SEASON GREETINGS 2021

Dear brothers and sisters in Scouting,

I hope that you, your families, and your Scouts are well and that this message reaches you in the best of health.

As a difficult year 2021 draws to a close, it is time to take stock and look back at the different types of Scouting that have taken place over the last 12 months: continuing virtual online camps, online training, online meetings, and online general assemblies of the different regions, where face-to-face exchanges were missing. The global situation of the pandemic has resulted in many activities, camps and personal meetings, being cancelled, Scout Group nights, which have been suspended temporarily or for months, slowly resuming. In all our regions around the world, Scout Leaders, Akelas and the individual member associations have done their best to keep in touch with their group members. Packs, troops, and groups did their service for Scouting, in their community or county and their country. Online training courses and video meetings were organised in the different WFIS Regions and the different Regional Council Boards or World Council Board were able to accompany and support different projects. We as the WFIS World Council appreciate the work of the WFIS Regional Councils in this difficult year and wish the partly newly elected board members all the best for their future work.

Many member federations had to stop their work for months, several groups had to close down and will need years to re-establish themselves. Despite this challenging year with the pandemic situation, the World Federation of Independent Scouts welcomed some new associations from all over the world as full and prospect members in our Scouting family, a new Region was launched, so we go into the coming year with confidence and hope that we can offer a continuous and effective work for our Scouts.

In 2021, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the World Federation of Independent Scouts. The World Council carried out various activities and projects, different from what we had envisaged, to celebrate our silver jubilee, but we were able to accompany many actions throughout the year and then carry them out successfully. We will celebrate the end of the 25th anniversary in the coming year 2022, at the place where the WFIS was founded, by burying the time capsule.

Also this year we have received a lot of sad news: some Scout brothers and sisters have passed away, good people who enriched all our lives are sorely missed by their families and the Scouts. We would like to express our deepest condolences.

Still the pandemic and the resulting social distancing keeps us away from friends and family, but we are sure that the message of Christmas fills our lives with joy and peace. Let us spend time thinking of those who have lost a family member or have been less fortunate in their lives, who must live with hunger and sickness and let us together start 2022 with renewed strength to stand even closer and stronger together as an international Scout family. Let us face the “im-possible“, let us be open-minded and tolerant towards all people and work hard and determined for a better world.

The spirit of Scouting given to us all by our founder, Lord Baden Powell, and the Scout Law will continue to guide us in this critical time. We trust and hope with optimism that we can all soon return to normal and better Scouting; that we can sit around a campfire together and listen to our songs; have good conversations over coffee, mate, and tea again and live the spirit of Scouting together.

I am sure that you will continue to look after your own Association, Group, Troop or Pack, your Scouts and Guides and your families; let us work together for a peaceful and caring tolerant world; show civil society that it can count on and build on the word of Scouting, and remember