The twenty second of February was the Birthday of the Founder of the Scout Movement, Lord Robert Baden-Powell, and the World Chief Guide, Lady Olave Baden-Powell. Since 1926 Scouts and Guides have celebrated World Founders Day/Thinking Day as a day of friendship for Scouts and Guides throughout the World, and also demonstrating their global brother/sisterhood among the nations of the world.
The two words Thinking and Friendship remind us that thinking is a willingness to remember the deep significance of what it is to be a Scout and Guide throughout life. While friendship signifies that Scouts and Guides are linked together despite different languages, ways of life and origins in different countries throughout the globe.
This year the theme for World Thinking Day is “Our world; Our peaceful future: The environment, peace and security”
Using the WAGGGS theme and whether we were a scout or a guide we need to explore our common world, stating that it is OUR, ONLY WORLD, and that we have no choices to live elsewhere.The natural world is the playground where we live, together with plants, trees, animals, fish and insects, and it is our duty to keep all this wealth untouched for the next generations (THE FUTURE). The approach that we have to follow, especially as adult scouts and guides, is to change from the fossil fuels to the renewable sources and to move from the consumer to the recycling economy.
Peace needs to be re-established all over the planet and wars and confrontations controlled. As adult scouts and guides our role on this respect is not necessarily decisive, but it is our duty to do all that is in our power by, helping refugees, explaining things to our sons and daughters and other family members, providing clothes and food to those in need and supporting peace.
On behalf of the ISGF World Committee and World Bureau, I wish to all our members world wide “A happy and fruitful 2023 World Founder’s Day/World Thinking Day!”
Mario Bertagnolio
ISGF World Committee member
International Scout and Guide Fellowship