KAICIID and several young members of the World Organisation of the Scout Movement (WOSM) from all over the world convened at KAICIID headquarters in June for a “training of trainers” programme on interreligious and intercultural dialogue, and to further develop the ground-breaking Dialogue Badge, a collaborative effort between KAICIID and WOSM. The scouts spent five days from June 18-23 at KAICIID attending trainings, planning  the badge and developing an action plan that will institutionalise dialogue within the World Scouts Movement.

During the first three days of the training, KAICIID experts taught the young Scout leaders about dialogue as method for peacemaking and conflict resolution. The scouts were trained on designing and facilitating dialogue so they can disseminate these skills in the movement and further develop ongoing dialogue projects. The aim was for the scouts to bring this expertise back to their respective regions and to be able to train other Scouts in facilitating interreligious and intercultural dialogue. They will be leaders at different levels within the Scouts organization and will design their own local dialogue sessions and programs in the future.

The following two days of the programme were a workshop that focused on the next stage of the planning and development of the Dialogue Badge, a new Scout badge that will build the framework for interreligious and intercultural dialogue within the Scout learning system. Scouts can earn badges to reward proficiency or endeavour in a certain skill area, or for taking part in particular challenges or expeditions.  The Dialogue Badge will reward Scouts who incorporate dialogue in their everyday lives. The workshop was guided by the needs and desires of the scouts themselves, who aimed to further develop content and programmes that can complement the Scouts’ life learning experience.

This collaboration will result in a manual for the training of the trainers, a manual for the dialogue facilitators and a learning booklet for the badge itself. The badge will also include a cooperative online interface that will allow Scouts active in dialogue to share their experiences and interact with other Scouts and KAICIID experts by uploading their ongoing projects, stories and activities to the WOSM website.

The badge will be piloted at a workshop during the 23rd World Scout Jamboree this July and August in Kirara-hama Japan, where the design of the badge itself will be decided through a drawing contest among the Scouts. Over the next year, the manuals and booklet will be tested regionally ­– drawing from ongoing projects within the Scouts and implementing and evaluating new projects. This testing will ultimately help adapt the badge booklet and training manuals at the local level for each country.

After their work with KAICIID, the trainers are expected to become a self-sustaining, independent team. The Scouts developed a two-year action plan for WOSM to adopt dialogue programmes and trainings on the national level for the World Scout Conference 2017.