Why Plast is changing its founding date to April 21

For many years, Plast—the National Scout Organization of Ukraine—celebrated its birthday on April 12, associated with the first Plast Scout Promise in 1912. Today, Plast is gradually transitioning to April 21 as its official founding date.

What changed?

Recent historical research shows that April 21, 1912 marks the earliest documented start of regular Plast activities. On that day, scouting meetings began at the Academic Gymnasium in Lviv under the leadership of Oleksander Tysovskyi.

Archival records confirm that:

• regular meetings and outdoor activities started on April 21;
• some of the first members formally joined Plast on that date.

This makes April 21 the most reliable documented beginning of Plast as an active scouting movement.

What about April 12?

The April 12 date likely appeared later due to secondary sources or editorial inaccuracies that were repeated over time and eventually became tradition.

While it was long associated with the first Scout Promise, the exact date of that event remains uncertain.

What does this mean today?

Plast is not rewriting its history, but clarifying it based on primary sources. The organization is now gradually adopting April 21 as its founding date, following recommendations from its leadership for all Plast communities worldwide.

Why it matters

For the global scouting community, this change reflects a shared value:
respect for historical accuracy and the roots of the Scout Method.

Plast, founded in 1912, remains one of the oldest scouting organizations in the world, continuing to develop young people through scouting principles and values.