STRUCTURE OF THE SCOUT ASSOCIATION OF MALTA

Transcription

1 STRUCTURE OF THE SCOUT ASSOCIATION Scouting was introduced in Malta in 1908 and the first committee was convened on the 2 nd of September At this meeting it was decided that the committee be known as "The General Baden Powell Boy Scouts - Malta Command District Committee" adopting the rules as laid down in "Scouting for Boys" The Association was called "The Baden-Powell Boy Scout Association - Malta Branch" The Association was registered with Imperial Headquarters, Boy Scouts, London; as "The Boy Scout Malta - Local Association" The Association name was changed to "The Boy Scout Association (Malta & Gozo)" The Malta Boy Scout Association 1966 The Scout Association - Malta 1976 The Malta Scout Association 1978 The Scout Association 1994 The Scout Association of Malta The Association has its own Constitution and the jurisdiction of the Association governs over the Maltese islands. THE FSMT045 ver 1.2 Page 1 of 6

2 GENERAL ASSEMBLY Chief Scout as Chairperson Deputy Chief Scout (nominated from the elected members) 4 Uniformed Members 4 Non-uniformed Members All members of the NSC are elected from the General Assembly NATIONAL SCOUT COUNCIL POLICY COMMITTEE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2 Members from the Scout Council (one is Chairperson) 2 Members from the IHQ Forum 2 Members from the GSLs Forum. All members are elected from amongst their peer group Awards Committee Chief Commissioner Elected by the General Assembly By Nomination: Deputy Chief Commissioner Training and Programme Finance Administration International Commissioner All District Commissioners ALL REGISTERED GROUPS AND IHQ STAFF All IHQ Commissioners Assistant Commissioners All GSLs (or their representatives) GSLs FORUM All GSLs (or their representatives) IHQ FORUM All IHQ Commissioners Assistant Commissioners IHQ Staff THE FSMT045 ver 1.2 Page 2 of 6

3 The District In 1909, a year after the Malta Boys Scout Association was formed, it had its first Scout Commissioner. By 1918 there were two Districts "A" and "B", and by the year 1935 there were seven Districts namely; Eastern, Central, North Eastern, South Eastern, Western, South and Gozo. At that time there were eight District Commissioners, nine District Scout Masters and eight District Cub Masters, with forty active Groups. In 1937 the Association was reorganised in nine Districts which were; Aard Wolf, Acorn, Albatross, Bee, Cottonera, Diamond (later Peacock), Gozo, Griffin and Oak. Another reorganisation took place in 1964 and the Districts were reduced to five, which were; Central, City, Gozo, North and South. Two years later the City District was integrated with the Central District and the districts became as they are known today. The District Commissioner The role of the District Commissioner is to administer the District, and represents the Chief Commissioner in the District. The role is within the structure of the POR-1970; Rule 50 to 53(B). The number of Groups within a district is rather large and therefore it is most desirable to have an Assistant District Commissioner/s, a District Service Team and a District Scouters Meeting. Assistant District Commissioner/s The role of Assistant District Commissioner is to assist the District Commissioner. There may be one or more Assistants and they may hold dual ranks within the District and the I.H.Q. Service Team. Ex-Scouters may be invited to help and they can be uniformed or lay members District Service Team This team consists of any number of persons however small and can be made up of ex-scouters or past Group Council members from the District Groups, or former members of the Movement who feel that they can contribute some of their time, by helping in Scouting. The District Service Team works directly with the District Commissioner. Key responsibilities where one can be of help would be to act as Secretary, Treasurer, Badge Examiner or helping to maintain the premises of the District. District Scouters Meeting The District Scouters Meeting is constituted according to P.O.R.-1970, Rule 54(I) to (III) and is self-explanatory. Being a "large" District, it would be preferable if this body will consist of: the District Commissioner, who will chair the meetings all Group Scout Leaders within that District or their representatives a Secretary preferably from the District Service Team a Treasurer preferably from the District Service Team other members of any Sub-committee nominated by the District Scouters Meeting for any purpose (such as Advisers, Warden of a site, fund raising, helping out in Groups, etc.) The Group The Group is the fundamental functional unit in the Association where the training programme for young members of the Movement takes place. It is the venue where the real game of Scouting is enjoyed and if played well and according to rules it is worth the method of achieving the Aims of the Association. On the 1 st of January 1928, the name Scout Group came into being (In those days Malta was a British Colony and our Association was part and parcel of the Imperial Headquarters in London, where all British and Overseas Scout Movements were catered for. The format of our Association was and still is to a certain point, the same as that of the Scout Movement in the UK). THE FSMT045 ver 1.2 Page 3 of 6

4 Since the founding of the Scout Movement until The Coming of Age of Scouting - there were many changes in the ranks, responsibilities etc. but the most significant change was the creation of the Scout Group with its leader - The Group Scout Master. This came into being after a long conference held in late Up to that time the Troop, the Pack, and the Rovers operated individually - sometimes in one building - and things were not running as well as they could have been. Each of the above Sections, whose leaders were - the Scout Master, the Cub Master and the Rover Scout Leader - reported directly to the District Scout Master, the District Cub Master and the District Rover Scout Leader respectively. At that time there was no official Scouters Meeting or Group Committee. By creating the Rank of a Group Scout Master, (now known as the Group Scout Leader) there was a person in charge of the whole Group. The Sections, each with a dedicated Scouter in charge worked under the supervision of the GSM. All the Scouters within the Group formed a Group Council, (nowadays know as the Scouters Meeting) to co-ordinate the work of the sections. The Group Our Association caters for the following types of Groups; 1) Open Group a) Beavers, Cub, Scouts are all male. Ventures, Rovers and Scouters may be of both sexes. b) All Sections are male. Leaders may be male and female c) Co-ed. All sections within the Group and their leaders can be male or female. 2) Sponsored Open Group May consist of members as in 1(a) or 1(b) and is registered by the organisations approved for this purpose by I.H.Q. and having unrestricted recruitment such as, Universities, Colleges, Schools, Service Clubs, Industrial and Commercial Firms, Institutions, Churches, etc. 3) Sponsored Closed Groups As 2) above but with restricted recruitment as determined by the sponsoring authorities. These types of Groups are as listed in the POR rule 11 and 12 (e). There may be units or Sections within certain organisations that cater for a limited age group (such as in Schools or Universities). These units may register as Sponsored Open / Closed units and are to be called Troop, Pack, Unit or Crew. Persons with special needs are an integral part of any of the above cases. The Group Scout Leader The Group Scout Leader is the person responsible for the administration, the continuity and the development in all Sections within the Group and the coordinator of all activities that takes place in the Group (refer to Rule 30 (1) a & b of the P.O.R ). Membership within a Group Membership within a Group is the responsibility of the Group Scout Leader. He is responsible for the admittance of any person in any Section within the Group. He is also responsible for the suspension or dismissal of any member within the Group. Section Leaders Each Section has its own leader and is helped by an assistant/s to run the Section. The age bracket of these Scouters is from 18 to 65 years, with the exception of Rover Section Leaders whose age bracket is from 26 years of age. Section Leaders assist the Group Scout Leader in the running of the Group. P.O.R Rule 30 (I) (a) to (III) (b), refers to Group Leaders. THE FSMT045 ver 1.2 Page 4 of 6

5 Assistant Group Scout Leaders Where the Group is large and has enough Leaders to run the Sections, an Assistant Group Scout Leader may be appointed to assist the Group Scout Leader. Auxiliaries and Instructors a) An Auxiliary Scouter is a uniformed person who is 18 years of age and over who shows an interest in helping in the Group, but not attached to a particular Section. The Group Scout Leader appoints such a person to help in the management of the Group with a specific duty responsible to the Group Scout Leader. b) Instructors are 16 to 18 year old scouts appointed within a Pack or Troop with the approval of the Section Leaders concerned. The Instructor is responsible for a specific badge or badges and helps in activities as required by the Section Leader. "Size" of the Group There is no definite number of members and Sections within a Group. P.O.R 1970 Rule 13 states that the minimum number of members within a Group will be: a Pack of 12 cub scouts divided into Sixes a Troop of 14 scouts making up two Patrols. To these one must add the Group Scout Leader, a Scout Leader, a Cub Scout Leader and one Assistant Cub Scout Leader. Scout Leaders and a Senior Patrol Leader. A Venture Unit made up of 7 Venture Scouts, a Venture Scout Leader and an Assistant Venture Scout Leader. It is essential that larger Groups (larger than the "model" Group mentioned above), must have Leaders in the Sections accordingly. If the number of Cub Scouts exceeds 36 then a second Pack must be formed (P.O.R 1970 Rule 13). Baden-Powell noted that a Troop of 22 members was quite a good number to be headed by a Scout Master, 2 Assistant Scout Masters and a Troop Leader. Group Scouters Meeting These meetings are held to discuss activities within the Group. Every Leader within the Group is expected to attend under the chairmanship of the Group Scout Leader. A Scribe (to differ from the Group Council Secretary) is appointed from any of the Junior Leaders to keep minutes of each meeting. Rule 31 (i) & (ii) of P.O.R. 1970, refer to such body. Group Council Group Council is the successor of the Group Committee and was developed some years after the introduction of the Group as a unit (section 1.03). When Groups began to prosper in property and finance the need was felt to form a body of non-uniformed persons to assist the Group Scout Leader with finance, accommodation, publicity and fund raising. The formation of a Group Council is obligatory and Rule 32 and 33 of P.O.R refers to such a body. The ideal model of a Group will consist of: A Pack made up of 6 Sixes with 6 Cub Scouts in each Six, a Cub Scout Leader and 6 Scouters / Helpers to assist him. A Troop of 28 Scouts forming 4 Patrols, a Scout Leader assisted by 2 Assistant THE FSMT045 ver 1.2 Page 5 of 6

6 District Commissioner Assistant District Commissioner Group Scouters Executive (GSL, SL, CSL, VSL, RL, BSL) A typical Scout Group GSL Group Scout Council or Sponsoring Authority All Groups within the District Section Scouter s Meeting (meeting by Section where all Adult members have to attend) Group Scouters Scout Leader Cub Scout Leader Venture Scout Leader Rover Leader Beaver Scout Leader Assistant Section Leaders GSL Chairperson Secretary Treasurer All Section Leaders (or their representative) 6-9 lay members from parents or supporters District Training Advisor District Service Team District Campsite District Scouters Meeting (by section or GSLs) Support Leaders In the Scout Association of Malta there are 4 Scout Districts Central Gozo North South THE FSMT045 ver 1.2 Page 6 of 6