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Logo of the European Scout Region

Jurisdiction of the European Scout Region; Andorra, with no Scouting organization, and those outside the Region, are in grey

The European Scout Region is the divisional office of the World Scout Bureau of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with two regional offices, in Brussels, Belgium, which focuses more on external relations and partnerships; and in Belgrade, Serbia, to support the national Scout associations in Southeast Europe. The European Scout Region comprises 40 National Scout Organizations that are members of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, and services Scouting in Western and Central Europe, excluding the former Soviet Republics of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine, but inclusive of Cyprus, though technically not part of Europe, for cultural reasons, and Israel for political ones.

Full members status is held to the European Youth Forum (YFJ) which operates within the Council of Europe and European Union areas and works closely with both these bodies.

All the formerly communist states of Central and Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union have developed or are developing Scouting in the wake of the renaissance in the region. These include Albania, Bulgaria, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the successor states to Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and the Baltic nations independent of the former Soviet Union. Of these, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary have been most successful in regrowing their Scout movements and are very well-developed, thanks in part to the existence of Scouts-in-Exile movements for the diaspora of each nation.

This region is the counterpart of the Europe Region of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). The European Scout Region has strong connections to the Europe Region of WAGGGS. Both maintained a joined office in Brussels for some years and published a monthly newsletter called Eurofax.

Nordic Activity Badge for Girl Guides and Boy Scouts of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, the Faeroes, Norway, Sweden, Greenland and Åland

Andorra is one of only six of the world's independent countries that do not have Scouting. The population is sufficiently large to sustain Scouting, but the Scout association of the tiny enclave in the Pyrenees has been dormant since the 1980s and at present there is no Scouting movement. Likely it was spearheaded by a single dedicated local volunteer no longer involved, or at most a few who lost impetus.

According to BSA Troop 97 (Fort Collins, Colorado), Scouting in Vatican City might be served by a unit in nearby Rome. It is one of 35 countries where there is no National Scout Organization that is a member of WOSM at the present time.

In 1986 Pope John Paul II was given the Wood Badge insignia as an honorary Associazione Guide e Scout Cattolici Italiani (AGESCI) leader.

The needs of Scout youth in unusual situations has created some interesting permutations, answerable directly to the World Scout Bureau. For years there was an active Boy Scouts of the United Nations in Geneva, as well as 84 Scouts of the European Coal and Steel Community, an early precursor to the European Union.

The European Region of WOSM is also the organizer of the European Jamboree, which was organized twice, in both cases as a test case for a World Jamboree organized in the same country a year later. In 1994, the European Jamboree was organized in Dronten, The Netherlands and in 2005 in Hylands Park in the United Kingdom

Activity Badge for EuroJam 2005

The European Jamboree 2005 (EuroJam 2005) was held in the summer 2005 and lasted for 12 days between the 29th of July and the 10th of August, in Hylands Park, Chelmsford, Essex. It is near Gilwell Park, an important campsite and training center for Scout Leaders.

About 10,000 Scouts from the 40 countries were involved. Therefore it was considered the biggest Scout gathering in Europe for over 10 years and 50 years in the United Kingdom.

This event can be considered a small scale Jamboree which was intended for the European Region, with guests from overseas. It was also a dry run allowing the organisation team of the 21st World Scout Jamboree to test a number of aspects of the upcoming event, eg. traffic issues, necessary infrastructures and logistics.

The event was open to children and young people between the ages of 11 and 17. However, many adult members also participated to serve as members of the IST (International Staff/Service Team). They provided the highly varied programme, supervised, supported and helped the young people.

Two other multinational Europe-specific Scout organizations exist, not linked to WOSM, the only geographic area to have such. These are the Confédération Européenne de Scoutisme and the Union Internationale des Guides et Scouts d'Europe.

Scouting Portal

• Scouting 2007 Centenary
• Piet J. Kroonenberg
• Gallery of Europa 2007 Scout Centenary stamps

• Official Homepage

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