Scouting for the Future: Technology and the Scouting Movement

Hello everyone! My sanction is Mihajlo, and implicit the past six months arsenic portion of my Next Billion Fellowship, I’ve been moving to bring the benefits of Web3 to the World Scouting Movement.

Growing up successful Serbia successful the '90s, I experienced firsthand the devastating effects that wars and sanctions tin person connected young people. There weren’t a batch of opportunities to find bully relation models oregon supportive peers. In that benignant of environment, it’s casual for younker to go caught up successful gangs oregon transgression activity. I would accidental it’s due to the fact that of exertion and the scouting question that I was capable to debar turning down the incorrect path.

In 1996, I searched for "Izviđači" (Serbian for ‘scout’) connected Yahoo, and stumbled upon 1 of the archetypal scouting groups successful the satellite to person its ain website. One of the members had created the website arsenic a assemblage task earlier that year. Finding that website was wherever my travel began. Fast-forward done 27 years of adventure, learning, volunteering, and nonrecreational engagement – and present I enactment for the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM), a vibrant planetary community, representing much than 57 cardinal Scouts crossed implicit 170 National Scout Organizations.

A Decentralised Movement

The Scouting question is decentralised, with each section bringing its ain unsocial skills and goals to a grassroots assemblage focused connected fostering an situation of learning, idiosyncratic growth, and communal respect. Scouts travel a wide model and guiding principles agreed upon by each members of the World Organization, but person autonomy successful however they instrumentality projects and initiatives.

In Scouting, we judge that acquisition is cardinal to making the satellite a amended spot to live, and that exertion is 1 of the astir almighty tools for education. Since 1957, scouts astir the satellite person participated successful the “Jamboree connected the air” – a distant gathering of scouts moving connected the skills of amateur vigor operation. More recently, scouts astir the satellite person joined the “Jamboree connected the Internet” – the adjacent procreation of planetary scouting events facilitated by technology.

In my clip with WOSM, I’ve watched the scouting question experimentation with the aboriginal internet, and past helped it to marque the modulation to Web 2.0. Today, scouts person a afloat online beingness and level that tin beryllium utilized worldwide to coordinate and lend to planetary initiatives, support way of section chapters, and to pass with the planetary movement. I americium excited to accidental that it’s present clip for the scouts to upgrade to Web 3.0!

My Next Billion Fellowship

The archetypal portion of my enactment arsenic a Next Billion Fellow was to make immoderate acquisition contented for scouts connected the basics of Web3: We talked astir what a blockchain is, however it tin beryllium used, and the value of encryption for staying harmless online. I hosted 2 sessions astatine the “Jamboree connected the Internet”, and arsenic a impervious of information for the event, encouraged attendees to mint the first-ever World Scouting NFT badge utilizing POAP.

The digitization of scout badges is simply a precise wide usage lawsuit for us, and we volition beryllium moving to make caller blockchain-based badges for scouts astir the satellite to unlock and collect. But determination is overmuch much imaginable for innovation successful the satellite of Web3 for the scouting movement. New mechanisms for voting and governance could let scouts worldwide to person much effectual coordination connected large initiatives. A satellite scouting program for Web3 could assistance millions of young radical larn however to safely support and usage integer assets. A satellite scouting wallet could usher and reward scouts connected their travel of learning, and let section chapters to make and export their ain challenges and badges to a planetary community.

The Scout’s Passport

Although this travel began with seeing the untapped imaginable of NFTs and integer badges, the satellite of Web 3.0 is simply a large territory -- and I wanted to illustration a way that moves wisely toward the semipermanent goals of Scouting. A Scout's badges are tokens of idiosyncratic maturation and accomplishment that a scout takes with them. They assistance to enactment and specify the individuality of a scout, acting arsenic 'soul-bound tokens' attached to a existent person's travel done beingness and scouting. Digital badges are a ample portion of the picture, but what we truly request is an identity system that is compatible with integer badges, tokens, and thing other that Scouts whitethorn request successful the future.

We are present preparing to physique the archetypal foundational furniture of World Scouting Web3 vision: The Scout’s Passport. As an individuality system, a Scout’s passport would beryllium compatible with each sorts of Web3 systems, and would let the scouting question to person an individuality furniture for badges, tokens, signatures, messages, etc. In particular, a Web3-enabled scout’s individuality would let for much robust societal betterment for scouts, allowing america to safely make DAO scouting groups, to research caller methods of crowdfunding and governance, and of people to unlock the infinite possibilities of NFTs and integer badges oregon certifications. Above each else, processing a peculiar wallet module for the Scouts volition alteration america to make idiosyncratic flows and relationship protections specifically for young people, an important demographic not often considered successful user wallet software.

Like each initiatives successful the scouting movement, we are moving from the crushed up. The improvement of the scout’s passport volition person a sustainable enactment strategy and community-based contributions from the galore scouts already progressive successful Web3. The Scouts wallet volition beryllium open-source, allowing anyone to some lend to and to payment from modules successful our individuality platform. We anticipation to person an MVP of the World Scouting Wallet acceptable successful clip for the World Scout Jamboree being held successful South Korea this August, which volition bring unneurotic 45,000 scouts from each implicit the world.

Moving Forward

As I proceed connected this breathtaking journey, I'm moving connected implementing a method model for a acceptable of archetypal World Scouting Educational Initiatives and Scouts for Sustainable Development Goals Badges based connected verified credentials that volition past beryllium stored successful the Scout’s wallet module. I deliberation that exertion is simply a almighty instrumentality to make an empowered community, and with this model we tin commencement to physique a brighter aboriginal for Scouts worldwide.

I'm excited to stock my advancement and experiences with you, and I anticipation to animate others to research the imaginable of blockchain and Web3 exertion wrong their ain communities. Let's embark connected this travel unneurotic and spot wherever it takes us!

If you're funny successful learning much astir my task and staying up to day connected my progress, consciousness escaped to link with maine connected Twitter oregon LinkedIn

The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) is simply a vibrant planetary community, representing much than 57 cardinal Scouts crossed implicit 170 National Scout Organizations. As 1 of the largest younker movements successful the world, WOSM plays a captious relation successful shaping the lives of young people, fostering values of leadership, assemblage service, and biology stewardship.

A Note from Team Next Billion: As of today, applications are present closed for Cohort #3 of the Next Billion Fellowship. We would similar to convey everyone who applied, and volition beryllium reaching retired to each applicants with a determination successful the coming weeks.