The Lebanese Scouting Federation (, ), is the national federation of 29

Scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

organisations of

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, founded in 1961. The federation became a member of the

World Organization of the Scout Movement The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest and, after the Order of World Scouts (formed in 1911), is the second-oldest international organization in the Scout Movement, having been established in 1922. It has 176 members. ...

in 1947.

History

Scouting was introduced in Lebanon by two teachers, Abdul Satar and Mohammad Abdul Jabbar Khairy who received support from Toufik El Hibri. They came to Lebanon from England in 1912 and established the first Scout troop in the school owned by El Hibri, where they worked. This troop had many activities, later including a trip to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, where they met with

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

Mehmed V Mehmed V Reşâd (; or ; 2 November 1844 – 3 July 1918) was the penultimate List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1909 to 1918. Mehmed V reigned as a Constitutional monarchy, constitutional monarch. He had ...

. Members of this troop played an important role in spreading the Scouting and Guiding movement in Lebanon and other countries. After Lebanon gained its independence in 1943, Scouting further spread rapidly to cover every part of the country. During the

Lebanese civil war The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

, Scouts from all associations played an important role in helping civilians, distributing food, medicine, and other forms of aid to refugees. Some Scouting associations formed

first aid First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with a medical emergency, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery until medical services arrive. First aid is gener ...

groups that helped the wounded. Scouts also participated in peace campaigns to help put an end to that war. During the war, Scouts from all sides of the conflict remained brothers and remained in contact with each other, manifesting a good example of unity for all Lebanese. All this added to the reputation of Scouting in Lebanon, with Lebanese people tending to respect Scouts and many parents encouraging their children to join the movement. Today, years after the end of the civil war, Scouting in Lebanon still faces great tasks, with Lebanon being involved in large reconstruction plans aimed to erase effects of the war and to enable it to regain its advanced role in the region and the world. The role of the Scouts include promoting peace and unity through campaigns and summer camps for youth and children. In 1973, Muhammad El Hibri was awarded the ''

Bronze Wolf The Bronze Wolf Award is an award presented by the World Organization of the Scout Movement for outstanding service by an individual to the Scout Movement. Just over 400 people have received the Bronze Wolf since its creation in 1935. WOSM has r ...

'', the only distinction of the

, awarded by the

World Scout Committee The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest and, after the Order of World Scouts (formed in 1911), is the second-oldest international organization in the Scout Movement, having been established in 1922. It has 176 members. ...

for exceptional services to world Scouting. Other recipients include Dr. Farid Karam in 1977 and Rashid Shoucair in 1981. The ''Arab Regional

Jamboree In Scouting, a jamboree is a large gathering of Scouts and/or Girl Guides who rally at a national or international level. History The 1st World Scout Jamboree was held in 1920, and was hosted by the United Kingdom. Since then, there have been t ...

'' was planned to be held in Lebanon in August 2006. However, without a stable and peaceful environment, the leaders of the Arab Scout Region decided to defer the date of the event to be in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

during 2007.

Organisation

Membership

The following 30 organisations are members of the federation, including an overall estimated membership of 100,000 Scouts: while the membership number reported to the World Organization of the Scout Movement stood at 14,334 Scouts in 2005. * ''Al-Aamiely Scouts - Scouts al Amily'' * ''Al-Etihady Lebanese Scouts'' * ''Al-Jarrah Scouts in Lebanon - Scouts Al Jarrah'' * ''Al-Mabarrat Scouts'' * ''Al-Mahaba Scouts'' * ''Al Mashari Scouts Association - Scouts des Macharihs'' * ''Al-Nahda Scouts'' * ''Al-Sahel Scouts in Lebanon'' * ''Al-Takadomy Scouts'' * ''Association of Arab Scouts in Lebanon - Association des Scouts arabes au Liban'' * ''Byblos Scout - Scouts de Byblos'' * ''Cedars Scouts - Scouts des Cèdres'' * ''Christian Scouts - Scouts Chrétiens'' * ''Environmental Scouts'' * ''Future Lebanon Scouts - Scouts du Liban futur'' * '' Imam al-Mahdi Scouts'' * ''Independence Scouts - Scouts de l'Indépendance'' * ''Islamic Risala Scout Association'' * ''Lebanese Eghatha Scouts'' * ''Lebanese Scout Association - Eclaireurs du Liban'' * ''Lebanese Syriac Scouts - Scouts syriaques libanais'' * ''Lycée National Scout Association - Scouts du Lycée National'' * ''Makassed Islamic Scout Organization - Scouts musulmans du Makkassed'' * ''Maronite Scouts - Scouts maronites'' * '' Muslim Scout Association of Lebanon'' * ''National Education Scouts - Scouts de l'Education Nationale'' * ''National Lebanese Scouts - Scouts nationaux libanais'' * ''National Orthodox Scout Association - Scout national orthodoxe'' * ''Orthodox Scouts of Beirut - Scouts Orthodoxes de Beyrouth'' Progressive Scout Association * ''Scouts de Secours'' * ''Scouts of Homenetmen Lebanon - Scouts Homentmens'' * '' Scouts of Lebanon - Les Scouts du Liban''Scouts of Lebanon
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Insignia

The membership badge of the Lebanese Scouting Federation and many of the member Scout emblems incorporate the

Cedar of Lebanon ''Cedrus libani'', commonly known as cedar of Lebanon, Lebanon cedar, or Lebanese cedar (), is a species of large evergreen conifer in the genus ''Cedrus'', which belongs to the pine family and is native to the mountains of the Eastern Medite ...

, the

national symbol A national symbol is a manifestation of a nation or community, serving as a representation of their National identity, identity and values. National symbols may be not only applied to sovereign states but also nations and countries in a state of ...

. The

Scout Motto The Scout Motto of the Scout movement is, in English, "Be Prepared", with most international branches of the group using a close translation of that phrase. These mottoes have been used by millions of Scouts around the world since 1907. Most of t ...

is ''Be Prepared'' (, , ''Kun Musta'idan''), and also ''Always Ready'' in

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

. The Arabic language

noun In grammar, a noun is a word that represents a concrete or abstract thing, like living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, and ideas. A noun may serve as an Object (grammar), object or Subject (grammar), subject within a p ...

for a single Scout is ''Kashaf'' ().

References

*''Scouting 'Round the World'', John S. Wilson, first edition, Blandford Press 1959. {{WOSM, arab Scouting and Guiding in Lebanon Youth organizations established in 1961 World Organization of the Scout Movement member organizations

History

Organisation

Membership

Insignia

See also

References