World Organization of the Scout Movement


The World Organization of the Scout Movement, branded as World Scouting since 2024, is the largest and, after the Order of World Scouts, is the second-oldest international organization in the Scout Movement, having been established in 1922 as The International Conference of the Boy Scout Movement. It has 176 members. These members are national scout organizations that founded WOSM or have subsequently been recognised by WOSM, which in 2025 collectively have around 51.4 million participants, and a reach of 60 million young people. Its operational headquarters is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, although it is legally based in Geneva, Switzerland.
WOSM's stated mission is "to contribute to the education of young people, through a value system based on the Scout Promise and Scout Law, to help build a better world where people are self-fulfilled as individuals and play a constructive role in society".
WOSM operates through conferences of its member organization representatives, its committee and its full-time bureau, structured into regions. It is associated with three World Scout Centres. A World Scout Jamboree is held approximately every four years under its auspices and it organizes World Scout Moots for 17- to 26-year-olds and previously organized World Scout Indabas, a gathering for Scout leaders. The World Scout Foundation is a separately governed fund, supported by donations, for the development of WOSM associated programs.
WOSM is the counterpart of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. It is a non-governmental organization with General Consultative Status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

History

In 1920, a conference held during the 1st World Scout Jamboree at Olympia, London agreed to create a Boy Scouts international bureau. An office was established at 25 Buckingham Palace Road, London and The Boy Scouts Association of the United Kingdom International Commissioner, Hubert S. Martin, was appointed as honorary director. The bureau's principal task was to co-ordinate discussions and prepare a second international conference in Paris in 1922. At the 1922 Paris conference, The International Conference of the Boy Scout Movement and its committee were constituted and took over the bureau in London.
In 1961, the organization's conference reconstituted the organization under the name World Organization of the Scout Movement. Its International Conference of the Boy Scout Movement became WOSM's World Scout Conference, its Boy Scouts International Committee became WOSM's World Scout Committee and its Boy Scouts International Bureau became WOSM's World Scout Bureau.

Member organizations

Membership policy

WOSM's membership consists of its remaining founding member organizations and organizations recognized by WOSM as national scout organizations. WOSM's rules protect its founding and existing member organizations by permitting only one member organization in each country and locking-out all other Scout organizations from WOSM membership, recognition and participation no matter how worthy or large their membership. Several member organizations are federations, some with different component groups divided on the basis of religion, ethnic identification or language. However, WOSM has never required an existing member organization to federate with other Scout organizations in the country, in order to make WOSM more inclusive and representative. There are numerous Canadian Scout organizations but only one is a WOSM member organization which has a French language affiliate which is thereby recognized by WOSM. Other than this inherent limitation on WOSM membership, the basis for WOSM membership includes adherence to WOSM's aims and principles and independence from political involvement on the part of each member organization.

Member organizations in non-sovereign territories

WOSM has member organizations in some non-sovereign territories.
  • Aruba - Scouting Aruba: full member
  • Curaçao, Sint Maarten and the Caribbean Netherlands - Scouting Antiano: full member
  • Hong Kong - The Scout Association of Hong Kong: full member
  • Macau - Associação de Escoteiros de Macau: full member
  • French Polynesia - Conseil du Scoutisme polynésien: associate member

    Non-national members

WOSM historically recognized some non-national Scout organizations:
  • "National" organizations operating outside their original homelands. WOSM's conference admitted and recognised the exile Russian Scouts as the "Representatives of Russian Scouting in Foreign Countries" on 30 August 1922 and the Armenian Scouts in France were recognized as a "National Movement on Foreign Soil" on 30 April 1929.
  • Small, non-voting associations. The International Boy Scouts of the Canal Zone, a group in Panama with Scouts that claimed British and not Panamanian nationality was originally placed under the Boy Scouts of America's Canal Zone Council but, in 1947, was transferred under WOSM's bureau. The group had over 900 members in 1957 and existed as a directly registered group until the late 60s. The Boy Scouts of the United Nations began in 1945 and for years there was an active Boy Scouts of the United Nations with several troops at Parkway Village in New York City but only 14 members in 1959. Both the International Boy Scouts of the Canal Zone and the Boy Scouts of United Nations have long since disbanded.
  • Directly registered "mixed-nationality Troops" were registered after discussions concerning such troops took place at WOSM's 3rd conference in 1924 at which WOSM's bureau was authorized to directly register such groups. It seems that the discussion at WOSM's 1924 conference was, at least in part, prompted by a letter to Baden-Powell from the Scoutmaster of one such troop in Yokohama, Japan. Janning's troop became the first troop directly registered by WOSM's bureau. Only a few troops were directly registered and the practice was soon discontinued with new "mixed" groups being encouraged to join the WOSM member organization of their country of residence. In 1955, only two such groups were still active, a troop in Iraq that disbanded that year, and the first group to be so registered, the International Troop 1 in Yokohama. The only remaining directly registered Troop is the International Boy Scouts, Troop 1 located in Yokohama, Japan.
  • Temporary recognition was extended to Scouts in displaced persons camps after World War II. In 1947, at WOSM's 11th conference the "Displaced Persons Division" of WOSM's bureau was established to register and support Scouts in displaced person camps in Austria, Northern Italy, and Germany. These Scouts did not receive the right of WOSM membership but gained recognition as Scouts under WOSM's bureau until they took up residence in a country that had a recognized national Scout organization, which they could join. The D.P. Division was closed on 30 June 1950.

    Structure

Conference

WOSM's conference is its general meeting of member organizations' representatives which meet every three years, hosted by a member association. Each member organizations may send six delegates. The conference is usually preceded by the World Scout Youth Forum.
DateNumberLocationCountryMember CountriesHost Candidate Countries
1920Retrospectively referred to as the "First International Conference"LondonUnited Kingdom

Committee

WOSM's committee is its executive governing body, composed of elected volunteers and its secretary general, which is responsible for the implementation of the resolutions of its conference and governs the organization between meetings of its conference. The committee meets at least twice a year. Its steering committee, consisting of the chairperson, two vice-chairpersons and its youth advisor and secretary general meet as needed.
The committee has 21 members. Twelve, each from a different country, are elected for three-year terms by WOSM's conference. The members, elected without regard to their nationality, represent the interests of the movement as a whole, not those of their country. The secretary general, the treasurer of WOSM and a representative member of the board of the World Scout Foundation and the chairpersons of the regional Scout committees are ex-officio members of the committee. From 2008 to 2021 six Youth Advisors to the WSC were elected by the World Scout Youth Forum. The Youth Advisors participated in all of the WSC meetings and were also part of the governing structure between the meetings. There will be no Youth Advisors from 2024.
The 2021–2024 committee set up work streams to address the top strategic priorities, as defined by WOSM's conference.
Task forces include:
  • Youth Engagement in Decision-Making
  • Sustainability
Workstream Coordination Group
Standing committees include:
  • Audit
  • Budget
  • Constitutions
  • Ethics
  • Honours and Awards
  • Steering

    Incumbent committee members

Bureau

WOSM's bureau is its secretariat, which carries out the instructions of its conference and committee. The bureau is administered by the secretary general, supported by a staff of technical resource personnel.
A bureau was established in London, England in 1922, moved to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in 1959, Geneva, Switzerland after 1 May 1968 and Kuala Lumpur after August 2013.

Directors/Secretaries General

Deputy Secretaries General

Kandersteg International Scout Centre

in Switzerland, operated by The KISC Association, is the only WOSM activity centre.

Programmes

The Better World Framework combines the Scouts of the World Award, Messengers of Peace and World Scout Environment Programmes as programme initiatives administered by WOSM's bureau.