Scouting, or Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement of multiple organizations for both boys and girls whose aim is to develop young people physically, spiritually and mentally so that youth may take a constructive place in society. This is achieved through non-formal education with emphasis on practical activities in the outdoors, using the so-called Scout method. Most countries have Scouting programs for children and young adults from ages 6 to their early 20s.

Scouting began in 1907 when Robert Baden-Powell, a retired Lieutenant General in the British Army, held the first Scouting encampment at Brownsea Island, England. He was at that time a good friend of William Alexander Smith, founder of the Boys' Brigade. Currently Scouting and Guiding have over 38 million members in 217 countries and territories represented through several different Scouting associations at the international level. The works of Ernest Thompson Seton and Daniel Carter Beard were very influential in the early development of Scouting as well as the basis of the Traditional Scouting movement that has become very significant in the last several years. In many countries, Scouting has become a signifcant part of popular culture.

Origins

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Baden-Powell founded the Scouting movement in 1907 in the United Kingdom. He also introduced the parallel movement for girls, the Girl Guides, in 1910 with the aid of his sister Agnes Baden-Powell. (The Guides are known as the Girl Scouts of the USA in the United States.)

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