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....

 was introduced in Bhutan

Bhutan

Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...

 in 1970. In July 1999, the Bhutan Scout Tshogpa, (Dzongkha: འབྲུག་ཨིསི་ཀའུཊ་ཚོགས་པ་) the coeducational Bhutan Scouts Association, was welcomed as a member 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...

 at the 35th World Scout Conference in Durban, South Africa. Membership stood at 18,170 as of 2011.

The backdrop of the Himalayas

Himalayas

The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...

 makes Bhutan ideal for Scouting. Since 1995, Unit Leader Training courses were organized by the World Scout Bureau-Asia-Pacific Region with the assistance of the Bharat Scouts and Guides

The Bharat Scouts and Guides

The Bharat Scouts and Guides is the national Scouting and Guiding association of India.Scouting was founded in India in 1909 as an overseas branch of the Scout Association and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1938...

, Bangladesh Scouts

Bangladesh Scouts

The Bangladesh Scouts is the national Scouting organization of Bangladesh. Scouting was founded in Bangladesh as part of the British Indian branch of The Scout Association, and continued as part of the Pakistan Boy Scouts Association until the country's divided sections split in 1971 during the...

, Pakistan Boy Scouts Association

Pakistan Boy Scouts Association

The Pakistan Boy Scouts Association is the national Scouting organization of Pakistan and has 526,626 members . Scouting was founded in Pakistan as part of the British Indian branch of The Scout Association...

, the Scout Association of Japan

Scout Association of Japan

The is the major Scouting organization of Japan. Starting as boys only, the organization was known as the Boy Scouts of Japan from 1922 until 1971, and as Boy Scouts of Nippon from 1971 to 1995, when it became coeducational in all sections, leading to neutral naming...

, and the Canadian Scout Brotherhood Fund

Scouts Canada

Scouts Canada is a Canadian Scouting association that, in affiliation with the French-language Association des Scouts du Canada, is a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement...

.

Scouts from Bhutan participated in the 1998 World Jamboree in Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

, in the 20th World Scout Jamboree

20th World Scout Jamboree

The 20th World Scout Jamboree took place in the naval base in Sattahip, Thailand. It was the second World Jamboree to be held in Southeast Asia after the Philippines hosted the event in 1959....

 in Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

 and in the 21st World Scout Jamboree

21st World Scout Jamboree

The 21st World Scout Jamboree was held in July and August 2007, and formed a part of the Scouting 2007 Centenary celebrations of the world Scout Movement. The event was hosted by the United Kingdom, as 2007 marked the 100th anniversary of the founding of Scouting on Brownsea Island.The event was...

 in the United Kingdom

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...

.

The remote kingdom

Monarchy

A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...

 hosted the Asia-Pacific Regional First South Asia Foundation-Scout Friendship Camp from February 21 to 26, 2002, in which hundreds of Scouts and Leaders in the districts of Thimphu, Punakha

Punakha

thumb|right|Punakha Dzong and the [[Mo Chhu]]Punakha is the administrative centre of Punakha dzongkhag, one of the 20 districts of Bhutan. Punakha was the capital of Bhutan and the seat of government until 1955, when the capital was moved to Thimphu. It is about 72 km away from Thimphu and it...

 and Wangdue participated. "Regional Cooperation" was the theme of the camp, in which 550 girls and boys from all South Asian countries participated.

The first National Jamboree was held from January 31 to February 6, 2007. http://www.kuenselonline.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=8079

In November 2008 the Scouts helped to prepare the Coronation Celebrations, cleaning the streets of the capital.

The membership badge of Bhutan Scout Tshogpa incorporates the color scheme of the flag of Bhutan

Flag of Bhutan

The national flag of Bhutan is one of the national symbols of Bhutan. The flag is based upon the tradition of the Drukpa Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism and features Druk, the Thunder Dragon of Bhutanese mythology. The basic design of the flag by Mayum Choying Wangmo Dorji dates to 1947...

, and the fleur-de-lis

Fleur-de-lis

The fleur-de-lis or fleur-de-lys is a stylized lily or iris that is used as a decorative design or symbol. It may be "at one and the same time, political, dynastic, artistic, emblematic, and symbolic", especially in heraldry...

 is wrapped in a khata

Khata

A khata, khada, khadag, or hada is a traditional ceremonial scarf common in Tibetan and Mongolian culture. It symbolizes purity and compassion. It is usually made of silk. Tibetan khatas are usually white symbolising the pure heart of the giver, though it is quite common to find yellow gold khatas...

, the traditional ceremonial scarf. The Scout Motto in Dzongkha is གྲ་འགྲིག་འབད་ གྲ་འགྲིག་འབད་, pronounced Dra drig Bay.