World Federation of Independent Scouts facts for kids

Quick facts for kids World Federation of Independent Scouts
Country	Worldwide
Founded	1996
Founder	Lawrie Dring
Membership	7.2 million (2020)
President	Klaus Tegeder

The World Federation of Independent Scouts (WFIS) is a big international Scouting group. It's like a club for Scout organizations that are not part of other large international groups. WFIS has over 7 million members! These members are part of 151 different Scout organizations in 65 countries around the world.

WFIS was started in 1996 in a town called Laubach, in Germany. It was founded by Lawrie Dring, who was a British Scouter. He was part of the independent Baden-Powell Scouts' Association.

To join WFIS, a Scout group must follow the original ideas of Scouting. These ideas were set out by Robert Baden-Powell, who started the Scouting movement. This includes using his original program, traditions, uniforms, and rules. They only change things for health, safety, or environmental reasons.

The current president of WFIS is Klaus Tegeder. He has been the president since 2007. He also used to lead a German Scout troop. WFIS has grown a lot over the years. In 2010, they had about 200,000 members in 3,562 Scout groups. By 2020, this number grew to 7.2 million members!

How WFIS is Organized

The WFIS Worldwide Committee is the main group that runs the World Federation of Independent Scouts. It is made up of volunteers who are elected to their positions. This committee helps guide all the different regional Scout organizations under WFIS.

People on the WFIS Committee

Here are some of the people who help lead WFIS:

WFIS Regions Around the World

WFIS is split into seven main areas, or regions, to help manage all the different Scout groups. These regions are:

• Africa
• America
• Asia
• Europe
• Middle East
• Oceania
• South East Asia

Some WFIS Members

Many different Scout groups from various countries are part of WFIS. Here are a few examples from some regions:

WFIS Africa

In 2010, there were 5,860 members in Africa. Some countries with WFIS groups include:

WFIS Asia

In 2010, there were 155,303 members in Asia. Some countries with WFIS groups include:

WFIS Europe

In 2010, there were 10,834 members in Europe. Some countries with WFIS groups include:

WFIS America

In 2010, there were 3,643 members in America. Some countries with WFIS groups include:

WFIS South-East Asia

Some countries in South-East Asia with WFIS groups include:

Big Scout Camps and Events

WFIS holds large international camps called World Jamborees. These are huge gatherings where Scouts from all over the world meet.

• The first WFIS World Jamboree was in Denmark in 2002.
• Another was held in Colombia in 2007.
• A third World Jamboree took place in Mexico in 2011.

WFIS also hosts smaller international camps for specific regions, like Eurocamp for Europe. Here are some Eurocamp events that have happened:

WFIS also has a "Jamboree On The Internet" (JOTI). This lets Scouts connect online from different countries.

• WFIS-JOTI 2010 was hosted by WFIS Africa.

Member groups also invite each other to their own camps. For example:

• The Baden-Powell Scouts' Association held a big camp in 2007 to celebrate 100 years of Scouting.
• There was also a Jamboree in Northumberland in 2008.

International Scout Fellowship

International Scout Fellowship
Country	Worldwide
Founded	2007-08-01

The International Scout Fellowship (ISF) is a group that works with WFIS. It's for adults who are or were part of WFIS. It's also for other adults who want to help independent Scouting groups.

The ISF is run by its World Council. This group meets once a year, often online. A smaller committee handles the daily tasks. Everyone who works for the ISF is a volunteer. They don't get paid.

ISF Uniform

The ISF doesn't have one set uniform for everyone. Each local group decides what uniform they want to wear. They often use the WFIS badge, but with different colors. Some groups might even just wear T-shirts. The main goal of the ISF is to help Scouting, not to focus on strict uniform rules.

See also

• The Scouting Portal