The Silver World Award is a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). It is presented for noteworthy and extraordinary service to youth on an international basis. Recipients must be a citizen of a country with a Scouting program that is a member of the World Scout Conference. Registered members of the BSA are not eligible for this award.
The award consists of a silver medallion enameled in blue with meridian lines, stars and the universal emblem of the BSA suspended from a red and white striped ribbon worn around the neck. The medallion represents the global scope of the award.
Recipients may wear the corresponding square knot, with a design that reflects the award.
The Silver World Award was created in 1971 and originally was presented to those who provided international service to the Scouting programs of the BSA, but were not registered members of the BSA.
Nominations were to be approved by the Chief Scout Executive, the national president, the international commissioner or the national commissioner, all of whom had the authority to present to any persons they might choose.
Today, public nominations for the award are no longer accepted, but it is used by the executive leadership of the BSA for recognition of world leaders in International Scouting, on the following basis and procedure:
The award may be presented to citizens of any country whose Scout association is a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, in recognition of his or her service of exceptional character to the youth of his or her own country, or on an international basis.
The recipient does not have to be a member of a Scout association. United States citizens may receive the Silver World Award for international service to youth, provided they are not registered members of the Boy Scouts of America.
Approved awards may be presented by an authorized member of the Boy Scouts of America either by a personal visit with the recipient or at an official meeting of a National Scout Association, including the BSA.
As evidence of the award, there will be presented a suitable certificate duly authorized by the Boy Scouts of America.
As of June 2013, there had been 119 Silver World Awardees. Note: This list is presented in the order of awards as published by the Boy Scouts of America International Division.
1971— Charles Dymoke Green, Jr. (United Kingdom); László Nagy (Switzerland); John W. Sharp (Canada); Olave Baden-Powell (United Kingdom)
1972— Taizō Ishizaka (Japan); Saburō Matsukata (Japan); Tsunao Okumura (Japan); Antonio C. Delgado (Philippines); Charles Celier (France); Bower Carty (Canada) A. Wallace Denny (Canada); Misael Pastrana Borrero (Columbia); Adolfo Aristeguieta Gramcko (Venezuela); Ramon Ocando Perez (Venezuela); Julio Montes Taracena (Guatemala); Samuel Hart (Jamaica); Nahom Isaias B. (Ecuador); Paul Kasluck (Australia); Jack Marshall (New Zealand); Hamengkubuwono IX (Indonesia); Mohammad Reza Pahlavi; Golda Meir
1973— Salvador Fernández Beltrán (Switzerland); Bruce H. Garnsey (Australia); Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya); Haile Selassie; Demetrios Alexatos (Greece); Oscar de Oliveira (Brazil)
1974— Victor Steiner (El Salvador); Gustavo J. Vollmer (Venezuela); Luis Esteban Palacios W. (Venezuela); Johan Kromann (Denmark); Robin Gold (United Kingdom); Arthur Eugster (Switzerland); Lakshmi Mazumdar (India); Pope Paul VI (Vatican City)
1975— Jack C. K. Teng (Taiwan); Shintarō Negishi (Japan); Odd Hopp (Norway); Sven H. Bauer (Sweden); Hossein Banai (Iran); Princess Benedikte of Denmark; Hirohito; King Olav V of Norway
1976— Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden; Sherman K. Ramsingh (Trinidad and Tobago); Jorge Toral A. (Mexico); Sir William Gladstone, 7th Baronet (United Kingdom); Shieh You-Hwa (Taiwan)
1977— Spencer W. Kimball (United States); Francisco Macías Valadéz (Mexico)
1978— John Beresford (United Kingdom); Roberto Dorion B. (Guatemala); Kenneth H. Stevens (United Kingdom)
1979— Col. Sang Myong Ree (Korea); J. Percy Ross (Canada)
1980— Ivo Stern Becka (Mexico); Wallace B. Smith (United States)
1981— Daniel Arap Moi (Kenya); Len Jarrett (Canada); Bennett B. Shotade (Africa Region World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM))
1982— Alexander Gibson (Bahamas); John R. Phillpot (Bahamas); Percival Alfred Siebold (World Scout Bureau); Yoshio Sakurauchi (Japan); Jack C. K. Teng (Taiwan)
1983— Pope John Paul II, (Vatican City); Tan Sri Kamarul Arifin (Malaysia)
1984— Archbishop Iakovos of America (United States); Jarl Wahlström (Finland); Enrique Alfaro (Mexico); Rolando Gonzalez (Venezuela); Rudolgo Kantor (Chile); Reginald K. Groome, OC (Canada)
1985— John L. MacGregor (Canada)
1986— Antonio Pozzi Pardo (Mexico); Kō Yoshida (Japan); Patrick A. McLaughlin (Switzerland)
1987— Peter Pessoa (Brazil); Suk-Won Kim (Korea)
1988— Fritz Vollmar (Switzerland); James Blain (Canada)
1989— Franz Dunshirn (Austria); Morrey Cross (Canada)
1990— Juan Neiman (Guatemala); Sir Marc Noble (United Kingdom)
1991— F. O. Ogunlana (World Scout Committee, Nigeria)
1992— Herbert C. Pitts (Canada); Hartmut Keyler (Germany); Sven Erik Ragnar (Sweden); Garnet de la Hunt (South Africa)
1993— Jacques Moreillon (Switzerland)
1994— None awarded
1995— Garth Morrison (United Kingdom)
1996— Neil M. Westaway (Australia)
1997— Geoffrey W. Wheatley (Canada); Aleksander Kwasniewski of Poland; Ezer Weizman (Israel)
1998— Ryutaro Hashimoto; Carlos Enrique Rivera (Guatemala); President Mary McAleese of Ireland; Francisco Roman (Philippines)
1999— Joseph Estrada (Philippines); Klaus Johann Jacobs (Switzerland)
2000— None awarded
2001— Akira Watanabe (Japan)
2002— None awarded
2003— Jørgen G. Rasmussen (Denmark)
2004— John A. Gemmill (Canada); Howard E. Kilroy (Ireland)
2005— None awarded
2006— None awarded
2007— Lars Kolind (Denmark); Alexander S. Bondar (Ukraine); Emperor Akihito
2008— John Geoghegan (World Scout Foundation, Ireland); Göran Hägerdal (Sweden)
2009— None awarded
2010— Mohamed Ali Khalid (Asia Pacific Region WOSM, India)
2011— Simon Hang-Bock Rhee (World Scout Committee, Korea)
2012— Luc Panissod; Jejomar Binay of the Philippines; Abdullah Rasheed (Maldives)
2015— Siegfried Weiser, Chairman of the World Scouting Foundation
