BELARUSKAYA NATSIANALNAYA SKAUTSKAYA ASATSIYATSIA

BELARUSIAN NATIONAL SCOUT ASSOCIATION

The Belarusian National Scout Association became the 149th member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. Membership became effective on March 13, 1998.

Scouting was originally founded in 1909, as part of the Tsarist Russia. Scouting was banned in 1918 and revived in 1989.

Belarus is the former Soviet Socialist Republic of Belorussia, which was part of the USSR before its collapse. In December 1991, Belarus became a founder member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The capital city is Minsk.

The Belarusian National Scout Association includes more than 7,500 members, both boys and girls, in 3 branches ranging from 8 to 17 years of age. They are spread all over the country but the majority of members come from the major cities.

The first Belarusian Scout groups were created in 1909, just after the founding of Scouting in the England in 1907. Scouting's development stopped during the Soviet control.

Scouting was reborn and reorganized in 1989. In December 1991, a National coordinating Committee was set up under the aegis of WOSM in order to promote the unification of the various Scout Associations, which appeared in different parts of the country. Scouting grew steadily with support from the Christian Orthodox and Catholic Churches, as well as the Youth Commission of the Parliament. In March 1997, as a result of a long process of reconciling divergent nationalistic trends in Scouting, a constituent assembly was held in Minsk. This assembly approved the creation of a united National Scout Association under the name, "BELARUSKAYA NATSIANALNAYA SKAUTSKAYA ASATSIYATSIA" .

The Scout Association regularly invites underprivileged children, some of them coming from the Chernobyl contaminated areas, to some of their national summer camps. Belarusian Scouts have regular contacts and exchanges, particularly with members of Scouts de France and the CIS Scout associations.

There are over 10 million people who live in Belarus. The largest minorities are Russians (13%), Polish (4%) and Ukrainians (3%). There are 2 official languages, which are Belarusian and Russian.

The current membership in 1997 was more than 7,500 members both boys and girls.

Scout Motto :

Belarus Official web page:

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Information was provided by the World Bureau, taken from the monthly newsletter of March 1997 and from conversations with Scouts from Belarus at the World Jamboree in Chile in 1998.