Australia's multicultural communities are helping change the face of a childhood institution.
The global Scouting movement has caught a new wave, finding common ground in the diversity of family values and creating history in the state of Victoria.
(Sounds of Scouting vows ... fade under)
It is a promise made by Victoria's first all-Muslim Cubs Scout group.
An Islamic school in Melbourne's suburban Coburg has adopted the program as a way to let its students mix with children from other groups.
The school's director general, Salah Salman, says it felt natural to choose the Scouts as an extracurricular activity for his students - "It's part of our program in here to encourage students to be part of the whole nation, and not the whole nation, the whole world. It Is a world program, and, to reach out, they need to be educated, to take risks and adventure, and to reach out for themselves. And we encourage them to do that."
Salah Salman says the need to believe in a Greater Being, as a spiritual element in Scouts, resonates with the values of the Islamic school.
Across the country, membership numbers in the Scouts have grown by nearly 20 per cent to about 70,000 people in the last decade.
It is a stark contrast to how the now global Scout movement began back in 1907 in England, with just 21 boys.
Scouts Victoria's chief commissioner, Brendan Watson, says the change is encouraging - "In days gone by, we were probably more white Anglo-Saxon and, traditionally, only male to start with. We're coeducational, and we're more multicultural, as well as multi-faith, multi-denominational. That's really important, because that reflects the community that Victoria is."
Brendan Watson says he is seeing more and more multicultural groups form.
He says the range now includes Coptic, Catholic, Vietnamese, Chinese and Indigenous groups besides this first all-Muslim group based at the school - "It's a real privilege and honour to be part of this group, because it is a first. And, look, I think the school wanted their students to be involved in something more, and I think a lot of parents do nowadays. And the push from parents, I think, was the litmus (test), as well as the teachers, and they recognised that they wanted their young people to have a wide outlook."
Mr Watson says, as a result, young people are starting to teach and learn from one another and, through that process, be more accepting - "It's critically important that we are a diverse and inclusive organisation, because that then reflects what young people's views are when they go out into the world. Scouting is about understanding, it's about treating people with dignity and respect. And, if we can engender that at a young age, well, we'll have better communities in Victoria, right across Victoria."
For the children, the idea of meeting new people is filled with mixed thoughts - (First:) "It kind of makes me a bit nervous, but, at the same time, it's going to be fun." (Second:) "Well, I feel good. Like, I'm meeting new people to interact with."
And, there are some things that are shared more commonly - (First:) "We like about how we communicate with the others and how we play with them." (Second:) "Um, it's actually ... it's a lot of responsibility being a leader, and you might think it's easy but it's not."
Rasha Ahmed put her three boys in the school's Scout group to encourage them to practise and demonstrate their values.
She says it is an eye-opening experience for people on all ends of the spectrum - "It's great for other children to see, and from the wider community that they will get to interact with, to see that they have values themselves, they have principles, they do have the care and the compassion, they integrate very well, they speak the same language. And it's not only about what's apparent, it's more about what we practise and how we give to the community."
