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World Scout Inter-religious Forum
The World Scout Inter-religious Forum (WSIF) first started its work informally in 1997 when preparing for the World Scout Jamboree in Chile (1999). The Forum has since continued to grow and aims to group together all the religions and beliefs represented in Scouting.
There are eight main religious groups represented in the World Scout Inter-religious Forum. Some of them enjoy Consultative Status with the World Scout Committee:
- CPGS - The Council of Protestants in Guiding and Scouting
- DESMOS - International Link of Orthodox Christian Scouts
- ICC - International Catholic Conference of Scouting
- IFJS - International Forum of Jewish Scouts
- IUMS - International Union of Muslim Scouts
- WBSB - World Buddhist Scout Brotherhood
- Won-Buddhist Scout Council
- The Church of the Latter-day Saints
Other religions such as Baha’i, Hinduism and Sikhism have also been involved in the World Scout Inter-religious Forum or other work linked to the spiritual dimension of Scouting in recent years.
In addition to the work these groups are doing individually for each faith group in the world, WSIF also does the following:
- Organise and run the inter-religious activities during World Scout Jamborees and World Scout Moots.
- Organise the World Scout Inter-religious Symposiums.
- Contribute to work on spiritual and religious development (including publishing documents and guidelines) by World Scouting.
The WSIF meets annually to coordinate their work. The Forum does a valuable contribution to strengthening the quality of spirituality in Scouting and working for peace and global understanding.