INTRODUCTION

2020 has been a challenging year for the World Organisation of the Scout Movement (WOSM) Member Organisations (MOs) in numerous ways. For the Europe region, the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has forced MOs to adapt how they deliver scouting based on ever-evolving restrictions implemented by national governments to control the spread of coronavirus. Early on in the Covid-19 pandemic, the majority of MOs across the WOSM Europe Region had moved to some form of a “home scouting” model, where scouting activities were delivered as remote activities using online platforms like Zoom. Home activities were sent to young people by email or other means to complete in their own time, or a myriad of other approaches that didn’t include traditional meetings at a central location on a weekly basis were implemented. This was a profound change in how local groups and MOs operated, with leaders needing to adapt their skills to different tools. They had to quickly develop alternative activities in order to keep Scouting active and support young members during lockdowns or other restrictions.

As a Strategic Priority in the Regional Scout Plan, understanding the Impact of Scouting and its educational methods is a complex and multi-faceted problem. A volunteer team within the region is continuing to develop upon the work from the world level, across the region and in individual MOs.

Responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, this team promptly developed a plan to capture and understand some of the impact of the new scouting environment on members. This research aimed to understand: • what, if any, impact home scouting had on young people’s ability to cope during the

Covid-19 pandemic

• what, if any, impact home scouting had on adults involved

• how well the scouting method can be adapted to home delivery

• what types of activities, if any, had the most positive impact on young people during the Covid-19 pandemic

Data for the research was collected near the end of the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe, during June 2020. Since then, many countries have continued to change restrictions based on the increasing or decreasing prevalence of the virus and MOs continue to adapt their provision to be delivered within the constraints of what is possible.

This report outlines the results of the research completed during 2020 on this subject and provides a brief analysis of regional results. Research was conducted using an online survey advertised to members from across the region, having been translated into 28 different languages. Over 3000 responses were received, providing the biggest response to a piece of research by the WOSM European Region in recent history.

Results of the survey showed that overall participants and organisers of home scouting activities found them to be positive, particularly valuing the social and community aspects. Parents of young people who engaged in home scouting activities ranked even higher the positive effect they had on the mood of the young people involved.