Youth Leadership in Decision-Making

Two sets of initiatives have been developed to both address the barriers to youth engagement in decision-making across the various structures and levels of the Scout Movement, as well as initiatives specifically for the WSC as alternative measures to the Youth Advisor system at the World level. An overview of the initiatives can be found on Treehouse at this link.

These initiatives were approved by the WSC after consideration of a set of recommendations from the WSC’s Task Force on Youth Engagement in Decision-Making, who consulted with with various stakeholders across the Movement. These included

• a survey with NSO leadership, inviting all NSOs/NSAs to share their reflections on youth engagement in decision-making through.
• 18 focus groups, each representing different stakeholders such as Youth Advisors, Youth Representatives, Agora and ILT, WSC members (former and current), previous delegates of the World Scout Youth Forum and Conference, WOSM Consultants for youth engagement, NSO Leadership and Youth Programme Directors of the World Scout Bureau.

After approving these initiatives the WSC subsequently tasked several work streams, project and event teams from its Operational Framework to start implementing them as of this triennium. They will also be embedded in the next Triennial Plans so they are sustained over multiple triennia.

A summary on each of the initiatives can be found on our dedicated page on Treehouse about youth engagement in decision-making.

The dedicated page on Treehouse provides information on actions being done or planned for championing youth leadership across the Movement and about youth leadership in the World Scout Committee.

NSOs are encouraged to embrace their responsibility to ensure sustainable youth engagement at all levels of the Movement by getting inspired on the actions they can take.

All NSOs can contribute to implementing these recommendations to ensure effective youth engagement in decision-making across the Scout Movement. Here are only a few examples of concrete actions NSOs can take:

• Support and nominate young people to get involved in different levels of the Movement, including NSO delegations to Conferences, operational frameworks, candidates running for election, etc.
• Help change the narrative to support a mindset shift across the Movement, including sharing stories of young people engaged in decision-making.
• Offer capacity building opportunities on youth engagement in decision-making and the importance of intergenerational leadership, or sign young people up to WOSM offerings in your Region such as the ILT, Agora, and APR YLT.
• Use qualitative measures to assess effective and meaningful youth engagement in decision-making within National Boards and National operational structures.
• Motivate young people to take on leadership positions by promoting the opportunities and supporting them through the process, including making more opportunities available within the NSO.
• Design or review your National Youth Involvement Policy to align it with the World Youth Involvement Policy and the new recommendations approved by the WSC.
• Review the content of your Adult Training System to ensure that youth engagement is understood and applied as a key principle in Scouting.

NSOs can reach out to WOSM to get support from WOSM Consultants on youth engagement and learn more of how they can contribute through the WOSM youth engagement service.

As a Movement for young people with the mission to help develop active citizens, NSOs carry a large responsibility towards ensuring effective and meaningful engagement of young people in various decision-making processes both within their own organisation but also within other structures of the Scout Movement and the community at large.

The World Scout Conference has been calling for NSOs to ensure greater youth participation in decision-making through numerous Conference Resolutions since 1969 and most recently in Resolution 2021-07. These resolutions include ensuring the participation of young people in delegations to Conferences, electing young people to Committees and National Boards, and generally ensuring that young people are meaningfully engaged and taking decisions at all levels of the organisation.

The WSC envisions the Scout Movement striving towards youth leadership as the next step in the youth engagement process, improving the qualitative approach to monitoring and measuring youth engagement, and valuing and nurturing intergenerational leadership within WOSM.

Youth Leadership reflects the vision and mindset that has been envisioned to create a more inclusive environment where young people can lead decision-making processes and represent their voices in a meaningful and effective way within an intergenerational context.

The concept of youth leadership is being integrated as an integral part the Next Strategy for Scouting. We welcome your feedback and insights on Draft 1, both now during its validation phase as well as in the approval phase leading up to the 2024 World Scout Conference.

The World Scout Conference has always considered the World Youth Advisor system as an interim and transitional measure towards youth involvement in decision-making.

The 2017-2021 WSC already expressed its intent in 2021 to discontinue the World Youth Advisor system because it believed that while the system was a positive step for youth engagement, it is not an ideal approach for holistic youth engagement in the WSC.

Following Conference Resolution 2021-07, the WSC did extensive work in researching structural barriers for youth engagement in decision-making in Scouting, as well as approve specific alternative measures for the World Youth Advisor System. These include

• a training programme for potential WSC candidates
• methods to encourage NSOs to nominate candidates below the age of 30
• a second deadline for WSC nominations to encourage a diverse nomination pool
• a mentorship program for WSC members
• a continuous monitoring process, involving NSOs, to ensure youth representation in the WSC

The above measures, including additional work to further overcome barriers for youth engagement in decision-making, will be continuously implemented during this and upcoming triennia.

Considering the overall package outlined above, Conference Resolution 2021-07 and the outcomes of its research, the WSC subsequently decided to discontinue the World Youth Advisor System as of the 2024-2027 Triennium.

The decision to discontinue the World Youth Advisor system was made by the World Scout Committee but has its roots in the 2017 Conference. Since then several working groups consulted a series of stakeholders, across the Movement.

Following Resolution 2021-07 (which calls to identify measures to replace the current Youth Advisor System system), a diverse and intergenerational Task Force was established, which took information from past consultations and conducted its own reach out to stakeholders to be able to develop its recommendations to the World Scout Committee. This included

• a survey with NSO leadership, inviting all NSOs/NSAs to share their reflections on youth engagement in decision-making through.
• 18 focus groups, each representing different stakeholders such as Youth Advisors, Youth Representatives, Agora and ILT, WSC members (former and current), previous delegates of the World Scout Youth Forum and Conference, WOSM Consultants for youth engagement, NSO Leadership and Youth Programme Directors of the World Scout Bureau.

The WSC has decided to discontinue the World Youth Advisor System as of the 2024-2027 Triennium. This means that the current Youth Advisors to the World Scout Committee will carry out their term until the World Scout Conference in 2024 and no further World Youth Advisors will be elected.

The implementation of alternative measures (see above) as well as strengthened actions on youth engagement in decision-making will start this triennium and continue in the next triennia.

It is the responsibility of NSOs to ensure that a diverse pool of candidates are nominated and that a sufficient number of young people under the age of 30 are elected to the WSC. The World Scout Conference has approved Resolutions to this extent on several occasions, including most recently 2021-07.

One of the measures being put in place is to mandate the WSC to publish a report to NSOs 6 months in advance of each World Scout Conference.

The report will provide a data-driven overview of the evolution of youth engagement in the WSC in the past period.

A dedicated webinar in advance of the Conference will also be held to assess on “how youth engagement in the WSC has evolved over the past period”.

On the basis of the report and the webinar NSOs can then consider whether additional measures are required and propose them to the upcoming World Scout Conference (e.g. proposal for specific agenda items at the Conference, Draft Resolutions, Triennial Plan Amendments and/or Draft Constitutional Amendments).

In addition the WSC decided that it will in any case review all measures to strengthen youth engagement after three triennia to ensure their effectiveness and relevance in ensuring young people are contributing to the decision-making processes.

Resolution 2021-06 (Evolving the World Scout Youth Forum and World Scout Conference) effectively already decided to evolve the World Scout Youth Forum and the World Scout Conference into a “new event”.

The aim of this new event is to achieve a more inclusive, diverse and engaging World Scout Conference by using innovative methods with a clear focus on youth participation in decision-making

As such, the last World Scout Youth Forum in its existing format was held in 2021. Work has been ongoing since to develop the “new event”, with updates provided at NSO Townhalls. More news is forthcoming as we gear up towards the 2024 World Scout Conference.

The WSC explicitly noted that its decision to discontinue the World Youth Advisor System should have no impact on the Regional Youth Advisor Systems, which includes Regional Youth Forums.

The WSC encourages Regions that have a Regional Youth Advisor System to continue this system (including Regional Youth Forums) until such time the Region deems their goal towards effective and sustainable youth engagement in decision-making has been achieved.

NSOs have a crucial responsibility to ensure effective and meaningful youth engagement in decision-making processes within their organisation.

The decision of whether your NSO should continue having Youth Advisors on your National Board depends on various factors, including the unique circumstances and needs within your organisation.

Youth Advisors at the World level were seen as a transitional measure since they were established. They played a valuable role in building this youth engagement within the committee, providing a youth perspective, promoting inclusivity, and fostering a sense of ownership among young people in the decision-making of the Movement.

However, it's essential to remember that every organisation may have very different realities. The ultimate aim should always be to empower and engage young people in decision-making processes to ensure the continued growth and relevance of the Scout Movement.