National Scout Day in Maldives Date in the current year: May 30, 2024

The worldwide Scout movement was founded by Robert Baden-Powell, a lieutenant general in the British Army who used his experience serving as a military scout to create an educational program for boys. In 1907, Baden-Powell organized a camp for boys to test his pedagogical ideas. The next year, he published his book entitled Scouting for Boys that is considered to be the Bible of the Scout movement.

As soon as the book was published, Scout groups began to emerge throughout Great Britain. In 1909, Baden-Powell organized the first Scout Rally, which was held at Crystal Palace in London. The next tear, he officially formed The Boy Scouts Association, now known as The Scout Association.

From the very first months of its existence, the Scout movement began to spread within the British Empire — to Australia, Canada, Gibraltar, Malaya, Malta, New Zealand, and South Africa. By 1910, there were Boy Scout troops in Argentina, Chile, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States.

The Scout Association of Maldives was founded in 1963, two years before the independence of Maldives from the United Kingdom. However, it wasn’t admitted to the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) until 1990. The Association is a member of the Asia-Pacific Region of the WOSM. Its emblem incorporates a fleur-de-lis, which is used by the WOSM and multiple national Scout organizations, and a fish to highlight the importance of fishing for the Maldivian economy.

The Scout Association of Maldives is co-educational; it is open to both boys and girls. According to the 2019 WOSM membership census, the Association had almost 7,000 Cub Scouts (about 5,600 boys and nearly 1,400 girls) and over 3,300 Scouts (more than 660 girls and almost 2,650 boys). In addition to the co-ed Scout Association, there is the Maldives Girl Guide Organization, founded in 1962.

In general, the Scout Association of Maldives operates in the same way as any other national Scout organization. Maldivian Scouts take part in training camps, jamborees, environmental campaigns (for example, beach cleanups), and other activities.

The Scout Association of Maldives made history on January 8, 2008, when Scout Mohammed Jaisham Ibrahim saved President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom from assassination. The assailant tried to stab the president with a kitchen knife wrapped in the national flag, but 15-year-old Mohammed Jaisham rushed to him and grabbed the blade. The attacker was detained by the police and the Scout was taken to the hospital; he cut this hand, but the injury was not life-threatening.

The next year, another Scout saved a 9-year-old boy from drowning. Scout Ahmed Azuhad and his friend Mohamed Musrih saw a kid floating in the sea and jumped in to help him. Azuhad pulled the boy onto a nearby boat and administered first aid, while Musrih asked people to all an ambulance.