Kudumail3_EN by Euloge Ishimwe

December 2011

Kudumail

News from the Africa Scout Region www.scout.org/africa

Angola Scout Association receives high-level regional delegation

Inside Highlight

Regional delegation visits Angola. Page 1

From NSOs

News from Angola, West African Zone, Kenya, Burundi Page 2

From ARO

WOSM at COP17 Swaziland and Lesotho played host to regional team. Page 3

Community Development

The Network of International Youth Organizations in Africa

Page 4 Events calendar

Africa Scout Day 2012. 15th Africa Conference. 6th Africa Jamboree. International Peace Gathering

Drumming support for 2012 regional events: A delegation of Regional and National Scout leaders pays a courtesy call to Angola’s Vice-President, H.E. Fernando da Piedade (Centre) at his palace. LUANDA – From 29th November to 6th December 2011, the Angola Scout Association played host to a regional delegation that was in the country for a follow up on the preparation of 3 regional events that will be hosted by Angola in 2012. The visiting team, that is, the Regional Chairperson, Jemima Nartey, the Regional Director, Frederic Tutu Kama-Kama and the Communications Manager, Euloge Ishimwe, took this opportunity to pay a courtesy call to the country’s vicepresident, H.E. Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos, on 1st December 2011. This courtesy call to the country’s number two, aimed at drumming up support for 3 major Scout events that will be held in Angola in 2012. During the visit, the vice-president thanked the Scouts for their contribution to the country’s development and reiterated the government’s commitment to support Angolan Scouting, including next year’s events. In the same breath, a similar courtesy call was paid to the Ministry of Youth. In 2012, Angola Scout Association will be the “capital of world Scouting” in the sense that it will host a number of large-scale Scout events. From 9 to 11 March 2012, Africa Scout Day will be hosted in Luanda.

The event’s theme will be “Educate. Transform. Develop”. The activity will be held at the beautiful Dream Space Resort in Luanda. “At least a hundred young Scouts from different National Scout Associations will share a rich programme, based on the Scout Method. It is worth noting that, on 10th March, more than 2000 Angolan Scouts will be present at the opening ceremony for a cultural festival.” Said António Sardinha, the National Chief Commissioner for the Angola Scouts Association. This event will be special because, at the same occasion, the Africa Scout Committee will be in attendance in order to have a meeting and interact with participants. Moreover, in the same country, from 1 to 4 June 2012 the 6th Africa Scout Youth Forum, will take place under the banner “Leaders of the Education for Life: Act Now!” The venue will be DREAM SPACE. For more details, contact Angola Scout Association on the address: contacto@aeascout.com Or visit these links: http://scout.org/en/around_the_world/africa http://aeascout.com/conferencia/index.php

Page 4 Memorable Frederic Tutu Kama-Kama – Quote Regional Director (WOSM/AFRICA) Page 4 And more!

Angola 2012

December 2011

Kudumail

FOCUS ON NSOs Welcome to Angola, capital of World Scouting in 2012! Message

from

Angola’s

Chief

All is set for the dry run of the 6th Africa Scout Jamboree in Burundi.

Commissioner

GITEGA - As preparations for the upcoming 6th Africa Scout Jamboree get underway, the Burundi Scout Association, in conjunction with Amahoro Amani Project, is hosting the International Peace Gathering under the banner, “Peace, a priority of the Great Lakes Region”. His Excellency Pierre Nkurunzinza, the President of Burundi Republic is expected to grace the occasion.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Scouting, Allow me to share with you this message, on behalf of young Scouts from this corner of the African continent, Angola, who continue to stay firm in their belief that it is worthwhile to follow the footsteps of the Founder, Lord Baden Powell. I have the privilege to open this page with some good news to you: in 2012 Angola will be world’s capital of Scouting and the Angolan Scouts will be very happy to host you on the Angolan soil. In the spotlight is the Africa Scout Day, on the 13th March. As you know, this is a result of resolution No. 1607 (LXII) by the Council of Ministers of the African Union, formerly known as Organization of African Unity. This was in Addis Ababa, from 21st to 23rd of June in 1995. It was a well-deserved recognition, by African governments, for the contribution of Scouting towards the development of the youth in Africa. The celebrations will be held from 9th to 11th March 2012. At least a hundred young Scouts from different National Scout Association will share a rich programme, based on the Scout Method. It is worth noting that, on 10th more than 2000 Angolan Scouts will be present at the opening ceremony for a cultural festival. At the same time for this event, “our older brothers and sisters” of the Africa Scout Committee will meet at the same place, this being an opportunity to “Ask the boys/girls” from different NSOs that will participate in this event. Another highlight is the 6th Africa Scout Youth Forum from 1st to 4th and the 15th Africa Scout Conference, 6th to 9th June 2012. For all these events, we will count on the presence of the all Scouts Associations from our motherland, Africa. The theme for the Conference, “Scouting, a vehicle for the development in Africa” is very symbolic. However, I am aware that this theme may not be easily interpreted by Packs of Cub Scouts. I can already imagine the smallest Cub Scout asking me “Chefe, but the vehicle is a car, a “candongueiro” ? [an Angolan slang term for taxi/minibus, which are known to cause disorder most of the time]. As the Cub Scout, maybe there will be more people in our communities asking themselves about the value of Scouting. Moreover, in the same vein, with many challenges facing countries on our continent, I believe this could be a good opportunity for sharing ideas on how to shed some light where there are dark clouds, or maybe, to readjust our compasses in search for the “Way to Follow”. For all these reasons, the young Scouts of Angola will have much pleasure in hosting you and treating you to the rhythm of the “Semba” as a welcome gesture in the name of your brothers and sisters, the Angolan People. António Silvestre Alves Sardinha

The event – set for 26th December 2011 to 3rd January 2012 – targets Scout and Girl Guides from the age of 1525 who are community mediators and young trainers from Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. Other invited countries include Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Sweden.

West African NSOs hold their 7th Zonal Conference COTONOU – From 20 to 24 November 2011, 9 NSOs from West Africa met in Cotonou, Bénin for their 7th zonal conference. In his message to the zone, the Regional Director congratulated them on the occasion of the conference, which, according to him, is an addition to the track record of the West African zone.

©WSB-ARO

Issues tackled during the conference included, reports from countries, conflict management, BIABIO-Intensive Agriculture, Partnerships for Resource Mobilization, governance and constitutional matters among others. At the same occasion, a new zonal secretariat was elected. The new zonal chairperson is Honoré Djivo (pictured on the right) from Senegal. Government officials and partners graced the colourful opening ceremony. Also in attendance were, among others, the Chairperson, Africa Scout Committee, the member of Africa Scout Committee who oversees the zone and the zone’s Desk Officer at ARO. Countries present were Niger, Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Senegal and Togo. Next year’s Zonal conference will be held in Côte d’Ivoire.

Environmental conservation through Scouting NAIROBI - The Kenya Scouts Association has partnered with the National Environment Trust Fund (NETFUND) to facilitate the presidential Green Award (PGA) scheme that will be conducted countrywide with the selection of various categories initiated at both county and national levels. Launched on the 17th November 2011 in Nairobi, Kenya, the competition will focus on issues of waste management and tree planting awarding the outstanding individuals and organisations in the environmental conservation and management arena. The Kenya Scout Association is proud of its membership (over 400,000 Scouts), owing to the recent recognition by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) for their ‘Trees for Life’ project that saw Scout plant and nurture trees across the country. So far, 1.8 million trees have been planted as at April 2011.

December 2011

Kudumail

FROM THE REGIONAL OFFICE Happy festive season from Kudumail! Dear reader, As the year comes to an end, we take this opportunity to look back on what it was, while making plans for the next year. 2011 was a busy year for the Scouting community in Africa. We are aware of the fact that many Scouts and many volunteers on the African soil did their best to carry forward the Founder’s legacy. Nonetheless, since we can only cover so much in this publication, some local actions, some local heroes, remain unsung. We salute them. We salute all of you Scouts, Scout leaders from Dakar to Addis Ababa from Douala to Port Louis, and from Cotonou to Cape Town, and everywhere else in between.

WOSM lobbies COP17 conference in Durban DURBAN - The COP17 conference in Durban, South Africa ran from 28th November to 9th December 2011. WOSM participated fully in the conference, showcasing how Scouting has always cared for the planet, not because we had to, but because we are in the business of creating a better world. The WOSM team at the COP17 shuttled down the corridors and pavements of the ICC (International Convention Centre) urging the leaders of the world to reconsider the future of the young people specifically the 30 million members of the Movement. The team was actively involved in the working groups of Youth Non-Governmental Organizations (YOUNGOs).

We may not feature all that happened in 2011, however it is in order to mention some of the key highlights. These include the Founder’s Day celebrations, the biggest Africa Scout Day celebrations in Burundi, the Ugandan Scouts who went to the Jamboree in Sweden by bicycles, brave South African Scouts who supported fire-fighters, Africa’s participation to the World Scout Jamboree in Sweden… … and the launch of Kudumail! The three-month-old publication of the Africa Regional Office was launched with the aim of informing and educating the Africa Scout Region, for networking and for telling the African story to the world. Since the launch, we have received from many of you a lot of positive feedback. We thank you for the support, because it is only through your continued support that Kudumail will achieve its goals. As the curtain falls on 2011, we wish you a prosperous 2012. Happy festive season to all!

Kudumail Team  Swaziland and Lesotho Scout Associations played hosts to ARO team MBABANE - The Swaziland Scout Association played host to the ARO team from the 11th to 15th November 2011. The ARO team was led by the Regional Director, Mr. Frederic Tutu Kama-Kama, who was also accompanied by Mr. Mostaff Matesanwa, the Adult Resources Manager .The visit aimed at providing support to the NSO leadership in its efforts to revamp Scouting in the southern Africa Kingdom. To this end, the team had working sessions with the NSO leadership and visited some of the Ticket for Life (TFL) projects and some Scout groups. The visit attracted local media attention, as the team also paid visit to government authorities and dignitaries of the Kingdom to drum up support for Scouting. In particular, the team met the Prime Minister, Dr. Barnabas Dlamini, who praised the contribution of the Scout movement in the development of the Kingdom and promised the continued support of his government to Scouting. The team also met Prince Masitsela, the regional administrator of the Manzini region, Honorable Hlobsile Ndlovu, the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Honorable Pat Muir, the,Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education and Training, all of whom assured the team of the continued support of the respective institutions to Scouting. Other spotlights of the visit were the laying of wreath during the Umsizi Remembrance Day and a visit to the Buhlebuyeza campsite where team participated in the fencing of the site. In turn, Lesotho Scout Association hosted the visiting ARO team, along with a delegation from the Southern zone from the 15th to the 18th November, in a similar mission as in Swaziland. In addition to working sessions with the NSO leadership, the teams visited projects at St. Michael Training Centre and Machache tree planting site as well as Scout groups at Morapeli and Masianokeng High Schools. The team also paid a courtesy call to the Minister of Agriculture, Honourable Afonso Pedro Canga himself a Scout, who is a strong supporter of Scouting in Lesotho.

On September 28, 2009 the international youth movement (YOUNGO) gained official constituency status that took effect in November 2009 and continued through the first sessional period of 2011. The Chief National Commissioner of Bangladesh Scouts, Md. Abul Kalam Azad, paid a visit to the WOSM booth at the COP17 and was pleased that the World Organization of the Scout Movement had sent a delegation to the Climate Change talks in Durban since they would raise the voice of other 30 million young Scouts in the 161 countries they represent. WOSM and its sister organization (World Association of the Girl Guides and Girl Scouts-WAGGGS) held a joint press conference at the Climate Change talks in Durban. With 28 delegates representing their combined 40million-strong membership, they delivered the following 5 key demands: • •

• • •

A fair, ambitious and legally binding deal must be reached in Durban, which will limits global warming to 2 degrees. The principle of intergenerational justice must be inherent in any process and decision on climate change, including the meaningful participation of youth in the decision making process and the recognition that decisions made now will most effect those both not responsible for the problem and those not leading in the negotiation. Education, especially non-formal education, must be recognized and invested in as a key combatant to climate change. A gender approach to climate change, with special emphasis on the needs and contributions of girls and young women, must be taken in all climate change policies, programmes and investments. Climate change must be treated as a crosscutting issue, considered in all policy and legislative areas at local, national, regional and international levels.

The continued pressure by YOUNGO (and the members of the relevant working groups) has led to the recognition of the importance of taking into account, gender aspects and acknowledging the role and needs of youths and persons with disabilities in capacity building activities. As the Climate Change talks went on at The International Convention Centre (ICC) in Durban, the South African Scout Association continued to plant the seeds in the youth of today so that they may be leaders of a more sustainable future tomorrow. In the Kwazulu-Natal Scouts Headquarters, Scouts got the great opportunity every day to do a program on Climate Change. The Scouts arrived in the morning and in a rotating system, were involved in an active program where they were educated about Climate Change, the COP17 and Food-Gardening.

December 2011

Kudumail

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Memorable quote “I believe that investing in Scouting is investing in the development and the future of the country and the world at large. Because the Movement is mainly concerned with the youth, hence its alignment with the ministry of sports, culture and youth affairs.”

Scouting promotes networking between International Youth Organizations WOSM-Africa played a key role in The Network of International Youth Organizations in Africa (NIYOA). NIYOA came about as a result of the regional capacity building seminar organized on 5th-10th July 2011, in Nairobi, Kenya by WOSM-Africa and other youth organizations.

This is a platform that aims at enhancing collaborative initiatives among International Youth Organizations (IYOs) in Africa Since then, NIYOA has been involved in various activities including the 12th Edition of the University on Youth and Development held on 11th-18th September 2011 in Manila Spain and the 3rd Congress of the Pan Africa Youth Union-PYU (of the AU), that took place on 2nd – 5th December 2011 in Khartoum, Sudan.

~ Frederic Tutu Kama-Kama, Regional Director, WOSM-Africa Regional Office (Speaking during a visit in Swaziland)

EVENT

DATES

COUNTRY

International Peace Gathering

26th December 2011 – 2nd January 2012

Burundi

Africa Scout Day

13th March 2012 (Angola 9 -12)

All African Countries (Main host: Angola)

6th Africa Youth Forum

1-4th June 2012

Angola

15th Africa Regional Conference

6-9th June 2012

Angola

6th Africa Regional Jamboree

28th July - 5th August 2012

Burundi

In both cases, WOSM-Africa, in the person of Dr. Davis Wayne of Ethiopia Scout Association, represented NIYOA and showcased Scouting’s contribution to development in Africa. Dr. Davis Wayne is one of the participants to the initial training in Cape Verde (2010) and subsequent training in Nairobi (2011) and has been supporting the external relations work of Scouting in Africa.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

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World Scout Bureau Africa Regional Office P.O. Box 63070 00200, City Square Nairobi, KENYA africa@scout.org www.scout.org/africa Skype: worldscoutbureauafrica Phone 1: (+254 20) 728499553 Phone 2: (+254 20) 245 09 85

During its 3rd Congress, PYU accorded WOSM Africa the opportunity to discuss a long-term partnership to drive a youth agenda in Africa.