The Global Scouts Go Solar Project The Scouts Go Solar project (SGS) is an environmental partnership between the World Organization of the Scout Movement, Greenpeace and Solafrica, a Swiss NGO, working in close collaboration with the Kandersteg International Scout Centre (KISC) in Switzerland. The partnership started in July 2013 as Scouts from all over the world were trained at KISC to become Scout Solar Ambassadors. There they gained practical experience on how to organize and run solar energy activities with children and young people and on basic solar energy principles, including self-assembling of a solar torch for Scouts, a do-it-yourself solar suitcase for camps and a solar campfire. These newly trained Solar Ambassadors were thus enabled to introduce the Scouts Go Solar programme in their national scout organization (NSO), which resulted in two official Pilot NSOs in 2014: One in Manila with the Boy Scouts of the Philippines and a second in Islamabad with the Pakistan Boy Scouts Association. Subsequently, to test the activities on ground, train-the-trainers-trainings for Scout Leaders and workshops for Scouts during national jamborees have been introduced to Scout groups in Philippines, Pakistan, Brazil, Kenya, Mexico, Peru, Ivory Coast, Namibia, Indonesia and many other countries. The Official Launch of the Global Scouts Go Solar Programme and the Solar Badge took place on the 16th Sep 2015 on the occasion of the APR Workshop on Environment Education in Scouting (see http://scout.org/node/105276). Because the Project has so much momentum, a Global Scouts Go Solar Coordinator was installed in January 2016, based in Islamabad. The goal is to connect and support Solar Ambassadors world wide and to Implement the Scouts Go Solar programme on a national level in the two pilot countries (Pakistan and Philippines) as a model for other national scouts organisations to adapt. Solar Badge and Solar Energy Handbook: A specific objective of the Scouts Go Solar project was to launch the Solar Badge and a correlated “Solar Energy Handbook” for youth leaders.

• The Solar Badge is linked to the World Scout Environment Badge, assisting in the achievement of the third and fourth aim of the WSEP Framework.
• The Solar Energy Handbook is intended to allow Scouts from all over the world and other youth leaders to organize and run their own solar energy activities with children and young people.

Why Solar Energy? Among renewable energies, solar is the most appropriate for learning-by-doing and practical for public awareness work. The Scout method is consistently used as it is a fun and effective way to learn. Traditionally, energy campaigns are often formulated negatively (No coal, etc.) We want to change this culture by saying “yes” to something and by showing solutions. Why Solar for Scouts? We scouts have a responsibility towards the environment. The benefits of Solar Energy can be easily experienced by individual scouts all over the world! As such, Solar Energy fits perfect to the scouts way of living! The idea of the project is also in accordance with the World Scout Environmental Programme (WSEP) and with the Scout Centres of Excellence for Nature and Environment (SCENES) goals. Our goals:

• To involve, empower and engage young people (e.g. Scouts), the future generation, in solar solution work to protect the climate
• To enable Scouts leaders to facilitate Solar workshops for Scouts using the the learning-by-doing approach
• To “produce” good examples of “solarized centres” to inspire others

What can you do?

• If you want to solarize the scouts of your region as well, then just download the Solar Energy Handbook on solafrica.ch and do some of the proposed solar activities with your scout group (eg. building a solar torchlight)!
• You can also ask your national scouts organization to implement the Solar Scout Badge programme as proposed in the Solar Energy Handbook.
• In any case, be sure to check out our educational solar materials and like our Facebook page to stay updated!
• If you want to support us financially, then consider compensating the CO2 emissions of your scout related flights with our partner Solafrica! Just put 'Scouts Go Solar' in the remarks field and 50% of the compensation will be made with the Scouts Go Solar Project.