The National Organization of the Scouts of Ukraine (, , NOSU) Офіційний веб-сайт Національної організації скаутів України is a Ukrainian non-governmental organization founded in 2007. It represents Ukraine in the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) and was registered by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine by Order №987/5 on 26 October 2007.
NOSU's mission is to promote the development of Ukrainian youth through the value system based on the Scout Promise and the Scout Law.
In 2008, during the 38th World Scout Conference in Korea, the National Organization of the Scouts of Ukraine (NOSU) became a member of the WOSM and is thus its only official representative in Ukraine.
The purpose of the organization is to promote development of the Scout movement in Ukraine by ensuring unity and understanding of its designation, principles and method, expanding its activities and development, and preserving its special educational specificity.
The organization's task is to create favorable conditions for the development of children and youth as individuals and responsible citizens of Ukraine, and the fullest disclosure of their physical, emotional, intellectual, social and spiritual potential.
According to Art. 8 of the Law of Ukraine "On Public Associations", citizens of Ukraine, as well as foreigners and stateless persons who are legally in Ukraine, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, social origin, religion, property status and language of communication and who follow the purpose of Scouting, Scout Principles and the Scout Method, may become members of the organization.
History Earlier scouting movement in Ukraine From 1895 to 1900, a secret youth organization existed at the Kamianets-Podilskyi Bursa, called the Zaporoz’ka Sich ("Zaporozhian Sich"). It paid considerable attention to the physical improvement of its members. It did not engage in military activities, although its units were differently armed. Members carried wooden "weapons". All the local members wore the names of famous historical figures. Every division had its tents made of branches, straw and corn stalks. Every member wore a twig of a plant, issued to his division — it could be oak, birch, viburnum, sycamore etc. The organizer of the Zaporoz’ka Sich was an older student, Borys Sulkovsky. It is known that in 1909 a Ukrainian young man, Yurko Honchariv-Honcharenko, founded the First Scout Squad in Ukraine in the Bakhmut district of Katerynoslav region.
From 1909 to 1911 Oleksandr Tysovsky from Lviv translated and published the book Scouting for Boys by the founder of the Scout movement Baden-Powell. Oleksandr was one of the founders of the first Plast scout groups at the Academic Gymnasium in Lviv. Independently from Tysovsky, Ivan Chmola and Petro Franko started their own Plast groups. While the latter focused the principles of Plast on physical and military training, Oleksandr Tysovsky was engaged in theoretical education of young people. He developed a system of Plast trials (tasks) that Plast members had to complete in order to obtain new ranks and improve themselves. After a few months of their activity, on 12 April 1912, about 40 people passed the first "participant" trial and took the Plast oath of allegiance to God and Ukraine. This is considered to be the official date of the foundation of Plast.
In the Russian Empire the scouting movement started to develop around 1909. From 1911 to 1914 in Kyiv doctor Anokhin was running a scout group. It consisted of young boys-students and scientists who took a walk around the outskirts of Kyiv every week. After the walk, the group stopped somewhere cozy and built a fire. In the light of the fire, the doctor used to talk about Ernest Seton-Thompson and his organization. After 1914 Anokhin cooperated with the Kyiv Educational District, issuing the book "Companion of a Young Scout" (1915). After the Revolution of 1917 the scouting movement started attaining more national forms, and Ukrainian boy scout squads were established in Bila Tserkva, Kaniv, Kyiv, Katerynoslav, Vinnytsia and other cities. After the establishment of the Soviet regime those scouting groups were liquidated and replaced with so-called "Yuks" ("Young Communist Scouts"). However, the latter were disbanded according to a decree of the Komsomol in 1920 due to their refusal to involve political ideology in education of the youth. The place of scouts in the Soviet Union was eventually taken by the Young Pioneer movement.
Revival of Ukrainian scouting The revival of the Scout movement in Ukraine started when Ukraine gained its independence, after 50 to 70 years of prohibition. Every region has its own history of Scouting revival and founding of its scouting groups and organizations. Every group wanted to come together to become a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement because there can only be one organization representing a country in WOSM.
WOSM supported the revival of Scouting in Ukraine, and on their initiative, the National Scout Organization of France became the main partner of this process.
Thus, in 2007, on the basis of the Values of World Scouting, the all-Ukrainian youth organization National Organization of Scouts of Ukraine was established, with active representatives from three scout organizations in Ukraine: All-Ukrainian Youth Organization «Plast — National Scout Organization of Ukraine», All-Ukrainian Youth Organization «SPOK» and an All-Ukrainian Organization Sich (Січ, meaning "Cossack fortress").
Recent history The National Organization “Scouts of Ukraine” was founded in 2007. The first governing body of the Organization is the National Board of Organization, consisting of 18 people. Head of the National Board of NOSU was Lev Zakharchyshyn and his deputy was Valeriy Tantsiura.
In 2008, NOSU applied to join the WOSM. The request was considered and on July 1, 2008, at the 38th World Scout Conference in Korea, NOSU was officially accepted into the World Organization of the Scout Movement. The Second General Assembly of NOSU took place on June 4, 2011, where a new composition of the National Board was elected. Victor Bocharnikov was Head of National Board, Andriy Chesnokov was first deputy and Mykola Muzala was deputy.
The celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Ukrainian scouting movement at the state level was first mentioned in Presidential Decree No. 279/2008 "On measures to promote the development of the Plast (Scouting) movement in Ukraine" of March 28, 2008.
On November 1, 2011, the Parliament of Ukraine (Verkhovna Rada) adopted the Resolution "On the Celebration of 100th Anniversary of Ukrainian Scout Movement", initialized by NOSU.
The Parliament of Ukraine pointed out the need to hold a series of events dedicated to the 100th anniversary in different regions of Ukraine and to support this anniversary date at the state level, as the scouting movement is very developed and is rightfully considered the biggest youth movement in Ukraine.
On November 7, 2011, Ukraine became the 23rd member of DESMOS, the International Link of Orthodox Christian Scouts. On March 22-25, 2012, Ukraine held a meeting of the DESMOS committee for the first time in the Eurasian region of WOSM. DESMOS is an independent network of Scouts of the Orthodox Christian faith belonging to national member organizations of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. The process of joining other religious networks of the WOSM is currently ongoing.
On May 19, 2013, the third reporting and election Assembly of the National Organization of Scouts of Ukraine took place, during which a new National Board, Head of Organization and National Secretary were elected. Maksym Hromov was elected as Head of the Board; members of the National Board are Andriy Chesnokov, Mykola Muzala, Yevhen Semenkov, Father Andriy Kliushev, Yaroslava Kolobova, Olena Halushka, Oleksiy Nikolaiev, Iryna Yermak, Natalia Miroshnychenko, Alina Gurin. NOSU's National Secretary is Svitlana Sapiha.
On May 18, 2014, the lV extraordinary Assembly of the National Organization of Scouts of Ukraine was held in Kyiv. The main issues that were considered at this Assembly were the election of a new composition and Head of the National Board of NOSU, members of the Audit Commission.
The Assembly decided to elect a new National Board for a two-year term, which included representatives of Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Lviv, Mykolaiv regional branches and the Kyiv city branch of NOSU. The Audit Commission includes scouts from Donetsk, Kyiv, Lviv, Mykolaiv regions and the city of Sevastopol.
Andriy Chesnokov was elected Head of the National Board of NOSU. Natalia Miroshnychenko was appointed National Secretary of NOSU. In 2014, NOSU was admitted to the ICCS (International Conference of Catholic Scouts) as an observer member. Father Michal (a member of the Odesa regional branch of NOSU since 2009, a Catholic priest of the Don Bosco Foundation) was elected as the head of the Catholic Commission of NOSU.
On June 4–5, 2016, the V Assembly of the National Organization of Scouts of Ukraine was held, during which many strategically important documents and the National Youth Program were approved, and a new composition of the National Council was elected for the period of the next three years. Valeriy Tantsiura was elected Head of the National Board of NOSU, and Volodymyr Izvarin was elected Deputy Head. Nika Gorovska was appointed International Commissioner. Natalia Miroshnychenko was re-elected as the National Secretary of NOSU.
On October 5–6, 2019, the Vl Assembly of the National Organization of Scouts of Ukraine took place. The main issues that were considered at this Assembly were the election of a new board. Volodymyr Izvarin was elected Head of the National Council of NOSU.
In August 2021 for the first time in the history of Ukrainian Scouting, a member of the National Organization “Scouts of Ukraine” Nika Gorovska became a member of the World Scout Committee of WOSM.
From July 1st to September 2023, NOSU was a part of the Eurasia Scout Region of WOSM.
On October 1, 2023, NOSU was moved to the European region of WOSM. It was a major event for Ukraine and Ukrainian Scouting, offering new opportunities for integrating members of the Organization into European Scouting.
On May 18, 2024, the VII Assembly of Members of the National Organization of Scouts of Ukraine was held in Kyiv. The Assembly adopted the new name of the Organization — "National Organization "Scouts of Ukraine" (NOSU) and established the National Office of the Organization. Corresponding changes were made to the Constitution. Alina Chernyshova was elected Head of the National Board of NOSU.
Structure Youth in Scouting can get a membership in NOSU by forming small groups of 5 to 8 people, which create Scout formations according to the age section. The work of this formation is coordinated by a team of adult leaders, one to three volunteers who have completed the training process and received NOSU certification. During the Formation Assembly young people alongside their leaders elect their governing bodies, which allows them to gain experience in democratic governance.
Scout Associations should include at least 2 Scout groups. The governing body of a Scout Association is the Scout Committee.
The supreme governing body of the organization is the Assembly, which takes place every three years. The governing body of the organization between assemblies is the National Board of Scouts of Ukraine, which implements the strategic objectives approved by the Assembly and carries out the operational management of the organization.
Youth Programme The Youth Programme is an informal education program that harmoniously complements the formal education system. Through the partnership, children youth can acquire knowledge, form values, life competencies that are important for their personal development and active participation in society.