In order to help young people become good citizens, President Md Abdul Hamid urged everyone on Monday to encourage more youth involvement in scouting in addition to academic performance.
He directed the authorities concerned to continue their efforts to increase the number of scouts as well as ensure their quality through effective training.
The president, also the chief scout, came up with the instructions while inaugurating the 50th Annual General Meeting (Golden Jubilee) of the National Council of Bangladesh Scouts and the awards-giving ceremony at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital on Monday afternoon.
The head of the state virtually joined the function from the Gallery Hall of the Bangabhaban. Bangladesh Scouts president Md Abul Kalam Azad and chief national commissioner Md Mozammel Haque Khan also took part in the event.
He said that scouting was an international voluntary, non-political, educational movement and in addition to conventional education, scouting was a complementary education system.
The main objective of scouting is to develop children, adolescents, and youths into ideal citizens through education, through continuous and planned programs, the president stated.
Started by Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, president Hamid said that the scout movement was advancing with its outstanding contributions as well as glory in 171 countries across the globe.
Noting that the number of scouts in Bangladesh at present is around 22 lakh, he said that the government had extended all possible cooperation to promote the scout movement in Bangladesh.
Hamid said that through this, the capacity of Bangladesh Scouts would be further enhanced and the scout members would be able to play a more effective role in building the country and the nation by imparting advanced training.
He said that boys, as well as girls, should be equally involved in scouting, and if girls were left behind, the country’s development would be hampered.
President Hamid extended his best wishes and congratulations to all the scouts and rover scouts, and their leaders and guardians, who have won the President’s Scout Award, the highest award of 794 scouts in 2020, and the President’s Rover Scout Award, the highest award of 14 Rover Scouts.
The president advised the scouters to reflect the scout ideology in everyone’s respective work in their personal, family, and social lives and dedicate themselves to the country’s development as true patriots and volunteers.
He also lauded the significant role of the scouts in serving the victims of disasters, including floods, cyclones, tidal surges, and fires, in creating awareness about tree plantation, sanitation, health education, EPI programmes, power, and energy conservation, traffic management, and the environment, leading their respective fields of service.
‘Bangladesh Scouts have formed 48 disaster response teams to deal with disasters. The scouts are also playing an important role,’ said Abdul Hamid.
The president said that nowadays, especially in urban areas, young boys were getting involved in various criminal activities, including drugs and juvenile gangs. Scouting is one of the most important tools to keep children, adolescents, and youth away from criminal activities, bigotry, sectarianism, terrorism, and extremism, he added.
President Hamid added that in order to build our future generation as self-reliant and valued good citizens, the future generation can be involved in progressive, creative, and development scouting activities to transform the country
into Sonar Bangla, envisioned by Bangladesh’s founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
– Input from BSS was used in this article
