Post date: Jul 11, 2017 3:19:12 PM
Hung M. La
To future generations of Vietnam Scouters,
For the Scouters who have guided many youth generations since 1954, and
To my brothers, Pham Van Tai and Dang Quoc Hung,
Who have shown me the paths of Scouting.
Founded in 1914, Scouts Canada has operated continuously for over a hundred years. At its peak in 1965, the total membership of Scouts Canada (hereafter “Scouts Canada” or “SC”) was 319,938, or approximately 1.63% of the population. Although rich in history, National Scout Organizations (NSOs) around the world today generally share a common concern about how to maintain a sustainable movement that remains relevant to the ever-changing values of society. They all believe in not losing the core values and traditions of an informal education movement and in helping young people become productive citizens.
This essay will look first to the past, examine and analyze the reasons for the increase and decrease in the membership of Scouts Canada as well as the level of Scouting activity in some other NSOs in the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) and a case study – The Scout Association of UK. The following chapter details the actions taken by Scouts Canada - from 1997 to 2016 - to address the steady and alarming decline in membership over the decade from 1996 to 2006. These actions are new leadership training initiatives for members of different age groups, redefining strategic directions, setting the agenda, public consultation, reviewing the entire program, updating and implementing the modern program. The results of Scouts Canada's efforts to halt membership decline over the past 10 years are unclear. In general, the loss rate of more than 12,000 members a year earlier has disappeared. Despite three consecutive years of growth from 2010 to 2012, Scouts Canada lost an average of nearly 2,000 members per year. The worst drops are for Beaver Scouts, Cub Scouts and Scouters. The number of Scouts has not decreased too much, along with Venturer Scouts and Rover Scouts have continued to grow. Scouts Canada's total membership in 2016 is 82,194 people, 0.23% of the national population.
The last part of this essay lists the new ways, means and resources Scouts Canada is using to preserve and revitalize the movement, and to find out what lessons from the US, UK, Australia and Canada apply to Scouting in Vietnam. It is currently in a very different situation from a national scout organization in the democratic society of a developed country.