GENERALLY
Scouting movement began in England 1907. Since then it has spread all over the world. In Finland the first scout troop started 1910 – only 3 years later.
About Finnish Scouting you can read here.
Here (on the left) you can see the logo of Finnish Scout Organization. Verso scout troops are following the program of Finnish Scouts and are full members of Finnish Scouts. In 1972 the Girl Guide and Boy Scout Associations of Finland joined to form the Guides and Scouts of Finland. In practice in Finland there is only one scout movement: for boys and girls together. Mainly scout troops in Finland are common for boys and girls, but there are also some boy scout troops and girl scout troops.
VERSOT = FINNISH VERSO SCOUTS
Here there is something to introduce you with the VERSOT. The logo of verso scouting is on the left. Verso scouts ”Versot” is one group of scouts in Finland. The main item which connects us is our supporting community. All verso troops are supported by a local evangelical freechurch. Versot don’t differ from other scouts in Finland, but they only want that the religious part of scouting won’t be forgotten. Verso scout troops are members of scout district organizations of Finnish Scout Organization. So all verso scouts are members of the international Scout Movement and Organization (WOSM & WAGGGS). Verso scouts are paying the normal member fee for the Finnish Scout Organization as well.
In finnish ’verso’ (versot is a pluralis form) means a very little groving tree which wants to live – so do we. The first Verso troop was established 1929 in Tampere. Since then the amount of Versos has grown. If you ever visit Finland you can recognize versos among other scouts by their scarf. Its dark green bounded with a lighter one.
Just now (2022) there are active verso scout troops only in Espoo, Hanko, Helsinki, Hämeenlinna, Jyväskylä, Kauhava, Kuopio, Lahti, Oulu, Seinäjoki, Tampere and Turku. Just now there are about 600 versos in these scout troops. All Finnish Verso scout troops are common, it means that there are boys and girls in the same scout troop. Typically small groups are for boys and girls separately, however.
WHAT VERSO SCOUTS ARE DOING?
As scouts we do whatever a normal scout group can do. Plus that we have every kind of traditional activities among versos.
There are (during March – April) so called ”Hiljaiset Päivät” (= Silent days”) (for over 10 years old scouts and guides). For verso leaders is organized own meeting ”Versojohtajapäivät” (=”Verso leader days”) which will take one weekend in the beginning of autumn. It is the place to meet the verso leaders and plan the verso happenings for the future.
Versot organizes every third / fourth year a national scoutcamp, where participate nowadays about 350 verso scouts. The last one was 2019 and the next camp will be held in 2023. To these camps are specially welcome other scout troops from other countries!
Mail address and visiting address to the Central Office (= in Tampere)
The Youth of the Finnish Evangelical Free Church
Sairaalankatu 5-7
FI-33100 Tampere
F i n l a n d
Other communications
Youth work leader in Free Evangelical Church in Finland Tommi Koivunen tel. +358-50-3080 843
Youth secretary Nana Kivimäki tel. +358-40-7644 466
email firstname.lastname(ät)svk.fi (use ”a” instead of ”ä”)
www.versot.fi