The Bronze Wolf Award is bestowed by the

World Scout Committee The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest international Scouting organization. WOSM has 173 members. These members are recognized national Scout organizations, which collectively have around 43 million participants. WOSM ...

(WSC) to acknowledge "outstanding service by an individual to the World Scout Movement". It is the highest honor that can be given a volunteer Scout leader in the world and it is the only award given by the WSC. Since the award's creation in 1935, fewer than 400 of the several millions of Scouts throughout the world have received the award.

History

Scouting's founder,

Robert Baden-Powell Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; (Commonly pronounced by others as ) 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder and first Chief Scout of the worl ...

, initially recognized outstanding contributions to Scouting by any

Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

with the bestowal of the Silver Wolf, but although he was Chief Scout of the World, the Silver Wolf was associated with British Scouting. In 1924, the International Committee, predecessor of the WSC, determined that it needed an award to be given out in its own name and at its own recommendation. Baden-Powell wanted to limit the number of awards, but recognized that the concerns of the committee were valid. Conversation about the matter was re-opened in 1932, with a decision reached in June 1934. The WSC approved use of the award in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

on 2 August 1935 and unanimously awarded the first Bronze Wolf to Baden-Powell.

Qualifications

The Bronze Wolf Award is the highest honor that is given a volunteer Scout leader throughout the world. It given in recognition to Scouters who have contributed exceptional, noteworthy, and extraordinary service to the World Scout Movement. It recognizes the individual's contributions, service, dedication, and many years of volunteer work in successfully implementing the Scouting program. It is only "given to people that have provided a lifetime of selfless and voluntary service to the upliftment and service of youth and country."

Recipients

In order to keep the award a notable honor, the International Committee limited the number of awards within a two-year period to two, though in practice it was given even more rarely, with only 12 awards being bestowed between 1935 and 1955. As Scouting's numbers have increased, so have the number of awards bestowed. Between 1955 and 2015, the award was bestowed 346 times. The guidelines of the WSC dictate that the number of awards granted should be limited to "approximately one award for each 2,000,000 members worldwide". , the World Scout Bureau estimates there are about 28 million Scouts worldwide. Eight Bronze Wolf Awards were given in 2017. Among the recipients have been heads of state such as

Hamengkubuwono IX Hamengkubuwono IX or HB IX (12 April 1912 – 2 October 1988) was an Indonesian statesman and royal who was the second vice president of Indonesia, the ninth sultan of Yogyakarta, and the first governor of the Special Region of Yogyakarta. Hamen ...

, Vice President of Indonesia,

Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. He ascended the throne on the death of his grandfather, Gustaf VI Adolf, on 15 September 1973. He is the youngest child and only son of Prince Gustaf Adolf, D ...

Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg Jean (Jean Benoît Guillaume Robert Antoine Louis Marie Adolphe Marc d'Aviano; 5 January 1921 – 23 April 2019) was the Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1964 until his abdication in 2000. He was the first Grand Duke of Luxembourg of French agnatic ...

Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej ( th, ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; ; ; (Sanskrit: ''bhūmi·bala atulya·teja'' - "might of the land, unparalleled brilliance"); 5 December 192713 October 2016), conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Great ...

and Philippine president

Fidel Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (, ; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military ...

Description

The Bronze Wolf award consists of a dark green ribbon bordered by two narrow stripes of yellow from which descends a bronze

pendant A pendant is a loose-hanging piece of jewellery, generally attached by a small loop to a necklace, which may be known as a "pendant necklace". A pendant earring is an earring with a piece hanging down. Its name stems from the Latin word ...

of a wolf, statant. The wolf bears the

World Scout Emblem The World Scout Emblem is the emblem of the World Organization of the Scout Movement and is worn by Scouts and Scouters around the world to indicate their membership. Each national Scout organization determines the manner in which the emblem is wo ...

References

{{Scouting Awards established in 1935 Scout and Guide awards