Who we are

KISC Association & Foundation

The 'Scouts International Home' Association was founded with the Centre in 1923 and has since then developed into the 'Kandersteg International Scout Centre' Association.

The Association currently has over 600 members in almost 50 countries worldwide. The Association is a non-political, non-profit and non-denominational organisation (see the Statutes of KISC Association). The members range from individuals to National Scout Organisations or businesses. Being an Association Member means contributing to the development of young people by enabling KISC to run its operations. Download the latest Annual KISC Association report in English and German.

General Assembly

The General Assembly of the KISC Association is open to all its members and is held every two years at KISC  to decide the overall direction of the Centre. 

During this meeting, we report on the operations of the past years, approve the accounts, elect members of the Committee, and take strategic and governance decisions. The last General Assembly was held in 2022.

Committee 

The Committee currently consists of 18 people and can include up to 3 additional co-opted members for specific work.

Every four years, during the General Assembly, Members of the Association elect 12 Members of the Committee - six National Scout Organisation representatives and six individual members. Four seats are fixed for respective bodies. The Committee is responsible for reviewing the Centre on a regular basis and aiding in the development and future policies of the Centre.

Policies

Over 12’000 Scouts and Guides visit Kandersteg International Scout Centre every year.

The success of the Centre is based on many factors, and a crucial one is the ability to keep scouts safe from harm. To ensure the Centre's commitment to creating a safe environment for children and young people, the KISC Association Committee has compiled several documents and policies that address potential risks to keeping our guests and staff safe from any harm. They are developed, maintained and updated individually, with the aim of contributing to the overall safety of our guests and staff at the Centre.

Safe from Harm Policy

Read more about the contents of the Safe from Harm Policy here:

• Risk Management Policy 
• Child Safeguarding Policy
• Alcohol Policy (Guests)
• Alcohol Policy (Staff) – an internal document
• KISC General rules (Staff) – an internal document
• Kitchen Hygiene Policy – an internal document

Environmental Policy

Our Environmental Policy is designed to minimise our impact on the environment, locally or globally (i.e., reducing harmful emissions from our buildings and vehicles). Our Environmental Team, also composed of Long and Short Term Staff, regularly analyses and audits our performance, giving ideas on how to lessen our impact. Read more about it here.

Privacy Policy

Kandersteg International Scout Centre considers your privacy of the utmost importance, and we take due care of your data's security, integrity and confidentiality. Information about what type of data we collect from you, what we are using it for and where we store it can be found in our Privacy Policy. 

Code of Ethics 

Purpose 

This Code of Ethics (CoE) aims to ensure that everyone who contributes to the KISC Centenary celebrations is treated with respect, dignity, and equality, without prejudice or discrimination. 

Correlation with the Sustainable Development Goals: 

This CoE responds to two Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): 

• SDG 10: Less Inequalities 
• SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions 

Context in Scouting 

Scouting is based on a system of values and ethics. Our founder, Robert Baden-Powell (BP), wanted everyone to be equal. For example: 

• We wear a uniform so that there are no social class differences between us. 
• Scouting and Guiding are for everyone equally, regardless of faith, race or nationality. 

This was quite radical in the early 20th century because class differences were very evident, there was no equality between men and women, and there was a lot of racial and religious prejudice. 

Thus, B.P. incorporated equality into our Movement. Whichever national version of the Scout Law we obey, we promise to respect ourselves and others and treat other Scouts as brothers and sisters in a global family. We promise to be a friend to others and that they can trust us. 

Why have a Code of Ethics? 

We live in a world where ethics remain an ideal that is not always achieved, even among Scouts. Different countries have different cultures and attitudes towards equality. Have different laws and customs. Even where laws protect people from specific actions, some people do not respect them or violate them. 

Thus, it is necessary to become clear to everyone that BP's vision of Scouting being a movement of values and ethics it's a norm in KISC. 

What does this mean in practice? 

Code of Ethics is that: 

• Every Scout of any age group should be treated with equal respect and dignity, regardless of personal characteristics and social, racial, religious, or ethnic background. 
• Every Scout should have equal opportunities to participate in all aspects of KISC Centenary, provided their safety is guaranteed. 
• No one in KISC Centenary shall be allowed to discriminate against or express prejudice against anyone because of their personal characteristics and social, racial, religious, or ethnic background. 

This means: 

• No sexism. 
• No racism. 
• No ageism. 
• No anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, or other religious prejudice. 
• No homophobia or transphobia. 
• No discrimination against people with disabilities or mental illness. 
• No discrimination based on social class. 

To ensure that a Code of Ethics is followed, it is accompanied by a Code of Conduct.