THE FIRST 180 DAYS OF THE NEW INTERAMERICAN SCOUT COMMITTEE
Dear friends in Scouting, The new Interamerican Scout Committee (ISC), elected at the 26th Interamerican Scout Conference in Houston (October 2016), has been in office for slightly over 180 days now. The Committee has been on the forward march since then. The purpose of this report is to share some key developments from these 180 days of actions by the ISC, together with the World Scout Bureau – Interamerica Support Center (WSB-IASC). We feel it is important that you, our National Scout Organizations (NSOs), are aware of the activities and initiatives the ISC and the WSB-IASC are doing after being entrusted with this responsibility by all of you in Houston. We are happy to say that we have already achieved several “quick wins” in this short period.
ISC INDUCTION MEETING AND FIRST BUSINESS MEETING – PANAMA (NOVEMBER 2016) The induction/introductory meeting at the Regional Office in Panama, from 25-26 November, had the attendance of all 10 Elected Members: Ricardo Stuber, Daniel Corsen, Lorena Gudiño, Zaida Joaquin, Rosario Mayorga, Luis Silvestri, Raul Alpizar, Jose Antonio Tapia, Enzo Defilippi and Armando Aguirre; Regional Director, Raul Sanchez; Chairperson of the Interamerican Scout Foundation, Jose Antionio Hernandez and our first two Youth Advisors, Gus Sanchez and Daniel Petroche. Additionally, some key WSB-IASC staff members also attended the meeting.
The overall aim of the meeting was to help prepare members of the ISC to successfully carry out their role, and to align the Committee around shared priorities and working methods for the period 2016-2018. The 2-day meeting, which was facilitated by Craig Turpie, from the World Scout Committee and David Berg from the World Scout Bureau – Global Support Centre as external consultants, was divided into 3 main sections: • Induction training: overview of the roles of ISC, WSB-IASC and IASF. • Looking at the future: shared priorities and aspirations of the ISC to achieve Vision 2023 and lead the Region to greater heights. • Reviewing the working methods: ISC working methods and interactions with WSB-IASC and IASF, agreed mutual expectations and accountability of ISC members, and finalized team aspirations. • Future priorities and how to approach them. A key outcome of the meeting was a Team Charter, a “contract” outlining how the Committee will work together in the new period. After the 2-day induction meeting, the Committee had its first business meeting during which we made several key decisions that impact the work of the Committee as we launch into the new period. The weekend was a great success and ensured a very inspirational start for the new Committee as they commenced their work in the new period.
SECOND BUSINESS MEETING FEBRUARY 2017 From February 25 to 26, the ISC, together with key WSB-ISC staff members, met in Panama for the Second Business Meeting and the first full weekend of the year. It was a great 2 long day meeting during which we consolidated the themes from the Induction Training and the First Business Meeting. The key decisions, described below were:
The Charter covers four 4 key components of the operation of the ISC: Purpose of our team, How we do communications and meetings, Accountability and Team Culture. The Charter will serve as a reference for all members; regardless whether they are Elected Members or exofficio members (Regional Director, Regional Treasurer, Chairperson of the Interamerican Scout Foundation and Youth Advisors). This document is available on scout.org/node/324806
• The Adoption of the Team Charter • The Approval of the volunteers for all the Working Grops
OPERATIONAL FRAMEWORK AND TERMS OF REFERENCE
• The Ratification of the Conflicts of Interest Policy • The Approval of the Terms of Reference of all Working Groups
NEW CONSTITUTION The Constitution approved by the Houston Conference was approved by the World Scout Committee in its March Meeting and is now in full force for all NSOs of the Region. The New Constitution will be distribuited, in our two working languages.
The ISC has now agreed on the Operational Framework that will guide the work in the next period. This includes a number of working groups. Some of these working groups are related to the Committee’s own tasks whilst others are related to the implementation of some resolutions taken by the 26th Interamerican Scout Conference, held in Houston, United States, in October 2016. The working groups created by the ISC are: • Strategy monitoring. • Budget. • Better World.
ISC TEAM CHARTER
• Regional fees structure and financing mechanisms. • Drafting regional networks policy. • Youth engagement in the Region.
Following the work done at both meetings, the ISC adopted a “Team Charter 2016-2018” as the framework on how individual members can contribute to the success of the ISC.
Terms of Reference have been proposed by the groups and approved by the ISC. The ISC approved the contact member for each one of the 34 NSOs of the Region. The list of contact members can be found in Exhibit A to this letter. The Committee, based on the existing policy already adopted by the World Scout Committee, also adopted a Conflict of Interest Policy.
OPEN CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS In January 2017, the ISC launched an Open Call for volunteer positions in working groups and in the coordination cores of the Regional Networks for the 2016-2018 period. The open call was promoted through social media, scout.org and e-mail to NSOs, to reach as wide an audience as possible. All applicants shall obtain their respective NSOs approval. When the online application closed on February 20, a total of 66 complete applications had been submitted. We received one third of the applications from young people under 30 years; and an imbalance in gender participation with 72% applications from males, and only 28% from females. The leaders of the different working groups identified the volunteers who have applied to join the respective team. Volunteers for all such teams were selected with a balanced approach. The volunteer were appointed and now they are fully integrated to their respective working group.
WSB-IASC MEETING The staff of the Regional Office carried out their annual retreat in Panama City. Several topics were discussed during this meeting, including: Evaluation of the InterAmerican Scout Conference, Houston 2017, Analysis of the Regional Plan “Creating a Better World: Mission Possible” and teamwork.
INTERAMERICAN SCOUT CAMPOREE AND JAMBOREE, ECUADOR From December 27, 2016 to January 2, 2017, JamCam was held in Guayaquil, Ecuador. More than 2500 participants, from 25 National Scout Organizations, enjoyed all the experiences offered by JamCam. Joao Armando, Chairperson, and Dan Ownby, 1st ViceChairperson of the World Scout Committee, were present as was Ahmad Alhedawi, the new SecretaryGeneral of WOSM. Rosario Mayorga and José Antonio Tapia, members of the Interamerican Scout Committee, as well as 5 members of the staff of the Regional Office, were also present, collaborating in the organization of the event. Rafael Correa, President of the Republic of Ecuador, inaugurated the JamCam. The event, organized by the Association of Scouts of Ecuador, left very satisfied the participants. The support of the Government of Ecuador was of great importance.
INTERAMERICAN EDUCATIONAL FORUM, BRASILIA The 1st Scout Educational Forum was held from 27 to 29 January in Brasilia, Brazil, with important support from the Uniao dos Escoteiros do Brasil. There were workshops, lectures and a discussion panel with participants from 9 OSN (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay). The main theme was the “Scout Method “. We had the participation of excellent speakers: Joao Armando Goncalves, Hector Carrer, Eduard Vallory, Daiana Niel, Alessandro García Vieira, Vanina Figule, Luiz Cesar Horn, Jose Figueira, Janet Marquez and Mauricio Veayra, as well as the participation of Ricardo Stuber (Chairperson) and Lorena Gudiño (2nd Vice-Chairperson) of the Intramerican Scout Committee. The Forum represents an important step for our region because it has given the space to reflect on the Scout Method, the Educational Project and the need for innovation of the Youth Program according to the realities and needs of the new generations. It has also been an important joint effort between Youth Program and Adults in the Movement Departments. The event was broadcast live by streaming with more than 3500 interactions and 1966 engagement (up to February 4th, 2016) which is a very important step for our region reaching more scouts in Interamerica and other parts of the world.
PARTICIPATION OF THE REGION ON WOSM GOOD GOVERNANCE & TRIENNIAL PLANNING 2017-2020 WORKSHOP From the 9 - 12 February 2017, our Chairperson Ricardo Stuber, Raúl Sánchez Regional Director, Daniel Corsen First Vice Chair Person and Mónica Figueroa Coordinator of the Interamerican Youth Network took part in the Good Governance and Triennial Planning workshop at the Global Support Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The workshop was organized and facilitated by WOSM’s Strategy Monitoring Group and was aimed to: • define the objectives for the next Triennium • recap the Strategy for Scouting (Vision 2023) • understand global and regional perspectives by reviewing the achievements and challenges faced in each of the Regions towards achieving Vision 2023 • discuss ways to get more recognition as the leading educational youth movement • support National Scout Organizations in creating impact in local communities • improve our internal and external communications • improve good governance & innovate our decisionmaking
Inputs gathered from 50 key leaders throughout the workshop contributed to the creation of the draft proposal for the 2017-2020 Triennial Plan, which will help to define WOSM’s path for the upcoming Triennium.
For the Interamerican Scout Committee and the Interamerica Support Centre, it was essential to identify the priorities for the next term around the Strategic Plan, condense them, so they can be the compass of our path in this term.
CONCLUSION
This is how we will focus efforts on strengthening capacities around finance, governance and social impact to generate Strong NSOs. At the same time, they should reflect diversity and inclusion, through multigenerational leadership. And together join efforts to reach all, with the help of communications in order to generate sustained growth in the Interamerican Region.
We believe that a lot has been achieved the first 180 days. Everything is coming to place now – a new Regional Plan for 2016- 2018, a new and committed ISC, new Youth Advisors, and a restructured WSB-ISC.
To continue with the message click: scout.org/iscmessage Our Key Message Yours in Scouting, The Interamerican Scout Region has a Strategic Plan 2017-2017 aligned with the Strategy for the Scout Movement that integrates the Missin, Visión that states Vision 2023 with its 2017-2018 Strategic Plan: Mission Possible, which is based on 6 strategic priorities to reach 100 million active citizens who generate positive change in their communities based on shared values of the Scout Movement.
Ricardo Stuber Presidente del Comité Scout Interamericano
Raúl Sánchez Vaca Director Regional
APPENDIX
NSO ASSIGNMENT TO THE ISC NSOs
COMMITTEE MEMBER
Argentina Aruba Bahamas Barbados Belice Bolivia Brasil Canada Chile Colombia Costa Rica Curaçao Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Granada Guatemala Guyana Haití Honduras Jamaica México Nicaragua Panamá Paraguay Perú St. Lucia St. Vincent y las Granadinas Suriname Trinidad y Tobago United States Uruguay Venezuela
Ricardo Stuber Daniel Petroche Lorena Gudiño Gus Sanchez Daniel Corsen Jose Antonio Tapia Jose Antonio Tapia Armando Aguirre Enzo Defilippi Daniel Petroche Rosario Mayorga Armando Aguirre Lorena Gudiño Rosario Mayorga Enzo Defilippi Raul Alpizar Daniel Corsen Armando Aguirre Lorena Gudiño Gus Sanchez Daniel Petroche Daniel Corsen Gus Sanchez Raul Alpizar Raul Alpizar Luis Silvestri Luis Silvestri Zaida Joaquin Zaida Joaquin Zaida Joaquin Daniel Corsen Ricardo Stuber Ricardo Stuber Rosario Mayorga