{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"Dan Wood, Chair of the UK Board of Trustees","standfirst":"As Dan Wood begins his new role as Chair of the Board of Trustees, he reflects on the difference Scouts made to him, its continued impact on young people and his hopes for the future ","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EScouts shaped a very large part of my life. It gave me opportunities, friendships, confidence and a sense of belonging at formative moments. It also taught me that leadership is about service, shared purpose and helping other people to flourish.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt did something very practical for me. I was not the most obviously confident young person, and at school I sometimes doubted what I might be capable of. Volunteers in Scouts gave me responsibility before I had qualifications or job titles. They saw something in me before I could properly see it for myself.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EWhy I took on this role\u0026nbsp;\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI applied because I care deeply about what Scouts can do for young people and communities, but also because this is an especially important moment for the Movement. We have a new strategy, enormous goodwill, extraordinary reach and more young people wanting to join than we can currently accommodate in many places.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe role brings together something personal and professional. It\u2019s an opportunity to give something back to a Movement that has given me a great deal. I also hope my experience of governance, people and culture, organisational change and public service will be useful as Scouts enters its next chapter.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/a43chpfb/dan-wood.jpg","width":4912,"height":7360,"altText":"","caption":"Dan, our new Chair of the UK Board of Trustees","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EListening and learning \u0026nbsp;\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs Chair, I will have a responsibility to the whole of Scouts: across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, British Scouting Overseas and the Overseas Territories. Each part of the Movement has its own history, identity, strengths and circumstances. I want to listen and learn across all of it. Being one Movement does not mean assuming that every place is the same or that the same answer will work everywhere.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI am not coming into the role with an answer sheet. I want to listen carefully, ask good questions, support and challenge constructively, and help the Board make sound decisions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe question I keep coming back to is: What would it take for the next decade to become one of the strongest periods in Scouts\u2019 history?\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EMy story\u0026nbsp;\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI joined the movement as a young person in Bristol. Some of my earliest memories are of camps, badges, friends and the feeling of being part of something larger than myself. That sense of belonging mattered enormously to me \u2013 and it still does.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/flipcfv5/dan-wood-2.jpg","width":480,"height":640,"altText":"A photo of a young boy in a grey tracksuit having his neckerchief adjusted","caption":"Dan, as a young Beaver Scout","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen I was fourteen, I attended the 18th World Scout Jamboree in the Netherlands. Thousands of young people from across the world were living together in a vast tented city. Our subcamp was called Gemini and its motto was \u201CDifferent but Equal\u201D.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt was about belonging across difference. People did not have to come from the same place, speak the same language or see the world in exactly the same way to trust one another, work together and share a purpose.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EOpening doors \u0026nbsp;\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOver time, Scouts has opened doors I could never have imagined when I first joined. I served as a County Commissioner, UK Trustee, and International Commissioner, attended the World Scout Youth Forum and World Scout Conference as part of the UK delegation, and contributed to work on the Movement\u2019s programme development, purpose and values and much more besides.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/qo0ln3nr/dan-wood-5.jpg","width":640,"height":428,"altText":"","caption":"Dan meeting HM The King","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EGiving young people a great experience \u0026nbsp;\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThose roles brought remarkable experiences and lasting friendships, but they also reinforced something quite simple: Scouting is ultimately about the developmental experience a young person has with their peers and the volunteers who support them.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s a young person lighting a fire for the first time, going away without their family, taking the lead when they did not expect to, or learning from something that did not go completely to plan. It\u2019s young people learning by doing, taking responsibility, discovering what they are capable of and contributing to their communities.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGood governance, strategy, money, systems, safety and support all matter. But the main event is a young person having a great experience with their peers and the support of brilliant volunteers.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EWhat I have to offer \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn my roles, both inside and outside Scouts, I have learnt a great deal about leading through complexity. I learnt about asking difficult but necessary questions, building constructive relationships and turning ambitious ideas into practical change.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI hope I bring curiosity, independence of thought and a willingness to listen. I am comfortable with challenge, but I believe it is most useful when grounded in respect, shared purpose and a genuine desire to help people succeed. Being Chair does not mean being the cleverest or loudest person in the room. Sometimes the most useful thing a Chair can do is listen.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENone of us owns Scouts. We look after it for a while, and our responsibility is to pass it on stronger and ready for the next generation.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EOur new strategy\u0026nbsp;\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EScouts gives young people a place to belong, but its contribution goes considerably further. At a time when many communities are experiencing isolation, division and declining participation, Scouts continues to bring people together around shared values and practical action. \u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOur new strategy gives the Movement an opportunity to think differently about how many young people it can reach, how it supports volunteers, how it uses evidence and technology, and how it becomes more accessible to communities that have not always thought Scouts is for them. \u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/pevld4bd/dan-wood-6.jpg","width":542,"height":529,"altText":"","caption":"Dan, on a Scouts expedition to Uganda","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EEmpowering young people \u0026nbsp;\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere is also a real opportunity to give young people greater influence and responsibility, rather than simply asking what they think after the important choices have already been made.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EScouts cannot solve every problem facing young people or society, and we should not pretend that it can. But it can offer somewhere young people are known, where their absence is noticed, where they are expected to contribute and where they can discover that they matter.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe opportunity is not simply to become larger. It is to become more inclusive, more adventurous, better supported and more valuable to young people and communities.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EThe importance of a strong and diverse Board\u0026nbsp;\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA strong Board helps an organisation see itself clearly. It provides stewardship, constructive challenge, sound judgement and accountability, while remaining focused on purpose rather than becoming drawn into day-to-day management.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDiversity is central to that. A Board whose members have travelled similar routes through life is more likely to share the same assumptions and miss the same things.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor Scouts, this has particular significance. If we want every young person and volunteer to feel that they belong, the Movement\u2019s leadership must understand the different communities, identities and experiences that make up modern Britain and the wider Movement.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/iu1l0uo0/dan-wood-4.jpg","width":1024,"height":768,"altText":"","caption":"Dan, at Pride in London","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003ESpeaking up and speaking honestly \u0026nbsp;\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Board must also understand that Scouts looks and feels different across our nations, territories and communities. Representation matters, but it is not enough. It must be accompanied by a culture in which people can speak honestly, challenge constructively and influence decisions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EInclusion is about whose voice changes the conversation.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA strong and diverse Board should combine different experiences, professional knowledge, lived experience, youth voice and a genuine connection to the Movement. \u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs Chair, I want to help create a Board where people can disagree without falling out, challenge without grandstanding and change their minds without losing face.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA strong Board will not always get everything right. What matters is that it notices, takes responsibility, learns and changes course.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThat feels rather Scout-like to me.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"14 September 2026","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"Scouts appoint new Chair and Treasurer to steer new strategy to 2035","title":"Scouts appoint new Chair and Treasurer to steer new strategy to 2035","url":"/news/2026/september/scouts-appoint-new-chair-and-treasurer-to-steer-new-strategy-to-2035/","newWindow":false}],"relatedLinks":[{"caption":"UK Board of Trustees","title":"UK Board of Trustees","url":"/about-us/our-people/board-of-trustees/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"Place to Belong: Our Strategy to 2035","title":"Place to Belong: Our Strategy to 2035","url":"/about-us/strategy/","newWindow":false}],"id":91191,"nodeName":"How we can think differently about the future","title":"How we can think differently about the future","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/pevld4bd/dan-wood-6.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1dd4457e8122650","caption":"Dan Wood 6","type":"jpg","size":80742,"width":542,"height":529,"altText":""},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"How we can think differently about the future","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"As Dan begins his new role as Chair, he reflects on the difference Scouts made to him, on young people today and his hopes for the future ","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC85MTE5MSJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2026/september/how-we-can-think-differently-about-the-future/"}