Interamerican Scout Committee

Interamerican Scout Committee

2023 Report

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The Member Organizations of the Interamerican Scout Region gathered in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, at the 28th Interamerican Scout Conference elected the 8 voting members and the 2 youth advisors for the Interamerican Scout Committee, period 2022-2025. To these 10 elected people the ISC also included the ex-officio members: Regional Treasurer, Chairperson of the Interamerican Scout Foundation and Regional Director.

These are the names of the people who make up the Interamerican Scout Committee for the period 2022-2025:

Rubem Perlingeiro – Chairperson
Arturo León y Vélez – First Vice Chairperson
Meghan Pierson – Second Vice Chairperson
Pablo Nieto – Member
José Luis Vargas – Member
Lyda Pavón – Member
Raúl Brusco – Member
Mark Chalouhi – Member
Matheus Valois – Youth Advisor
Miguel Calle – Youth Advisor
Ajey Chandra – Regional Treasurer
Steve Kent – Chairperson of the Interamerican Scout Foundation
Raúl Sánchez – Regional Director

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Induction Training

The Interamerican Scout Committee met in person in Panama City to carry out its induction training. Over two days of intense work, the members of the Interamerican Scout Committee 2022-2025 learned what it means to be a member of the Regional Committee, what their obligations and responsibilities are, they developed their "Team Charter", identified the priorities to work on during the next triennium and met the professional team of the Regional Office.

In an atmosphere of great friendship, they joined together as a team, ready to face the challenges of the 2022-2025 triennium.

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First ordinary meeting

After the induction training, the Interamerican Scout Committee held its first ordinary meeting. The agenda included various topics such as the review of the Internal Regulations and the Terms of Reference of the Executive Committee. At this point some changes were agreed in both documents to allow better functioning and decision making. In addition, it was decided to create the Diversity and Inclusion and Environmental Sustainability working groups, which will follow up on the resolutions taken during the 28th Interamerican Scout Conference on these topics. The Committee members were assigned to these working groups, to the coordinating core of the regional networks and as contacts for the National Scout Organizations. Committee members who will serve as points of contact for Growth (Pablo Nieto), Strategy (Mark Chlouhi) and Safe from Harm (José Vargas) were also designated.

The Committee decided to hold its next meeting virtually in the month of June.

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Second ordinary meeting

The second regular meeting was held virtually. The Committee met on three different days in the month of June to address the topics included on the agenda. In addition to receiving the reports from the Regional Director, the progress report on the Strategic Plan, the Financial Report and the Report from the Interamerican Scout Foundation, other points were included such as: Development of the World Scout Strategy and the Terms of Reference for the Working Groups and Committees.

Mark Chalouhi reported what happened at the global workshop for the development of the new World Scout Strategy. This workshop was held in Germany and brought together leaders from National Scout Organizations from around the world. From our Region, scout leaders from Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Haiti and Uruguay participated.

The terms of reference of the Diversity and Inclusion and Environmental Sustainability working groups, as well as the permanent Budget and Financial Development, Regional Decision and Recognition committees, were approved. It was decided to create a Governance Committee and the Candidates and Advocacy and Partnerships working groups. The New Contact System with the NSOs was approved. This system has allowed the members of the Committee to be in contact with the Chairpersons of the scout organizations in the Region and to follow up on their needs.

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Extraordinary meetings

The Interamerican Scout Committee held a couple of extraordinary meetings in virtual mode. The first of them aimed to review the budget proposal for the fiscal year 2023-2024. The Committee decided to give its endorsement to the proposal that was finally approved by the World Scout Committee.

The second meeting was to find out the result of the review carried out by a working group on the funds that the Interamerican Scout Foundation has contributed to the Interamerican Region. The Interamerican Scout Committee agreed to the accounting redistribution proposed by the working group. In addition, the names of the volunteers who join the working groups and committees were approved after the open call.

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Third ordinary meeting

The Interamerican Scout Committee met again in Panama City, at the headquarters of the Regional Office located in the City of Knowledge. From November 3 to 5, the Committee addressed an extensive agenda that included, among other topics, the report of the Regional Director, the progress of the 2022-2025 Regional Plan, the financial report and the report of the Interamerican Scout Foundation. Juan Reig, Jo Deman and Nika Gorogvska, members of the World Scout Committee, participated virtually to address the topics of Youth Engagement in global decision-making, Strategy for the Scout Movement and the Scout Brand evaluation process, respectively. Reports were received on what was done by the working groups, standing committees and contact points for the Safe from Harm and Growth topics.

There was also a visit from the Chairperson of Scouting Antiano, a member organization from Curaçao, and the Chairperson of the Organizing Committee of the 29th Interamerican Scout Conference to report on progress in preparation. Likewise, the Chairperson of the Scouts Association of Colombia and the National Scout Chief of the same member organization participated virtually to report on the progress in the preparation of the XI Interamerican Scout Summit.

During this meeting, David Berg, Chief Operating Officer(COO), was present, sharing news about the World Scout Strategy and the ongoing transformation of the World Scout Bureau, designed to adapt to current needs. He also announced the selection process for the new Regional Director, which resulted in the nomination of Diana Carrillo, whose appointment was approved by the Interamerican Scout Committee. She will assume the role of Regional Director, beginning January 15, 2024.

Throughout the meetings held during this first year of duty of the Interamerican Scout Committee 2022-2025, the following important data is available:

3 ordinary and 2 extraordinary meetings
73 agreements taken
5 working groups: Diversity and Inclusion, Environmental Sustainability, Evaluation of Youth Platforms, Candidates, Advocacy and Partnerships.
19 volunteers integrated into working groups and standing committees after an open call
Progress in the regional plan: 44%

Interamerican Scout Committee - 2023 Report