Other Scout Associations in Belarus

Ab'yadnannye Belaruskikh Skautaǔ

The Organization of Belarusian Scouts Ab'yadnannye Belaruskikh Skautaǔ based in Minsk, was founded in April, 1992 and has approximately 1,000 members, in groups in the capital, as well as Baranovichi, Buiki, Homyel, Hrodna, Rahačoŭ, Ruba, and Vileika. The Chairperson in 1998 was Nikolai Grakov. Critics of the pro-Russian Belaruskaya Natsianalnaya Skautskaya Asatsiyatsia see it as a government mouthpiece and direct descendant of the communist Pioneers, whitewashed for western consumption. Hence, the dissident, Belarusian and democratically oriented Ab'yadnannye Belaruskikh Skautaǔ has stayed separate, and largely underground due to political constraints. The ABS bought a country house to use as a camping center and organized regional camps there in the summer of 2003. One of the ABS regional newsletters is becoming a citywide school paper with around 1000 circulation, as of 2004. Baranovichi (Belarusian Баранавiчы | Baranavičy; Polish Baranowicze) is a city in the Brest voblast in western Belarus with a population of 173 000 (as of 1995). ... There exists a link between one of the non-NSAB Belarusian Scout organizations and the Union Internationale des Guides et Scouts d'Europe, a Christian-based Scout alternative, but it is uncertain to whom they are linked.

International Scouting units in Belarus

In addition, there are American Boy Scouts in Minsk, serving in Boy Scout Troop 1101, linked to the Direct Service branch of the Boy Scouts of America, which supports units around the world.

ASSOCIATION OF BELARUSIAN GUIDES

The Association of Belarusian Guides (ABG) is the Belarusian member organization of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), with a membership of 1,274 Girl Guides (as of 2003).

Belarusian Guiding started in 1922 in the then Polish parts of present Belarus. In 1992, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the restart of Guiding was supported by WAGGGS; leader training was undertaken by the Girl Guides Association of Cyprus. The association became a member of WAGGGS in 1996.

History

The initial development of Scouting in Belarus took place within the Russian Scout movement, as part of the Russian empire. A Scout organization was founded in Kletsk, and Scouts appeared in Nyasvizh and other nearby villages. In 1929, American Methodists helped found a Girl Scout organization in Vilna. It lasted until 1929, but by the end of the 1920s, Scouting had been banned by the Soviet Union, and Scout activities ended, with many leaders and members arrested and imprisoned.

Emergence of democratic principles in the mid1980s made possible the creation of alternatives to the communist pioneer organizations. Close connections were formed with Guide and Scout organizations of many European countries, when children from areas affected by the Chernobyl accident were invited to summer camps abroad during the Chernobyl Children's Project in 1990. Especially close links were developed with Cyprus, and between Minsk and the Guides of Lincolnshire. In 1992, Cyprus was officially appointed Link country to support the development of Guiding in Belarus, and in June 1993 the first conference of the Association of Belarusian Guides was held in Minsk. There is also a close link to Pfadfinder und Pfadfinderinnen Österreichs in Austria. In 2000 a delegation of Association of Belarusian Guides took part in the Viennese International Regional Camp "Vienna 2000", in 2003 a delegation took part in the Freelife Jamboree in Upper Austria, in 2008 Guides from Belarus took part in AQUA!-The Water Jamboree also in Upper Austria and in spring 2009 a Guider from the Association of Belarusian Guides took part in the Wood Badge training course of Pfadfinder und Pfadfinderinnen Österreichs. In 2003/04 the Austrian Boy Scouts and Girl Guides supported "Mediaboom", a project on media and journalism of the Belarusian Girl Guides.

Since the nuclear accident at Chernobyl, neighboring Belarus received some of the highest levels of radiation; the results of which can still be seen in the environment and in the health of the population. Svetlana Korotkevich, International Commissioner of the Association of Belarusian Girl Guides, is working on its Chernobyl project to raise awareness of the ongoing problems resulting from the disaster and to encourage associations in other countries to welcome groups of Belarusian children in order to give them a healthy break in a "clean" environment.

Emblem

The Association of Belarusian Guides' emblem features a white stork, one of Belarus' unofficial national symbols.

PIONEER MOVEMENT

A pioneer movement is an organization for children. Typically children enter into the organization in elementary school and continue until adolescence. Prior to the 1990s there was a wide cooperation between pioneer and similar movements of about 30 countries, coordinated by the international organization, International Committee of Children's and Adolescents' Movements, founded in 1958, with headquarters in Budapest.

Pioneer Movement member's pin, depicting Lenin, inscribed "Always Prepared".

In most post-communist countries, membership of the pioneer movement is officially optional. Many features of the pioneer movement made it essentially different from Scout movement, particularly as the Scout movement is independent of government control and political parties. For example, there were no separate organizations for boys and girls. During the existence of the USSR, thousands of Young Pioneer camps and Young Pioneer Palaces were built exclusively for Young Pioneers, which were free of charge, sponsored by the government and Trade Unions There were many newspapers and magazines published for Young Pioneers in millions of copies.

Some features, however, are reminiscent of the Scout movement. The two movements share some principles like preparedness and promotion of sports and outdoor skills.

A member of the movement is known as a pioneer, and a scarf is the traditional item of clothing worn by a pioneer. The pioneer organization is often named after a famous party member that is considered a suitable role model for young communists. In the Soviet Union it was Lenin; in East Germany, it was Ernst Thälmann. The Thälmann pioneers were taught the slogan "Ernst Thälmann is my role model. We wear our red scarf with pride." Albania, which had severed diplomatic relations with the USSR since 1961, also had a certain variant of Pioneer organization, called Pioneers of Enver, named after the communist ruler of Albania, Enver Hoxha.

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