Scouting and Guiding Federation of Turkey (''Türkiye İzcilik Federasyonu'', TİF) is the national Scouting and Guiding federation of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. It serves 33,974 Scouts (as of 2011) and 2,883 Guides (as of 2006). The federation is 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 ...

since 1950, and the

World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS ) is a global association supporting the female-oriented and female-only Guiding and Scouting organizations in 152 countries. It was established in 1928 in Parád, Hungary, and has its ...

since 1987.

History

The start of Scouting in Turkey is attributed to the brothers

Ahmet Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...

and Abdurrahman Robenson, who were

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

s at the

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...

and Kabataş

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

(today: Istanbul) in 1909, and to Nafi Arif Kansu and

Ethem Nejat Ethem Nejat or Edhem Nejad (1883 – 28 January 1921) was a Turkish educator, revolutionary and left communist politician. Known for his contributions to the modernization of Turkish education system during his lifetime, he was one of the found ...

, with first units organized at Darüşşafaka, Galatasaray, and İstanbul high schools, during the late Ottoman period. During this same period, Scouting was created independently in outlying areas of the Ottoman Empire, most notably

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

and Syria. In 1915 an Austro-Hungarian Scout unit in Constantinople was founded and served up to 1918. This unit was a member of the Österreichischer Pfadfinderbund This Scout Association supported the foundation of Scout groups in Damascus,

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

and Aleppo. The Scouting efforts were put to a halt during the Balkan Wars and

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and again gained momentum after the foundation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, following the fall of the Ottoman Empire. In 1926, Scouting activities began to be organized nationwide in schools. Samsun Lisesi izcileri, 1933

Ahmet Han, the Director of Scouting, and Muhittin Akdik, the Director of Education in İstanbul, visited

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 ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and Switzerland in 1946 to study Scouting and its

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...

, and returned determined to build up the movement on fundamental and modern lines. Sıtkı Sanoplu was responsible for starting the

Cub Scout 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 ...

program in 1950. Cub packs existed in the coeducational

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s, and were themselves coed, but boys and girls were placed in separate ''sixes'', or dens. Practically all the Cubmasters were

women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

J. S. Wilson Colonel John Skinner "Belge" Wilson (1888–1969) was a Scottish scouting luminary and friend and contemporary of Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, General Baden-Powell, recruited by him to head the International Bureau, later to be ...

, Director of the Boy Scouts International Bureau, began his 1952 tour of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

visiting Cub Scout packs, Scout troops and Girl Guide companies in İstanbul and

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

. With the 1991 breakup of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, it was suggested that the Turkish Scouting and Guiding Federation should assist in the creation of Scout movements in the Turkic

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

n republics of

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

and

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

, but it is uncertain if this plan ever materialized. The current Scouting and Guiding Federation of Turkey was legally organized in 1992 as administratively bound to the

General Directorate of Youth and Sport A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

. In February 2007, the federation gained autonomous status.

Northern Cyprus Turkish Scouts

The Scouts of Northern Cyprus (Turkish: ''Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk İzcileri'') is a Scouting federation active in the ''de facto''

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, ''KKTC''), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. Reco ...

, and has strong ties to the Scouting and Guiding Federation of Turkey.

Program

There is an annual week called "The Scout - The Helper", which gives all members of the Scouting and Guiding Federation an opportunity to participate in community service projects, where they help for a week in hospitals, at the

Red Crescent The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

association, and in similar organizations. Scouts plant

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s in

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

s in cooperation with the

Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

. In Turkey,

the Battle Hymn of the Republic The "Battle Hymn of the Republic", also known as "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory" or "Glory, Glory Hallelujah" outside of the United States, is a popular American patriotic song written by the abolitionist writer Julia Ward Howe. Howe wrote her l ...

is sung as a Scout camp song with Turkish lyrics, by both Boy Scouts and Girl Guides.

Program sections

Cub Scouts 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 ...

- ages 7 to 11 * Scouts - ages 11 to 15 * Venture Scout- ages 15 to 18İzcilik Terminolojisi
/ref> Only the Cub packs are open to boys and girls, the older sections operate in single-gender groups.

Scout Motto

The

Scout Motto The Scout Motto of the Scout movement is, in English, "Be Prepared", with most international branches of the group using a close translation of that phrase. These mottoes have been used by millions of Scouts around the world since 1907. Most of ...

is ''Daima Hazır'', ''Always Prepared'' in Turkish.

Scout Oath

Turkish: ''Tanrıya, vatanıma karşı görevlerimi yerine getireceğime, izcilik türesine uyacağıma; Başkalarına her zaman yardımda bulunacağıma; Kendimi bedence sağlam, fikirce uyanık, ve ahlakça dürüst tutmak için elimden geleni yapacağıma; Şerefim üzerine söz veririm.'' Translation: On my honour, I promise to do my duty to God and my country, to obey the Scouting Laws, to help other people at all times, to be physically strong, mentally awake and morally strong.

Emblem

The membership badge of the Scouting and Guiding Federation of Turkey incorporates elements of the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

as well as the

flag of Turkey The national flag of Turkey, officially the Turkish flag ( tr, Türk bayrağı), is a red flag featuring a white star and crescent. The flag is often called "the red flag" (), and is referred to as "the red banner" () in the Turkish national an ...

. The

trefoil A trefoil () is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings, used in architecture and Christian symbolism, among other areas. The term is also applied to other symbols with a threefold shape. A similar shape with four ring ...

represents the Girl Guides 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 ...

the Boy Scouts.

Uniform

References

*''Scouting 'Round the World'', John S. Wilson, first edition, Blandford Press 1959.

External links

Official website
{{TUR sport federations World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts member organizations World Organization of the Scout Movement member organizations Scouting and Guiding in Turkey Youth organizations established in 1909 Organizations based in Ankara Child-related organizations in Turkey Sports governing bodies in Turkey Youth organizations established in 1992 1992 establishments in Turkey 1909 establishments in the Ottoman Empire