Scouting’s role emphasised

Press, 2 November 1984, Page 4

Scouting’s role emphasised

PA Wellington The scouting movement had a vital role to play in giving young people a sense of identity, self-worth, and personal direction, the Minister of Recreation and Sport, Mr Moore, told delegates to the fourteenth biennial Asia-Pacific regional scout conference yesterday. Mr Moore was speaking at a Government reception at the Beehive for the 250

delegates and observers from 20 countries who had earlier attended the official opening of the conference in the old Legislative Chamber. They were received at Parliament by a guard of honour of scouts from the Wellington region. Mr Moore said that scouting was an invaluable means of strengthening New Zealand’s ties with a region which would increasingly dominate the nation’s future

as ties of blood and trade with Europe weakened. The six-day conference was officially opened by the Administrator of the Government, the Chief Justice, Sir Ronald Davison, in the absence of the GovernorGeneral and Chief Scout, Sir David Beattie, who is visiting Australia. Sir Ronald said that the scouting movement could be a powerful force for peace and he challenged delegates

to the conference to make next year’s International Youth Year a focus for peace and understanding. Delegates at the conference included many from Japan, Thailand, and Fiji, as well as Iran, Pakistan, Nepal, South Korea, and India. The World Organisation of the Scout Movement was represented by its secretary-general, Dr Laszlo Nagy, of Switzerland.