Dear Friends in Scouting,
The European Scout Committee is pleased to share the Record of Decisions of its fourth Business Meeting, which took place in Cluj, Romania, from 3-5 November 2023.
As the world continues to witness the tragic loss of lives and unprecedented level of violence in the Middle East, as well as the continuous devastations caused by the ongoing war in Ukraine, our hearts and thoughts go out to the many children, young people, families and Scouts who are going through immeasurable suffering. When violence shatters communities, Scouting plays a vital role in promoting peace. The European Scout Committee observed a minute of silence as it started its meeting and took time for reflection on the current state of the world. As WOSM, we continue to be in touch with our Member Organizations to facilitate a space for exchange and support.
Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries.
Without them, humanity cannot survive.
Dalai Lama
During this fourth meeting, an important focus was dedicated to the progress and achievements of the Operational Framework set up to deliver against the objectives of the 2022-2025 Regional Scout Plan. We connected with the appointed Coordinators of our three Areas of Operations: Monika Woźnica (Education), Máire Fitzgerald (Innovation) and Allan Simpson (Organisation), as well as the Leads of the Teams reporting directly to the European Scout Committee. More information was added to our Record of Decisions for reference until the dedicated resources were published and made available.
During our meeting we:
- Connected with Ane Nørstebø Laache, Board Member of Norwegian Guide and Scout Association, and the Leadership of the Host Organisation of Roverway 2024, including Simmen Karoliussen, Director, Jens Mårtensson, Deputy Director, Henrik Moum Grimstad and Ingrid Castberg Voss Øksnevad, Project coordinators of Roverway 2024.
- Met with members of the National Leadership of Cercetașii României - Romanian Scouts and had the immense pleasure of meeting and spending time with Rovers and Scout Leaders of the different Scout Groups in Cluj.
- Reviewed our Meeting Evaluations and agreed to continue the small training approach at each meeting. We take this opportunity to thank David Venn, Global Director, Communications, for the excellent Crisis Communication training and simulation experience. For all those MOs wishing to hear more on Crisis Communications, you can get in touch with Júlia Pérez Lema, Communications Manager at the Regional Level and David Venn, Global Director, Communications.
- Celebrated reaching 2’000’000 members in the Region, an outstanding achievement and proof of the positive recovery trend post-pandemic.
As for each Committee meeting, we took the time to look at our regional finances, received the latest estimates of the ongoing closing of the end of the fiscal year and reviewed our approach to risk management.
We also reviewed the latest number of MOs who completed the Safe from Harm reporting requirement and self-assessment. As of this month:
- 17% have completed at least one element of the new reporting requirement on Safe from Harm and
- 14% have undertaken the Safe from Harm self-assessment.
We encourage all Member Organizations to proceed with this first step, which will enable the Region to identify the needed support and required follow-up.
As a follow-up to this meeting, we are happy to share the Record of Decisions of our fourth business meeting - #transparency. This record provides a general overview of the first steps we took and areas of focus. Any additional information can be requested via the Europe Support Centre ([email protected]) or your respective Committee Contact.
We very much look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming Regional Events.
Yours in Scouting,
The European Scout Committee
7 November 2023
