Iran Scout Organization: Difference between revisions
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==References== |
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Revision as of 03:16, 7 December 2005
Iran is one of 35 countries where Scouting exists (be it embryonic or widespread) but where there is no National Scout Organization which is yet a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.
History
Scouting in Iran was founded by volunteers in 1925, and formally developed in 1932 as a department of the Ministry of Education, directed by the government, which at the time engendered a lack of public support. Scouting was suppressed during World War II, and Iran finally became a member of the World Bureau of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1955, under the direction of Dr. H. Banai. Parliament passed an act in 1958 recognizing Iranian Scouting as in independent national association. In 1958 Scouts established a small poultry farm for fundraising at the national Scout campsite at Manzarieh, as well as fields and greenhouses for flower-raising. Scouting grew for many years until the overthrow of the Shah in 1979.
15th World Jamboree
The 15th World Jamboree was scheduled to be held in Neyshâbûr, Iran in 1979, the birthplace of Omar Khayyám, near the Afghan and Turkmen borders, but the destabilizing events of the Islamic Revolution cancelled that gathering near the end of 1978. Instead, the World Organization announced the "World Jamboree Year" by holding several international World Jamboree Year camps in Canada, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States that took up the momentum.
Until the Islamic Revolution, there were American Boy Scouts in Teheran, serving in the Damavand District of the Direct Service branch of the Boy Scouts of America, which supports units around the world.
Iranian Scouting difficulties
Since the 1970s, Iranian Scouting has faced difficulties, and lost WOSM membership. The government placed restraints on Scouting during the 1980s, and the wars that Iran has become involved in have taken into the military many of the Scout-age boys, as well as the leaders.
The 35th World Scout Conference, convened in Durban, South Africa from July 26 to 30, 1999, voted to remove Iran from membership because the national Scout organization had ceased to exist. Scouting is nascent, movement has started in Iranian schools, but little information is yet available.
Ideals and program
The Cub Scout Motto is "Koushesh Kon!", translating as "Try Hard!" in Farsi (equivalent to 'Do Your Best'). Cub Scouts were known as Shirbachcheh, literally Lion's Sons in Farsi, but carrying the meaning 'brave children'. The Farsi noun for a single Scout is Pisharang or Pishahang.
Girl Scouting in Iran
The Girl Scout organization was known as Fereshtegane Pishahange Īrān, literally Angel Scouts of Iran.
Girl Guiding may again be making inroads into Iran, as in 1993 a reception was held in Manila, Philippines in conjunction with WAGGGS' Asia Pacific Symposium of NGOs for Women in Development. The aim was to introduce or reintroduce the Girl Guiding/Girl Scouting movement and to explore possibilities of starting/restarting Girl Guiding/Girl Scouting in Iran, as well as Cambodia, Tibet, Russia, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. Fifty women leaders from those nations attended the Asia Pacific Symposium, sharing their Girl Guiding/Girl Scouting experiences.
See also
References
Facts on World Scouting, Boy Scouts International Bureau, Ottawa, Canada, 1961