Ahmad Alhendawi has been awarded the Bronze Wolf, Scouting’s highest honour, in recognition of his leadership during a period of unprecedented growth, innovation, and unity across the Scout Movement.
Ahmad served as Secretary General of the World Organization of the Scout Movement from 2017 until 2024, the youngest person to hold the position in the organisation’s century-plus history. During this period, Ahmad led a global effort to grow the Scout Movement’s reach by increasing membership numbers to a record 57 million, expanding Scouting into 17 new countries, and enabling more young people and volunteers the opportunity to experience Scouting’s transformative educational offering.
With a commitment to sustainability and measurable impact, Ahmad championed the alignment Scouting with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the launch of Scouts for SDGs, an initiative to educate, empower and mobilise young people to take action for the Global Goals with a pledge to contribute 4 billion hours of community services towards the SDGs by 2030.
During his time as Secretary General, Alhendawi streamlined World Scouting’s global and regional offices and operations, and stewarded the organisation through the COVID-19 pandemic. He introduced WOSM Services as an innovative approach to delivering services and support across 13 core areas to 176 National Scout Organizations worldwide, and championed a commitment to child and youth safeguarding by reinforcing measures to make Scouting safer and bring Member Organizations into compliance with international child protection standards.
Ahmad’s unique ability to inspire and connect with others was key to forming new strategic partnerships and securing additional resources to elevate Scouting’s profile while supporting the growth and impact of Scouting. He spearheaded numerous initiatives that strengthened collaboration with non-governmental organisations and philanthropic institutions, including the Big Six Youth Organizations, Alwaleed Philanthropies, UNICEF, UN Environment, UN Foundation, FAO, KAICIID, and the World Health Organization.
As Secretary General, Ahmad participated in countless local, national, regional and international Scouting events, training, and capacity-building workshops, both in-person and online, together with National Scout Organization leadership. Among the events were several World Scout Conferences, World Scout Jamborees, World Scout Education Congresses, a World Scout Moot, JOTA-JOTIs (including a special edition held during the pandemic), as well as numerous Regional Scout Conferences and Jamborees.
Ahmad’s style of servant leadership, passion for youth education and development, and commitment to intergenerational learning and intercultural dialogue, were hallmarks of his tenure with World Scouting, and have rightly earned him the prestigious recognition of the 400th Bronze Wolf Award.
Ahmad’s Scouting journey began at the age of 13 when he joined the local branch of the Jordanian Association for Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, and today he continues his involvement and service to Scouting as a dedicated volunteer, inspiring the next generation of young leaders.