2008 marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day. Since 1988, the face and response to AIDS has greatly changed. While many of these changes are positive, this anniversary offers us an opportunity to highlight how much more still needs to be done. the latest UNAIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic indicates that the epidemic is not yet over in any part of the world.

Together with its partners, the World AIDS Campaign set this year’s theme for World AIDS Day as “Lead – Empower – Deliver”, building on last year’s theme of “Take the Lead”. Scouts around the world have been playing a key role in the fight against HIV/AIDS for a number of years, leading the way in their communities through peer education programmes, awareness campaigns and activities, aiming to halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, which is also in line with Millennium Development Goal 6.

On 8-9 November 2008 more than 200 participants from the academic community, NGOs, Scouting and the public were given the opportunity to attend a unique scientific conference held in Athens and organised by the Soma Hellinon Proskopon (Scout Association of Greece) in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, the Secretariat-General for Youth and the Hellenic Open University.

The 30 presentations that were made dealt with a variety of current topics that have a direct reflection on formal, informal and non-formal educational processes and included skills development, the civil society, volunteerism, free time, diversity, the evolving needs of young people, age characteristics, environment and sustainability.

Durante el mes de octubre, el territorio hondureño fue azotado por un par de tormentas tropicales que azotaron gran parte del país. La Asociación de Scouts de Honduras (ASH) desplegó en forma inmediata operaciones de ayuda humanitaria para las víctimas, en coordinación con la Comisión Permanente de Contingencias (COPECO).

En virtud de la situación personal que afecta a Alberto Del Brutto, Director Regional de la OSM-RI, el Secretario General en funciones de la OMMS, en acuerdo con el Comité Scout Interamericano, determinó que Gabriel Oldenburg asuma en reemplazo de Alberto en calidad de Director Regional en funciones.

At its last meeting in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, 11 and 12 October 2008, the members of the Interamerican Scout Committee analyzed the technical report that the ISC requested to the consulting company EurAudit International, in order to make a comparison between the characteristics that three cities in the Continent could offer to the location of the regional headquarters.