Circular No. IAR-C15-2023-EN:
Call for Youth Consultations 2023
Dear brothers and sisters in Scouting,
As previously announced, we are pleased to invite the National Scout Organizations to participate in the youth consultations aimed at gathering information from young people regarding their experience with the Youth Programme in their scout groups.
1. Background and Context
The 2021-2024 Plan of the World Organization of the Scout Movement establishes the following objectives for the strategic area of Youth Involvement:
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Strengthen the Scout Movement as a leading provider of non-formal education, equipping young people with skills to contribute to problem-solving in their local and global communities.
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Ensure that youth participation and involvement are structurally and effectively integrated into decision-making processes at all levels.
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Evaluate the effectiveness of the World Scout Policy on Youth Involvement and update it based on findings.
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Support the Regions and National Scout Organizations in developing and implementing youth involvement programs and youth leadership training that enhance the capacity of young people, both Scouts, and beneficiaries, to become active citizens.
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Ensure that all young people, regardless of gender, age, race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, socio-economic background, disabilities, sexual orientation, gender expression, or any other basis of discrimination, have equal opportunities to participate in decision-making within the Scout Movement.
Chaiperson, International Commissioners, National Scout Commisioners, and Executive Directors of the National Scout Organizations in the Interamerican Scout Region.
To contribute to these objectives, as mentioned in the previously sent Circular 1, we will take advantage of the possibilities offered by virtual platforms to reach as many children, adolescents, and young people as possible.
2. Objective
The objective of the 2023 Youth Consultations is:
Provide an open opportunity for children, adolescents, and young people in the Interamerican Region to express their opinions about their experience with the Youth Programme in their scout groups and serve as input for continuous improvement in the design of learning experiences.
3. Participants
Youth Consultations will be open to all children, adolescents, and young people who are members of the National Scout Organizations (NSOs) in the Interamerican Region, within the age range of 7 to 29 years.
4. Process Structure
Youth Consultations will be conducted in a mixed format (in-person and virtual), with a preference for virtual participation, considering that some National Scout Organizations still have strict health prevention measures, limiting in-person activities.
Specific survey forms have been developed in both official languages of the Region for the following age ranges:
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Cub Scouts - 7 to 10 years old
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Scouts - 11 to 14 years old
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Venturers and Rovers - 15 to 21 years old
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Young Adults - 22 to 29 years old
Promotion for the consultations targeting the age ranges of 7 to 10 and 11 to 14 years will be exclusively done through the communication channels of the NSOs and their territorial and local structures.
Promotion for the consultations targeting young people aged 15 to 29 years will be carried out through the social media channels of the Interamerican Region. We kindly request the support of all NSOs in the Region to share the information on their institutional websites, social media platforms, or any other institutional communication medium that reaches their territorial and local structures.
For more details, please refer to Document 1.1 Annex. “Guide for Youth Consultations”.
The Youth Consultations will be promoted through official channels of the Interamerican Region starting today and will close on June 19th, 2023. The support of NSOs' national structures in disseminating this information is vital.
5. Registration Process
Participation in the 2022 Youth Consultations is open to all young members of NSOs in the Interamerican Region, and no registration process is required. It is important to note that the information provided by the youth will be handled following the World Organization of the Scout Movement's Global Data Protection Policy, and their responses will be considered personal opinions and not representative of their NSOs.
For any comments or inquiries regarding this circular, please get in touch with laura.delgado@scout.org.
Yours in Scouting,
Raúl Sánchez Vaca
Regional Director
World Scout Bureau
Interamerica Support Centre
