Do you remember the first man on the moon? It seems ages since Neil Armstrong first set foot on earth's satellite with a World Scout Badge reminiscent of his childhood Scouting days.

Space exploration and Scouting may seem odd partners, but both are reaching towards new frontiers of interest to the youth of today. Scouting's new frontiers are also well worth exploring, because as space research pushes the boundaries of knowledge further, so must Scouting move forward with the times.

It is this kind of Scouting which we would like you to discover and it's bound to be different from what you think it is.

Scouting has never stopped growing since its founding in 1907. Today there are more than 20 million members worldwide - boys and girls.

Scouting complements the school and family, filling needs not met by either. Scouting develops self knowledge, the need to explore, to discover, to want to know.

A spiritual dimension seeks a commitment to a spiritual value of life beyond the material world.

A social dimension seeks the participation in the development of society, respecting the dignity of others and the integrity of the natural world. Promoting local, national and international peace, understanding and co - operation

Scouts are also involved in meeting real needs in a vast number of issues facing the communities where we live and are constantly working with others in the community to achieve mutual objectives.

Through a programme of Fun, Adventure and Challenge Scouting achieves its purpose to help young people to develop physically, intellectually, socially and spiritually.

Scout Promise and law

The making of a personal commitment to a simple code of living - the Scout Promise and Law.

Learning by doing

The active participation, with others in the learning process

Working in small groups

Young people work in small groups to develop leadership, group skills, and individual responsibility

Stimulating programmes

Progressive programmes and activities are provided based on the interests of young people. Activities which are based in the open in contact with nature, a rich learning environment where simplicity, creativity, and discovery come together to provide adventure and challenge.

Scouting Ireland CSI, the largest youth association in Ireland, with a membership of 35,000 in the 32 counties of Ireland, have been providing Scouting to young people for the last 70 years. In an age when the negative side of the youth image continues to grab the headlines it is refreshing to note the many of our young people are involved in many positive pursuits. Scouting Ireland CSI have always led the field in this regard and have constantly held its position as the most sought after youth association that young people wish to join.

The Quality of its leadership and the programmes provided to its members, devised in consultation with young people, have been the keys to our success in the past and will continue to be the building blocks of the Association in the future. As we move towards the next millennium, Scouting will continue to appeal to young people and push the frontiers as it has done in the past - Scouting has always been concerned and at one with nature - long before it was `trendy' to do so. Team building and working in teams has always been a part of Scouting, in fact one of it's great strengths, before the business world considered it a management tool or function. Education through `learning by doing' and in an out of doors environment has been a cornerstone of Scouting long before educationalists discovered its worth.

Scouting is successful because it listens to young people and adapts to change, by planning to meet future needs and by expanding its programmes to provide opportunities for young people to develop into the adults of tomorrow. These methods have ensured that Scouting remains at the frontier of out of school education.

The quality of Scouting is reflected in the quality of its leadership. Scouting is a voluntary organisation and 7,000 adults within our Association work unselfishly with young people week - in week - out.

The Association guardedly protect this most valuable of resources. The quality, caliber and integrity of our leadership is maintained through careful selection and constant training of our adult leadership. The challenge of assisting in the development of our young people is not one that is taken lightly and all adults subscribe to the Scout Promise and Law that we expect our young people to commit themselves to.

Scout leadership is a serious commitment for an adult. It will involve intensive training, time, and personal interaction. The Scouting programme is so wide and encompassing that a section leader working directly with young people is backed up and supported by many other structures which are organised on a local basis. Most of our adult leadership remain within the Association for a minimum of 3 years and are drawn from many fields of life which allow the inter - netting of a wide range of skills and personalities, each have a role to play and all possess a deep belief in the value of Scouting for young people.

It has been calculated that the adult leadership of our Association provide in excess of 1.5 million hours of Scouting to young people every year.

A good Scout Troop will provide approx. 500 hours of Scouting to young people a year.

A young person attends school for approx. 1020 hours a year. This is the type of impact that Scouting Ireland CSI can have on the complimentary education and development of young people in Ireland.

The quality image of Scouting is fostered and maintained by the quality of our leadership, the smartness of our uniform and the excellence of our programme. The Association realises the value of this image and the need to be able to guarantee the quality of Scouting programme in every Unit in the country and have recently introduced its own quality award - Standards of Quality Scouting - which has been developed along ISO 9000 guidelines and methods. The Association is now very confident about the product it provides to young people - `Scouting' - and is now in a position to guarantee young people that they will experience `real' Scouting in every Unit in the country.

An interesting fact is the within Scouting unemployment is not a problem and the national figures for unemployment do not reflect through our membership. This we believe is due to the fact that Scouts possess those qualities most sought after by employers, Leadership Skills, Initiative, Team work Skills, Social and Personal Interaction skills.

Scoutings' programme is today as flexible as ever so that it may adapt to the needs of its members and the society in which they live. Members are involved in a great variety of fields Conservation, Community Development, Drug Abuse and Unemployment Programmes as well as those programme normally associated with Scouting. The scope of the programme offered to members is only limited by the imagination and dedication of local adult leaders

Activities are based on the interests of the members of each grouping and offers the members the opportunity to put into practice, in adventurous and challenging outdoor situations, skills taught as part of the programme.

Members of the Scout Movement are trained to be responsible and active members of their local, national and international communities. International understanding, co-operation and brotherhood are strongly emphasised

The motto of Beavering is `Sharing' and this is reflected in the programme where the young person learns to share through co-operation, teamwork and effort. Therefore Beavering is designed on a positive group basis

Some of the activities enjoyed at Beaver meetings include: active and quite games, stories, creative crafts, singing, nature study, etc. Once a month, a Beaver Colony may have a special event or activity. This could be hikes, parties, visits, picnics, etc.

As a Cub Scout a young person becomes a member of a `six' (a group of up to 6 Cub Scouts) within a Cub Pack (5 or 6 sixes).

Cub Scouting is about fun, adventure, and challenge but it is also about learning by doing. This is achieved in a number of ways:

Working in small groups (sixes).

Projects (some may require help from parents).

Fun and adventurous outdoor activities designed to reinforce skills gained as part of the programme

Scouts work as members of a Patrol (6 - 8 Scouts) within a Scout Troop (4 -6 Patrols).

The Patrol system exploits the natural `gang' which young people operate in, and by the use of this method the aims of Scouting can easily be achieved.

Scouting uses a method of `learning by doing' and it is in this way that Scouting skills are imparted to new and inexperienced Scouts. Scouting is about activity and adventure and it is in the out of doors that this takes place using skills and experiences gained as part of their weekly meeting.

Scouts may also choose to challenge themselves and test their proficiency in a chosen skill. This is possible by taking part in a series of challenges as part of the progress scheme or by competing for a merit badge in their chosen subject.

A young person joins Venturing as a Venturer Scout and is part of a Venturer Group (10 - 20 Venturers)

As a Venturer a young person becomes part of a team which will plan programmes and activities to suit their situations. The programme within a Venturer group is as wide and varied as the group wishes it to be. However, it usually falls into the following areas:

Adventure

Personal Development

Skills

Service

Social

Activities are the life blood of any Venturer group and take place regularly.

The section aims to provide opportunities for young adults to mature fully within adulthood by offering a friendly environment where young adults can seek to discover their limits, make new friends and be of service to others.

The programme is based on 5 elements

Challenge

Service

Environment

Self / others

Promise & Law

It is upon these basic principles that the programme of the section is built. It is important to state that we are dealing with adults and not children so these adults create their own programmes, adventures and initiatives. Fun, friendship, challenge, adventure and service are the main components of the programme interspersed liberally with social events and lots of craic.

Direct access to target markets from 6 - 25 years of age, male and female (30,000 members) and adult leaders (7,000) 18 - 70 years of age, male and female across all demographic groupings..

Linking of your company or product with a quality, respected and successful youth association with a 32 county base and a countrywide network of 430 local Units and over 1500 sections.

Creative and imaginative people who can create and devise novel ways of presenting your company or product to its target market through Scouting

Linking your company or product with a dynamic, fun based, adventurous, out of door association

A large variety of support can be considered either by way of product or financial contribution

Reliable, dynamic and committed adults who will realise to its full potential, your support and partnership

The wide programme area of Scouting and the necessary support backup and facilities means that many opportunities are available for your company to profile itself thus it is possible to have exclusive partnership and profiling of your company and product with a facility, programme or event.

Positive and supportive links with the media ensure coverage of Scouting activities and events and publicity for your company or product. Internal magazines and handbooks where your message can be delivered directly to target groups.

Opportunities exist to appeal to all budget types and projects can be devised and tailored to suit your requirements.

All support given by your company will be directed exclusive into the development of the Association and the programme it can offer to young people.

Recent Market Research undertaken by the Association have indicated the following

• 49% had members of their families that where either a Scout or Guide
• 50% personally knew a Scout
• 90% would be able to recognise a Scout in the street
• 90% were aware of the colour and design of our uniform
• 82% were aware that Scouting is open to both sexes
• 64% were able to indicate 4 things that Scouts do
• 96% considered Scouting to be educational
• 98% considered Scouting to be good for young people
• 96% considered Scouting to be Fun, Adventurous, and Challenging
• 85% would be willing to support and promote Scouting

Positive indications from the general public, across all age groupings, and a reaffirming of Scouting image and appeal in the community

Beaver Scouts

6 - 8 years of age - 6,000 young people attached to local Units with approx. 24 Beaver Scouts in each Unit.

Cub Scouts

8 - 11 years of age - 12 ,000 young people attached to local Units with approx. 30 Cub Scouts in each Unit.

Scouts

11-15 years of age - 10,000 young people attached to local Units with approx. 30 Scouts in each Unit.

Venturers

15 - 19 years of age - 2,000 young people attached to local Units with approx. 8 - 12 Venturers in each Unit

Rovers

18 - 25 years of age - this is a new section and membership of these groups have yet to be established, we would expect however to have approx. 600 members by the end of the year. Drawn for our current leadership membership, Colleges, Universities and the general public.

Leaders

18 years plus - 7,000 leaders broken down 54% male 46% female. Approximately 20 leaders in each Unit. Age profile is consistent across leadership population

• 18 - 21 26%
• 21-30 25%
• 31-40 26%
• 40 plus 23%

The Association has 430 Units each Unit having on average about 60 - 75 members

There are approx. 1500 sections ( either Cub Pack, Scout Troop, Beaver Colony etc.)

There are 52 Regions comprising approx. 8 - 10 Units.

"Scouting is successful because it listens to young people and adapts to change, by planning to meet future needs and by expanding its programmes to provide opportunities for young people to develop into the adults of tomorrow. These methods have ensured that Scouting remains at the frontier of out of school education."

"It has been calculated that the adult leadership of our Association provide in excess of 1.5 million hours of Scouting to young people every year"

Scouting Ireland CSI would be delighted to discuss the many opportunities that exist and ways that you can help to keep Scouting at the cutting edge in the development of young people.