Whilst the World is going to celebrate the Centenary of Scouting next year Hong Kong will be celebrating its First One Hundred Years in 2011. As part of our Centenary Celebration, the Chief Commissioner has announced on 22nd July 2004 that Hong Kong will invite the World Organisation of Scout Movement to hold its 39th World Scout Conference and the 11th World Scout Youth Forum in Hong Kong in 2011.

We all know that in just one hundred and sixty years, Hong Kong has grown from an uninviting collection of small fishing villages on a small cluster of islands of barren rock to a world class International Cosmopolitan City.


The history of Hong Kong Scouting is as dynamic as its social and economic development. Starting with only a few scouts from the expatriate circle within a year or so after the founding of this Great Scout Movement by Lord Baden Powell, Scouting in Hong Kong has grown from strength to strength in the last 95 years. From one patrol of boy scouts in 1909 we have now grown into a strong Association of 100,000 members with our own 25 storey building situated at the heart of Kowloon of Hong Kong as headquarters.

Hong Kong Scouts participated and attended World events as early as 1929 when a small number of Deep Sea Scout Leaders of the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla of the Royal Navy based in Hong Kong attended the 3rd World Jamboree at Arrowe Park. When Hong Kong became a fully independent member of the World Organisation in 1977, Hong Kong was already prepared and began to organise large scale Regional events on a regular basis.


The Scout Association of Hong Kong intends to host the 39th World Scout Conference in Hong Kong’s award-winning, purpose built Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre right at the Victoria Harbour of Hong Kong with the Conference hotels within the same complex – it will be the first time where the conference hall and conference hotels are all within the same building.


It is our plan that the 11th World Scout Youth Forum will be held in our own Hong Kong Scout Centre where the 19th Asia Pacific Regional Scout Conference was successfully held in 1998.

Besides Hong Kong, Australia, Brazil and Switzerland have also declared their intention to host this World event in 2011. Australia intends to host the 39th WSC at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre in Darling Harbour, Sydney. Brazil intends to host it in Estacao Embratel Convention Centre in Curitiba whereas Switzerland intends to have 39th World Scout Conference to be held together with the 34th World Conference of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in Messe Luzern in the City of Luzern.

The voting will take place on 9th September 2005 at the coming 37th World Scout Conference in Tunis where one of the above 4 cities will be chosen as the venue of the 2011 World Scout Conference and World Scout Youth Forum.