63rd BP Fellowship Event - Spain

The 63rd World Baden-Powell Fellowship took place from 20-22 April 2012 in the Capital of Spain - Madrid.

The programme for this event was as follows:

• Thursday: early arrivals for those who wanted to participate in the additional trip to Toledo on Friday
• Friday: arrival day and additional trip to Toledo (additional sign up and costs). In the evening the Welcome Reception at the Palacio de Correos (seat of the Community of Madrid) in the middle of Madrid.
• Saturday: visiting the Saint Jorge weekend camp. In the evening the 63rd BP Fellowship Dinner and the Presentation Ceremony took place at the Casino de Madrid. The Casino de Madrid is de leading private club in Madrid with an exceptional venue.
• Sunday: departures

The beautiful town of Madrid, the good weather and the excellent group of participants made the 63rd BP Fellowship Event a memorable and absolute highlight in 2012.

While the WSF Board met on Friday many participants took the opportunity to visit Toledo (a World Heritage Site) and with two superb tour guides they visited the highlights of this stunning city to finish the visit of with a lunch at a beautiful location overseeing Toledo. That evening we were invited by the President of the Community of Madrid for a Welcome Reception at the Real Casa de Correos - which in the early nineteen hundreds was the post office of Madrid but is now the seat of the Community of Madrid. In this special venue al the participants had a change to meet each other, talk with the many Scout volunteers present and to decide where to eat afterwards with their newfound friends. The area around the venue has an enormous choice of restaurants, which are frequented by the local population.

The Saturday started with a visit two one of the two San Jorge Camps organized by the Scouts of Madrid. San Jorge or Saint George is the Patron Saint of all Scouts worldwide and St. George's Day is normally celebrated on 23rd April. Visiting the Scouts gave the opportunity to talk and work with the local Scouts, to learn how Scouting was done in Spain and to learn from the differences. Every time again it is stunning to see what Scouting means for children and youth all around the world and how while playing the game they grow to become responsible people and citizens of the world.

After some well deserved rest and changing from Scout uniform into Black-Tie all the participants and guests of the Spanish Scout Federation gathered in the Casino de Madrid for the 63rd Baden-Powell Fellowship Dinner. The exceptional venue and the absolute fabulous performance of the 'Singing Waiters' during the Dinner formed the background in which 12 new BP Fellows and 10 upgrades in the Honours Programme were welcomed and presented to His Majesty - the Honorary Chairman. It gave also the opportunity to inform all present about the work of the Foundation in Indonesia and El Salvador and to present two BP Fellows who accepted an appointment as WSF Board Members for a term of three years.

To finish the Event in style all participants were invited for a private gathering after the Dinner at the hotel and the collected donations will be given to the Spanish Scout Federation to allow less privileged youth in Spain to join Scouting and to experience a summer camp with the Scouts in 2012.

Please click here to see a selection of pictures taken during the 63rd BP Fellowship Event.