Kourkène (Georges) Medzadourian ( hy, Գուրգէն Մեծատուրեան) (July 10, 1908 - December 27, 1996) was the founder of the Haï Ari association of

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

n Scouts-in-Exile, based in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Scouting in Armenia was founded in 1912, then later developed abroad among the refugees who had survived the genocide of 1915-1916 and among those that had fled the new communist occupation of their lands, at which point Scouting ceased to exist in Armenia. ''Haï Ari'' (in French ''Association des Scouts Armeniens'', in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Association of

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

Scouts) was a member of the

World Organization of the Scout Movement 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 ...

from 1928 to 1997. The organization was recognized in exile, with headquarters in Paris and approximately 1,100 members in France. In 1929, World Scouting recognised the association of Armenian Scouts ''Haï Ari'', based in France. While the Association did not have its own territorial base, it was the exception to the rule, remaining a member of the World Organization and the

European Scout Region The European Scout Region is one of six geographical subdivisions of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with a satellite office in Brussels, Belgium. Structure Members The European Scout Region co ...

. In 1978, Medzadourian was awarded the ''

Bronze Wolf The Bronze Wolf Award is bestowed by the World Scout Committee (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 ...

'', the only distinction of the

, awarded by the World Scout Committee for exceptional services to world Scouting.

References

*Dr. László Nagy, ''250 Million Scouts'', The

World Scout Foundation The World Scout Foundation (WSF) is an international, non-profit institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. Its mission is to develop World Scouting by the provision of financial and other support through the World Organization of the Scout Movement ...

and Dartnell Publishers, 1985, complete list through 1981, from which the French Scoutopedia article is sourced *''Scouting Round the World'', John S. Wilson, first edition, Blandford Press 1959 *''Les exilés de la paix, by Georges Medzadourian (Éditions Entente - ()) Recipients of the Bronze Wolf Award French people of Armenian descent Scouting and Guiding in France Exile organizations Scouting and Guiding in Armenia 1908 births 1996 deaths Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to France {{Scout-bio-stub

See also

References