King Carl XVI Gustaf asks birthday gifts to be donated to Scout movement

King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden has asked for his birthday gifts to be donated to the Scout movement.

The King will celebrate his 80th birthday on 30 April. Ahead of his birthday, he has started a new foundation which will distribute grants and support to develop scouting activities in Sweden and the world. The foundation is called King Carl XVI Gustaf’s 80th Anniversary Foundation for the Scout Movement.

The King has been a scout since childhood. He has been the honorary chairman of the World Scout Foundation since 1977.

In an interview with the Scouts, he said, “I have had the opportunity to meet young people who come from less privileged areas and who I have not really come into contact with before, and I feel that the need is everywhere. And there is just as great a need here in Sweden as there is in other places in the world. I have come very close to the young people and seen what they have been able to get out of scouting and how they have improved.”

“That’s probably where I got my environmental mindset from, which I got from scouting – to protect nature and to be careful. That was a lot of what scouting was about at the time. You learned a lot of practical things about how to behave in nature, which I’ve had with me my whole life, out in the mountains or when you’re out in the forest. It’s stuck with me somehow.

“I hope scouting will be more visible and accepted as an additional educational platform alongside school, which cannot handle all aspects and take care of all children with different needs. Here is another way to become confident in yourself, to be able to trust yourself and build your self-esteem.”