From 12 to 16 August, Panama City brought together representatives from seven Caribbean National Scout Organizations to take part in the Youth Programme Workshop: From Learning Opportunities to Practice and Improvement. Aruba, Antigua and Barbuda, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago sent Youth Programme representatives to this practical training space organised by the Interamerican Scout Region.
One of the strengths of this workshop was precisely the collaborative work among organisations that share similar contexts, challenges, and aspirations. By coming together, NSOs draw on the region's collective experience to learn from one another, share solutions, and build a stronger Youth Programme together. This collaboration reflects a shared conviction: that the impact on the youth is multiplied when organisations work in unity.
Throughout the workshop, participants worked on strengthening the connection between educational competencies and the learning opportunities offered through the Youth Programme, developing and improving Activity Sheets to make them relevant, inclusive, and practical, and incorporating feedback tools into the design and review of activities.
One of the most meaningful sessions took place on 15 August, when participants tested the activities they had designed directly with young Scouts, from Cub Scout and Scout Troop sessions to activities with Rovers and Venturers. The experience allowed them to receive real-time feedback and refine what they had created based on what they observed.
The following day, teams reviewed what had happened during implementation and applied the Practice-to-Improvement process: a cycle of planning, observing, listening, keeping, changing, justifying, improving, and revising. This process reflects a central premise of the workshop: an activity is not complete when it is written, but when it is tested, learned from, and improved.
Each participant returned home with concrete plans to apply this process within their own NSO and with a network of support and shared ideas. Workshops like this one, focused on building capacity, aim to strengthen National Scout Organizations and contribute to their growth through innovation in their Youth Programme, attracting young people with activities that are innovative, educational, and engaging.