Talk:Jacques Moreillon

to be added in later
-Page 6 World Organization of the Scout Movement – Triennial Report 1996-1999 Page 5 THE SECRETARY GENERAL I invite you to read this Triennial Report because we have accomplished a lot in the last three years. I believe that we have used our resources wisely, frugally, and productively. By all standards, I think we have been excellent custodians of the resources provided to us, and our performance speaks well for itself. We would not have these achievements without the partnerships we have formed and the support received from many other organizations. They are mentioned throughout this report, and listed on page 45.I want to thank Abdoulaye Sar, who retired at the end of 1996, and Mateo Jover who retired in March 1999, for their many years of dedicated service. They, and their skills, are missed but we have not had the resources to replace them. At long last, we have strengthened our administration with a new deputy director for administration, and added staff support in the area of information technology. We have been too vulnerable in these areas for quite some time. Although we have addressed these particular needs, there are many more. The staff is smaller now than it was when I arrived 11 years ago, 24 now and 29 then, yet we have 32 more member countries, and a new region, and there are 37 countries working to qualify for membership. Meanwhile, in real terms, our budget has remained essentially frozen!In Durban, I will speak about some ways of keeping Scouting meaningful and strong in the years to come. I’ll mention them very briefly here: It is my conviction that Scouting has been, can be, and should be an active agent of social change. As Baden-Powell said, we must “leave the world a better place than we found it. ”B-P wanted young people who were autonomous and responsible, committed and supportive; young people who, today and tomorrow, would make a difference in society, a society of which one could say that it was better thanks to the fact that these young people had been Scouts or Guides. But do we really see ourselves as a Movement that should improve society?Do we in Scouting sufficiently understand that we have unique and successful method of non-formal education, which is not provided by schools, or the family.Do we make the world and national leaders sufficiently aware of today’s global educational deficit, and tell them that Scouting, Guiding and other non-formal educational youth movements can help overcome this deficit?But Scouting alone cannot influence the opinions of world and national leaders. We must build long-term strategic alliances with those other worldwide youth movements which share many of our ideals and some of our objectives. This kind of advocacy is exactly what we have done with my colleagues, the Chief Executive Officers of WAGGGS, YMCA, YWCA, the Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Award Association and others to produce The Education of Young People and its new complement on National Youth Policies. (see page 9)Thinking toward the future of Scouting, we must also consider our 100th Anniversary in 2007. Work is well under way at the world level, but I am disappointed that so few countries have started themselves on the project.Finally, to keep Scouting strong in the coming years will require more “reaching out”, to young people who can benefit from Scouting. They may be in low-income, inner-city or rural areas, children with special needs, or children in countries where Scouting is just starting. They need us.Together we face the next millennium in good spirit and confidence. Jacques Moreillon Secretary General World Organization of the Scout Movement