The preparation of the Thai Parliament to host The upcoming 9th General Assembly of the World Scout Parliamentary Union

The preparation of the Thai Parliament to host
The upcoming 9th General Assembly of the World Scout Parliamentary Union

World Scout Parliamentary Union (WSPU) is an international organization which unites Scout-oriented parliamentarians from all over the world. It was founded by Mr. Kim Chong-Hon, Chairman of Korea Scout Parliamentary Association – KSPA in 1991. Currently, there are 103 member countries. Mrs. Ewa Thalen Finne, member of the Swedish Parliament is the President of WSPU. Mr. Thamrong Dasananjali, member of the National Legislative Assembly of Thailand, is the 1st Vice President of WSPU and Mr. Lee Ju Young, member of Parliament of Republic of Korea, is the 2nd Vice President WSPU. The first General Assembly of WSPU has started since 1994 and there have been a total of 8 WSPU General Assembly and the latest one was held from 31 August to 2 September 2016 in Stockholm, Republic of Sweden.

The World Scout Parliamentary Union – WSPU consists of two major organs as follows :

1. General Assembly is the supreme body responsible for electing an Executive Committee and considering other matters. It meets every 3 years.

2. Executive Committee is composed of 5-12 members. Members are elected for a
3-year mandate by the General Assembly. It meets once a year to implement the decisions of the General Assembly. The Secretariat of World Scout Parliamentary Union, founded in 1997, was originally situated in Warsaw, Republic of Poland. Then it came into existence in Seoul, Republic of Korea in 2010.

The objective of WSPU is to strengthen the National Scout Organization as a scout organization at a national level and World Scouting as a scout organization at an international level through the influence of parliamentarians. Another objective is to encourage scouting with the formation of National Scout Parliament Association – NSPA at parliamentary level under the concept of scouting as an effective informal educational method and movement.

To create networking among parliamentary member countries in order to promote activities of World Scout Organization is one of its objectives as well. WSPU is responsible for coordinating and promoting other countries to establish National Scout Parliamentary Association and collaborating with World Scout Organization and Secretariat of National Scout concerning scouting implementation internally. WSPU is granted status as an observer to attend the 126th IPU Conference in April 2012 in Kampala, Republic of Uganda.

Today, WSPU has been growing rapidly and constantly encouraging the formation of National Scout Parliamentary Associations – NSPAs. It works energetically to support scouting initiatives of each country a parliamentary level to solve problems involving in youth and their communities. In addition, WSPU is another international forum of parliamentarians internationally to discuss and exchange their views. Besides IPU, founded in 1889, WSPU currently is acknowledged by United Nations Assembly as an international parliamentary organization which supports the United Nations affairs.

The Executive Committee and General Assembly of WSPU Meetings in Stockholm, Republic of Sweden approved Thailand to host the Executive Committee Meeting and the 9th General Assembly of the World Scout Parliamentary Union – WSPU. There was a discussion between the National Legislative Assembly delegation and concerned parties which are the Secretariat of World Scout Parliamentary Union – WSPU, Secretariat of Korea Scout Parliamentary Association – KSPA, Secretariat of Korea Scout Association (KSA) and Business Meeting, the 25th World Scout Jamboree (WSJ) Committee, and Royal Thai Embassy, Seoul, Republic of Korea. The discussion was mainly about preparation such as venue, time of the meeting, number of participants, main theme and sub-themes in order to accomplish the effective meeting and national interest.

The National Legislative Assembly has been preparing to host the 9th SWPU General Assembly by appointing the Steering Committee of 9th SWPU General Assembly composed of H.E. Mr. Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, President of the National Legislative Assembly and Mr. Thamrong Dasananjali, Member of the National Legislative Assembly, as an Adviser and a Chairman. Also, there are 7 Sub-Committees appointed as follows:

         1. Sub-Committee on a venue
         2. Sub-Committee on substance
         3. Sub-Committee on reception and facilitation
         4. Sub-Committee on opening-closing ceremony and welcoming banquet
         5. Sub-Committee on information technology
         6. Sub-Committee on public relations
         7. Sub-Committee on security and medical treatment

Meanwhile, the Committee has prepared to collaborate with Secretariat of World Scout Parliamentary Union - WSPU directly and to encourage National Scout Organization of Thailand to participate in the 9th WSPU General Assembly arrangement from the beginning. A 3-day conference from 12–14 November 2018 in Bangkok is set for the preliminary stage to inform the SWPU General Assembly.

On this particular occasion, Thai Parliament as the host of the Executive Committee Meeting and the 9th WSPU General Assembly would like to invite Thai people to take part in this event and to welcome all participants to Thailand and Thais are proud to present Thai cultural identity.

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