The World Scout Moot is an event for senior members of Scouting movement and other young adult Scouts, gathering up to 5,000 people. Moots provide an opportunity for young adults in Scouting to meet, with the objective of improving their international understanding as citizens of the world. Moots are held every four years and are organized by the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM).
Participants must be 18–25 years old at the time of the event. Scouts who are 26 or older can take part as International Service Team (IST) volunteer staff.
History "Moot" is an Old English word for a gathering. Rover Moots (older members were traditionally called Rovers) took place at provincial, national and international levels in the UK, Australia and Canada from the mid-1920s.
The first World Rover Moot was held in 1931 at Kandersteg, Switzerland, with subsequent events held every four years until 1939, when it was suspended due to World War II. They continued every four years after this until 1961, when the 7th World Rover Moot took place in Melbourne, Australia. Originally entitled the "World Rover Moot", the Moot was replaced by World Moot Years between 1965 and 1982. This was done with the aim of increasing the number of events and accessibility to Rovers.
In 1985, after lobbying led by Australia, the World Scout Conference decided to reinstate the World Rover Moot under a new name, World Scout Moot, to the calendar of world Scouting events, with the naming changed to reflect that not all countries had continued with a Rover section, notably the UK and the USA. At the World Scout Conference in January 1988, bids were presented by Australia and Switzerland, with Australia awarded the 8th World Scout Moot for Dec 1990/Jan 1991, and Switzerland granted the 9th World Scout Moot for July 1992. In 1993, it was decided to hold future Moots every four years. The 10th World Scout Moot was hosted by Sweden in 1996, the 11th World Scout Moot by Mexico in 2000, and the 12th World Scout Moot by Taiwan in 2004. After originally scheduled for 2008 in Mozambique, the 13th World Scout Moot was held in Kenya in 2010 – the first ever such event to take place in Africa.
The 14th World Scout Moot was hosted by Canada in 2013, while the 15th World Scout Moot was held in Iceland in the summer of 2017. The 16th World Scout Moot was due to take place in Ireland in 2021, however due to the COVID-19 pandemic the event was postponed to 2022 and subsequently cancelled. The 16th World Scout Moot was hosted by Portugal in July/August 2025, with the opening event taking place at Parque Tejo in Lisbon.Bennett, S., Making a splash in Portugal at the 16th World Scout Moot, The Scout Association, published on 21 August 2025, accessed on 30 August 2025
During the 2024 World Scout Conference in Cairo, Scouts of China (Taiwan) were successful in their bid to host the 17th World Scout Moot in 2029.
The 16th World Scout Moot in Portugal in July/August 2025 had a total attendance of 7,407 from 118 nations. 5,242 18-26 year old participants, 327 adult leaders, 1,370 International Service Team, 438 Planning and Management Team and 30 WOSM representatives.
List of events
YearEventLocationHost countryAttendanceCountries/regionsattended19311st World Rover MootKandersteg3,0002019352nd World Rover MootIngarö3,0002619393rd World Rover MootMonzie Castle3,5004219494th World Rover MootSkjåk2,5004019535th World Rover MootKandersteg4,1684119576th World Rover MootSutton Coldfield3,5006119617th World Rover MootMelbourne969151990–918th World Scout MootMelbourne1,0003619929th World Scout MootKandersteg1,40052199610th World Scout MootRansberg Scout Centre2,60878200011th World Scout MootTeotihuacan5,00071200412th World Scout MootHualien2,50085201013th World Scout MootNairobi1,92466201314th World Scout MootLow, Quebec2,00083201715th World Scout MootÚlfljótsvatn5,000106202116th World Scout MootMalahide CastleCancelled due to COVID-19 202516th World Scout MootLisbon and Porto7,407 118202917th World Scout MootTainan TBATBA
See also World Scout Indaba
References
External links