Salvador Fernández Beltrán
Encyclopedia
Salvador Fernández Beltrán D.J.C. (born at Matanzas
Matanzas
Matanzas is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. It is famed for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore.It is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas , east of the capital Havana and west of the resort town of Varadero.Matanzas is called the...

, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

 – 1987 in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

) was among the first in the Americas to receive Wood Badge
Wood Badge
Wood Badge is a Scouting leadership program and the related award for adult leaders in the programs of Scout associations throughout the world. Wood Badge courses aim to make Scouters better leaders by teaching advanced leadership skills, and by creating a bond and commitment to the Scout movement...

 training, at Gilwell Park
Gilwell Park
Gilwell Park is a camp site and activity centre for Scouting groups, as well as a training and conference centre for Scout Leaders. The 44 hectare site is in Sewardstonebury, Epping Forest, close to Chingford, London....

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. He was the first to receive honorary appointment as Deputy Camp Chief of Gilwell
Gilwell
Gilwell may refer to:*Gilwell Park, a Scouting centre near London*Gilwell Ada's Hoeve, Scouting campsite in the Netherlands*Gilwell Campsite, Scouting campsite in Hong Kong*Gilwell Park , Scouting campsite near Victoria, Australia...

. With this influence, the Scouts of Cuba began to use short trousers like those worn by the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

Fernandez Beltrán was known for his work within the Scouts of Cuba, but served World Scouting in several capacities. With the support 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...

, he was appointed the International Bureau's Traveling Commissioner for Latin America in November 1947, the first professional Scout executive, whose operations center was first in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 and then in Cuba. He later served as General Secretary of the Inter-American Advisory Committee, assisting in the creation of the InterAmerican Scout Office, the divisional office of the World Scout Bureau 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...

, founded and maintained with headquarters in Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

 from 1946 to 1960. In 1948 Fernández Beltrán and J. S. Wilson took a six week tour of the Americas, for assessment and planning, covering 23,000 miles and 110 hours of flying time. In 1955 he held the first Wood Badge training in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

. At the beginning of the 1960s Fernandez Beltrán was appointed to the office of Deputy Secretary of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in Geneva, Switzerland.

Fernández Beltrán 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
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...

, awarded by the World Scout Committee for exceptional services to world Scouting, in 1957.

He retired to Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

 where he died in 1987.

Published works

  • RSA. EL GRUPO SCOUT, Mexico, Scout Interamericana, April 1964, Escultismo, publicaciones periodicas

External links

  • http://google.com/search?q=cache:_g1EJfS6hxUJ:www.mundodellibro.com/libros/rsa-el-grupo-scout_fernandez-beltran-salvador_13487698.html+Salvador+Fern%C3%A1ndez+Beltr%C3%A1n&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us
  • http://ve.scouts-es.net/recursosadultos/galeria.html
  • http://web.archive.org/web/20091027121211/http://www.geocities.com/valerina_scout/scoutar/historia.html
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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