Ethiopian Scouts Week

Keynote Address

CHIEF COMMISSIONER OF ETHIOPIA

BT Costantinos, PhD

Your Excellency, President of Ethiopia

Excellency Ministers,

The Diplomatic Corps and honourable guests

Representatives of World Scout Movement

Scouts and invited guests

Today, April 22, 2006 marks an end of an era and a new beginning for the Ethiopian Scouting Movement. The regeneration of our movement that I was part of since I was ten years old, is indeed a generous reprieve for our citizenship rights of a once great organisation in Ethiopia. I thank you for the trust you have bestowed on me to lead the movement in Ethiopia as a Chief Commissioner. In swearing the allegiance that on my honour I will do my best to do my duty to god and my country and to obey the scout law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight; I sign this testament in blood and flesh to ensure that I will do utmost to lead the organisation into a corporate institution of the 21^st Century.

The young Scout Costantinos climbing the perpendicular cliff at Debre Damo Abuna Aregawi Monastery at the age of 11

Some 28 million young people worldwide now take part in the adventure of Scouting. This year the Movement celebrates its centenary. When Lord Robert Baden-Powell of Gilwell (1857-1941), founded the movement to defend the South African township of Mafeking during the Boer War, he established an extraordinary organisation that was trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, reverent and human.

Our vision is that Scouting will be the nation's foremost youth programme of character development and values-based leadership training. Scouting will continue to offer young people responsible fun and adventure; instil in young people lifetime values and develop in them ethical character as expressed in the Scout Oath and Law; train young people in citizenship, service, and leadership; serve Ethiopia's communities and families with its quality, values-based programme. We envision Scouting entering its second century as an influential, value-based educational Movement focused on achieving its mission, attracting and retaining more and more young people of both genders and coming from broader segments of society; in all cultures; as dynamic, innovative Movement with adequate resources, simple structures and democratic decision making processes where organisation, management and communication are effective at all levels.

Our mission is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law. The mission of Scouting is to contribute to the education of young people, through a value system based on the Scout Promise and Law, to help build a better world where people are self-fulfilled as individuals and play a constructive role in society. This is achieved by: involving them throughout their formative years in a non-formal educational process using a specific method that makes each individual the principal agent of his or her development as a self-reliant, supportive, responsible and committed person and assisting them to establish a value system based upon spiritual, social and personal principles as expressed in the Promise and Law.

Having taken the position of the High Commissioner for Scouts in Ethiopia, I pledge that I will serve the institution with all my energies that the task demands of me and I would like to forward my statement of conviction to complete this task with the highest level of excellence it demands and deserves.