The Woodcraft Folk
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The Woodcraft Folk is a UK-based educational movement for children and young people, and registered charity no. 1073665. The constitutional object of this youth organisation is "to educate and empower young people to be able to participate actively in society, improving their lives and others' through active citizenship."
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| Founders | Leslie Paul |
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| Type | Educational Charity No. 1073665 |
| Founded | 1925 |
| Headquarters | Units 9/10, 83 Crampton Street, London, SE17 3BF, UK |
| Origins | Kindred of the Kibbo Kift, Scouting and Cooperative movement |
| Staff | Chair of General Council: Lloyd Russell-Moyle General Secretary: Kirsty Palmer |
| Area served | United Kingdom |
| Focus | Environmentalism, Internationalism, Children's Rights, Cooperation and Peace |
| Method | Popular education and Scouting |
| Members | c. 25,000 |
| Motto | Education for Social Change; Span the World with Friendship |
| Website | www.woodcraft.org.uk |
| Member of International Falcon Movement - Socialist Education International | |
Contents |
[edit] History
Whilst sharing many of the same historical roots as the Scouting movement, The Woodcraft Folk's direct antecedent was the Kindred of the Kibbo Kift, an organisation led by ex-Scout Commissioner for Woodcraft and Camping John Hargrave, who had broken with what he considered to be the Scouts' militaristic approach in the years immediately after the First World War. The Woodcraft Folk was established by Leslie Paul in 1925 after the south London co-operative groups challenged Hargrave's authoritarian tendencies over his refusal to recognise a local group called "The Brockleything" and broke away from the Kindred. In its early days it was very similar to the Kibbo Kift, with a strong pagan and anti-capitalist emphasis, but gradually developed its own distinct ethos.
The name 'Woodcraft' was used by the influential writer and naturalist Ernest Thompson Seton at the turn of the twentieth century when setting up the American proto-scouting organisation Woodcraft Indians, and in this context meant the skill of living in the open air, close to nature.
In 2000 The Woodcraft Folk developed a birthday logo. There was much argument about which logo should be used on official publications, with the new square logo favoured for a long time by the Head Office. In 2008 Annual Conference the Woodcraft Folk voted to stop using the 75th logo and resort only to the round logo on official publications.
The history within the labour movement can be seen in the book produced by the Woodcraft Folk called Fashioning a New World which it commissioned for its 75th birthday. Other historical references exist, Cooperative Banners a book available from the Rochdale Pioneers museum contains banners of the Woodcraft Folk. The Woodcraft Folk historical records are held at the London School of Economics.
[edit] Philosophy
The official slogan of The Woodcraft Folk is Span the world with friendship, it also uses "Education for Social Change" in its publicity and also constitutional documents.
Woodcraft is not based upon any particular religious belief or national identity. The organisation welcomes all young people whether they have a religious background or none and much of its work emphasises the importance of international understanding and fellowship. The principles of peace and co-operation are therefore central to everything they do and they endeavour to develop members to have an understanding of some of the issues behind global poverty and conflict in the belief in fashioning a new, better world.
[edit] The Creed
The Woodcraft Folk's creed is traditionally said at the beginning of any group night or formal meeting. Each person raises their right hand and says in unison:
This shall be for a bond between us,
That we are of one blood you and I;
That we shall cry peace to all,
And claim kinship with every living thing;
That we hate War, Sloth and Greed,
And love fellowship.
And that we shall go singing to the fashioning of a new world.
There is an alternative to this, usually recited in younger groups such as Elfins (6-9). The words to this are as follows:
We will do our best to be healthy and happy,
To care for the world and everything in it.
We will work with our friends in Woodcraft Folk
To build a fair and peaceful world for everyone.
PEACE.
At the end of group nights everyone will link hands and sing the closing song:
Ish Ash Osh.
Link your hands together
A circle we make;
This bond of our friendship
No power can break.
Let's all sing together
In one mighty throng;
Should any be weary
We'll help them along;
Should any be weary
We'll help them along..
PEACE
Until relatively recently the creed ended with a cry of 'How' rather than 'Peace'. This has been changed because the pseudo-Native American origin (with the patronising attitude implicit in its use) of the word 'How' does not match Woodcraft's policy of respect for other cultures.
[edit] Decision Making
The Woodcraft Folk is a democratic organisation. Policies are decided at annual conference (Annual Gathering), attended by delegates from groups and local districts. Between Annual Gathering responsibility for running the organisation falls on the members of the General Council. The organisation states that they "are proud of the fact that about half of our current General Council are young people under 25 years of age".
The District Fellows (DFs) also have an annual decision making meeting, known as "Althing". This is normally held in October. They have an elected committee where each post is held for two years. Any District Fellow is able to attend and vote on the motions. This is not to say that they are totally independent from the main body of the Woodcraft Folk. District Fellows still have representatives at Annual Gathering, and decisions made there still apply.
[edit] Age Groups
Woodcraft Folk groups operate in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. In Wales the organisation is known as Gwerin y Coed. Groups generally meet weekly, their activities including co-operative games, drama, camping trips, craftwork, singing and dancing, as well as following an educational programme based on the organisation's aims and principles. Group nights last between one and two hours, depending on the age of the children or young people. Groups are divided by age.
[edit] Woodchips
Under six. The most recently established age group in the Woodcraft folk. Previously, under sixes were unofficially called Wood pigeons.
[edit] Elfins
Six to nine years old
[edit] Pioneers
Ten to twelve years old
[edit] Venturers
Thirteen to fifteen years old
Venturer events are held nationally every 3 years as well as regional events happening more often such as midnight ice skating in London or North London Venturer Camp. A National Venturer Camp is held every 3 years so every Venturer can go once. Each camp has an overarching theme and runs activities for the Venturers to attend. The last was held in 2008 at Drum Hill Scout Camp. The next one will be at a two, not three, year interval in 2010[1]. This is because it would otherwise conflict with the coming International Camp in 2011. This enables Venturers who were thirteen during the camp in 2008 to attend Venturer Camp twice - once aged thirteen and once fifteen. However there will be a Celtic camp for Scotland, Ireland and Wales in 2009 instead.
| Year | Theme | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Futures - fashioning a new world. | Drum Hill Scout Camp, Derby |
| 2008 | Anti-Apathy | Drum Hill Scout Camp, Derby |
| 2005 | Peace / Hiroshima Remembrance | Drum Hill Scout Camp, Derby |
| 2002 | Sustainability / Friendship | Woodcraft Park Farm, West Sussex |
| 1999 | Keswick, Lake District |
[edit] The District Fellows Movement
Sixteen to twenty years
The District Fellows Movement (DFs) operates both on a local group level and as a semi-autonomous movement within the Woodcraft Folk. The age group is largely run by DFs through the DF Committee. This organises three annual events together with the AGM - Althing - and three open committee meetings called Things.
DFs have their own website: Span That World. They also run their own campaigns. Current campaigns are fighting reckless nuclear development and raising awareness of sex trafficking in the UK.
[edit] Funding
The Woodcraft Folk is paid for by weekly subscription from children and young people, adult memberships paid yearly and groups pay annual national registration fees. The Woodcraft Folk has also from its start received substantial support from the Cooperative Movement and is part of Cooperatives UK
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Wikinews has related news: The Woodcraft Folk loses subsidy |
The Woodcraft Folk used to receive a yearly subsidy from the Department for Education and Skills. In 2005, however, the Woodcraft folk lost this grant. The department said that the organisation's claim for a grant lacked detail and that they did not have “sufficiently robust outcome indicators”, meaning that it did not represent a “good value for money”, although some members[who?] of Woodcraft Folk have claimed that the real reason the funding was stopped is the group's strong stance against the Iraq War. This was the first time in 40 years the organisation was denied funding by the department. The grant money provided a fifth of the funds that helped to pay for Woodcraft Folk's full-time staff and headquarters.
The Woodcraft Folk campaigned to get its funding back and before the May 2005 election was offered a seconded employee from the Department for Education and Skills starting in 2006 for a year and a return to limited funding the year after.
The Woodcraft Folk also receives sporadic funding from grant providers for project work it undertakes such as the London Training grant from the City Bridge Trust. Other recent grants include those for Global Village 2006 from the Department for International Development and the Cooperative Group and for the 18 month Climate Challenge project, C-Change, from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (see http://www.switchonswitchoff.org/).
[edit] Affiliations
[edit] International
Although a British organisation, it has sister organisations throughout the world, by being a part of the Brussels-based federation of progressive youth organisations, the International Falcon Movement - Socialist Education International (IFM-SEI).
The IFM-SEI links together like-minded progressive youth organisations in many parts of the world, though its strongest affiliates are in Western Europe and Latin-America. It has a secretariat based in Brussels. Tamsin Pearce, a former Woodcraft Folk Chair and former IFM-SEI Vice-President is the (elected) Secretary General. The Woodcraft Folk's former General Secretary - Andy Piercy sat on the Control Commission of IFM-SEI until 2007.
International camps where similar organisations can meet up and network are held every year in different countries. International camps take place in England every 5 to 6 years or so.
[edit] Voluntary sector
The Woodcraft Folk is affiliated to NCVO, National Council for Voluntary Organisations, and to the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations.
In the development education field, Woodcraft is an affiliate of the Development Education Association (DEA).
[edit] Youth service
The main youth ‘quango’ is the NYA, National Youth Agency, to which Woodcraft works closely. The Woodcraft Folk plays an active part in the voluntary youth service, mainly through the NCVYS (pronounced‘nik-vis’), the National Council for Voluntary Youth Service, which also includes groups such as The Scout Association and Girlguiding UK.
The Woodcraft Folk is affiliated to the British Youth Council, an umbrella body for youth councils and youth organisations across the UK. The current vice chair of BYC is Elle Dodd, a Woodcraft Folk member.
[edit] Co-operative movement
The Woodcraft Folk has since its founding had close links with the co-operative movement, and currently receives considerable financial support from various co-op bodies.
Co-operatives UK (formally the Co-operative Union) is the federation of all co-operatives in the UK. The Woodcraft Folk are members of Co-operatives UK and work closely with the Co-operatives UK's College.
The Co-operative College is based in Manchester and is managed by the Board of Management on behalf of the Co-operatives UK, Woodcraft Folk's former General Secretary - Andy Piercy currently sits on the board of the Cooperative College.
[edit] Peace movement
The Woodcraft Folk are members of the Stop the War Coalition and affiliated to the National Peace Council, the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) and work closely with many local CND branches.
[edit] Outdoor/environmental movements
Affiliations are held with the Ramblers Association (RA), and Woodcraft Folk have a close relationship with Youth Hostels Association (YHA) attending the AGM and other statutory meetings. Woodcraft Folk is affiliated to the Council for Environmental Education (CEE) and the The Central Council of Physical Recreation (UK) (CCPR).
The Forest School Camps (FSC) organisation, which organises democratically-run camps for children and young people, has very similar objectives to the Woodcraft Folk with shared historical links which continue today.
[edit] General Secretaries and Chairs
| Year | General Secretary | Chair of General Council |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Kirsty Palmer | Danny Rowe (Until September) / Lloyd Russell-Moyle (From September) |
| 2008 | Kirsty Palmer | Richard Lace (outgoing) / Danny Rowe (incoming) |
| 2007 | Kirsty Palmer / Andy Piercy (Retiring) | Richard Lace |
| 2006 | Chris Pyke (Acting) / Andy Piercy | Richard Lace |
| 2005 | Andy Piercy / Chris Pyke (Acting) | Jess Cawley |
| 2002 - 2004 | Andy Piercy | Tamsin Pearce |
| 1999 - 2002 | Andy Piercy | Jess Cawley |
[edit] Events
As well as smaller events organised by local and regional groups, the Woodcraft Folk also organise several larger camps. These include a camp for Venturers (see above) held every three years and an International Camp, usually held every five to six years.
The last such event, the Global Village Youth Festival of 2006, was the first in over 60 years to be held as an official IFM-SEI camp.
[edit] Woodcraft World
Woodcraft World is a seasonal members magazine that brings news from inside the Woodcraft Folk as well as worldwide news on events of interest to members of the Woodcraft Folk. The Woodcraft World Archives can be found on the Official Woodcraft Folk website.
[edit] See also
- District Fellows
- Sust’n’Able
- International Falcon Movement - Socialist Education International
- Woodcraft
- Woodcraft League of America
- Order of Woodcraft Chivalry
- Kibbo Kift
