When people think of Scouting, they often envision Beavers embarking on their first adventure, Scouts marching down Valletta or Ventures building complex pioneering structures. While youth members are the heart of our movement, they are supported by a backbone of dedicated adult leaders who make these experiences possible.
Leadership in Scouting is not a role one assumes overnight; it is a journey of continuous growth, patience, and determination. All Leaders dedicate themselves to passing on their scouting knowledge, with the aim to create and even better generation of Leaders after us.
In order to be able to properly support the journey of our youth members in a safe and holistic environment leaders are required to go through 4 main courses as part of their Woodbadge Journey.
The Road to Leadership Excellence
- Getting Started: The first step for any adult volunteer. This introductory phase provides the essential tools to begin their leadership journey, ensuring a solid foundation regardless of their role. It sets a solid foundation about what Scouting is all about for leaders who join from outside the Association, while for those members who become leaders after turning 18, it demonstrates a taste of what Scouting is like from an Adult perspective.
- The Pathfinder: This stage shifts the focus to practical, hands-on skills. Through a weekend camp, leaders from different groups and backgrounds build a sense of community. This course’s objective is to give the prospective leaders a solid foundation of the skills that they will need as a Leader, regardless of what Section they are in, such as the different areas of Scouting Development (SPICES) and qualities of a good, well-planned activity (CURA) as well as concepts such as Safe From Harm, Risk Assessments and more. The course itself then reaches its peak when the trainees are tasked with pairing up with another leader that they meet at the camp and planning a joint activity for a small part of their section together.
- The Basic Leadership Course: The Basic Course goes a step further, focusing more on topics that will help the trainees thrive as a Leader assigned to a specific Section, such as Inclusion, Good Governance and Youth Empowerment. Since this course is focused around enabling trainees to take an active role in their chosen section, the Assistant Commissioner responsible for that Section within the Youth Programme Team also attends to deliver a session about the Sectional Programme and common challenges faced by Leaders in that Section.
- The Advanced Woodbadge Course: The uppermost level of the Leadership Training in Scouting. This stage seeks to move beyond the individual Sections and prepares the Leaders for a larger role within their Group, such as that of a Section Leader or a Group Leader. It contains topics such as Conflict Management, Succession Planning and Financial Elements, all things that one is required to think about when one takes on a role with more responsibility. The final assessment to earn the Woodbadge encourages leaders to step outside their comfort zones by planning a large-scale group camp, multiple sectional camps or two activities with other sections and a weekend camp. It reinforces the idea that as a Leader, one cannot always take on all the planning yourself, but will have to rely on others and on their own co-ordination skills to bring people together to deliver the best experience possible to our young members.
However, while formal training ends, a true Scout Leader will tell you that, in reality, training never ends. Throughout life, you will always learn something new every day—especially from the youth members themselves, and that this will be the key to unlocking the true potential of tomorrow’s future leaders.
A Night of Achievement
On the 19th of February, we celebrated the hard work of our volunteers at our annual Award Ceremony. In a voluntary organisation, the following numbers represent a remarkable commitment to the youth of Malta:
- 25 Leaders completed their Pathfinder.
- 41 Leaders achieved their Basic course.
- 33 Leaders reached the Advanced Woodbadge course.
Furthermore 54 leaders have been commemorated for their years of service ranging from 20 years to 55 years! In addition to this, 21 leaders received the Chief Scouts commendation for good service. A further 5 members received the Medal of Merit and 1 member achieved the Bar on the Medal of Merit. The ceremony ended with 3 Silver Acorn awards.
These leaders have invested their time not for personal gain, but to better serve our young members. Their dedication ensures that the Scouting in Malta remains strong, safe, and inspiring.
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all our awardees. Thank you for your unwavering commitment and for consistently living out the Scout Promise to
“Always do your best.”