Scouts of the World Award

Scouts of the World Award (SOWA) is a Scout Network only award that gives Scout Network members the chance to undertake a project of their choice within the themes of Peace, Environment and Sustainability and take action on their chosen issue.

Through your Scouts of the World Award journey, you’ll develop skills and knowledge that will empower you to undertake a project that will make a sustainable impact on your local, national or international community, while developing your own skills.

You’ll learn skills including: independence, team work, project management, budgeting and communication skills, while gaining an understanding of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. You can complete the award anywhere in the world, including your home country and this can be completed as a team, with each member playing a project management role and completing 80 hours+ of work towards the project.

How to earn your award:

1. Be a member of Scouting aged 18-25

You must have an active role on the membership system

2. Attend a Scouts of the World Discovery run by a SOWA Trainer

• A SOWA Discovery event may take place as a residential event or a number of shorter events but should be a minimum of 14 hours of learning 
• All participants should undertake some pre-course activities that will be sent to them by the SOWA Trainers prior to the event
• The Discovery will broaden the participants understanding of the wider global context that underpins the Award and global issues

Please note: If you don’t attend a SOWA Discovery event prior to your project, you are not eligible to achieve the award.

3. Register for the Award

Inform your local 14-24 Lead that you're undertaking the award. They should be able to support you.

4. Create a plan for your SOWA project with the guidance of your mentor

• A SOWA project must take a minimum of 80 hours, which can also include planning time
• The project should be based on one or more of the three key themes of the Award (Peace, Environment and Sustainable Development)
• An assigned SOWA mentor will guide the participant through their project, including the planning stages
• Your local 14-24 lead should be notified about the project, as they are the final sign-off for the Award
• Ensure your project clear project objectives, timescales and realistic deliverables
• Your project must meet at least one of the seventeen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
• The project should have a long-term, sustainable impact on the local, national or international communities with a legacy after the award is completed.

5. Complete your SOWA voluntary project

80-hour project based on one or more of the three themes (Peace, Environment and Sustainable Development)

6. Undertake an evaluation, personal reflection and local presentation

Participants should spend time evaluating their journey through the Award, as well as the project itself. The Award is not just about meeting the project aims but is also about the development of the skills, cultural awareness, knowledge and attitudes of the participants, as active global citizens. This evaluation may cover questions such as:

Can I see the connection back to the global context I learnt about at the Discovery Weekend?

• How is my project sustainable? If it is not, what could I do to ensure it is?
• What challenges did I face and how did I overcome these?
• What skills have I gained from achieving this award?
• What does it mean to be an active global citizen?

Participants should present their project and evaluation to a relevant audience. It is recommended that your presentation is to young people 14-24 who could undertake the award in the future.

Sign off from the award can be completed locally by:

This form should be filled out by a volunteer holding one of the roles listed below for the county the Scout Network member is from.

•    County or Region Lead Volunteer

•    County 14-24 Team Lead

•    County 14-24 Team Member (as directed by Team Lead)

•    County or Region Programme Team Lead

•    County or Region Programme Team Member (as directed by Team Lead)

This section should take around 3 hours in total to complete.

More Award Information:

More details on the Scouts of the World Award can be found on the Scout UK website, by clicking the link below.

District Scouts of the World Award Sign Up:

A form to sign up to the Scout's of the World Award within our district will appear soon, watch this space!