BOY AND GIRL SCOUTS

As we noted previously, almost from the very beginning of its existence Ukrainian Plast was open to both boys and girls. During the cub-scout and scout ages, the genders work in separate troops, but they belong to the same local council.

THE LOCAL PLAST COUNCILS

The local councils are called "stanyci". They can be big, or small depending upon the locality; large cities, such as Lviv, Kyiv, or Ternopil, have very large "stanyci" with thousands of members.

A "stanycia" is divided into male and female "koshi", and separate units of seniors and "Plast-prylat".

We want to note here, that the various names ("kureni", "stanyci", "koshi", etc.) are traditional and historic, all taken from the Ukrainian history, particularly from the Kozak and Hetman Periods.

COUNTRY-WIDE AND WORLD-WIDE PLAST ORGANIZATIONS

All Plast councils are united in the Country Plast Organization, which is run by a "Kraieva Plastova Starshyna" (Country Plast General Staff) and a "Kraieva Rada" (a Country-wide Plast Council). They are elected usually for two years.

All Plast organizations in the world are loosely united in the Conference of Ukrainian Plast Organizations (KUPO). Currently, the Plast organizations in the following countries are full members of KUPO: Ukraine, USA, Canada, Argentina, Australia, Germany, Great Britain, Poland and Slovakia. There exist also small Plast organizations in Brazil, Lithuania, Latvia, and Kazakhstan, but they have only observer status in KUPO.

DEMOCRACY IN PLAST

Democracy is a cornerstone of the Plast organization. All positions, from those in a small troop of scouts or cub-scouts to those in the world-wide KUPO are filled by elected members.

A great deal of effort is extended to teach the young children how to elect their leaders and how to fulfill the duties of such positions, as: leader, vice-leader, secretary, treasurer, program-chairman, archivist, etc. Children are taught responsibility, honesty, integrity, trust. This is a part of the total Plast approach to education—through self-education.

PLAST PUBLICATIONS

Because Plastuny are spread out over many countries in the whole wide world, printed publications are of special importance. There exist separate Plast journals for cub-scouts ("Hotuis"), scouts ("Yunak"), older scouts ("Plastovyi Shliakh") and for scoutmasters who work with children of the cub and scout ages. These publications are world-wide. In addition, there are many country-wide, local, and "kurin" publications. For example, Plast in Ukraine publishes a magazine called "Tsvit Ukrainy" ("The flower of Ukraine").

Also, there are numerous Plast handbooks and other literature, as well as Plast records, tapes, videos, films, games, etc.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE PLAST METHODOLOGY

The principle of self-education is, of course, part of the general methodology of scouting. In general, the educational methodology of Plast is built upon the methodology of scouting. it includes such elements as: troop-methods ("gangs"), camping, learning through game playing, scouting in nature, good deeds, building of personal integrity, self-reliance, etc. We shall have much more to say about this subject in one of our later issues.

Similarly to other Scout organizations, the cubs and scouts in Plast have to pass through a series of "trials", which get more and more difficult with age. Based upon successful completion of these tests, they attain higher and higher ranks. For example, the scouts are first trial members, then members, then pathfinders, then eagles, and finally "hetman-eagles" .

In addition, they compete for various merit badges which give them specialized skills in various areas. There are also separate troops of sea scouts and air-scouts.

PLAST MUSEUMS, AND ARCHIVES

Plast has a long and glorious history, of which its members are justifiably very proud. Thus, it is no wonder that Plastuny try to preserve it — in numerous Plast museums, archives and libraries. Thus, for example, the history of Plast in the diaspora is being preserved in a museum-archive in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

In Ukraine, Plast museums are also being formed. Of particular interest is the "living" outdoors museum at the Plast camp "Sokil" in the Carpathian Mountains, the site of the first, early scouting camps in Ukraine.

LINKS TO UKRAINIAN SCOUTING-PLAST