Over the last two weeks, the Madagascan capital of Antananarivo played host to hundreds of Scouts from across Africa who came together for a series of events – starting with the International Leadership Training to the Good Governance Workshop, then the 10th Africa Scout Youth Forum before culminating with the 19th Africa Scout Conference at the Centre de Conference International Ivato.
I had the pleasure of supporting these events in the company World Scouting colleagues and volunteers with the support of our hosts Firaisan’ny Skotisma eto Madagasikara. I delivered a session on Storytelling and Personal Branding at the Good Governance Workshop and facilitated a panel discussion on Youth Leadership with Calisto Ochieng before delivering a plenary session on the New World Scouting’s Advocacy and Youth Representation Model alongside Ivy Murugi and Lucas Andriantsimba. At the Conference I co-led with Steve Kent a breakout session on Partnerships and Fundraising Support to National Scout Organisations. I also coordinated the accreditation process for delegates, observers and guests together with Jonathan Omondi and Vete Emmanuel besides helping out with communications and engagements with partners. I also got to support the hosting of Africa Scout Foundation’s gala dinner to appreciate and recognize donors who’ve shown great commitment to supporting Scouting in Africa.
Beyond capacity building for young people and adult volunteers, these events unified the Scouts in Africa around discussions to shape the future of the Movement in the region under the theme “Living Together for Peace.” It was lovely to see everything and everyone come together after months of planning.
Here are some of the key highlights from the events:
- Empowered 26 young people from 21 countries with leaderships skills to drive social impact
- Strengthened the capacity of 18 leaders from 7 countries in good governance and quality management.
- 60 young people from 31 countries took part in the 10th Africa Scout Youth Forum electing six new Youth Advisors to the Africa Scout Committee and submitting a raft of recommendations on youth participation, involvement and leadership as well as well as the recognition of non-formal education to the Africa Scout Conference.
- Over 200 delegates and observers from all 42 National Scout Organisations in the region attended the 19th Africa Scout Conference, where a new Africa Scout Committee was elected and important resolutions and strategic decisions on future of Scouting in Africa were adopted, enriched with engaging sessions, interactive workshops, and valuable contributions from the participants.
You can read more about the outcomes at https://www.scout.org/africa and access the photos at https://brand.scout.org/document/82.
My favourite things about such events are the many fun moments beyond the hard work and how wonderful it always is to reconnect with old friends – some dating back to over a decade – and to meet new ones from around the world. I also must say how proud I was to see my successor in the regional communications role, Benson Makusha, take things to a whole new level. Big up!
Thank you Madagascar for the warm hospitality, and to every single person involved in making this another memorable Scouting experience. Thank you, Misaotra anao, Merci, Obrigado!