From: rusa@diku.dk (Bjarne Steensgaard)
Newsgroups: rec.scouting
Subject: Re: Girl & Boy Scouting around the world
Date: 13 Aug 92 11:29:25 GMT
Organization: Department of Computer Science, U of Copenhagen

slice@gagme.chi.il.us (Steve Steiner) writes:

In rec.scouting you write:

>My son and I were at a Cub Scout Resident camp for 4 days (sponsored by the
>Chicago Area Council), where there was an exchange scout from Denmark.  And
>after talking with her, I learned that Boy Scouts in Denmark are coed.

What scouting organization was she a member of?  We have several in
Denmark, of which most are coed.  We have three major organizations:
The Danish Guide and Scout Organization (DDS) is coed, the YMCA scouts
are coed, the YWCA scouts are for girls only.  There are also a
Baptist Scout Organization, and possible some even smaller ones (less
than 500 members in Denmark.)

>Jane had told me that she was a member for 10 years and has loved every
>minute of it.  I also learned that scouting in Europe is very different
>than the Scouting movement her in the states, and now hope to someday go to
>Europe to experience it first hand.

I have been a scout for almost 16 years in Denmark and one year in the
BSA when my father was working in the US during a sabbatical year from
University of Copenhagen.

I can only confirm that scouting is different in Denmark and in the
US.  There are however also big differences between scouting
organizations within Europe, and to a lesser extent also within
Denmark.  If you really want to go to Europe, then do so.

In Denmark, scouting is organized in groups, where each group usually
has one or two cub scout pack, depending on the division into age
groups, one troop, and possibly also an explorer/rover crew.  The
group that I belong to is named Peter Lassen Group after Peter Lassen,
who was born in our home town and later became a famous pioneer in
Northern California.  Our entire group went to California two years
ago.  Our excuse was to commemorate the 150 years passed since Peter
Lassen first set foot on Californian soil.  We were 56 people, of
which the youngest were a 9 year old cub scout and the oldest were a
60-odd year old parent.  One of the troops we visited in California is
coming to Denmark in 1994 to participate in DDS's national jamboree.

Going across the Atlantic for summer camp takes a lot of preparation.
The idea of doing so was first brought up three years before we
actually went.  Two years before going, we started saving and earning
money for the trip.  The last year was very loaded with fund-raising
activities.  The leaders were also very tied up with planning
everything, even though this was one of the activities the parents
were ease to get to help us with.  After the trip, the level of
activities fell drastically to allow the scouts to recuperate.  Now,
two years after the trip, we are back to the normal level of
activities.  Some people are even talking about going to California
again in the year 2000 to commemorate Peter Lassen's 200 year
birthday :-).  They are yet a bit quiet about it, because some people
still remember their workload.

I have just been two weeks to Poland with 4 Explorer Scouts.  This was
much cheaper and easier to plan than going across the Atlantic.  The
differences between the ways scouting is done in Poland and in Denmark
are just as great as the difference relative to the BSA.  You could
also choose a closer target than Denmark (or any other country in
Europe for that matter): Scouting in Mexico and probably also in
Canada should be quite different than scouting in the BSA.

Yours in Scouting

--Bjarne Steensgaard
Newsgroups: rec.scouting