Bon Voyage ceremony for Sri Lanka Scout Commissioners and Rover Scouts

Sri Lanka Scout Association is working on producing a generation of leaders  Sri Lanka Scout Association is working on increasing its membership to 200000

• Recently, a Bon Voyage ceremony was organised to wish the attendees who will represent Sri Lanka at these two events
• The training course will provide participants from Sri Lanka with a platform to learn and exchange ideas

With a vision to enhance the capacities and leadership among Scout Commissioners, 54 Commissioners from the Sri Lanka Scout Association will attend the DC Conference and Educational tour from June 19-24 in Malaysia. In addition, five Rover Scouts will attend the Asia Pacific Regional Youth Leadership Training Course from June 24-27 in Mouchak, Gazipur, Bangladesh.   

Recently, a Bon Voyage ceremony was organised to wish the attendees who will represent Sri Lanka at these two events. The event was graced by the presence of Malaysian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Amb Badli Hisham bin Adam and Bangladeshi High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Amb Tareq M. Rafiqul Islam. 

Our aim is to build the capacity of our commissioners. These are the commissioners who are leading our scouts and leaders in the districts. So when we increase their capacity, they can deliver for scouting. This is why we have selected Malaysia to do this training”
- Attorney-at-law Janaprith Fernando Sri Lanka Scout Association’s Chief Commissioner 

 
Speaking at the event Sri Lanka Scout Association’s Chief Commissioner, Attorney-at-law Janaprith Fernando said that in 2014 the World Scouts Bureau shifted to Malaysia and since then it has been home to almost all scouts who visit Malaysia. “When I took over in 2021, the membership had dropped to 56,000 post-COVID. We had a target of increasing membership to 180,000 by 2023. Now, His Excellency the President has given a target of 200,000 to be reached by 2024, but we will reach it by 2025. So our aim is to build the capacity of our commissioners. These are the commissioners who are leading our scouts and leaders in the districts. So when we increase their capacity, they can deliver for scouting. This is why we have selected Malaysia to do this training,” said Fernando.   
He further said that Mouchak is one of the best camp sites in South Asia and five River Scouts between the ages of 18-26 will have this experience. “This is the Youth Leadership Training Programme and will be very beneficial to them because these are youth who are engaged in active scouting in their districts. We are convinced that when they return that they will be able to train their fellow scouts and junior scouts. At the end of it all, our goal is to ensure that we not only have the numbers, but the quality as well. We want to ensure that Sri Lanka will have a generation of leaders who will be trained to face any situation,” he added.   

In her comments, Assistant Headquarters Commissioner Shehara Kanaka Halaldeen said, “I look forward to learn from the DC Conference while building a relationship with Malaysian counterparts in scouting. I thank the Chief Commissioner and the Sri Lanka Scout Association for organising the conference”.   

Sharing his thoughts, Headquarters Commissioner Dr. Anil Perera said that he is eager and fortunate to explore the opportunities at the conference in Malaysia. He said that when a scout or a commissioner is attending an international event, they talk about various expectations at the interviews. “These include everything from gaining knowledge to improving language proficiency, becoming creative and innovative, learning life on earth, enhancing career, making friends, showing our way and gaining self-confidence and self-discovery. All these expectations are applied to us as well. But we all are not just scouts or scout leaders, but we are commissioners holding a national responsibility and we are decision-makers at different levels. We are the leaders of change. So let us make this opportunity to enhance our knowledge, enrich our roles and build our capacities aiming at learning best practices, model systems, new knowledge and success stories. As we visit the World Scouts Bureau and the Malaysian Scout Association we must consider this as an event for us to gain knowledge and experience that we can use at national as well as at district level in planning, executing, controlling and measuring outcomes of our initiatives and strategies which will be used to develop scouting in Sri Lanka. In fact we are here to create a better and inclusive world for our children,” he underscored.  

Adding his thoughts on behalf of the River Scouts attending the training programme in Bangladesh, Hansith Perera said that the training course will provide them with a platform to learn and most importantly exchange ideas and discuss on how they could improve scouting methods and stay relevant to the modern context. “This training course will give us the opportunity to broaden our network among our peers in the Asia Pacific region. The opportunity to connect with fellow scouts from diverse backgrounds and cultures is invaluable. Together we can share our experiences, learn from each other and foster the spirit of unity and collaboration. By enhancing our leadership and broadening our perspectives, we can bring greater joy and purpose to the lives of those we serve. We are committed to bring back the knowledge and insights we gain from this course back to Sri Lanka by sharing and implementing these learnings locally. We hope to contribute to the growth and development of the scout movement here in Sri Lanka and inspire others to embrace the principles of scouting,” said Perera.   
The Ambassadors present at the occasion extended a warm welcome to their respective countries and wished the commissioners and rover scouts the best in their journeys while requesting them to gain maximum out of the two international events.