The World Brotherhood of Scouting

As a Scout you join a great host of boys of many nationalities and you will have friends in every continent.

This Brotherhood of Scouting is in many respects similar to a Crusade. Scouts from all parts of the world are ambassadors of good will, making friends, breaking down barriers of colour, of creed, and of class. That surely is a great Crusade. I advise you to do your best in that work, for soon you will be a man, and if quarrels should arise between any nations it is upon you that the burden of responsibility will fall.

Wars have taught us that if one nation tries to impose its particular will upon others, cruel reaction is bound to follow. A series of Scout World Jamborees and other meetings of Scouts from many countries has taught us that if we exercise mutual forbearance and give-and-take, then there is sympathy and harmony. These Jamborees have showed what a firm link the Scout Law is between boys of all nations. We can camp together, go hiking together, and enjoy all the fun of outdoor life, and so help to forge a chain of friendship.

If we are friends we will not want to be in dispute, and by cultivating these friendships such as have been cemented at our great Jamborees, we are preparing the way for solutions of international problems by discussion of a peaceful character. This will have a vital and very far-reaching effect throughout the world in the cause of peace. Therefore, let us pledge ourselves to do our absolute utmost to establish friendship among Scouts of all nations and to help to develop peace and happiness in the world and good will among men.

In all of this, it is the spirit that matters. Our Scout Law and Promise, when we really put them into practice, take away all occasion for wars and strife between nations.

Author

Lord Baden-Powell of Gilwell (Chief Scout, London, UK)

Date of Creation

1908

Learn A Continuation:

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