Scouting in Belgium

Let's talk about scouting in the little country, Belgium!

The scouting and Guiding movement in Belgium consist of 15 to 20 different organizations serving
about 160,000 members. Nearly all organizations are grouped by languages and congessions.

---

As early as 1911 the B.S.B. founded a Girl Guide or Girl Scout troop but World War and the German occupation hampered their development, so the founding of G.G.B. was not until December 17, 1919. They also used British badges, rules and uniforms.

Belgium was again occupied by the Germans during World War II , between 1940-1944, and Scouting was banned by the Nazis.
Scouting resumed after the liberation in spring 1944. B.S.B. and G.G.B. merged into one organization in July 1945.
Each section remained separate, and there were no mixed groups until well into the 1980s.

The Sea Scouts of Belgium (SSB), was founded in April 1914. SSB is an open movement concentrating on Sea Scouting only and founded along the North Sea Coast in the Flemish speaking part of Belgium only.
SSB did not have any connection with BSB. They also used British badges, uniforms and rules.

The Organizations

Active on national or regional level are:

-

• GSB, Guides and Scouts Movement of Belgium, member of both the World Organization of the Scout Movement and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts consisting of
  
  
  
  • FOS Open Scouting (FOS; interreligious, coeducational, Flemish), 7,300 members
    
    
  • Guides Catholique de Belgique(GCB, Catholic Guides of Belgium; Romas Catholic, in most sections girls-only, mainly in the Walloon region and Brussels; only WAGGGS-member), 25,000 members
    
  • Les Scouts - Fédération Catholique des Scouts Baden-Powell de belgique (FSC, Catholic Baden-Powell-Scout Federation of Belgium; Roman Catholic, partly coeducational, Walloon region and Brussels; only WOSM-member), 50,000 members
    
    
  • Scouts-en Gidsen vlaanderen (SGV, Scouts and Guides of Flanders; until 2006: Vlaams Verbond van Katholieke Scouts en Meisjesgidsen (Flemish Catholic Scout and Guide Association), VVKSM;Christian, coeducational, Flemish), 71,000 members( & I'm one of them!)
    
    
  • Scouts et Guides Pluralistes de Belgique (SGP, Belgian Pluralist Scouts and Guides; interreligious, coeducational, Walloon), 5,000 members
    
    
  
  
• Eclaireurs Unionistes de Belgique (YMCA-Scouts)
  
• Europe et Scoutisme, an offsplit of the Guides et Scouts d'Europe - Belgique, member of theConfédération Européenne de Scoutisme
  
• Guides et Scouts d'Europe - Belgique/ Europascouts en Gidsen - België, member of the Union Internationale des Guides et Scouts D'Europe 12,000 members (2006)
  
• Hanoar Hatzioni , an international Zionist youth organization
  

There is also a number of local organizations including:

• Scouts de Genval
  
• Scouts de Grez
  
• Unité scoute protestante Jean Calvin
  
• Unité scoute de Profondsart.
  
• An independent scoutgroup in Gent, prospected member of the World Federeation of independent Scouts (WFIS)
  

wahooo.... !! you are a lot...XD.... in France, we are only 65 000... but it's very interresting.... and you, you'ra in waht organization??

Haha =)
Well I'm in ' Scouts En gidsen Vlaanderen' ( the biggest of Belgium, 71,000 members )

okii... very good.... mee to, i'm in the biggest organization.... SGDF... (54 000... :p:p)

Scouting in your country have a very interesting history and there's a lot of people :O