Name | Official English translation | Age |
|---|---|---|
| Spårarscout | Tracker Scout | 8 - 9 |
| Upptäckarscout | Discoverer Scout | 10 - 11(12) |
| Äventyrarscout | Adventurer Scout | 12(13) - 14(15) |
| Utmanarscout | Challenger Scout | (15)16 - 18 |
| Roverscout | Rover Scout | 18 - 25 |
| N/A | N/A | 25+ |
Independent associations
These organisations are not members of WAGGGS or WOSM.
Independent associations include
- Royal Rangers with 1,500 members[2]
- UV-Scout (Scout Association of the Svenska Alliansmissionen) with 6,000 members[3]
- EFK-Scout (also: Nybyggarscout; Scout Association of the Evangeliska Frikyrkan)
Old Scouts
- St Georgs Scoutgillen i Sverige, member of the International Scout and Guide Fellowship[4]
International Scout units in Sweden
- Armenian Scouting, served by Homenetmen[5]
- Girlguiding UK, served by British Guides in Foreign Countries[6]
- Girl Scouts of the USA, served by USAGSO headquarters[7]
- Hungarian Scouting, served by Külföldi Magyar Cserkészszövetség[8]
- Polish Scouting and Guiding, served by ZHP pgK (ZHP aboard)[9] and NHHP "LS-Kaszuby"[10]
References
- ↑ "Sektioner". KFUK-KFUMs scoutförbund. Archived from the original on January 11, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-17.
- ↑ "Detta är Royal Rangers". Svenska Royal Rangers. Retrieved 2007-09-17.
- ↑ "UV-scout". Svenska Alliansmissionens Ungdom. Archived from the original on 2007-10-09. Retrieved 2007-09-17.
- ↑ "S:t Georgs Scoutgillen i Sverige" (in Swedish). St Georgs Scoutgillen i Sverige. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
- ↑ "Scout" (in Swedish). Homenetmen Sweden. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
- ↑ "Girlguiding BGIFC Units (Birthday List)". British Guides in Foreign Countries. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
- ↑ "Facts about USA Girl Guides Overseas" (PDF). Girl Scouts of the USA. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
- ↑ "Our Troops, by Region and City" (in English and Hungarian). KMCSSZ. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
- ↑ "Okręgi na Świecie" (in Polish). ZHP pgK. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
- ↑ "Welcome-välkommen-witamy" (in Polish, Swedish, and English). LS-KASZUBY. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
External links
- Svenska Scoutförbundet official website (Swedish)
- Svenska Missionskyrkans Ungdom Scout official website (Swedish)
- KFUK-KFUMs Scoutförbund official website (Swedish)
- Nykterhetsrörelsens Scoutförbund official website (Swedish)
- Frälsningsarméns Scoutförbund official website (Swedish)
- Svenska Scoutrådet official website (Swedish)
- English information on SSR
