Scouts across Southeast Asia leading efforts to promote peace, dialogue and harmony

More than 50 young Scout leaders from across Southeast Asia gathered in Singapore from 29 July to 2 August for the Young Peace Builders programme to gain the skills needed to lead peace initiatives in their home countries. 

Guided by World Scouting’s commitment to fostering a more peaceful and inclusive world through youth leadership, the five-day training hosted by the Singapore Scout Association focused on promoting youth-led peace-building, dialogue, and harmony.

The initiative and partnership, catalysed by the Temasek Foundation, and involving collaboration with KAICIID, brought together National Scout Organizations (NSOs) in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand to champion intercultural and interfaith dialogue and promote social cohesion in their communities.

During the workshop, participants were engaged with the Dialogue for Peace Challenge, examined ten principles for effective dialogue, and learned how to apply these principles in youth programmes. The training also encouraged participants to take on leadership roles in promoting dialogue at both national and regional levels, ultimately striving to foster a culture of peace and collaboration among diverse communities.

Southeast Asia is home to a wide variety of beliefs, cultures, ethnicities, and traditions, allowing the members of Scout organisations in the Asia-Pacific Region a unique opportunity to amplify the ideals of Dialogue for Peace.

“In Thailand, there are many religions and cultures in any local area. For example, there are many Christian believers in the Northeastern, Buddhism in the Northern and central, and most of Muslims live Southern. The challenge is to create understanding between that different religions and cultures,” said Chatchanon Pansak, one of the workshop participants from the National Scout Organization of Thailand.

The workshop was also an opportunity for Scouts to develop actionable plans to integrate the Dialogue for Peace Challenge into their national youth programmes. 

“We take back not only the lessons and experiences shared in this course but more importantly the shared platform created for this course. Knowing that we are not alone in this endeavour certainly gives us a sense of hope and support in delivering the programme when we are back in our country. We hope to be able to deliver this programme by tailoring to our local context, needs, and policies where we would also strike to bridge the necessary,” said Lincoln Tang Tuck Mun from Persekutuan Pengakap Malaysia, one of the participants of the workshop.

Moving ahead, World Scouting will collaborate with each participating NSO to implement their one-year Dialogue for Peace action plan. Each action plan will involve organising a national workshop in their home country and executing 40 unique community projects that aim to promote the fundamentals of interfaith dialogue.