Winston Adams, elected to the Africa Scout Committee

Mr Winston Adams, an icon in the Scouting Movement in Africa, was elected as a member of the Africa Scout Committee. No better time to get to know more about this South African born humble Scout with an international Scouting legacy of note.

Summary of Scouting career:

1949: Joined Scouts when he was 9

1954:  Attended his first South African Jamboree in Kimberley, South Africa

1961-1968: Was a teacher prior to leaving this profession for the Scouting Movement.

1968: Became the Field Worker for the then Coloured Scout Association in South Africa and later for the combined Scout Association in the Western Cape.

1975: Part of the 1st Special National Scout Council meeting striving to amalgamate the 4 different Scout Associations

1978: Responsible for the logistics for the 1st Combined National Scout Council meeting of the Boy Scouts of South Africa.

1982:  Appointed Area Secretary of the Western Cape and Coordinator of the Western Cape Development Programme.

1990: Assigned by WOSM to Namibia for 6 months to set up their National Scout office

1990: Appointed Honorary Secretary to the Southern Zone of the Africa Region.

1996: Appointed Director World Scout Conference 1999 hosted by South Africa. He was also part of the bidding team in 1993.

2000 – 2009: Appointed the Director of the Cape Town Operations Centre for Southern Africa, with responsibility for 10 countries and as such an employee of WOSM.

2002: Appointed a member of the World Scouts Event Unit – Part of the Advisory board and assigned to assist with the organisation of the 2003 World Jamboree in Thailand. He lived in Geneva and Bangkok for this assignment.

2005: Represented the World Scout Events Unit at the Marakesh+10 meeting in Bangalore, India; Inspected the site of the 2006 EuroJam that was later also used as the venue for the 2007 Scouting Centenary Jamboree.

2008:  Inspected the World Jamboree site in Japan and attended the World Scout conference in Korea.

2008 – 2009: Appointed Acting Regional Director for Africa.

2009: Retired after 42 years as a Scout Professional.

2010/2011: Member of the Advisory Panel for the World Scout Jamboree in Sweden.

Currently:

  • Member of the Africa Scout Committee
  • Chairperson for the Honours and Awards Sub Committee for the Africa Region and a member of the Africa Scout Foundation.

Mr Adams has been to 8 World Scout Conferences as a member of staff and has advised for many Jamborees.

Awards:

  • Silver Protea, South Africa (1991)
  • Order of the African Elephant, Africa Region (1998)
  • Silver Fox, Scouts Canada (2008)