International Union of Guides and Scouts of Europe

International Union Of Guides And Scouts Of Europe

The International Union of the Guides and Scouts of Europe (Union Internationale des Guides et Scouts d’Europe, UIGSE; also known as Union Internationale des Guides et Scouts d′Europe – Fédération du Scoutisme Européen, UISGE-FSE, or simply as Fédération du Scoutisme Européen, FSE) is a traditional faith-based Scouting organization with 20 member associations in 17 European countries and also in Canada, serving roughly 65,000 members. The organization, headquartered in France, was founded in 1956 by a group of German and French Roman Catholic Scoutmasters as a faith-based Scouting movement, in order to reconcile the European peoples in the aftermath of the Second World War.

In the Member organizations both boys and girls can be members, but are strictly separated in all age groups, except sometimes in the Beavers. Member organizations are preferably single faith, local groups must be single faith, most are Roman Catholic.

The Confederation of European Scouts (CES) is a split off of the UIGSE, it left after controversies about the importance of religious elements in the single associations' programs and co-education.