Thousands of young Victorians will take Scouting beyond traditional halls and into public spaces this Saturday as ScoutFest celebrates a growing youth movement and 80 years of Venturer Scouts.
Parks, shopping strips, football grounds, regional main streets and parts of Melbourne’s CBD will become activity hubs on August 1 for World Scout Day, with Scout Groups across Victoria showcasing the skills, community projects and outdoor programs they deliver each week.
The event comes as Scouts Victoria reaches more than 23,000 members, recording two consecutive years of growth despite broader declines in formal volunteering rates since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chief Commissioner Daniella Taglieri says the organisation’s growth challenges assumptions that younger generations are disengaged from volunteering and community activities.
“We are told constantly that young people won’t commit to anything and that nobody volunteers any more,” said Taglieri.
“Our numbers say otherwise. What we offer is not complicated. It is young people running their own program, outdoors, with real responsibility and real consequences, and adults who step back far enough to let them do it. It turns out there is enormous appetite for that.” she said.
ScoutFest will see thousands of members participate in activities ranging from environmental projects and fundraising efforts to pioneering displays, scavenger hunts and community events.
The celebration has attracted support from Melbourne Football Club, Melbourne United, VFL clubs Williamstown and the Box Hill Hawks, along with local businesses, entertainment venues and council facilities.
Participating organisations include the Western Bulldogs Museum, Sun Theatre in Yarraville, Hardrock Climbing in Melbourne’s CBD, Activate Moorabbin, WaterMarc in Banyule, Monash Aquatic and Recreation Centre and Casey ARC.
Many supporters are offering free or discounted access to Scouts attending in uniform.
The event also marks 80 years since the creation of the Venturer Scout section in 1946, which provides programs for teenagers aged 15 to 18 focused on leadership, independence and community involvement.
Victoria’s State Youth Leader for Venturer Scouts, Jem Lewis, 17, said the milestone reflects how the program has evolved beyond traditional perceptions of Scouting.
“Eighty years is older than basically everyone I know, so we thought we’d make a thing of it,” said Lewis.
“People hear Scouts and think knots and camping. What it actually is, is teenagers getting handed a budget, a map and a deadline and being trusted to sort it out ourselves. Saturday is just us doing that somewhere people can see it.” he said.
Across Victoria, Scout Groups will deliver dozens of activities, including Benalla Scouts creating a coin line fundraiser for the local Homelessness Response Group, Ocean Grove Cubs installing bird boxes built with the Ocean Grove Men’s Shed, and Ballarat District Scouts running pioneering activities from the Bunnings carpark on Creswick Road.
Other activities include a Geelong Bollard Walk involving 1st Geelong and 1st Queenscliff Scouts, a scavenger hunt hosted by 2nd Colac Sea Scouts, and a festival at the 1st Rowville Scout Hall hosted by Knox District.
More than 300 Venturer Scouts will also take part in a Melbourne CBD scavenger hunt before gathering at Kings Domain to cut a cake celebrating the section’s 80th anniversary.
World Scout Day commemorates August 1, 1907, when Scouting founder Robert Baden-Powell held an experimental camp with 20 boys on Brownsea Island in Dorset, England.
Nearly 120 years later, Scouting operates in more than 170 countries with more than 50 million members worldwide.
Taglieri said the decision to celebrate across the state reflected the organisation’s focus on youth-led participation.
“We could have marked the day with a ceremony” said Taglieri. “Instead, our young people looked at the whole state and decided that was about the right size for it. Come Saturday, that’s exactly what you’ll see.”
