Plast

Пласт — Національна Скаутська Організація України
The membership badge of Plast incorporates elements of the coat of arms of Ukraine
Location	Kyiv
Country	Ukraine
Founded	1911
Website http://www.plastscouting.org/

The Plast National Scout Organization of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Пласт Національна Скаутська Організація України, Plast Natsionalna Skautska Orhanizatsiia Ukrayiny), commonly called Ukrainian Plast or simply Plast, is the largest Scouting organization in Ukraine.

Plast was founded in Lviv, Austro-Hungarian Galicia in 1911 as the Ukrainian Scout Organization. Ukrainian Scouting has been known since its inception as "Plast". In Ukrainian a plastun is an historical name for a Cossack scout and serviceman. The founder of Ukrainian Scouting, Dr. Oleksander Tysovsky, affectionately known as "Drot," adapted the universal Scout principles to the needs and interests of Ukrainian youth.

Born during great social and political upheavals in Europe, Ukrainian Plast came into being to fulfill specific national aims, unlike other Scout organizations. The first Scout troops were formed in Lviv (Lwów, Lemberg) in 1911, then a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, by Petro Franko and Ivan Chmola. Plast is generally deemed to have been officially founded by Dr. Oleksander Tysovsky on 12 April 1912, at the Lviv Academic Gymnasium.

Scouting spread rapidly to the other cities and towns, and by 1913 the first Supreme Scout Council had been formed and the first handbook published. The same year, the Orhanizatsiyniy Plast Komitet was formed in Lviv by Plast groups from different regions, and the first hiking camp was organized.

By 1916, its membership exceeded 10,000, and it was a fully developed and functioning organization, consisting of separate branches of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides. Ukrainian Plast held regular camps for Cubs, Scouts and Rovers, training courses for leaders, and produced a variety of Scout publications, including a Ukrainian translation of 'Scouting for Boys'.

Shortly after its founding, World War I brought about the collapse of the two powers occupying ethnic Ukrainian territory, Austria-Hungary and tsarist Russia, and the formation of the Ukrainian National Republic in 1918. The subsequent years witnessed a great upswing in Scouting, as it spread into the towns and communities where it had been previously unknown, mainly in the newly freed central provinces of Ukraine. Hundreds, if not thousands, of boys, inspired by the ideals of service to God and Country which Scouting engenders, volunteered to join the armed forces, fighting on several fronts, and many gave their lives.