| Vereeniging Nederlandsch Indische Padvinders | |
| Location: | Papandajanlaan 75 Bandung |
| Country: | Dutch East Indies |
| Governance: | De Nederlandsche Padvinders, Het Nederlands Padvindstersgilde |
Vereeniging Nederlandsch Indische Padvinders (NIPV) (English: Association of Dutch Indies Pathfinders) was the national Scouting organization in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). This was founded in 1916 and had a boys and girls branch.
Scouting came to Indonesia in 1912, as branch of the Nederlandsche Padvinders Organisatie (NPO, Netherlands Pathfinder Organisation), the first Dutch Scouting organization. The NPO was open to both boys and girls. In 1916 in the Netherlands the "Nederlandsche Padvinders Organisatie" and the "Nederlandsche Padvinders Bond" (NPB) merged to form "De Nederlandsche Padvinders" (NPV). The NPV was boys only. De Dutch East Indies branch remamed to the Vereeniging Nederlandsch Indische Padvinders (NIPV, Association of Dutch Indies Pathfinders), but stayed open for boys and girls.[1]
As the Dutch East Indies, Indonesia had been a branch of the Netherlands Scout Association, yet Scouting was very popular, and had achieved great numbers and standards.[2]
The NIPV consisted of two parts, the "Padvindersbond" (Scouts' Union) for the boys and the "Meisjesgilde" (Girls' Guild) for the girls. A number of organisations were affiliated to NIPV, in 1934: