The Scouting[童子军] Association[协会] is over 100 years old and is now a world-wide movement involving[使参与] more than 28 million members in 216 countries. It has had to change with the times， but the association has never lost sight of its aim to provide young people with opportunities for adventure and self-development.

The Scouting Association was founded by Robert Baden Powell，a lieutenant-general[中将] in the British Army， who organised the first Scout competition on Brownsea Island off the south coast of England in 1907. A year later， he set out[陈述] his vision of an outdoors programme for young people in a book called Scouting for Boys then， in 1912， he formed The Scout Association. Scouting remained a boys-only activity until 1972.

Today there are five sections within The Scouting Association， open to girls and boys：

童子军拥有超过一百年历史，现今有216个国家、超过2800万人参加了这一全球性活动。虽然它必须与时俱进，但童子军永远不会失去自身的目标：为青少年提供冒险与自我发展的机会。

童子军由英国陆军中将罗伯特·贝登堡创立。1907年，罗伯特·贝登堡在英格兰南海岸的白浪岛组织了第一次童子军竞赛。一年后，他在一本名为《童军警探》的书中描绘了一个为年轻人设计的户外项目的愿景。接着，1912年，他组建了童子军。直到1972年，童子军还是一个只有男孩才能参与的群体活动。

今天的童子军对男孩和女孩开放，由以下五个部分组成：