Norwegian Guide And Scout Association
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The Norwegian Guide and Scout Association (, NSF) is a Norwegian
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 ...
and Guiding association founded in its present form in 1978, when the ''Norwegian Boy Scout Organization'' (founded in 1911 and among the charter members 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 1922) and the ''Norwegian Girl Guide Organization'' (founded in 1921 and an early member of
World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS ) is a global association that supports Girl Guides, female-oriented and female-only Guiding and Scouting organizations in 153 countries. It was established in the year 1928 in Parád, H ...
) merged. NSF is a member of
Speidernes Fellesorganisasjon The Guides and Scouts of Norway () is the national Scouting and Guiding federation of Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The re ...
, the national Scouting and Guiding federation of Norway. NSF is also a member of WOSM and WAGGGS.


Program


Purpose

Scouting's main purpose is to develop young members into independent, self sufficient and responsible adults. This is achieved using a training program with outdoor recreation and practical activities, teamwork in small groups (patrol system), and by actively using the "learning by doing" method.


Themes

Program of the Norges speiderforbund is structured into five themes: *Outdoor Life *Creativity *Friendships *Community Involvement *Life quality The program is structured to provide members with progression to continually meet new challenges. The methods are very much based on practical aspects and mastery over theory. As might be expected in Norway, outdoor activities is emphasized, with much of the program centered around classical themes like
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 ...
, camping, pioneering, field cooking, woodcraft and hiking.


Age structure

To be adapted to the individual member's level of development, the program is divided up into age groups by grade (division varies): *
Beavers Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...
– ages 6 to 8 * Cubs/ Brownies – ages 8 to 10 *Scouts/Guides – ages 10 to 16 * Rovers – ages 16 to 24


History


The start of boy scouting

Thanks to Norway's economical and constitutional ties to Britain, Norway was among the early nations where scouting emerged. The first scouting activity took place in 1909, and in 1910, the 1st Christiania Scout group was established in the then named Christiania (later
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
) as Norway's first official Scout group. In early 1911 the 2nd Christiania was founded. These two initial scout troops founded the Norwegian Boy-Scout association () in February of the same year, marking the official beginning of the Scout Movement in Norway.


Girl Guides in Norway

In 1916, the head of the Danish Girl Guides () was invited by Queen Maud to Christiania to give a lecture on girl guiding. This resulted in a working committee to establish scouting for girls, but an association failed to form. The Norwegian branch of
YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...
had however taken up the challenge, starting several scouting groups for girls. On 3 November 1920, a number of these groups formed the Norwegian YWCA-scouts (). The association's oldest squad, Trondheim 1 had been established back in 1915 in
Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...
. Girl scouting groups had however emerged in Norway in connection to the established boy-scout groups, well before the initiative by the Queen. An article on boy scouting in
Stavanger Aftenblad (; ) or simply ''Aftenbladet'' is a daily newspaper based in Stavanger, Norway, and owned by Schibsted Media Group. Norwegian owners held 42 percent of the shares in Schibsted at the end of 2015. is thus majority foreign-owned. History and ...
from back in 1910 stated that scout work has already spread to the girls. These independent girl scouting groups eventually merged into the Norwegian girl scouts association (). The official foundation date was set to 1 July 1921.


Later development

In 1922, the Norwegian scouting associations gained recognition by the World Bureau in 1922, as a founding member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. Several religious associations like the
YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...
,
Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
and
Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...
started their own scouting groups. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Norway was occupied, and with their international ties and obvious militarily useful skills, the collaborator government fared the scouts could become a center for resistance work. All forms of scouting were banned in September 1941. The funds, equipment, banners and even uniform details were to be turned over to authorities. Scout leaders spirited away what they could, but many groups lost much of their equipment and funds. The youth wing of collaborator political party
Nasjonal Samling The Nasjonal Samling (, NS; ) was a Norway, Norwegian far-right politics, far-right political party active from 1933 to 1945. It was the only legal party of Norway from 1942 to 1945. It was founded by former minister of defence Vidkun Quisling a ...
was the only allowed scout-like activity allowed. After the war, scouting was quickly taken up again. The
14th World Scout Jamboree The 14th World Scout Jamboree was held from 29 July to 7 August 1975, and was hosted by Norway at Lillehammer, on the shore of the Gudbrandsdalslågen river. King Olav V and Crown Prince Harald opened "Nordjamb '75", as it became popularly ...
in 1975 took place in Norway. On April 23, 1978 unit Norsk Speidergutt-Forbund (NSF) og Norsk Speiderpikeforbund (NSPF) merged to form the Norges speiderforbund (NSF) for both girls and boys, while the YMCA/YWCA, Methodist and Salvation Army groups elected to remain separate, though they often participate and cooperate with the NSF-groups and participate in their jamborees. In 1985, Dr.
Gisle Johnson Gisle Christian Johnson (10 September 1822 – 17 July 1894) was a leading 19th-century Norwegian theologian, revivalist, and educator. Biography Gisle Christian Johnson was born at Fredrikshald (now Halden) in Østfold, Norway. He grew up at ...
was awarded the ''Bronze Wolf'', the only distinction 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. ...
, awarded by the World Scout Committee for exceptional services to world Scouting.


Adjusting the religious aspect

In its original form,
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
was a central pillar of scouting.Scouting for Boys, Baden-Powell,
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
. Quote: "We aim for the practice of Christianity in their everyday life and dealings, and not merely the profession of theology on Sundays".
Both the Scout law and Scout pledge reflect this. All members organizations 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. ...
are required to have a spiritual aspect. As the association viewed itself as a Christian organization based on Christian values, several non-religious groups applying for membership in the Norwegian Guide and Scout Association had been rejected. With an increasingly secular society and rising number of immigrant youth with religious background other than Christianity in post-war Norway, the 1st paragraph of the Norwegian Scouts law requiring Christian faith became contentious. It was rewritten in 1978 to a non-denominational "A Scout is open to God and His Word", but this too was seen as excluding for the increasingly non-religious member mass. Based on changes to the British Girl Guide pledge a few years earlier, the paragraph was changed again in 2016, to "A scout will seek their own belief, and respect that of others". In 2018 the scouts pledge was changed accordingly.


Structure

, NSF had 18,500 members, organised in 29 districts and 6 corps with 450 local groups.


Activities

The main activities of the Norges speiderforbund takes place in work units (see age groups above) in
Scout group A Scout group is a local organization used in some Scout organizations that groups a Scout troop or unit with other age programs, separate gender-based Scout troops and/or multiple Scout troops. A Scout group that groups Scouts with programs fo ...
s. The meetings are regular, often weekly, and with several trips a year. Most Scout groups offer their members a camp of about one week's duration each summer. NSF also have some events on the regional and federation level. At the federal level there's national jamboree, held every four years. The last Norwegian national Jamboree was held in Bodø in 2017, as the 2021 national Jamboree could not be held due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. At an international level, NSF along with Norges KFUK-KFUM-speidere are due to host
Roverway The European Scout Region is one of five geographical subdivisions of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with a satellite office in Brussels, Belgium. It is a vital part of the global Scouting comm ...
in 2024. The motto of this event is ‘North of the Ordinary’. Regional competitions are where
patrol A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as law enforcement officers, military personnel, or security personnel, that are assigned to monitor or secure a specific geographic area. Etymology The word "patrol" is derived from the Frenc ...
s compete in Scouting skills. The best patrols in each region qualify for the Norwegian Scouting Championships. Each national Scouting championship and region banner competition lasts a weekend. Some typical exercises during these events are the
orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that involve using a map and compass to navigation, navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specia ...
, the pioneering, circular track with nature study, citizenship and first aid. As part of the Norges Speiderforbund of Community Involvement, the Scout campaign has been held every year since 2004. This is a fundraiser that goes to NRC projects.


Circuits

NSF is divided up into 29 circuits (). Groups include members of the same circuit. The circles are the link between the Federation and groups. *Asker og Bærum krets *Aust-Agder krets *Follo krets *Finmark krets (Non Activity) *Fredrikstad krets *Glåmdal krets *Grenland krets *Gudbrandsdal krets *Hedmark krets *Helgeland krets *Hordaland krins *Hålogaland krets *Nedre Buskerud krets *Nord-Troms krets *Nord-Trøndelag krets *Oslospeiderne *Romerike krets *Romsdal og Nordmøre krets *Ryvarden krets *Salten krets *Sogn og Fjordane krets *Sunnmøre krets *Sørlandet krets *Sør-Trøndelag krets *Tele-Busk krets *Vesterlen krets *Vestfold krets *Vestoppland krets *Østre Østfold krets *Øvre Buskerud krets


National jamboree

Every four years there is a week-long national jamboree for all NSF members, and usually also participants from other nations. Between national jamborees there are usually circuit camps every four years, and group camps every two years. The following regions have hosted national jamborees:


Norsk Speidergutt-Forbund (NSF)

*1914 Christiania *1916
Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...
*1920
Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...
*1924
Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...
*1928
Åndalsnes is a town in Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Åndalsnes is also the administrative center of Rauma Municipality. It is located along the Isfjorden, at the mouth of the river Rauma, at the north end of the Romsdalen valle ...
*1932
Mandal A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative c ...
*1936
Jeløya Jeløya is an island located in the municipality of Moss, Norway, Moss in Østfold County, Norway. History Jeløya was actually a peninsula in the Oslofjord, but was divided from the mainland in 1855 by the Moss canal (''Mossekanalen'') a 20-m ...
*1940
Tromsø Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...
(Cancelled due to WW2) *1948
Mandal A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative c ...
*1952
Verdalsøra Verdalsøra or Verdal is a town in Verdal Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The town is the administrative center of the municipality. It is located along the Trondheimsfjord at the mouth of the river Verdalselva. The village of Vinne ...
*1956
Voss Voss () is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality and a Districts of Norway, traditional district in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages inclu ...
*1960
Brunlanes Brunlanes is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1988. The area is now the southwestern part of Larvik Municipality. The administr ...
*1964 Bodø *1968
Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the munici ...
*1972
Røros Røros may refer to: Places * Røros Municipality, a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway * Røros (town), a town within Røros Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway * Røros Church, a church in Røros Municipality in Trøndelag county, No ...
*1976
Åndalsnes is a town in Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Åndalsnes is also the administrative center of Rauma Municipality. It is located along the Isfjorden, at the mouth of the river Rauma, at the north end of the Romsdalen valle ...
du


Norsk Speiderpikeforbund (NSPF)

*1923
Brandbu Brandbu is a village in Gran Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located in Hadeland, along the eastern shore of the large lake Randsfjorden, about to the northwest of the capital city of Oslo. Brandbu and its neighboring ...
*1925
Stabekk Stabekk is a suburban centre in the municipality of Bærum, Norway, west of Oslo. It is predominantly a residential area, with many residents commuting to Oslo. As of 2005 the population was 6,261. Bærum has the highest income per capita and the hi ...
*1929
Steinkjersannan Steinkjersannan or Sannan is a neighborhood of town of Steinkjer in Steinkjer Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula ...
*1933
Jørstadmoen Jørstadmoen is a village in Lillehammer Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located along the river Gudbrandsdalslågen, about northwest of Lillehammer. The village has a population (2021) of 661 and a population density Pop ...
*1937
Mandal A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative c ...
*1948 Borre *1953 Olberg *1957 Rømoen *1961 Ringerike *1965
Følling Følling is a village area in Steinkjer Municipality or is a municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Innherad Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Steinkje ...
*1969 Kongsted (in
Fredrikstad Municipality Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a city and municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Fredrikstad. The city of Fredrikstad was founded in ...
) *1973
Alvdal Alvdal may also refer to: Places *Alvdal Municipality, a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. *Alvdal (village), a village within Alvdal Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway * Alvdal Church, a church in Alvdal Municipality in Innlandet co ...
*1978
Ulven Ulven is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Kjetil Ulven (born 1967), Norwegian ski-orienteering competitor * Per Ulven (1925–2009), Norwegian harness racer * Tor Ulven (1953–1995), Norwegian poet See also * Ulven detention ...
in
Os Municipality Os is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Os i Ø ...


Norges Speiderforbund (NSF)

*1981 Ã…snes, where the uniform and plaid neckerchief of the new organization was introduced. *1985
Notodden is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Aust-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Notodden. Other population centres include the villages of Bolkesjø, G ...
, noted for an event of extreme flooding, putting much of the campsite under water during the camp. *1989
Skaugum Skaugum is an estate, manor house and the official residence of Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway and his wife Crown Princess Mette-Marit. The estate is located in Asker, southwest of Oslo, by the foot of the mountain Skaugumsåsen. The estate con ...
*1993 Ingelsrud in
Eidskog Municipality Eidskog is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vinger. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skotterud. Other villages in the municipality include Magnor, Matrand, ...
*1997
Austrått Austrått or Austrått Manor () is a manor in Ørland Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. Since the 10th century, Austrått has been the residence for many noblemen, noblewomen, and officials who played a significant role in Norwegian hist ...
(at Austråttborgen) *2001 Urban 2001 (
Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipal ...
) *2005 Fri:05 (Ingelsrud in
Eidskog Municipality Eidskog is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vinger. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skotterud. Other villages in the municipality include Magnor, Matrand, ...
) *2009 Utopia (
Åndalsnes is a town in Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Åndalsnes is also the administrative center of Rauma Municipality. It is located along the Isfjorden, at the mouth of the river Rauma, at the north end of the Romsdalen valle ...
in
Rauma Municipality Rauma is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. The administrative centre is the town of Åndalsnes. Other s ...
) *2013 Stavanger 2013 (
Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...
/
Hafrsfjord Hafrsfjord or Hafrsfjorden is a fjord in the Stavanger Peninsula in Rogaland county, Norway. The long fjord forms the border between the municipalities of Stavanger and Sola. On the west side of the fjord is the large village of Tananger, on t ...
) *2017 Nord 2017 Bodø *2021 Agenda 2021, held as a distributed camp of 100 smaller camps due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...


Ideals


Guide and Scout Law

The Norwegian scouts translated to English: # A Guide and a Scout seeks their own belief and respect that of others. # A Guide and a Scout feel responsibility for themselves and others. # A Guide and a Scout are helpful and considerate. # A Guide and a Scout are a good friend. # A Guide and a Scout are honest and reliable. # A Guide and a Scout know nature and protect it. # A Guide and a Scout think and act on their own and try to understand others. # A Guide and a Scout do their best in hard times and difficulties. # A Guide and a Scout are modest and try to manage on their own. # A Guide and a Scout work for peace and understanding among people.


Guide and Scout promise

I promise, to the best of my ability,
to seek my own belief,
to help others and
to live according to the Guide and Scout Law.


Scout motto

''Alltid Beredt'': Always Prepared.


References


External links

* {{Clear World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts member organizations World Organization of the Scout Movement member organizations Scouting and Guiding in Norway Youth organizations established in 1978