- Association of Belarusian Guides
Infobox WorldScouting
name =Association of Belarusian Guides
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caption =Ассоциация белорусских гайдов
type =
owner =
age =
headquarters =
location =Minsk
country =Belarus
coords =
f-date =1992
defunct =
founders =
founder =
award-for =
members =1,274
chiefscouttitle =
chiefscout =
chiefscouttitle2 =
chiefscout2 =
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chiefscout3 =
website = [http://www.belguides.com/ belguides.com]
affiliation =World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
next =
prev =The Association of Belarusian Guides (ABG, Ассоциация белорусских гайдов) is the
Belarus ian member organization of theWorld Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), with a membership of 1,274Girl Guides (as of 2003).Belarusian Guiding started in 1922 in the then Polish parts of present Belarus. In 1992, after the dissolution of the
Soviet Union , the restart of Guiding was supported by WAGGGS; leader training was undertaken by theGirl Guides Association of Cyprus . The association became a member of WAGGGS in 1996.History
The initial development of Scouting in Belarus took place within the Russian Scout movement, as part of the
Russian empire . A Scout organization was founded inKletsk , and Scouts appeared inNyasvizh and other nearbyvillage s. In 1929, AmericanMethodists helped found theGirl Scout organization inVilna . It lasted until 1929, but by the end of the 1920s, Scouting had been banned by theSoviet Union , and Scout activities ended, with manyleaders and members arrested and imprisoned.Emergence of democratic principles in the mid1980s made possible the creation of alternatives to the
communist pioneer organization s. Close connections were formed with Guide and Scout organizations of manyEurope an countries, whenchildren from areas affected by theChernobyl accident were invited to summer camps abroad during theChernobyl Children's Project in 1990. Especially close links were developed with Cyprus, and betweenMinsk and the Guides ofLincolnshire . In 1992, Cyprus was officially appointed Link country to support the development of Guiding in Belarus, and in June 1993 the first conference of theAssociation of Belarusian Guides was held in Minsk.Since the
nuclear accident atChernobyl , neighboring Belarus received some of the highest levels ofradiation ; the results of which can still be seen in the and in thehealth of thepopulation .Svetlana Korotkevich , International Commissioner of the Association of Belarusian Girl Guides, is working on its Chernobyl project to raise awareness of the ongoing problems resulting from the disaster and to encourage associations in other countries to welcome groups of Belarusianchildren in order to give them a healthy break in a "clean" environment.Emblem
The Association of Belarusian Guides' emblem features a white stork, one of Belarus' unofficial national symbols.
Further reading
* World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, World Bureau (2002), "Trefoil Round the World". Eleventh Edition 1997. ISBN 0-900827-75-0
ee also
*
Scouting in Belarus
*Belarusian Republican Youth Union External links
* [http://www.belguides.com/index1.htm Homepage of the Association of Belarusian Guides]
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