As Scouting continues to adapt to the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic, National Scout Organizations around the world are discovering ways to maintain and grow their membership. The Bharat Scouts and Guides in India are a shining example of an organisation, that despite the challenges of the global health crisis, is working to engage even more young people and volunteers in Scouting by establishing a clear and actionable growth strategy for their whole organisation.
India is currently home to a fifth of the world’s youth, and more than half of the country’s 1.3 billion people are below the age of 25, representing a sizeable opportunity for the Bharat Scouts and Guides to equip the next generation of young leaders with the skills needed to be active global citizens. Already this growth effort is underway in places such as Chennai, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Jaipur, Benguluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Shimla, Dehradun, Raipur and other communities where the Bharat Scouts and Guides aim to expand the number of young people involved in Scouting from 3.7 million to more than 6 million in the next five years.
The development and implementation of a national growth strategy for the Bharat Scouts and Guides began with a request through the WOSM Services platform to receive support. Using guidance provided in World Scouting’s Growth Toolkit, along with expertise offered by a trained WOSM Services Consultant, the National Scout Organization was able to turn their national growth strategy from an administrative document into a collective call to action with buy-in from both leadership and Scouts.
Key to the success of achieving membership growth for the Bharat Scouts and Guides was having a clear, actionable strategy with achievable targets that could be measured. Having a strong growth strategy in place also enabled the leadership of the National Scout Organization to share the impact of this effort with donors and other key stakeholders – helping to raise awareness and resources to engage more young people across India in becoming active citizens through community service projects.
The growth agenda has also positioned Scouting in India as an ideal partner to contribute to the national government’s efforts to extend education for all and expand Skill India as a key initiative to provide more young people with 21st century skills for the future. The role that Dr K.K. Khandelwal, Chief National Commissioner, has played in this area is remarkable.
Raj Kumar Kaushik, Director of the Bharat Scouts and Guides, is a true advocate for the support his National Scout Organization received, sharing that “WOSM Services provided us with long-term and holistic support in various areas of our organisation’s work and was truly tailored to our needs.”
Since the Growth Service was launched to all National Scout Organizations one year ago as part of the WOSM Services platform, its resources and support has been helping Member Organizations to increase their capacity in managing membership growth. National Scout Organizations looking to strengthen or create an actionable strategy for membership growth are encouraged to explore the Growth Toolkit and request a service through the WOSM Services platform.
