Our second full day with the Friends of Scouting in Europe began with a tram journey across Erfurt to the Bildungshaus St. Martin, where the morning was devoted to understanding rather more about the part of Germany we are visiting. Dr Claudio Kullmann, Ordinariatsrat in the Catholic Diocese, took us through the political and sociological landscape of Thuringia, before the chair of the DPSG in the Diocese of Magdeburg gave us a perspective from neighbouring Saxony-Anhalt, particularly following its recent state election.
There was an added significance to having the conversation today. The 3rd of October is German Unity Day, marking reunification in 1990. Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt were both part of the former East Germany, and so it seemed particularly appropriate to spend part of the day thinking about democracy, participation and the institutions of civil society which help communities to flourish.
German Scouting is organised rather differently from Scouting in the UK. There are several Scout associations, brought together nationally through the Ring deutscher Pfadfinder*innenverbände, Germany’s federation within the World Organization of the Scout Movement. They have different histories, traditions and, in some cases, faith connections, while sharing the fundamentals of Scouting.
One of the things I have particularly enjoyed learning about on this visit is the way in which three of those associations are working together here to grow Scouting. The Catholic DPSG, Protestant VCP and interdenominational BdP retain their individual identities, but recognise that there is much to be gained from cooperating to create opportunities for more young people. I rather like the fact that three organisations with their own histories and traditions have decided that growing Scouting matters more than defending organisational territory.
The scale of some of the challenges became clearer during the morning discussion. The chair of the DPSG in the Diocese of Magdeburg described an association with 477 members in seven groups across the area. Those figures relate to the DPSG alone, rather than to the whole of Scouting in Saxony-Anhalt, where other Scout associations are also active. Nevertheless, they illustrated some of the practical difficulties he described: groups spread across a considerable geographical area, the continuing challenge of recruiting and retaining adult leaders, and the difficulty of maintaining connections between relatively isolated Scout communities.
Alongside those practical issues sits a changing political environment. Our speakers talked about the growth of the AfD and the uncertainty that this creates for churches, charities and voluntary organisations, particularly those receiving public funding and involved in democratic education, integration and work opposing extremism. We also heard about antisemitism and Islamophobia, and about the importance of providing opportunities, particularly in rural communities, for young people to encounter people whose backgrounds and experiences may be different from their own.
That led to a wide-ranging discussion about what all this means for Scouting. We are not a party-political movement and our job is certainly not to tell young people how they should vote. But Scouting has values, and those values inevitably influence the communities we seek to create. Helping young people to listen to each other, work together, take responsibility and understand perspectives other than their own is an important part of what we do.
Perhaps the most telling contribution of the morning was also one of the most practical. If you want to provide a positive alternative to extremism, particularly in rural communities where opportunities for young people may be limited, one response is to establish more Scout groups. That requires adults willing to lead them, places in which to meet, equipment, training and enough financial support to make sure that family circumstances do not prevent a young person from taking part. None of this is particularly glamorous, but it is how sustainable local Scouting is built.
At lunchtime we moved outside, where local Scouts had erected some of the characteristic black tents of German Scouting on the grass close to Erfurt Cathedral and prepared an excellent barbecue lunch for us. It was good simply to spend time with local Scouts after the intensity of the morning discussion, and particularly to see members of different associations together in precisely the spirit of cooperation we had been hearing about.
The afternoon took us directly into one of the practical purposes of our visit. Under the rather appropriate heading “Democracy seedbeds in Thuringia”, we heard presentations about seven projects connected with the Scout Federation of Thuringia’s work to grow Scouting, and the financial support which might help make them happen.
They were wonderfully varied. There was Scoutoria, a democracy role-play project; a plan to turn an overgrown area “from jungle to Scout garden”; uniforms and scarves for the Dingelstädt Scouts; a water cistern for the Georgsburg Scout centre; a digital solution for sharing Scout games; an international gathering to help a newly founded group meet and grow alongside other Scouts; and an activities hub intended to share ideas, strengthen group leaders and help Scouting grow.
The individual projects were inspiring and engaging, not least because they were rooted in very practical needs. A uniform can help a young person feel part of their group; an international gathering can give a newly established group confidence and connections; a water cistern can make a Scout centre more sustainable; and sharing good programme ideas can make life easier for the volunteers on whom all of this ultimately depends. Relatively modest sums of money can unlock an enormous amount of voluntary effort.
But, as I listened, I was also left with a slightly nagging question. The challenges we had heard about during the morning are bigger than any one project: relatively limited Scouting provision across some areas, shortages of adult leaders, isolated rural communities and a wider social and political environment in which strong organisations for young people matter enormously. Supporting good individual projects is clearly worthwhile, but I found myself wondering whether there is also a case for a more strategic approach to growing Scouting across this part of Germany.
The cooperation we have seen between the three German Scout associations seems an excellent starting point. If they are already prepared to work together, perhaps there is an opportunity to think collectively about what would enable them to establish and sustain significantly more Scouting in communities where it is currently absent or fragile. That might mean longer-term investment in people, leadership development and the infrastructure needed to establish new groups, alongside the individual projects which provide immediate and visible benefits.
That is not an argument against funding uniforms, equipment, meeting places or any of the other things we heard about today. All of them can make a real difference. But perhaps there is an opportunity to connect some of this support more deliberately, investing not only in projects but in the capacity needed to make growth sustainable over a number of years. Crucially, that approach would need to be shaped by the German Scout associations themselves rather than imposed by well-meaning visitors bearing euros and opinions.
That is one of the reasons these Friends of Scouting in Europe visits matter. They allow us to meet the people doing the work, understand something of the circumstances in which they are operating and listen to what they believe would help. Our role is not to arrive with a ready-made answer, but we can ask questions and consider whether support from the European Scout Foundation can help not only with the next worthwhile project but with the longer-term ambitions of Scouting in the region.
Antonio Bear, meanwhile, made his own contribution to European Scouting cooperation. He appeared during the afternoon and was soon being photographed with an impressive assortment of people in Scout uniform. His enthusiasm for international Scouting remains considerable, although his contribution to either strategic thinking or the washing-up after lunch was harder to identify.
The project presentations were followed by our formal Friends of Scouting in Europe meeting, giving us an immediate opportunity to begin reflecting on what we had heard and on the part that the Friends and the European Scout Foundation might play.
Coming the day after our visit to Weimar and Buchenwald, today inevitably had an additional resonance, but it was firmly about the present and the future. Yesterday reminded us of what can happen when democratic institutions and civil society fail and intolerance and extremism are allowed to take their place. Today, on the day when Germany celebrates its reunification, we met people engaged in the much more everyday work of strengthening communities and creating opportunities for young people.
We have seven projects to consider, each reflecting the energy and commitment of the people behind it. But I suspect I will leave Erfurt thinking about a bigger question too: how we combine support for good local ideas with the sustained, strategic investment that might help Scouting reach many more young people across this part of Germany. After everything we have heard and seen over these past two days, that seems a question well worth continuing to explore.
