King of Sweden visits largest Scouting nation

Tuesday 31 January 2012

       Two prominent personalities – His Majesty the King of Sweden and the President of the Republic of Indonesia are meeting in Jakarta, for the benefit of young people in Indonesia. Both personalities are strong advocates of Scouting.

     His Majesty is visiting the country in his capacity as Honorary Chairman of the World Scout Foundation to inspire the largest Scouting nation in the world – Gerakan Pramuka – with over 21 million members. The World Scout Foundation supports many local community-based projects in different parts of the world, and Gerakan Pramuka is one of those youth organizations that plays a key role in national building through community development, especially under the recently established Messenger of Peace initiative.

 

   Gerakan Pramuka, with its strong presence in the provinces, has been a prime mover of health and sanitation campaigns, environmental cleanup, vocational training, and more visibly in rescue and relief operations during small and large scale natural disasters. The 2004 post tsunami led them to mobilize over 30 projects in Bandar Aceh to rehabilitate mangroves, build learning centres and playgound for children, reconstruct a fish market, and many more.

Regional Chairman Jejomar C Binay welcomed His Majesty in his message, “Your visit will surely inspire millions of young people, Scouts as well as non-Scouts, and in a way recognizes the years of work of a Scout association that built much of its success on community development.”

Dignitaries accompanying the visit are Mr. Mike Bosman, Chairman of the World Scout Foundation; Mr. Fredrik Gottlieb, Treasurer, World Scout Foundation; Dr. Eberhard Von Koerber, Board member, World Scout Foundation; Prof. Abdullah Al-Fahad, World Scout Committee member, Mr. John Geoghegan, CEO, World Scout Foundation; Mr. Abdullah Rasheed, Regional Director, WOSM/APR; Dr. Hamad Al-Yaha, Mr. Abdullmohsen and Mr. Sakem Almuhanna, Saudi Arabia.
Minister of Youth and Sports of the Government of Indonesia Dr. Andi Mallarangeng is the minister in-attendance. Together with Gerakan Pramuka Chairman Dr Azrul Azwar, they accompanied His Majesty to the Cibubur Scout Camp and will be visiting other places of interest. The King will have a courtesy call on the President of the Republic of Indonesia followed by an official dinner hosted by the President.