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The Interamerican Region is the divisional office of the World Scout Bureau of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, headquartered in Ciudad del Saber, Panama. The Interamerican Region services Scouting in the Western Hemisphere, both North and South America. Until the 1960s, the "Inter-American Scout Advisory Committee" serviced only Mexico, Central and South America, with Canada and the United States serviced through the then-named "Boy Scouts International Bureau" in Ottawa, Canada. Even today, the Interamerican Region exists more for the benefit of countries south of the Rio Grande, as evidenced by the website being only in Spanish until 2011; consequently, the United States and Canada did not participate as vigorously in regional activities as do other national organizations around the world, however this is changing in the 2010s.
Contents
- Regional Scouts administered directly by WOSM
- Pan American Region Scout Jamborees
- Interamerican Scout Conferences
- Pan American Moot
- Interamerican Leadership Training
- Youth of the Americas Award
- References
The headquarters of the Interamerican Region moved progressively southward from its inception until 2010, starting in Havana, Cuba, from 1946 to 1960; moving briefly to Kingston, Jamaica, in 1960; immediately relocating to Mexico City, Mexico, between 1960 and 1968; then to San José, Costa Rica, between 1968 and 1992; Santiago, Chile, from 1992 to 2010, most recently relocating to Ciudad del Saber, Panama.
The Scouts of the nations in the Caribbean basin host their own subregional jamborees.
The Interamerican Region contains one of the five countries with no Scouting organization, Cuba, due to political constraints within the country.
This region is the counterpart of the Western Hemisphere Region of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS).
Regional Scouts administered directly by WOSM
The needs of Scout youth in the Region in unusual situations has created some interesting permutations, answerable directly to the World Scout Bureau. For years there was an active Boy Scouts of the United Nations with several troops at Parkway Village in New York City, with but 14 members in 1959. Also directly registered to the World Bureau were the 900 member International Boy Scouts of the Canal Zone.
Pan-American Region Scout Jamborees
The Region has run or sponsored region-wide jamborees in its member countries. Past Jamborees include:
Interamerican Scout Conferences
Pan-American Moot
Interamerican Leadership Training
The Interamerican Leadership Training (ILT) is a Leadership Training Course in the Interamerican Region of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. Sponsored by the Messengers of Peace program, the training course goals are to strengthen Scouting in IAR through a collaborative effort of sharing, networking, training, and support. The course is held once a year hosted by one of the National Scout Organizations (NSOs) of the Region. The selected NSO is awarded the rights to host the ILT two years in a row.
The 1st ILT was the inaugural (pilot) training. It was held from December 26, 2013 to January 1, 2014, at Camp Strake, Houston, Texas. All but one of the 34 recognized NSOs of IAR participated.
The 2nd ILT was scheduled to be held in Sea Scout Base – Galveston, near Houston, Texas, from December 27, 2014, to January 2, 2015. Thirty recognized NSOs of IAR participated.
Youth of the Americas Award
The Youth of the Americas Award is the only award conferred by the Interamerican Scout Committee. The award is given to persons who have made an impact at the international level.