Messengers of Peace
ASIA-PACIFIC
QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER
Messengers of Peace quarterly newsletter is an initiative of the Asia-Pacific Support Centre of the World Scout Bureau highlighting the projects of National Scout Organizations under MoP Initiative.
I S S U E N o s . 2 0 & 21 O CT O BER 2 017-MAR CH 2018
Bhutan Scouts build capacity towards globalising MoP Network
what’s inside
2 7
Bhutan Scouts build capacity towards globalising MoP Network Rohingyan Emergency Assistance Bangladesh
4
6th ASEAN Scout Jamboree opens in Tagum City
8
10 Scout Leaders receive 2017 Messengers of Peace Heroes award
6 9
Marawi Emergency Relief Project Philippines MoP Local Coordinators training held in Yangon
Bhutan Scouts build capacity towards globalising MoP Network Forty-seven Scouts attended a specialised training about the Messengers of Peace Programme organised by the Bhutan Scouts Association at Damphu Resort Tsirang, south of Bhutan on 27 to 31 October 2017. The theme was ‘Globalising Messengers of Peace.’
2
MESSENGERS OF PEACE ASIA-PACIFIC
The training aims to train and equip the district’s MoP Coordinators with technical knowledge and expertise in achieving the target, and to strengthen Scouting and communities through the MoP programme. BSA adopted the Messenger of
Peace (MoP) Programme of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 2012 and has been promoting the programme ever since. In 2017, to revitalise the rapid move at the grassroots, the training was organised. “We are heading to the critical times and have seen the rapid
growth of globalisation in the world today. My sincere appreciation to the Scout Leaders’ initiatives in promoting Scouting to provide and play a healing music to the world, which also supports Bhutan’s national vision to see happiness in every community”, said Mr. Namgay Dorji, chief guest during his keynote speech. Mr. Dorji is also the Vice President of Tsirang Distrcit, and a graduate of the wood badge course. The gathering played an excel-
lent opportunity to strengthen the network and to reach out to more Scouts in the country. The participants prepared a twoyear NSO Action Plan on MoP Initiatives for 2017-2019. They also discussed the role of National MoP Coordinators, noting that it is their duty to bring positive change and be an inspiration in Scouting throughout the country. The workshop was made possible thru the support of the Bhutanese
King, His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and the Chief Commissioner Goling Tshering of the Bhutan Scouts Association. International Commissioner Karma Tenzin, served as Gathering Director, with technical support from Ms. Venny Indri Christiyanti, MoP National Coordinator of Gerakan Pramuka Indonesia, and representatives from the World Scout Bureau Asia-Pacific Support Centre.
MESSENGERS OF PEACE ASIA-PACIFIC
3
4
MESSENGERS OF PEACE ASIA-PACIFIC
6th ASEAN Scout Jamboree opens in Tagum City The highly-anticipated 6th ASEAN Scout
derie and contribute to the growth
Jamboree finally began on 27 November
and stability of the Scout Movement
2017 at the Energy Park in Tagum City.
in the ASEAN region,” Tagum City Mayor
30,314 Scouts and Scout Leaders from 20
Allan L. Rellon said during his welcome
different countries piled up for the grand
message. Rellon also served as the
opening. The ceremony was graced by the
camp chief of the jamboree.
Philippines’ 4th highest official, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez of the House of Repre-
“This gathering bears a sense of higher
sentatives.
purpose – to build friendships to solidify the region’s oneness,” he added.
The week-long jamboree was partici pated by contingents from nine ASEAN
One of the highlights of the jamboree
countries, including token delegates
was the ASEAN Better World Village.
from Bangladesh, Hong Kong,
In the module, the Scouts participat-
India, Kuwait, Macau, Maldives,
ing where provided with the avenue
Nepal, Netherlands, South Korea,
to share, talk and discuss issues
Sri Lanka and Timor Leste.
about the core educational components of the WOSM Better World Pro-
“The true essenge of the jamboree is to make friends, develop camara-
grammes - peace, environment and development.
5
Marawi Emergency Relief Project
PHILIPPINES
On October 23, 2017, the Philippine government declared an end to the five-month fighting in the city of Marawi. The conflict left the city in total devastation. Various sectors are now being involved in order to help as the rebuilding effort begun. Maranao People Development Center (MARADECA) carried out a rapid needs and market assessment in Iligan City — where many families have found refuge and
6
MESSENGERS OF PEACE ASIA-PACIFIC
markets are operating normally — and found that families are most in need of clean water and cash for food, health care and essential sanitation and hygiene items. According to MARADECA, very few agencies are providing assistance and the support from the government is still very limited. Families affected by the conflict have received food packs, though there have been complaints that the food
packs are of poor quantity and quality. In response, the Boy Scouts of the Philippines organised emergency relief operations and provided the displaced families with rice, canned goods and noodles. They also provided used clothes, blankets, including new hygiene tool kits. The emergency relief operations were participated by BSP’s 121 local councils across the country.
Rohingyan Emergency Assistance
BANGLADESH Children make up about 60% of the estimated 480,000 Rohingya people who seek refuge from Myanmar to Bangladesh. The government’s Social Welfare Ministry has asked local authorities for 200 acres (80 hectares) of land to build facilities for the children without parents. About 1,580 of such children have already registered. The children who are now orphans need to be tended upon. Their health and hygiene issues continue to be top priorities. They will be taught personal health and hygiene which include distribution of slippers, soaps, nail-cutters, toothpaste and brush, among others.
7
10 Scout Leaders receive 2017 Messengers of Peace Heroes award More than 30 people from all over the world arrived in Malaysia to attend the Messengers of Peace Heroes ceremony held on 3 December 2017 at the World Scout Bureau, Global Support Centre in Kuala Lumpur. Throughout the weekend, the 2017 and 2016 Messengers of Peace Hero awardees, youth advisors, Scout ambassadors, and facilitators met and shared their experiences as Scouts and as Messengers of Peace. Five external speakers and public speaking experts coached each participant, helping them to tell the story of Scouting. The participants also developed their team spirit through a challenging obstacle course, where they had to climb, jump, slide – all in record time! They took part in small group sessions on topics such as ‘how to inspire others via social media,’
8
MESSENGERS OF PEACE ASIA-PACIFIC
‘how to fund a project’ and ‘how to create a network.’ Daria from Ukraine enjoyed all the programmes. “I was most impressed [with] our team building game. The most useful for me was the public speaking session and the session about the Scout Donation Platform and the Scout of the World Award programme,” she said. Sunday afternoon was the highlight of the weekend – it was time for the official ceremony. The speech coaching was fruitful as the awardees managed to engage those present with their compelling stories on how they are serving and improving their communities through their projects. The ten awardees, representing all World Scouting Regions, described their incredible work not only in front of the audience but also in front of the whole world via Facebook live.
“It is hard to imagine if I was in their situation, especially when they have to deal with post-war period, natural disasters, hygiene and diversity issues. This becomes a reminder that we can always do better and beyond, more than we could ever wish, starting from the smallest thing,” remarked Venny Indri Christiyanti, a Scout Hero from Indonesia. WOSM Secretary General, Ahmad Alhendawi, congratulated and commended the heroes before presenting them with their awards. Keynote speaker Sarah Chen, a Scout who is now CEO of Making Asia and co-founder of Lean In Malaysia, also delivered a motivational speech on her efforts to spread a culture of peace, and defend women’s rights.
MoP Local Coordinators training held in Yangon As the Messenger of Peace (MoP) initiative goes global, Myanmar Scout Association and Asia-Pacific Scout Region jointly organized a training for MoP Local Coordinators on 7-11 February 2018 at the National Reconciliation and Peace Centre in Yangon. The five-day training aims to promote the peace network in local communities and, in the long run, inspire and engage young people across the country. Forty-seven participants learned practical methods of undertaking peace-related activities. Most of them are fresh from college, some are students, and others are Scout leaders from 14 provinces. In a field activity, as part of their practicum, they ran modules for over 150 university students. This is a hands-on exercise they could replicate in their provinces as they are expected to serve as MoP local coordinators.
In his address, Dr. Tin Myo Win, Chairman of Union of Peace Commission and Head of National Reconciliation and Peace Centre stressed the important of peace. “We need peace for the economic development and prosperity of our country. The requirements for achieving peace are love, kindness, empathy and trust,” he said. “This training could greatly increase the number of people who are actively working for peace,” he added. “I believe from my heart that the peace starting from oneself can bring peace to our society and for creating a better world. Lord Baden Powel gave a comment on Myanmar in his book that Myanmar has the happiest people in the world. That’s enough inspiration to keep us moving towards peace through Scouting” said Chief Commissioner
Tin Nyo Win in a separate statement. The training was spearheaded by Myanmar’s Adults in Scouting Commissioner, Myint Swe. He was assisted by a competent pool of MoP NSO Coordinators from Thailand and Indonesia, as well as some technical guidance from the World Scout Bureau Asia-Pacific Support Centre. In a separate meeting, members of the APR Scout Committee headed by Chairman Paul Parkinson met with the leaders of Myanmar Scouts to plan for the continuous development of the Scouting program in the country. Since the training took place, the Myanmar Messengers of Peace team has taken a leap in undertaking peace actions and peace initiative.
MESSENGERS OF PEACE ASIA-PACIFIC
9
Scouts gather for World Olympic Youth Camp in Gangwon Province
Three-hundred participants from 73 countries gathered in Gangwon Province on 22-26 February 2018 to participate in the World Olympic Youth Camp organized by the Korea Scout Association. The five-day camp included a peace forum, olympic music festival, sight-seeing and watching
10
an olympic freestyle skiing event. The Governor of Gangwon Province hosted the welcome dinner. The introduction of the Messenger of Peace (MoP) programme was the highlight of the Peace Forum. Scouts and non-Scouts were given a chance to hear inspiring stories of MoP projects around the
MESSENGERS OF PEACE ASIA-PACIFIC
world. After exchanging different views and ideas on projects for peace and diversity, participants were then introduced to the MoP Dance and Song. The gathering connects the youth from around the world to promote and celebrate peace which is the forefront of this year’s Olympic Games.
MESSENGERS OF PEACE ASIA-PACIFIC
11
Scouts celebrate Earth Hour 2018
More than five-hundred Scouts gathered in Pasay City for the main event of the Earth Hour celebration in the Philippines on 24 March 2018. Projecting the full complement of their Scout uniforms, the participants experienced several exciting activities prepared by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) prior to the main event. “The Boy Scouts of the Philippines has been participating in Earth Hour activities, most especially during the switch-off in malls and in their homes. However, this year is different because some [of the 2.6 million members of the] BSP participated in the actual
12
program,� said Ms. Janice Q. Cartago of the BSP Public Relations and Communications Office. Earth Hour is an annual global event which aims to spread awareness in local communities. Turning off the lights for one hour create a visual statement in the importance of saving energy. It creates global awareness about environmental issues. The Scouts were mobilized as part of a global partnership between the World Organization of Scout Movement (WOSM) under its Environmental Education program and WWF. Scouts and the WWF ambassadors ended the program by reading their pledge for the environment.
MESSENGERS OF PEACE ASIA-PACIFIC
MESSENGERS OF PEACE ASIA-PACIFIC
13
Messengers of Peace Regional Team REGIONAL DECISION COMMITTEE
Peter Blatch Chay Hong Leng J. Rizal C. Pangilinan REGIONAL OFFICE COORDINATOR
S Prassanna Shrivastava Director, Development Support & Finance REGIONAL SUPPORT TEAM
J. Rizal C. Pangilinan Regional Director S Prassanna Shrivastava Director, Development Support & Finance Nancy P. Ladores Assistant, Development Support Matthew Valdeavilla Special Project Officer, Organizational Development and Messenger of Peace
MoP NATIONAL COORDINATORS AUSTRALIA: Johnathan Raymond Morey
MALAYSIA: Amir Hamzah bin Aman
BANGLADESH: M. Mohd. Monirul Islam Khan
MYANMAR: Kyaw Nyi Nyi Zin
BHUTAN: Nawang Gyaltshen BRUNEI DARUSSALAM: Liyana Binti Haji Salleh
MALDIVES: Ibrahim Rasheed NEPAL: Ram Prasad Bhattarai NEW ZEALAND: Michael Jeffrey PAKISTAN: Zahid Mahboob
CAMBODIA: Chek LIM
PNG: Vagi Clergy Waru Vagi
SCOUTS OF CHINA: Sherman Sheng, Hsiao-Ming
PHILIPPINES: Carmelo B. Francia
FIJI: Kailash Vimal Pillay
SINGAPORE: Tan Sijie SRI LANKA: Prabath Kularathna
HONG KONG: Peggy TAM Siu-lan INDIA: Krishnaswamy R. INDONESIA: Venny Indri Christiyanti JAPAN: Katsuhiro Takahashi KOREA: Kim Su Yeon
THAILAND: H.E. Dr. Poldej Worachat MACAU: Tang Chon Meng, Jacky SCOUT POLYNESIA: Raiarii Benjamin Tama TIMOR LESTE: Viriato Da Costa Seac
KIRIBATI: Mataiti Bwebwe
EDITORIAL & PROMOTION TEAM
Luz Taray Director, Comm. & Partnerships Theresa Quine Assistant, Comm. Kenny Fernando Special Project Officer, Comm. Neil Bolandrina Assistant, Comm & IS
Messenger of Peace| Asia-Pacific Region
www.scout.org/messengersofpeace @ScoutinginAPR
@ScoutinginAPR
Log-in to scout.org. Create your profile. Share your stories. For any information or for submitting your MOP initiatives, please contact Asia-Pacific Support Centre Tel: (+63 2) 818 0984/ 817 1675 Fax: (+63 2) 819 0093 Website: www.scout.org/asia-pacific Email: asia-pacific@scout.org Facebook: Scouting in Asia-Pacific Region