THE Philippine National Police (PNP) and Department of Tourism (DOT) are working alongside the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP) to prepare for the wave of international delegates attending this October’s 26th Asia-Pacific Regional Scout Conference (ASPRC) the Philippines will host.
“The APRSC is a governing body, or ‘the general assembly’ of scouting in the Asia-Pacific region and is composed of all the member-countries,” explained Paul Parkinson, chairman of the APR Regional Committee.
More than 600 leaders and delegates from 27 member-countries in the Asia-Pacific region will gather from October 15 to 20 in the Philippine International Convention Center, Manila.
The 26th ASPRC will serve to provide workshops and policy-making sessions; expose delegates to other cultures; and showcase the tourist destinations in this country.
The DOT will participate actively during the conference as they promised to deliver a production
number during the conference opening, as well as lead the tour for the guests.
“We have designed just a simple tour for the guests, but they’ll really get to appreciate the beauty of Manila,” said Janice Artugo, public relations officer of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines.
The PNP will provide security to the ASPRC.
With “Growth and Stability” headlining the 26th ASPRC and approximately 300,000 local volunteers preparing for it, organizers like Peter Blatch, member of the World Scout Committee, hope to push into full gear its vision for the community—that in five years, there will be 100 million Boy Scouts worldwide.
“By 2023, scouting will be the world’s leading educational youth movement, enabling 100 million young people to be active citizens creating positive change in their communities and in the world based on shared values,” said Blatch, quoting the organization’s vision.
With such an ambitious goal, Parkinson admitted, “The challenges for us, quite simply is we want to make sure we’re providing a program for young people that’s up-to-date; that’s relevant; that’s particularly focused on them; that allows them to say ‘I want to be part of scouting because I believe it’s got something for me.’”
Globally, the World Organization of the Scout Movement has 51 million members, more than 30 million of whom are found in the Asia-Pacific region alone. The Philippines boasts of 2,650,882 members nationwide.
As some leaders from the scouting community try to gain relevance, Blatch claimed the Philippines as “the future of scouting.”
“There are exciting and innovative things coming out of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines,” he said.
Among the notable projects that have received accolades in the scouting community is the BSP’s “Ticket to Life Project.” Young volunteer scout leaders guide and mentor street children toward gaining a sense of teamwork, leadership and duty both to others and to themselves.
“One of the challenges for us is to ensure that scouting is truly a community activity,” Blatch said.