In English

Everything is possible in Guiding and Scouting

Guiding and Scouting is a wonderful means of learning new things about nature, yourself, other people and your own living environment. You get to pick up new things by doing them yourself instead of reading about them in books. Scouting is all about doing things together: hiking, skiing, canoeing, sailing, practising first aid, making crafts and honing your woodcraft skills in the great outdoors. Scouting is a hobby where each individual can truly make a difference!

Scouting is for everyone

Everyone is welcome to join Guiding and Scouting! Anyone who is 7 years of age or older is free to join and there is no maximum age limit. The essence of Scouting is engaging in a diverse assortment of activities together with others and interacting with a wide variety of people. Where you come from is not important. All you need is a willingness to get involved. In addition to smaller events, Guides and Scouts hold large-scale events and camps. They provide an amazing opportunity to meet your peers from all over Finland and the world. There are 38 million Guides and Scouts in 200 countries worldwide. The Guides and Scouts of Finland is the largest youth organisation in the country with a whopping 65,000 members.

Find out more about our values, objectives and programme click here

Scouting is about doing things together

Guides and Scouts operate in local groups (”lippukunta” in Finnish), which are situated around the country. The local groups are communities of children, youths and adults that work together to plan and implement various kinds of Guiding and Scouting activities. The different age groups within the local groups usually meet once a week at their designated premises. The children’s groups are led by adults, but in the youth groups, the leaders are only a few years older than the group members. The local group itself is led by an adult with the help of a number of willing youths and adults. Every group leader is trained for his or her tasks.

The Helsinki Metropolitan Area Guides and Scouts (abbreviated PäPa) is an association for all the guides and scouts in the the local troops and their members from the cities of Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa.

The guides and scouts organize many kinds of events and camps, scout skill competitions and many types of training in their area. All of this supports the scouting activities in the local troops. All together, 1 000 000 hours of volunteer work is conducted every year in the troops of PäPa!

That’s really something!

In guiding and scouting youngsters enthusiastically plan their own activities and carry them out. In fact, with its 10 000 members, PäPa is the largest youth organization in the Helsinki metropolitan area.

PäPa is also one of the ten scouting districts in the Guides and Scouts of Finland. This means that through the national association, all the guides and scouts of PäPa belong to the worldwide scouting movement. A city, a forest or even the entire world can serve as the adventure grounds for guides and scouts.

Volunteering for Scouts and Guides

Guiding and Scouting is also an excellent hobby for adults.
What can you do in scouting?
  • help in organizing camps and weekend trips to the woods
  • help in leading groups or lead groups (eg. once a week/ once in two weeks 3 hours)
  • help with the support functions such as running the organization, baking for the Christmas sale, cooking at the weekend trip, organizing activities for the leaders, participating in the community effort,  help to develop the local group’s communication channels or websites etc.
  • participate in big projects such as development projects or big camps
What do you get from scouting?
  • possibility to do good
  • possibility to support young people in their personal growth either working with them directly or indirectly by working in the support functions
  • bunch of new friends and a community
  • new experiences and wilderness skills
  • support to work in their own role from peers, trainings and courses
  • possibility for self-development in the long run

How to join the scouts?

All children from the age of 7, youngsters or adults can become scouts or guides!

If you want to join us, contact our office

e-mail: paakaupunkiseutu( @ )partio.fi or phone: 09-8865 1200.