Craig Turpie from the United Kingdom has been honoured with the prestigious Bronze Wolf Award for his decades of service to Scouting and for acting as a champion for youth involvement, promoting diversity and inclusion, and instilling greater unity among National Scout Organizations (NSOs) and the Scout Movement around the world.
Over the course of nearly 30 years of service, including more than 300 separate international missions as an Adult in Scouting, Craig has worked tirelessly to ensure that more young people and volunteers worldwide have an opportunity to join the Movement, while also contributing to strengthening the good governance and educational programmes delivered through Scouting at the national, regional and world levels.
Craig has dedicated his volunteering life to Scouting. He was active in the European Scout Region, notably as Chair of the European Scout Committee from 2007 to 2013 where he fostered growth in membership across Europe from 1.2 to 1.8 million by championing support to NSOs around the development and delivery of high-quality Youth Programmes.
As a natural leader, he spent over 17 years serving the World Scout Committee, including most recently as Chairperson from 2017 to 2021 where he focused on accelerating growth, harnessing the Movement’s diversity, and ensuring that Scouting positively impacts young people and their communities. Craig also supported the Movement through a uniquely challenging period during which COVID-19 had a direct impact on the operations and sustainability of many NSOs worldwide.
Craig’s involvement on the World Scout Committee began in 2004 as a Youth Advisor representing the European Scout Region, where he helped shape the Movement as a member of the 9th World Scout Youth Forum Planning Team. He continued to serve on the Committee as Chairperson of the European Scout Committee for six years and subsequently was elected as a Voting Member in 2014 and 2017. Over this extensive period, he contributed to Task Forces and Working Groups on the Strategy for Scouting, membership growth, and educational methods, while also holding positions as a member of the WAGGGS-WOSM Consultative Committee and Ex-officio Member to the World Scout Foundation Board of Directors.
His drive for unity across the Movement and passion for World Events also shone through in his appointments as Chairperson of the 2nd World Scout Education Congress Planning Team and currently as a liaison to the 25th World Scout Jamboree to be held in the Republic of Korea in August 2023.
In the United Kingdom, Craig has been prominently involved with The Scout Association since 1993 where he started as Chairperson of the Scottish Venture Scout Council, followed by his role as an Assistant Venture Scout Leader close to his home in Scotland. He helped to launch the Scout Network Section, supported the Centenary celebrations and running of the 21st World Scout Jamboree in 2007, and was appointed National Commissioner for Programme in 2014.
To this day, he remains active in UK Scouting through his appointment in 2021 as Deputy UK Chief Commissioner, responsible for transformation, and was recently recognised for his many years of distinguished service earlier in 2022 when he was awarded the Bar to the Silver Acorn.
Since first joining Scouting as an eight-year-old Cub Scout in 1982, Craig’s commitment to the Movement has been unwavering. His passion for Scouting is driven by a desire to ensure that every young person – regardless of where they live in the world – can access and participate in quality Scouting.
Looking back at major Scouting developments over the last three decades, Craig has contributed to their success in one way or another. From his leadership of young people in international events to his Committee work on their behalf, Craig has helped to transform lives around the world and supported the Scout Movement in achieving its ambitions. For these reasons, he is most deserving of the Bronze Wolf Award.