The World Federation of Independent Scouts (WFIS) is a

non-governmental A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

international

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 ...

organization with over 7 million members in 151 affiliated Scout organizations in 65 countries. WFIS was formed in

Laubach Laubach is a town of approximately 10,000 people in the Gießen region of Hesse, Germany. Laubach is known as a ', a climatic health resort. It is situated east of Gießen. Surrounding Laubach are the towns of Hungen, Grünberg, Schotten and ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, in 1996 by

Lawrie Dring Lawrence 'Lawrie' Dring (4 July 1931 – 6 September 2012) was a British Scouter who was one of the founding members of the Baden-Powell Scouts' Association (BPSA) and of the World Federation of Independent Scouts (WFIS). He was President ...

, a British Scouter with the independent

Baden-Powell Scouts' Association The Baden-Powell Scouts' Association (''B-PSA'') is a worldwide youth organisation originating in the United Kingdom, with friendly relationships with similar traditional scouting organisations in various countries. Baden-Powell Scouting focuses ...

(BPSA). The World Federation of Independent Scouts is open to any Scouting association that is not affiliated with another international organization. WFIS requires that member associations "follow, and use, Baden-Powell's original program, traditions, uniforms, morals, ethics, and structure as laid out in Baden-Powell's ''

Scouting for Boys ''Scouting for Boys: A handbook for instruction in good citizenship'' is a book on Boy Scout training, published in various editions since 1908. Early editions were written and illustrated by Robert Baden-Powell with later editions being extensi ...

''," amended only for "health, environmental, first-aid, and safety reasons." The current President of the WFIS World Council is Klaus Tegeder, who was elected for a five-year term in 2007 and reelected in 2012 and 2017. He is the former President of WFIS-Europe and still leads a German Scout troop. The World Federation of Independent Scouts has experienced strong growth, the affiliate Scout organizations collectively had an estimated 200,000 members in 3562 Scout Groups in 2010.

WFIS Worldwide Committee

The WFIS Worldwide Committee is the chief executive body of the World Federation of Independent Scouts and is composed of elected volunteers. WFIS-Worldwide acts as an umbrella association for each of the regional Scout organisations.

Current members of the WFIS Worldwide Committee

Regional divisions

The WFIS is divided into seven regions: * Africa * America * Asia * Europe * Middle East * Oceania * South East Asia

List of members

Including prospected members

WFIS Africa

5860 members in 2010

WFIS Asia

155,303 members in 2010

WFIS Europe

10,834 members in 2010

WFIS America

3643 members in 2010

WFIS South-East Asia

Jamborees and international camps

WFIS has held World Jamborees in Dinamarca 2002, Colombia 2007, and México 2011. In addition to World Jamborees, the WFIS also regularly host regional international camps, such as Eurocamp. The following camps having taken place or are scheduled: WFIS also hosts a Jamboree On The Internet: * WFIS-JOTI 2010, hosted by WFIS Africahttp://joti.wfis-africa.org/ WFIS-JOTI 2010 Member Associations also regularly invite each other to their own camps, examples including: * The Baden-Powell Scouts' Association 2007 Centenary Camp * Jamboree 2008 (Northumberland)

International Scout Fellowship

The International Scout Fellowship is an affiliate of WFIS, but not a member. It is open to former and current adult members of WFIS, to other adult friends of Independent Scouting who wish to contribute to independent Scouting, regardless of their Scouting backgrounds. The ISF is governed by its World Council which is composed of representatives of each member Chapter. It meets once a year, usually electronically. Its day-to-day affairs are directed by the Executive Committee, which is elected by the World Council. All positions in the ISF are staffed by volunteers. There are no paid employees.

Uniform

The badge is that of the WFIS in reverse colours. There is no set uniform of the ISF. Member chapters determine their own uniforms with the badge of the ISF. Other chapters may use casual dress such as T-shirts, etc. The emphasis of the ISF is on tangible results in supporting Independent Scouting associations, not on formalities.

References

External links

WFIS Worldwide
{{DEFAULTSORT:World Federation Of Independent Scouts International Scouting organizations Non-aligned Scouting organizations Organizations established in 1996