The Arab Scout Conference, which had been held in Cairo’s International Scouts Center, came to a conclusion after having made a number of decisions in respect to the scouting strategy for 2011/2020 and the general plan for 2008/2010, which included the formation of workgroups for:

-         Expanding membership,

-         Animating cooperation with civil society organizations,

-         Promoting communication and public relations,

-         Refining the scouting management system.

Previously, in the opening ceremony on November 7, 2007, Dr. Atef Abdel Meguid, Secretary-General of the AOS, presented worksheets headed by the conference slogan “The Centenary and Future Visions” for instance the Arab Project for Youth Manual which details procedures of enabling the youth to have their say and get involved in the decision-making process to face challenges at all levels with a view towards building the nation. In his speech, the S-G confirmed that the conference aims at boosting scouting in the Arab region and directing it towards educating the youth and preparing them to serve the Arab Nation.      

200 participants from 18 Arab countries attended the conference in addition to guest delegations from the UK, Italy, Korea, Japan, Sweden, France, and Belgium, along with important scouting figures such as members of the Arab Scout Commission, leaders of the Arab scouts associations, managers of the African, Asian and European scouts bureaus and the S-G of the WOS. Noteworthy is that during the discussion of the Arab policy for youth, the GC of the AMS and current chairman of the Arab Congressmen Union, Nouredine Ben Brahem, spoke about devising a youth constitution and the positive implications this could have on the youth and on the scouting movement in general. On the other hand, the arbitration commission awarded the Arab Scout Medal to 10 scout commanders, they are respectively: Commander Munir Sa’ad El-Deen El-Zemili from Jordan, Commander Munir El-Masri from Jordan, Commander Ahmed El-Thani Abdul Rahman El-Daoussari from U.A.E., Commander Kamil Mahmoud Al-Fattani from Saudi Arabia, Commander I’iz El-Deen Derbal from Tunisia , Commander Smail Hussein Abdul Salam from Sudan, Commander Sultan Ghanem El-Miftah from Kuwait, commander Ibrahim Cha’ban from Libya, commander Abdul Fatah Abdul Malek El-Zein from Egypt, and last, commander Rif”at El-Siba’i  from the Secretariat General of the A.O.S.
 

Set against the backdrop of the knowledge gained by the experience of the French Scouts and Guides with regards to the evaluation, analysis and research of new pedagogical methods and approaches, and cementing the mutually ratified ties between the Algerian Muslim Scouts and the French Scouts, during the 14-16 of March 2008, Scout Commander Toufik Rahmani – Director of Pedagogical Methods and Approaches – participated in a national gathering for pedagogy partners. The object of this gathering was to give the partners more information regarding the new pedagogy that has been put in place since the unification of the French Scouts and Guides.

The Scouts’ International Scientific Conference held in Geneva, Switzerland came to an end. The conference, which evaluated over 100 years of experience in the field of education, was attended by over 200 participants from 45 different countries and came out with some recommendations most important of which are:

1-      Opening the gate of membership to scholars and researchers from all universities and international organizations; and

2-      Publishing the conference’s results in the several international scientific magazines.
 

Three male scout commanders and a female one from the Information and Communication Committee have participated in the Maghreb Youth Forum. The forum dealed with different issues.

General Commander Nouredine Ben Brahem received and exchanged the scout salute with the Secretary-General of the WOS, Dr. Eduardo Miesoni, and the Secretary-General of the Arab Organization of Scouts, Dr. Atef Abdel Meguid, at Houari Boumediene International Airport. Dr. Miesoni is visiting Algeria for the first time.

At the El-Harrach penal institution, Dr. Miesoni and Dr. Meguid were introduced to the major creative and educational activities performed by juvenile prisoners and were informed about the convention signed by the AMS with the General Directorate of Prisons and Rehabilitation concerning caring for juvenile delinquents and reintegrating them in society. The convention was restricted to Algiers, Oran, and Setif only in 2003 and was amended recently to cover all the penal institutions across the national territory. The Secretaries-General witnessed a number of joint cultural activities by the scouts and the juvenile prisoners and showed a great admiration for the achievements of the Algerian scouts at all levels. This was in the presence of the General Director of the Department of Prisons and Rehabilitation, Dr. Mukhtar Felioun, and the El-Harrach prison governor along with the ministerial commission charged with tracking this development, which aims at reanimating the juveniles’ activity. This was done in cooperation with the AMS, which embarked on several visits to five different rehab centers. In his speech, the GC emphasized the need and necessity of making intensive efforts to help orient the youth with mutual cooperation by all concerned social partners, in order to build a scouting movement that believes in and supports morality. This can help give the youth hope and promote a sense of patriotism in them, and can be achieved only through intensifying the scouts’ presence in every wilaya.  Dr. Miesoni told juvenile prisoners that freedom must come from within a person and only then can it be a springboard towards making successful people who can play a positive role in society. After the performance of two songs about obedience and peace by the scout orchestra, the prison’s managing staff offered gifts to juvenile prisoners and honored both Secretaries-General in recognition for their tremendous efforts to promote scouting in the Arab region and throughout the world. Later, the two Secretaries-General and the accompanying delegation were received at the municipality of Bordj El-Bahri where they were welcomed by El-Salam troop.  The troop gave a performance to offer thanks for the attention paid by the International Scouts Organization to the scouting movement in Algeria. They were also informed about the various projects, plans and field programs run and done by scout troops at the national level. The visit was concluded by a discussion at the domestic camp of the Mutual Assistance of Construction Workers.
 

The AMS took part in the Maghreb Youth Forum that took place from Dec. 24 -  28  2007 in Draria High School in Algiers to discuss information and communication among the maghreben youth. This important meeting has been organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and several concerned Algerian civil society organizations took part in it. The forum was segmented into different workshops to discuss the youth's needs concerning information and communication and to find new mechanisms to activate them. It was also to discuss the information and communication convention for the youth and the proper use of the internet. It basically aims at involving the youth in devising and promoting information and communication strategy in the Arab Maghreb following the recommendations of the Maghreb Council of the Ministers of Youth and Sports convened on Nov. 2, 2007 in Nwakshout, Mauritania. The forum is also expected to come out with a number of informative projects concerning environmental protection and protection against social ills which have become a threat to Maghreb and Arab societies.
 

The general commander of the AMS, Nouredine Ben Brahem, presided over the scout delegation to the USA where he visited a number of states: South Carolina, Washington, Michigan, etc. There, he was informed about the achievements of the Scouts of America and was introduced as well to the methods and procedures applied in the American scouting system and their impact on the youth. He also visited several scout centers and was hugely impressed by the amount of facilities allocated for the scouts. During his visit, he and the accompanying delegation members met a number of congressmen, too. An agreement of partnership and cooperation between the AMS and the Scouts of America is to be signed soon.
 

At the invitation of the National Committee to Support the Sahrawi People, Munir Ait Ya’ala, the scoutmaster and staff member charged with European affairs, participated in the 33rd conference to support the Sahrawi people in Rome, Italy from the 19th to the 21st of October, 2007. A number of recommendations will be issued by the end of the conference. Worth noting is that several Algerian civil society organizations attended the meeting.