Egyptian Federation for Scouts and Girl Guides
Encyclopedia
The Egyptian Federation for Scouts and Girl Guides (EFSGG, Al-Ittiḥād al-`Ām lil-Kaššāfah wal-Muršidāt) is the national Scouting
Scouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....

 and Guiding
Girl Guides
A Guide, Girl Guide or Girl Scout is a member of a section of some Guiding organisations who is between the ages of 10 and 14. Age limits are different in each organisation. It is the female-centred equivalent of the Scouts. The term Girl Scout is used in the United States and several East Asian...

 federation of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

. Scouting was founded in 1914 and was among the charter members of the World Organization of the Scout Movement
World Organization of the Scout Movement
The World Organization of the Scout Movement is the Non-governmental international organization which governs most national Scout Organizations, with 31 million members. WOSM was established in 1920, and has its headquarters at Geneva, Switzerland...

 in 1922, while nominally independent from Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. Guiding started in 1913 and became a member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts is a global association supporting the female-oriented and female-only Scouting organizations in 145 countries. It was established in 1928 and has its headquarters in London, England. It is the counterpart of the World Organization of the Scout...

 in 1931. The EFSGG serves 79,611 Scouts (as of 2011) and 92,000 Guides (as of 2003).

History

The first Scout group was founded in Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

, brought to Egypt by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 during their occupation.

Mohamed Ali Hafez
Mohamed Ali Hafez
Mohamed Ali Hafez of the Egyptian Federation for Scouts and Girl Guides served on the World Scout Committee of the World Organization of the Scout Movement from 1957 to 1963 and again from 1965 to 1971....

 served on the World Scout Committee of the World Organization of the Scout Movement
World Organization of the Scout Movement
The World Organization of the Scout Movement is the Non-governmental international organization which governs most national Scout Organizations, with 31 million members. WOSM was established in 1920, and has its headquarters at Geneva, Switzerland...

 from 1957 to 1963 and again from 1965 to 1971.

In 1965, Hafez was awarded the Bronze Wolf
Bronze Wolf
The Bronze Wolf Award is bestowed by the World Scout Committee to acknowledge "outstanding service by an individual to the World Scout Movement"...

, the only distinction of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, awarded by the World Scout Committee for exceptional services to world Scouting. Other recipients include Aziz Osman Bakir in 1971, John M. Lioufis in 1978, and Gamal Khashaba in 1982.

Structure and program

Most Scout troops are associated with schools, clubs, mosques and churches. Rover units are associated with high schools and universities. Egyptian Scouts play an important role in community service. They are involved in projects of desert reclamation, work camps, blood drive
Blood Drive
Blood Drive may refer to:*Blood donation at a special event where donors come to give blood*Blood Drive , the sixteenth episode of the fifth season of the television series The Office...

s, medical care and other projects.

Scouts are offered vocational training and the skills needed to help develop communities. Scouts learn the importance of planting trees where firewood is scarce, building energy efficient stoves and making good use of their skills of carpentry, electricity and plumbing.

The EFSGG has four central associations:
  • Boy Scouts
  • Sea Scout
    Sea Scout
    Sea Scouts are members of the international Scouting movement, with a particular emphasis on water-based activities, such as kayaking, canoeing, sailing, and rowing. Depending on the country and the available water these activities are on lakes, rivers or sea in small or large ships. Sea Scouting...

    s
  • Air Scouts
    Air Scouts
    Air Scouts are members of the international Scouting movement, of their respective Scouting organisations as a branch, similar to Sea Scout branches, with a particular emphasis on an aviation themed programme and/or flying-based activities...

  • Girl Guides
    Girl Guides
    A Guide, Girl Guide or Girl Scout is a member of a section of some Guiding organisations who is between the ages of 10 and 14. Age limits are different in each organisation. It is the female-centred equivalent of the Scouts. The term Girl Scout is used in the United States and several East Asian...

     - Gamiet Morshidat Gomhoriet Misr al Arabiah

Each of these central association has a correspondent regional association in the 26 governorates of Egypt
Governorates of Egypt
Egypt is divided for administrative purposes into 27 governorates . Egyptian governorates are the top tier of the country's five-tier jurisdiction hierarchy. A governorate is administered by a governor, who is appointed by the President of Egypt and serves at the president's discretion...

; a coordination committee in each governorate organizes the activities and the cooperation between the associations.
  • The Girl Guides association has three age divisions:
    • Brownies
      Brownies (Girl Guides)
      A Brownie is a member of a section of some Guiding organisations for girls from their seventh birthday to their tenth birthday. Exact age limits are slightly different in each organisation.-History:...

    • Girl Guides
    • Rovers
      Rover Scouts
      Rover Scouting is a service division of Scouting for young men, and in most countries, women. A group of Rovers, analogous to a Scout troop, is called a 'Crew.'...



The Cairo International Scout Center is a lavish six-floor building next to Cairo International Stadium
Cairo International Stadium
Cairo International Stadium or "Stad El-Qahira El-Dawly", is an Olympic-standard, multi-use stadium with an all-seated capacity of 75,000. It is the Arab World's second largest . It is the foremost Olympic-standard facility befitting the role of Cairo, Egypt as the center of events in the region...

 that welcomes all Scouts, nonScout organizations and individual guests. The home of the Arab Scout Region, it hosts both conference areas and hostel quarters. In addition, Egypt has a national Scout center, El-Seleen.

The Scout Motto is Kun Musta'idan or كن مستعداً, translating as Be Prepared in Arabic. The noun for a single Scout is Kashaf or كشاف in Arabic.

The Scout emblem incorporates elements of each of the four central associations, as well as a lotus
Lotus (genus)
Lotus is a genus that includes bird's-foot trefoils and deervetches and contains many dozens of species distributed world-wide. Depending on the taxonomic authority, roughly between 70 and 150 are accepted. Lotus is a genus of legume and its members are adapted to a wide range of habitats, from...

.

International Scouting units in Egypt

In addition, there are American Boy Scouts in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...

 and Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

, linked to the Direct Service branch of the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...

, which supports units around the world. There are also Greek Scouts of the Soma Hellinon Proskopon
Soma Hellinon Proskopon
Scouts of Greece or Soma Hellinon Proskopon is the national Scouting association of Greece. Scouting in Greece started in 1910 and was among the charter members of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1922. The association has 18,482 members . The majority of members belong to the...

in Alexandria.

External links

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