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2008 marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day. Since 1988, the face and response to AIDS has greatly changed. While many of these changes are positive, this anniversary offers us an opportunity to highlight how much more still needs to be done. the latest UNAIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic indicates that the epidemic is not yet over in any part of the world.

Together with its partners, the World AIDS Campaign set this year’s theme for World AIDS Day as “Lead – Empower – Deliver”, building on last year’s theme of “Take the Lead”. Scouts around the world have been playing a key role in the fight against HIV/AIDS for a number of years, leading the way in their communities through peer education programmes, awareness campaigns and activities, aiming to halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, which is also in line with Millennium Development Goal 6.

On 8-9 November 2008 more than 200 participants from the academic community, NGOs, Scouting and the public were given the opportunity to attend a unique scientific conference held in Athens and organised by the Soma Hellinon Proskopon (Scout Association of Greece) in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, the Secretariat-General for Youth and the Hellenic Open University.

The 30 presentations that were made dealt with a variety of current topics that have a direct reflection on formal, informal and non-formal educational processes and included skills development, the civil society, volunteerism, free time, diversity, the evolving needs of young people, age characteristics, environment and sustainability.

The new World Scout Committee held its first meeting over the weekend, which was also the first of its kind under the new Committee structure that was established at the recent 38th World Scout Conference in Korea.

What remains the same of the World Scout Committee structure is that there are still twelve elected members with voting rights, but the status of the Secretary General of the World Organization and the Treasurer has changed to 'ex-officio non-voting members'. They are also now joined by the Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson of each duly elected Regional Scout Committee and a member of the Board of the World Scout Foundation as non-voting members.

Leaders of the World Scout Foundation visited the United Arab Emirates at the end of October to meet with top government and Scouting representatives. Their purpose was to increase the visibility of Scouting in the UAE, strengthen relationships with UAE leaders, and obtain financial support.

The visit was hosted by the deputy ruler of Abu Dhabi, His Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed who acknowledged the importance of Scouting as a global force in the education of young leaders.

Haiti has been severely affected by a wave of cyclones in the recent months, causing considerable human loses and property damage.

For more than one month, the Scouts of Haiti have played an active role in helping the victims of this natural disaster, just like they did in 2004 after the disaster of cyclone Jeanne.

These actions, which service the local community, are currently integrated into week-long Scout camps for Rovers and leaders, and are located across three sites that have been particularly affected by the catastrophe: Gonaïves, Cabaret and Chansolme. On the whole, more than 1,800 people from all over the country, have been involved in this project.

Scouts in Algeria have been incredible in their support of the community in the Ghardaia region recently, as the area was dramatically hit by flash floods. The 'Scouts Musulmans Algériens' have proved the value of developing a disaster preparedness plan - which they activated with great success when the need arose.

On the 1st October 2008, the department of Ghardaia, 600 km south of Algiers, was hit by dangerous floods caused by heavy rains. More than 90 people were killed, 50 injured and more than 600 houses destroyed. According to the Algerian Red Crescent report, the mudslides overran the riverbanks of Oued M’Zab and invaded the villages.

The Scouts of the World Partnership is part of the tools to develop the Scouts of the World Award, it is a network of National Scout Organizations (NSOs) willing to help each other in implementing the Scouts of the World Award. The Scouts of the World Partnership is a concrete opportunity to involve young adults in the development of society and provide them with real social responsibilities.

More concretely, Scouts are working with NSOs in other countries or Regions in order to facilitate youth exchanges and open opportunities for young people to commit themselves in international cooperation projects. This is a fantastic field of action for young adults preparing for the Scouts of the World Award or having received the SW Award.

Over the week end, over half-a-million of you have gatherered on the air, during the 51st JOTA, and via the Internet for the 12th JOTI. Luc Panissod, World Scouting's acting Secretary General, sends a closing message to all participants and national organisers.

The 22nd World Scout Jamboree will take place from 27 July to 7 August 2011 in Kristianstad, Sweden with around 40,000 Scouts expected to attend from around the world.

The theme of the event is 'Simply Scouting'. Within the idea of 'Simply Scouting', there are three key concepts for the World Scout Jamboree in Sweden: meetings, nature and solidarity.

The Jamboree programme encompasses everything at the event. The Scouts will experience the 22nd World Scout Jamboree through five areas: subcamp life, module activities, common areas, arena events and Camp in Camp.

Today we face all sorts of environmental problems, from global warming, destruction of the ozone layer and polluted rivers, to loss of biodiversity and piles of waste. Fortunately, however, there are products and services that makes a positive difference and actively help to inflict less damage in nature.

Since 1992, the "Flower" has become a European-wide symbol to help European consumers distinguish greener, more environmentally friendly products and services.

Kandersteg International Scout Centre works hard on being a leading scout centre in enviornmental issues since its beginnings. Our Environmental Policy sets our mission and methods regarding reaching this goal. A completely revised Environmental Poliy and a 5 year action plan will be published in January 2009. The Environmental Improvement Team within the Centre is working along strict ecological and performance criteria to follow our procedures in this topic.

The Jamboree on Internet (JOTI) is the biggest Scout event online! It is a real discovery of the international dimension of Scouting, where young people learn about new technologies and share the vision of millions of Scouts: creating a better world!

For the first time ever, Scouts from all over the world will take part on the "World Scout Challenge - JOTI 2008". Be one of them!

2008 has seen another milestone achievement for the Scouts of the World Bases – this time in Singapore.

Riding on the momentum of the 10th World Scout Youth Forum and 38th World Scout Conference in Korea, the Singapore Base completed its second successful Scouts of the World Award Discovery Workshop on 14 September 2008.

The number of participants increased from nine to eleven this year. Led by Tan Sijie, the Course Director (who is the SWA Coordinator for Singapore), the group first went on a field trip in June to Pulau Semakau, one of Singapore’s unique offshore landfills.

His Majesty the King of Sweden was in Vienna, Austria in mid-September to help Scouting. In a press conference he and other speakers praised the work being undertaken by Scouts in Austria, and he spoke about the values of Scouting to himself and to society.

The press conference was among several activities of the World Scout Foundation, of which he is the Honorary Chairman. It resulted in considerable positive publicity.

After more than twelve months of planning the first ‘trial’ Scouts of the World Discovery was held at Youlbury Scout Activity Centre near Oxford. Eight enthusiastic members of the Scout Network from across the country took part in the Discovery which had Environment and Sustainability as its theme, and The Woodland Trust as partners.

A full day of exploration was spent photographing and ‘hugging’ trees in the nearby forest to provide a practical introduction to the Ancient Tree Hunt project. Participants were also given training in a wide range of skills including project management, behavioural analysis, challenging prejudice, conflict resolution, and what it means to be a Scout of the World. Case studies of overseas service projects were examined, and input given by a team of experts including two members of Scouts et Guides de France. Finally, action plans were drawn up to ensure this group will be the first British Scouts to achieve the SW Award which they must complete before their 25th birthday.

Announced on the 16 July 2008 at the 38th World Scout Conference in Korea, the Association des Scouts du Canada will host the 14th World Scout Moot in August 2013. The activities will take place in Quebec and Ontario, Canada. The main venue will be a scout camp, situated to the north-west of Montreal and surrounded by the beautiful Laurentian Mountains.

There will be a focus on the following four values: self-accomplishment through introspection and interaction with others; responsible and long-lasting commitment, international solidarity and the social contribution of Scouting.

Clean Up the World Weekend, celebrated globally on the 3rd weekend in September is the Clean Up the World flagship event. This year the Clean Up the World Weekend will be held 19-21 September 2008 and World Scouting calls for Scouts around the globe to mobilise for this important campaign.

Clean Up the World is a community based environmental campaign that inspires and empowers individuals and communities from every corner of the globe to make their environment a cleaner, healthier place to live.

The United Nations' International Day of Peace - marked every year on September 21 - is a day when individuals, communities, nations and governments highlight efforts to end conflict and promote peace. Scouts worldwide are encouraged to participate in marking this special day in every corner of the globe.

12 September 2008: World Scouting and The Board of the World Scout Foundation regrets to announce the passing away yesterday of its former Chairman, and long-time champion of Scouting, Klaus Jacobs.

Born in Germany in 1936, Klaus Jacobs was a famous businessman and entrepreneur who held a keen lifelong interest in the Scout Movement. A Vice-Chairman and then Chairman of the World Scout Foundation, Klaus was convinced that the Movement could help young people play an active role in building their own futures and in training young leaders capable to take part in the development and social, cultural and economic progress of their country.

Imagine an international opportunity to be a part of the real adventure of today's world: protecting the environment, sustainable development, challenging prejudices and building peace within and between communities; in one thought, contributing to making the world a better place.

All this and more is currently happening through the efforts of thousands of Rovers from all over the world that are taking part in the Scouts of the World Award.

More and more countries have adopted and implemented this global initiative within their programme for the Rover section. Here is some news from all corners of the globe:

Inspired by the programme run jointly by the World Scout Bureau and IBM UK at the 21st World Scout Jamboree last summer, it was decided to provide young Scouts with a technology focused programme activity at this year's Irish National Jamboree.