{"alias":"newsItem","byline":"","standfirst":"In 1907,\u00A0a new movement was born on Brownsea Island, in Poole Harbour Dorset \u2013 one that would bring skills, adventure and friendships to millions of young people around the world today.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/6799/bear-portrait.jpg","width":2000,"height":1333,"altText":"","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EIt was on that small island that Robert Baden-Powell founded the Scouts, taking a small group of young people from diverse backgrounds, with the goal to learn about the great outdoors, and show that we had more in common than divides us.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ESince that first camp, Scouts has grown year on year to become today a worldwide family, some 54 million strong, across almost every nation on earth. It is, without doubt, one of the greatest youth movements in history.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe clear purpose back then (and still today) was to unite\u00A0and inspire\u00A0young people to learn how to celebrate their differences, to love and protect the outdoor world, to serve communities, and to be empowered with skills for life. And that is the legacy of the Scouts that lives and breathes today.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EIt is in our nature, as Scouts, to endeavour to be open, respectful, and compassionate to all, and to be leaders of determination and integrity.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThat\u2019s why those first Scouts, and the ones that followed, made a promise to be kind and helpful. It is the very heart of what we do.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThis last week, people have expressed much confusion and anger at the possible removal of a statue of Lord Baden-Powell in Poole. To me, and many Scouts around the world, Brownsea Island, (the place that the statue looks out on), is a reminder of that great Scouts vision, that has since helped so many young people gain vital, life-enhancing skills for their own futures.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EAs Scouts, we most certainly do not celebrate Baden-Powell for his failings. We see them and we acknowledge them. And if he were here today we would disagree with him on many things, of that there is no doubt. And I suspect he would too.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EBut we also recognise that Baden-Powell is part of our history, and history is nothing if we do not learn from it. So we also acknowledge Baden-Powell\u0027s vision, and I truly am so grateful to him for starting Scouts - a living, breathing, modern movement that has immense power to unite and inspire people.\u00A0\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThis is why I whole-heartedly stand beside the righteous anger unleashed by the killing of George Floyd, and together we must all do what we can to right the awful injustices that Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities live with every day.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EAnd it\u0027s right that we take time to listen, to educate ourselves, and reflect on our movement\u2019s history. We need the humility to recognise there are times when the views and actions from our Scouting\u2019s past do not always match the values we live by today. We must learn, adapt and improve.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EScouts, to me, is founded on this humility, and on listening and respecting others, especially communities that are vulnerable or oppressed. Inclusion and acceptance are at the heart of our Scouts values, and we are never afraid to call out language and behaviour that do not match those values.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EI hope that as Scouts we are the anti-thesis of any hatred or polarisation that can come with social media. And when it comes to racism \u2013 indeed any form of discrimination or prejudice \u2013 our movement should be part of the solution, not the problem. We must be peace makers and unifiers.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EBaden-Powell may have taken the first step in creating Scouts, but the journey continues today without him. We know where we came from but we are not going back. We are always looking forward, to a brighter future for our young people.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EAnd as for the statue of Baden-Powell? Well, my hope is that Scouts statues in the future will be there to remind us all of one thing: the huge positive influence that Scouts continues to bring to so many young people worldwide. And long may that continue.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"13 June 2020","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[],"relatedLinks":[],"id":48524,"nodeName":"A statement from Chief Scout Bear Grylls","title":"A statement from Chief Scout Bear Grylls","type":"newsItem","image":{"url":"/media/6490/fdl-homepage.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9becd0c842420","caption":"FDL Homepage","type":"jpg","size":93039,"width":1268,"height":664,"altText":"The Scouts Fleur in purple"},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"A statement from Chief Scout Bear Grylls","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC80ODUyNCJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2020/june/a-statement-from-chief-scout-bear-grylls/"}