Messengers of Peace
ASIA-PACIFIC The Messengers of Peace quarterly newsletter is an initiative of the Asia-Pacific Support Centre of the World Scout Bureau highlighting the project, programmes and activities of National Scout Organizations under the MoP Initiative.
ISSUE NO.33 JANUARY-MARCH 2021
Indonesian Scouts build emergency kitchen, distribute food at disaster areas Story on page 9
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Scouts contributed to 2 billion service hourstowards creating better world
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Yauvana - we are the next gen leaders
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Mongolia: Youth for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
Scouts contribute to 2
billion service hours towards creating a better world
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In February 2021, Scouts around the world contributed 2 billion hours of service towards creating a better world through the Messengers of Peace initiative. Service projects are towards improving the sustainability of the planet by promoting peace, acting as environmental leaders, and championing equality around the globe. Scouts are now half-way towards fulfilling their commitment to contribute 4 billion hours of community service in 2030, making it the largest youth movement actively engaging in Sustainable Development Goals. Scouts in the Asia-Pacific Region have significantly contributed to the achievement of this milestone, serving communities and taking actions in their local communities.
Localising SDGs through National Integration Camp Pakistan Boy Scouts Association conducted its National Integration camp at the Cholistan Heritage Site of Fort Derawar, Punjab on 10-15 February 2021. A total of 126 Scouts and leaders participated in the camp where they were trained on the Better World Framework, Scouts for SDGs and Tide Turners Plastic Challenge. The camp aims to bring Scouts and leaders of the country at one place and bring them closer, where they learn about each other’s culture and identity. National Messengers of Peace Coordinator,Talat Jehan, said, “The overall experience was quite enriching and satisfactory because the core objective of this Integration camp was to bring Scouts and leaders from all over Pakistan at one place and inculcate them the habits of observation, obedience and self -reliance and thoughtfulness for others. We also observe that this kind of gathering helps in acting as catalyst of positive change in society
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through advocacy, where they are always ready to help others irrespective of race, creed or colour, having to ‘Leave No One Behind’. Moreover, such integration camps help Scouts to learn from each other as they belong to different provinces, areas and communities, and this platform helps them to have more bonding and friendship. They can take the same further at community level and act as Messengers of Peace.” Apart from the integration camp, participants visited an ancient site and learned about its history as part of their Patrimonito Scout Badge. This camp made the Scouts look forward to future activities where they can interact and work together.
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MoP Taiwan 2020 Local Coordinators Training Peace Messenger Seed Camp
The General Association of the Scouts of China organised its 2020 annual Messengers of Peace Seed Camp at National Changhua University, co-organized by the Association’s Peace Envoys Project team and Taiwan Scout Education Association. A total of 43 participants attended the camp.
stand that participating in peace projects is not something that is out of reach, but something that can bring back to the Scout group a sense of shared activity”, said Will, MengChieh of the Kaohsiung City Scout Council, Wi-Fi Rover Group.
In this MoP activity, it is hoped that more young people will respect different races and religions through a diversified education model. In addition, to learn more about contributing to improve poverty, education and equality in terms of basic living resources. This program also aims to empower the youth by taking action on the Sustainable Development Goals.
In line with promoting the new syllabus of the Ministry of Education, the Peace Envoy project is now more integrated with the multicultural and international understanding of social participation; enabling young people to participate on respecting and appreciating multiculturalism, actively relate to world issues and develop international understanding. Through the event, more young people were encouraged to sign-up, learn and create projects under the Messengers of Peace.
“Through this MOP course, people can under-
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Yauvana we are the next gen leaders To commemorate the 158th birth anniversary of Swamy Vivekananda, Bharat Scouts and Guides, Scouts organised “Yauvana - we are the next gen leaders” on 5-12 January 2021. This national youth week event is about wellness and fun, to stir the energy of Scouts, Guides, Rovers and Rangers and give them the opportunity to express themselves. The event consisted of seven activities each day: Day 1: Yauva Canvas – A total of 1,303 participated in the activity which consisted of six categories: sand art, paper art, glass painting,
face painting, hand painting, under the theme of “MY SUSTAINABLE WORLD”. Day 2: Yauva Fitbit –to keep the Yauvas physical fit and mentally strong. A total of 1,631 submitted their video presentations which includes yoga, aerobics, zumba, taekwondo, silambam, karate and kickboxing. Day 3: Yauva Art of Green – a total of 2,225 participants joined the activity on vegetable carving and salad dressing.
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Day 4: Yauva Kalakaars – a total of 2,409 sent their entries and joined the groove paying tribute to Indian culture. Scouts joined the four categories: singing, dancing, instrumental and hindi/english recitation under the theme Re-living Indian Culture. Day 5: Yauva in Action – the activity encouraged the young people to work on the SDGs and make the world a better place. A total of 1,025 entries were received. Day 6: Yauva Ted Talk – Scouts shared their success stories through a 10-15 minute-talk. A total of 630 entries were received where they shared their experiences under the theme My success stories/ My story of Change. Day 7: Yauva Expression - Yauva expressions is all about giving message to society where a person always wanted to speak-out but restricted in one way or the other. This activity was absolutely helpful for Scouts as they had a platform to voice out their thoughts and emotions under the theme “ This is me’’. A total of 713 participated in the activity. Mr. Amar Chettri, Deputy Director of Boy Programme and NSO Coordinator of Messengers of Peace, explains the significance of this activity. He said, “The youth of today is totally unlike anything we have seen before. Not only are they aware of their responsibilities, but
they are also extremely gifted and talented. Whatever field one chooses to look at, the youth has created history and the people of the nation are proud to call the youth their children. The youths of today is good at so many things that lately it has become difficult to keep a track of what all they are capable of doing. So to celebrate and recognize all the incredible young people, The Bharat Scouts and Guides has brought an exciting as well as interesting package of activities for the youths to complete and make this National Youth Day, 2021 a remarkable one - Yauvana.”
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Jakarta Scouts build Pramuka Emergency Kitchen to help flood victims Scout volunteers (Pramuka Peduli) formed the Pramuka Emergency Kitchen to assist affected communities in South Jakarta on 8 February 2021. A total of 25 Scouts facilitated the emergency kitchen by working in two shifts. According to DKI Jakarta Scout Movement, Drs. Triadi Suparta, “Long before that, DKI Jakarta Scout Movement has prepared themselves. Scout volunteers are ready to help residents affected by the flood”.
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The Pramuka Emergency Kitchen was donated by Indonesia’s National Zakat Agency (BAZNAS) to help residents affected by the disaster. The Kitchen provides mineral water, coffee, tea and instant noodles with the support of Scout leaders, local government institutions and the private sector. Moreover, a “Support House” was set up for Scout volunteers to provide assistance at the site.
Saka Wanabakti Palangka Raya distributes food packages in South Kalimantan
The Wanabakti Scout Community (SAKA Wanabakti) Palangka Raya distributes food packages at disaster areas in South Kalamantan including the coastal village of Rumbiah, Tabuk River, Banjar Regency and Kalimantan South on 8 February 2021. Food packages were handed over by Ms. Yayu, Saka Wanabakti leader to the affected individuals. According to Palangka Raya Scout Guide, Kak Rahmadi “The floods that hit this
area have not receded for more than a month and causing residents to stop their activities, including economic sector, such as fish ponds that were washed away, the rice fields were submerged in water and become badly damaged. The floods that are currently still submerging the area have cut off road access so that aid cannot directly reach the location, so we also have to take a small boat for about 3 hours to the disaster location from Banjarmasin City.”
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Mongolia: Youth
for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene UNICEF and The Scout Association of Mongolia successfully implemented the WASH project under the theme “Children and Youth Together for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene”. With the COVID-19 pandemic, clean water, good hygiene, and sanitation practices are essential for human health. In this project, Messengers of Peace members and the Rover Board were divided into different teams such as organizers, office team, content, and soap producers. Training was provided to 20 schools in 10 provinces having 579 students aged 11-18 on topics such as water, sanitation and hygiene. After the training was a field trip to validate students’ knowledge and provide them with a broader range of practical learning in different stations such
as waste, air pollution, water sanitation, and soap stations. The event allowed students to test their knowledge and skills, and most importantly, to learn how to make eco-friendly, low-cost soaps. In addition to providing soap to their schools through the Washy Warriors Club, which will be established in each school; the students will be taught about the importance of using soap when washing their hands. Five tutorial videos related to sanitation, hygiene, water and making low cost hand soap were produced with sign language. Training and meetings are held online for students involved in the project. Washy Warrior Mongolia Facebook page provides information and advice in the form of videos and posts. For example, the project’s content team showed students the videos on how to participate in online meetings as well as instructions on how to use ZOOM application. To mark the World Handwashing Day, “Wishy Washy” a video recording challenge was announced under the motto “Let’s wash our hands with soap”. More than 20 entries joined the challenge that reached more than 270,000 people.
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MoP Local Coordinators Gathering 2021 Maldives:
The Scout Association of Maldives organised its Messengers of Peace Local Coordinators Gathering on 26-27 February 2021 for 14 Scouts, half of them participated in-person and the other half virtually. The gathering was a refresher course for those who completed their training in 2019, and in addition, to develop an action plan and calendar of activities for the year 2021. During the two-day gathering, sessions on Better World Framework, Messengers of Peace Programme including branding and promotion, Safe from Harm, Cyber security, Scout Donation Platform and Role of the MoP Country team were discussed. MoP NSO Coordinator Mr. Mohamed Fauzoon facilitated the training with the support of Maeed Mohamed Zahir, National Commissioner for Youth Programme. APR Core Team members Madhusudan Avala
and Yasser Sarona also supported the training as speakers. The training successfully led to the creation of a national action plan and calendar of activities for the MoP team of Maldives. It ensured that team members are updated and ready to deliver the contents of the local coordinators workshop scheduled for March 2021.
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Sri Lanka: Scouts
launch planting 100,000 trees on Founder’s Day
In celebration of the 164th Birth Anniversary of Scouting’s founder Lord Baden Powell on 22 February, Sri Lanka Scout Association (SLSA) initiated the project of planting 100,000 trees at the President’s house with Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa inaugurating the ‘Plant a Hope’ project. Scouts from 37 districts joined the event, simultaneously undertaking the tree planting project in their homes and schools. It is expected that 75,000 Scouts will participate in the event. Every tree planted will be recorded and uploaded in the Thuru mobile application under the name of Sri Lanka Scout Association. Contin-
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uous assessment will be done to ensure that plants are taken care of. SLSA also plans to evaluate the project on Stevens Day in June 2021. Scouts who have taken care of their trees will be given certificates on Founder’s Day in February 2022. Major Gen Milinda Peiris, Chief Commissioner led the inauguration with the President of Sri Lanka Scout Council Mr. Merrille Goonetilleke, Deputy Chief Commissioner Mr. Janaprith Fernando, Chairman of Committee Mr. Kapila Kalyana Perera, Mr. Prabath Kularatne (Asst.Chief Commissioner ( Media PR and MOP Coordinator) with other Commissioners.
Storytelling on scout.org webinar +SDG Hub 2.0 The MoP team is planning to conduct a storytelling webinar on scout.org +SDG Hub 2.0 in line with the planned launch of the new platform. This will include uploading project stories, guideline on writing stories and possible projects targeting community development and sustainable development goals.
MoP Virtual Conference To mark the 10th year anniversary of the Messengers of Peace programme, the APR MoP will organise a virtual conference with these objectives of (1) Review/Report the MoP decade (2011-2021), (2) Share Success Stories, (3) Good Practices of NSOs, (4) SWOT Analysis of the MoP Decade (2011-2021), (5) NSO MoP Review/ Report presentations, (6) Discussion on the Future of MoP and (7) Finalise Recommendations for Global MoP & WOSM. The conference is planned for June 2021 through virtual platform. Expected participants are MoP NSO and local coordinators, regional core team members, MoP heroes and NSO leaders.
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International Day of Peace 2021 The APR MoP team is planning activities to be organized for the celebration of International Day of Peace 2021. A circular on activity ideas, theme and celebration guideline will be released.
A decade of MoP Programme To commemorate the 10th year anniversary of the Messengers of Peace Programme, the APR team will release a coffee table book that will showcase activities, projects, events and memorable initiatives in the region done during MoP’s 10-year implementation.
APR Messengers of Peace Hero As the conference is scheduled in February 2022, the MoP APR team is in its planning phase to call for Regional Messenger of Peace Heroes. Guideline is under review and will be shared with the organizing team.
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Regional Peace Road Show (series) A core team member is assigned to plan the regional peace road show to be organized in physical and virtual mode. NSOs will be invited to join this event.
Monthly Statistics This monthly statistical report shows the current progress of National Scout Organizations in the implementation of the Messengers of Peace Programme through the data populated at WOSM’s Global Network of Service – www.scout.org. The results are primarily made on the basis of [a] the number of users registered, [b] the number of actual service hours rendered, and [c] the total number of projects posted.
JANUARY 2021 TOP 10 NSOs (scout.org users) India 67,802 Indonesia 42,885 Philippines 24,608 Bangladesh 20,255 Malaysia 19,516 Bhutan 9,485 Australia 6,697 Thailand 6,521 Pakistan 6,400 Hong Kong 4,512
TOP 10 NSOs (projects)
TOP 10 NSOs (service hours)
India 23,067 Bangladesh 18,692 Malaysia 13,653 Thailand 10,470 Bhutan 9,638 Philippines 3,087 Indonesia 1,257 Pakistan 871 Fiji 822 Nepal 504
Philippines 550,883,991 Bangladesh 415,509,629 Fiji 143,887,038 India 91,145,785 Malaysia 70,767,762 Bhutan 44,781,066 Thailand 16,154,167 Nepal 14,021,361 Indonesia 6,847,055 Sri Lanka 4,014,020
FEBRUARY 2021 TOP 10 NSOs (scout.org users) India 67,802 Indonesia 42,885 Philippines 24,608 Bangladesh 20,255 Malaysia 19,516 Bhutan 9,485 Australia 6,697 Thailand 6,521 Pakistan 6,400 Hong Kong 4,512
TOP 10 NSOs (projects)
TOP 10 NSOs (service hours)
India 23,067 Bangladesh 18,692 Malaysia 13,653 Thailand 10,470 Bhutan 9,638 Philippines 3,087 Indonesia 1,257 Pakistan 871 Fiji 822 Nepal 504
Philippines 550,883,991 Bangladesh 415,509,629 Fiji 143,887,038 India 91,145,785 Malaysia 70,767,762 Bhutan 44,781,066 Thailand 16,154,167 Nepal 14,021,361 Indonesia 6,847,055 Sri Lanka 4,014,020
MARCH 2021 TOP 10 NSOs (scout.org users) India 67,972 Indonesia 42,940 Philippines 24,703 Bangladesh 20,375 Malaysia 19,713 Bhutan 9,735 Pakistan 6,764 Australia 6,726 Thailand 6,560 Hong Kong 4,548
TOP 10 NSOs (projects)
TOP 10 NSOs (service hours)
India 23,126 Bangladesh 19,339 Malaysia 13,696 Thailand 10,635 Bhutan 9,732 Philippines 3,107 Indonesia 1,260 Pakistan 1,103 Fiji 822 Sri Lanka 541
Philippines 551,116,028 Bangladesh 416,118,760 Fiji 143,887,038 India 91,175,790 Malaysia 70,773,964 Bhutan 44,994,251 Thailand 16,179,350 Nepal 14,022,933 Indonesia 6,899,435 Sri Lanka 4,253,528
WORLD SCOUT BUREAU ASIA-PACIFIC SUPPORT CENTRE If you want to know more, or if you want to contribute a story about your MoP project or activity, contact us at asia-pacific@scout.org
Messenger of Peace Asia-Pacific Region (Facebook Group)
www.scout.org/ messengersofpeace
@ScoutinginAPR
@ScoutinginAPR
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