Independent Australian Scouts, previously known as Scouts of Australia (1992 to 2001), is a

Scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

organisation operating as a central umbrella organisation for independent local scout clubs or associations. Independent Australian Scouts is a member of the

Order of World Scouts The Order of World Scouts (OWS), founded in 1911, is the oldest international Scouting organisation. It is headquartered in England, with the administration headquarters in Italy. As of November 2008, the Order of World Scouts includes member ...

and became an affiliate and a successor to British Boy Scouts and British Girl Scouts Association in Australia. __TOC__

Programme

Independent Australian Scouts emphasises scouting as a simple, experiential, outdoor activity emulating frontier scouts in being self-reliant, thrifty and resourceful and useful and helpful. The association views the Scout Movement as part of the wider Woodcraft Movement. The association eschews the cult-like idolisation of

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 ...

, "family scouting", the unnecessary connection of scouting with later, ever more juvenile programs (such as

Wolf Cubs Cub Scouts, Cubs or Wolf Cubs are programs associated with Scouting for young children usually between 7 and 12, depending on the organization to which they belong. A participant in the program is called a Cub. A group of Cubs is called a 'P ...

Beavers Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers a ...

Joeys The Australia national under-17 soccer team represents Australia in men's international under-17 soccer. The team is controlled by the governing body for Football in Australia, Football Federation Australia (FFA), which is currently a membe ...

, Keas and

Squirrels Squirrels are members of the family (biology), family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flyi ...

), the over-involvement of adults, adult over-organisation of scouting, adults using scouting as a social outlet and the monopolisation and manipulation of scouting as a commercial product.

History

Independent Australian Scouts began as the Independent Scouts of Australia in 1986. The founding members were all former Queen's Scouts, with years of experience as scout leaders who were dissatisfied with the direction, costs and claims of The Scout Association of Australia. The association registered the name 'Independent Scouts of Australia Incorporated' in 1988. After contact in 1991 with the British Boy Scouts and British Girl Scouts Association, Scouts of Australia joined the

. In 1992, the organisation was incorporated nationally and renamed Scouts of Australia. Scouts of Australia successfully defended legal claims by The Scout Association of Australia to the exclusive right to use the name 'scout' and the

fleur-de-lis The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

scout emblem. The organisation's corporate name was changed to the present title in 2001. Independent Australian Scouts operated under the name 'Scouts of Australia' from 1992 and registered the business name 'Scouts of Australia'. Independent Australian Scouts adopted a logo consisting of a fleur-de-lis with a five-star southern cross constellation above the word 'Scouts' and applied for registration of a trademark 'Scout' in 1993, which was later withdrawn in the same year. Independent Australian Scouts offers a very simple organisational structure.

External links

Scouts of Australia

References

Non-aligned Scouting organizations Scouting and Guiding in Australia Organizations established in 1986 1986 establishments in Australia {{Scout-stub