Interamerican Scout Region (World Organization of the Scout Movement)

The Interamerican Region is the divisional office of the World Scout Bureau of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, headquartered in Ciudad del Saber, Panama. The Interamerican Region services Scouting in the Western Hemisphere, both North and South America. Until the 1960s, the "Inter-American Scout Advisory Committee" serviced only Mexico, Central and South America, with Canada and the United States serviced through the then-named "Boy Scouts International Bureau" in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.[1] Even today, the Interamerican Region exists more for the benefit of countries south of the Rio Grande, as evidenced by the website being only in Spanish until 2011; consequently, the United States and Canada did not participate as vigorously in regional activities as do other national organizations around the world, however this is changing in the 2010s.

InterAmerican Scout Region
Map of members or potential members of the Interamerican Scout Region, note several Pacific island chains are linked to the IASR through mainland political ties
OwnerWorld Organization of the Scout Movement
HeadquartersCiudad del Saber, Panama
Website
https://www.scout.org/interamerica

The headquarters of the Interamerican Region moved progressively southward from its inception until 2010, starting in Havana, Cuba, from 1946 to 1960; moving briefly to Kingston, Jamaica, in 1960; immediately relocating to Mexico City, Mexico, between 1960 and 1968; then to San José, Costa Rica, between 1968 and 1992; Santiago, Chile, from 1992 to 2010, most recently relocating to Ciudad del Saber, Panama.

The Scouts of the nations in the Caribbean basin host their own subregional jamborees.

The Interamerican Region contains one of the five countries with no Scouting organization, Cuba, due to political constraints within the country.

This region is the counterpart of the Western Hemisphere Region of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS).

Regional Scouts administered directly by WOSM

The needs of Scout youth in the Region in unusual situations has created some interesting permutations, answerable directly to the World Scout Bureau. For years there was an active Boy Scouts of the United Nations with several troops at Parkway Village in New York City, with but 14 members in 1959. Also directly registered to the World Bureau were the 900 member International Boy Scouts of the Canal Zone.[2]

Interamerican Scout Committee

The Interamerican Scout Committee is the agency that directs and manages the Region based on the objectives, policies and lines of action established by the Interamerican Scout Conference.

The purpose of the committee is:

  • Approve the Regional Plan.
  • Acting as an advisory body of the World Scout Committee in matters relating to the Region.
  • Stimulate, promote and support global, regional and subregional events in the Region.
  • To act in the name and representation of the Interamerican Scout Conference between its sessions.

The committee is composed of eight elected members so that there is no more than one member of the same National Scout Organization. These members serve on a voluntary basis, serve three years in their positions. The Regional Director of the Interamerican Scout Organization is the Executive Secretary of the Committee.

Currently (2022 - 2025[3]) the 10 members are:

PositionNameCountry
MemberRaúl BruscoUruguay
MemberRubem Tadeu PerlingeiroBrasil
MemberMark ChalouhiCanada
MemberJorge Arturo LeonMexico
MemberPablo NietoPeru
MemberLyda Pavón AvilésEcuador
MemberMeghan PiersonUnited States
MemberJosé VargasBahamas
Youth AdvisorMiguel Ángel Calle RodriguezEcuador
Youth AdvisorMatheus Vallois SerraBrazil
President of the Interamerican Scout FoundationMarcelo Guerra HahnUruguay
Regional TreasurerAjey ChandraUnited States
Regional DirectorRaúl Sanchez VacaMexico

Pan-American Region Scout Jamborees

The Region has run or sponsored region-wide jamborees in its member countries. Past Jamborees include:

Interamerican Scout Conferences

The Interamerican Scout Conference, the highest body in the Region, is made up of delegates from member National Scout Organizations (NSOs) and meets every three years.

The purpose of the Conference is:

  • Stimulate the development of the Scout Movement in the Interamerican Region.
  • Promote cooperation among member NSOs.
  • Establish the objectives and basis of the Regional Policy.
  • Ensure that the policies established by the World Organization of the Scout Movement are implemented in the Region.
  • Elect the members of the Interamerican Scout Committee.

The World Scout authorities and observers from various governmental and non-governmental organizations, national and international, who have common interests with the Scout Movement, are invited to the Conference. Each NSO has the right to vote in the Conference sessions, and if one can not attend, the voting right can be given to another NSO.

List of Interamerican Scout Conferences
YearEvent Dates Location Participating NSOs
19461st Interamerican Scout Conference[4] May 27 - June 2 Bogota 19
19482nd Interamerican Scout Conference May 3–8 Mexico City 11
19533rd Interamerican Scout Conference February 20–25 Havana 16
19574th Interamerican Scout Conference February 22–27 Rio de Janeiro 17
19615th Interamerican Scout Conference February 22–27 Caracas 15
19646th Interamerican Scout Conference August 26–29 Kingston 18
19687th Interamerican Scout Conference July 24–29 San Salvador 24
19728th Interamerican Scout Conference August 11 Lima 18
19749th Interamerican Scout Conference August 5–9 Miami 25
197610th Interamerican Scout Conference August 24–28 Mexico City 17
197811th Interamerican Scout Conference June 5–9 Guatemala City 23
198012th Interamerican Scout Conference October 10–19 Santiago 24
198213th Interamerican Scout Conference July 25–31 Nassau 21
198414th Interamerican Scout Conference September 4–8 Curitiba 22
198615th Interamerican Scout Conference July 20–26 Port of Spain 22
198816th Interamerican Scout Conference September 18–23 Buenos Aires 22
199017th Interamerican Scout Conference September 18–23 Montevideo 17
199218th Interamerican Scout Conference July 12–17 San Jose 27
199519th Interamerican Scout Conference September 4–8 Cartagena 22
199820th Interamerican Scout Conference March 22–27 Guadalajara 22
200121st Interamerican Scout Conference September 24–28 Cochabamba 33
200422nd Interamerican Scout Conference July 21 - August 4 San Salvador 30
200723rd Interamerican Scout Conference November 23–28 Quito 25
201024th Interamerican Scout Conference August 14–19 Panama City
201325th Interamerican Scout Conference September 14–21 Buenos Aires
201626th Interamerican Scout Conference October 24–28 Houston 29
201827th Interamerican Scout Conference November 27–30 Panama City 28
202228th Interamerican Scout Conference November 26 Ciudad del Este

Pan-American Moot

Interamerican Leadership Training

The Interamerican Leadership Training (ILT) is a Leadership Training Course in the Interamerican Region of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. Sponsored by the Messengers of Peace program, the training course goals are to strengthen Scouting in IAR through a collaborative effort of sharing, networking, training, and support. The course is held once a year hosted by one of the National Scout Organizations (NSOs) of the Region. The selected NSO is awarded the rights to host the ILT two years in a row.

YearEvent Location Participating NSOs Dates
2013Pilot Interamerican Leadership Training Camp Strake, Texas 32 December 26, 2013 - January 1, 2014
20142nd Interamerican Leadership Training Galveston, Texas 32 December 27, 2014 - January 2, 2015
20153rd Interamerican Leadership Training Guatemala City 30 December 28, 2015 - January 3, 2016
20164th Internamerican Leadership Training Guatemala City 31 December 28, 2016 - January 3, 2017
20175th Internamerican Leadership Training Quito December 28, 2017 - January 4, 2018
20186th Internamerican Leadership Training Quito December 28, 2018 - January 4, 2019
20197th Internamerican Leadership Training Panama City December 26, 2019 - January 2, 2020
20208th Internamerican Leadership Training Panama City

Youth of the Americas Award

The Youth of the Americas Award is the only award conferred by the Interamerican Scout Committee. The award is given to persons who have made an impact at the international level.[5]

See also

References
  1. John S. Wilson (1959). Scouting Round the World (First ed.). Blandford Press. p. 239. ASIN B000AQMKTI.
  2. Wilson, John S. (1959). "The International Bureau Goes on the Road". Scouting Round the World (first ed.). London: Blandford Press. p. 134. At Balboa we met up with Gunnar Berg and Ray Wyland of the B.S.A., also on their way to Bogota, and had a conference about the question of coloured Scouts in the Canal Zone, who claim British and not Panamanian nationality. It was agreed that they should be taken under the wing of the Canal Zone Council of the Boy Scouts of America, but ten years later they were transferred directly under the International Bureau as the International Boy Scouts of the Canal Zone.
  3. "The 28th Interamerican Scout Conference elected its new authorities for the period 2022-2025 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳". Facebook. Interamerican Scout Region (World Organization of the Scout Movement).
  4. John S. Wilson (1959), Scouting Round the World. First edition, Blandford Press. p. 133, 234, 239, 240 neglected, 133, 227
  5. "Convocation of nominations for the Youth of the Americas Award" (PDF). World Scout Bureau, Interamerican Region. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-09. Retrieved 2010-08-08.

Further reading
  • Facts on World Scouting, Boy Scouts International Bureau, Ottawa, Canada, 1961
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