Gerakan Pramuka Indonesia

Gerakan Pramuka Indonesia ("Indonesian Pramuka Movement") is the national scouting organization of Indonesia. Scouting was founded in the Dutch East Indies in 1912, and Indonesia became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) in 1953. Its membership is compulsory for students. It has 21,599,748 members (as of 2011), making it the world's largest Scout association. Each year 14 August is celebrated as Pramuka Day to honour the organisation's first public parade in 1961, wherein independence hero Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX of Yogyakarta was appointed as the first Chief Scout of the GPI.
With the 2013 education curriculum in effect, it is compulsory for all Indonesian students to join the scout movement as scouting is officially one of the study units in the curriculum. This contributes to the movement's recognition as the world's largest.
The name "Pramuka" was derived from the acronym of ""Pra"ja "mu"da "ka"rana", (Sanskrit: young people willing to work). The "Pramuka" word in Indonesia is currently often used as a term for scouting.
History.
Scouting came to Indonesia in 1912, as a branch of the Nederlandse Padvinders Organisatie (NPO, Netherlands Pathfinder Organisation). After 1916 it was called the "Nederland Indische Padvinders Vereeniging" (Netherlands Indies Scout Movement). Other Scouting organizations were established by the "Indonesia Scouts" in 1916. As the Dutch East Indies, Indonesia had been a branch of the Netherlands Scout Association, yet Scouting was very popular, and had achieved great numbers and standards.
When Indonesia became an independent country, there were more than 60 separate Boy Scout and Girl Guide organizations. Most were directly affiliated with some certain political parties or social groups. Attempts were made to unify all Scout organizations into one. The fact that Indonesia is made up of many islands made administration and supervision difficult, and the Japanese occupation caused some twenty separate Scout organizations to spring up, and it took time for them to coalesce. In September 1951 thirteen of the stronger Scout and Guide organizations nationwide met and decided to found a federating body to satisfy national and international needs. With their cooperation, the Ikatan Pandu Indonesia (Ipindo) came into being. Government approval of Ipindo was granted on 22 February 1952, and President Sukarno consented to become patron of the unifying and correlating National Scout Council. With the formation of Ipindo, Indonesia became a full member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1953 as an organization of its Asia-Pacific Region. In 1955 the Ipindo hosted the country's first Scout Jamboree in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta.
With the beginning of the Guided Democracy period came a period of unification of all Scout and Guide organizations into one. On 9 March 1961, in the State Palace of Jakarta, in the presence of Ipinido representatives and those of other organizations, President Sukarno gave his blessing for the unification of Indonesian Scouting and Guiding into one organization. With the April 1961 decision to merge the Fadjar Harapan Pioneer movement organization (founded in 1959) into Ipindo and other organizations, the establishment of a single Scout Movement organization in Indonesia called "Gerakan Pramuka" was officially complete.
On 20 May 1961, President Sukarno signed a presidential regulation formally declaring Gerakan Pramuka as the official Scout and Guide organization in Indonesia and official heir and successor to the legacies of the former Scout and Guide organizations of the republic. On 30 July, at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno in Jakarta, the GPI was officially launched.
Gerakan Pramuka is a former member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, having left WAGGGS and added the girls' program to WOSM also in 2002.
After Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX, other Indonesian recipients of the "Bronze Wolf", the only distinction of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, awarded by the World Scout Committee for exceptional services to world Scouting, include Abdul Azis Saleh in 1978, John Beng Kiat Liem in 1982 and retired Lieutenant General Mashudi in 1985.
In July 2017, the Indonesian government suspended support for Gerakan Pramuka Indonesia after Adhyaksa Dault expressed support for Hizb-ut Tahrir, as Hizb-ut Tahrir is against Indonesia's legislative foundation of Pancasila, an ideology based on a multi-faith democracy. Financial assistance was suspended pending clarification from Adhyaksa Dault over his presence at a Hizb-ut Tahrir rally in 2013 and interview to a Hizb-ut Tahrir videographer expressing "Caliphate is the teaching of the Prophet. If God is willing, with or without our help, the caliphate will rise. Our ways may be different but our goal is the same. That is why I'm here. We keep making small changes. We have to make big changes. World order must be changed. We must impose sharia."
Programme.
The Indonesia Scout Movement incorporates both boys and girls. It is an educational movement through Scouting activities, the education being directed toward a new, just, peaceful and prosperous Indonesian community based on the national ideology. Activities of the boys and girls are conducted separately from one another. They have joint activities whenever possible and necessary. Management of the Scout Movement is carried out by the National Headquarters.
Education for young members is carried out through activities to achieve General Skill Requirements ("Syarat Kecakapan Umum/SKU") and Special Skill Requirements ("Syarat Kecakapan Khusus/SKK") (merit badge system) towards achieving Garuda Scout.
To achieve the goals of Scouting, activities are carried out on the group and national level. Routine activities are focused on the development of character, patriotism, physical fitness, skill and intelligence of the Scouts themselves which are very important for their future life. Activities of the special troops are organized in order to develop specific personal interest and talent and enable them to serve the community with the knowledge, ability and skill he/she have learned.
The Scouts take an active part in community development service projects. They take an active part in combating illiteracy. The success of the campaign against illiteracy in one province, gained the Scouts worldwide recognition and won them a UNESCO award.
The Scouts also participate in the drive to improve health and nutrition in the community, especially children under five years of age. Acting as extension workers, they practice how to raise cattle, fish, breed hens and grow vegetables.
The Scout emblem incorporates the seed of the coconut palm, a common native Indonesian plant and all parts of which are used in Indonesian everyday life, symbolizing the philosophy of a true Scout, who must make him or herself useful in all aspects of life. The seed form represents the growing spirit, physical toughness, adaptability, and high aspiration of the Scout. The logo is in maroon.
Age groups.
Gerakan Pramuka is divided in two major educational groups: the member section and the adult section. The first is divided in further age-groups with different educational systems, the second provides the leaders and supports the younger members.
The age-groups are:
Awards.
Activities are mainly carried out to achieve advancement through the Syarat kecakapan Umum (SKU) or Advancement Badge and Syarat Kecakapan Khusus (TKK) or Merit Badge system. The highest rank in each age group is Pramuka Garuda (Eagle Scout).
Rover and Venture Scout Special Unit.
In Pramuka, there are Rover and Venture Scouts Special Units called "Satuan Karya" (SAKA). In those units, the Rovers and Ventures are able to learn various skills to be specialist that are useful for their future careers as well as to provide services to the community. There are ten different units:
Scout Promise (Tri Satya).
On My Honour, I promise that I will do my best to:
Councils.
Gerakan Pramuka operates and maintains 34 territorial councils ("kwartir provinsi") each corresponding to provincial borders and a National Council for top-level staff and employees.
National Special Scout Jamborees.
A National Special Scout Jamboree is held every five years for disabled Scouts. The seventh National Special Scouts Jamboree was held in 2007, in East Jakarta. The first jamboree of this sort to be held in Indonesia was in 1972.
International units in Indonesia.
In addition, there are American Boy Scouts in Jakarta and Balikpapan, linked to the Direct Service branch of the Boy Scouts of America, which supports units around the world.