Scouting for the Future: Technology and the Scout Movement

Hello everyone! My name is Mihajlo. As part of my activities over the past six months Next Billion FellowshipI have been working to bring the benefits of Web3 to the World Scout Movement.

Growing up in Serbia in the 90s, I experienced first-hand the devastating impact war and sanctions can have on young people. There weren’t many opportunities to find good role models or supportive colleagues. In such an environment, it is easy for young people to become involved in gangs or criminal activities. I would like to say that it was thanks to skill and scouting that I was able to avoid going down the wrong path.

When I searched in 1996, “Boy Scout” (Serbian for ‘scout’) While searching on Yahoo, I stumbled upon one of the first scout groups in the world to have its own website. One of our members had created a website as a college project earlier that year. Finding that website was where my journey began. After 27 years of adventure, learning, volunteering and professional involvement, I have progressed rapidly and now I World Organization of Scout Movement (WOSM)is a vibrant global community representing more than 57 million Scouts across more than 170 national Scout organizations.

distributed movement

The Scouting movement is decentralized, with each chapter bringing unique skills and goals to a grassroots community focused on creating an environment of learning, personal growth, and mutual respect. Scouts follows a general framework and guiding principles agreed by all members of the world body, but has autonomy in how it implements its projects and initiatives.

At Scouting, we believe that education is the key to making the world a better place and that technology is one of the most powerful tools for education. Since 1957, Scouts from around the world have participated in the “On Air Jamboree,” a remote gathering of Scouts studying amateur radio operating techniques. Recently, scouts from all over the world “internet jamboree” – The next generation of global scouting events leveraging technology.

While working at WOSM, I watched scouting movements experiment with the early Internet and helped transition them to Web 2.0. Today, Scouting has a full online presence and platform that can be used globally to coordinate and contribute to global initiatives, track local chapters, and communicate with the global movement. We’re excited to say that it’s time for Scouts to upgrade to Web 3.0!

My Next Billion Fellowship

My first task as a Next Billion Fellow was to create educational content for scouts on the basics of Web3. We talked about what blockchain is, how you can use it, and the importance of encryption for staying safe online. I led two sessions at ‘Jamboree on the Internet’ and encouraged attendees with evidence of their participation in the event. The first World Scout NFT badge was created using POAP.

The digitization of Scout badges is a very clear use case for us, and we will be working to create new blockchain-based badges that Scouts around the world can unlock and collect. But there is much more potential for innovation in the world of Web3 for the Scouting movement. New mechanisms for voting and governance will allow Scouts around the world to better coordinate on larger plans. Web3’s World Scout curriculum can help millions of young people learn how to safely store and use their digital assets. The World Scout Wallet can guide and reward Scouts on their learning journey and allows local chapters to create their own challenges and badges to export to the global community.

Scout’s Passport

This journey started with seeing the untapped potential of NFTs and digital badges, but the world of Web 3.0 is a big one. I wanted to chart a smart path toward Scouting’s long-term goals. A Scout’s badge is a sign of the Scout’s personal growth and accomplishments. They serve as ‘soul-bound tokens’ attached to real people’s lives and Scouting journeys, helping to support and define the Scout’s identity. Digital badges are a big part of the picture, but what we really need is identity system It’s compatible with digital badges, tokens, and anything else your Scout may need in the future.

We are now preparing to build the first foundational layer of the World Scout Web3 vision: the Scout Passport. As an identity system, Scout’s Passport is compatible with all kinds of Web3 systems and allows Scouting activities to have an identity layer for badges, tokens, signatures, messages, and more. In particular, the Web3-enabled Scout’s identity will allow for stronger social recovery for Scouts, allowing them to securely create DAO Scout groups, explore new methods of crowdfunding and governance, and of course unlock the endless possibilities of NFTs and digital badges or authentication. can. Above all, developing a special wallet module for Scout allows us to create user flows and account protection specifically for young people, an important demographic often not considered in consumer wallet software.

As with all initiatives in the Scout Movement, we are working from start to finish. The development of the Scout Passport will involve a sustainable support system and community-based contributions from many Scouts already involved in Web3. The Scouts Wallet is open source, allowing anyone to contribute and benefit from the modules of our identity platform. We hope that World Scouting Wallet’s MVP will be ready in time. The World Scout Jamboree will be held in Korea this August.45,000 Scouts will gather from around the world.

move forward

As I continue this exciting journey, I look forward to supporting the Early World Scout Education Initiative and Scouting for the Sustainable Development Goals Badges based on verified credentials are stored in Scout’s wallet module. I believe technology is a powerful tool for creating empowered communities, and this framework will allow us to build a brighter future for Scouts around the world.

I am excited to share my progress and experiences with you, and hope to inspire others to explore the potential of blockchain and Web3 technologies within their own communities. Let’s embark on this journey together and see where it takes us!

If you would like to learn more about my project and receive updates on my progress, please feel free to contact me. Twitter or linkedin

World Organization of Scout Movement (WOSM) A vibrant global community representing more than 57 million Scouts across more than 170 national Scout organizations. As one of the world’s largest youth movements, WOSM plays a critical role in shaping the lives of young people and fostering values ​​of leadership, community service and environmental stewardship.

Note from Team Next Billion: As of today, the application has been completed. closed For Cohort #3 of the Next Billion Fellowship. Thank you to everyone who applied, we will notify all applicants of their results in the coming weeks.