WAGGGS

World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts

World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
Headquarters	Pax Lodge, London
Country	145 countries worldwide
Founded	1928
Founder	Robert Baden-Powell
Membership	10 million
Website www.wagggs.org
Scouting portal

The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS ) is a global association supporting the female-oriented and female-only Guiding and Scouting organizations in 145 countries. It was established in 1928 in Parád, Hungary, and has its headquarters in London, England. It is the counterpart of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM). WAGGGS is organized into five regions and operates four international Guiding centers. It holds full member status in the European Youth Forum (YFJ), which operates within the Council of Europe and European Union areas and works closely with these bodies.

Mission

            The mission of the WAGGGS is to enable girls and young women to develop their fullest potential as responsible citizens of the world. WAGGGS provides a non-formal educational program that provides training in life skills, leadership and decision making. It also offers projects and programs at an international level that enable Girl Guides and Girl Scouts to be responsible world citizens through action and activity in the community.

WAGGGS is run by women for girls and young women. Girl Guides and Girl Scouts are trained in leadership and decision-making, and are encouraged to participate in the governance and leadership of WAGGGS. Each individual unit is democratically run with Girl Guides and Girl Scouts actively involved in leadership and in decision making.

Girl Guiding/Girl Scouting is open to all girls and young women without distinction of creed, race, nationality, or any other circumstance. WAGGGS believes that the education of girls, and the education of boys, includes education for equal partnership. Young men and young women are taught to recognize their differences and their similarities, and to respect each other as individuals.

Girl Guiding/Girl Scouting is a voluntary organisation that relies on over 100,000 volunteers around the world to implement programs for Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, and to give girls and young women support and leadership. There are over 10 million Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 145 countries. Girl Guides and Girl Scouts from around the world can meet each other at international events at one of the four World Centers.

There are many opportunities to attend international events run by the United Nations or other non-governmental organizations on behalf of the Association. The WOSM is the non-governmental organization (NGO), that represents the Scouting movement at the United Nations.The WOSM and WAGGGS both have General Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

History

Girl Guides were formed in 1910 by Robert Baden-Powell, with the assistance of his sister Agnes Baden-Powell. After his marriage in 1912, his wife Olave Baden-Powell took a leading role in the development of Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting.

As the movement spread, independent national Guiding associations were set up; however, a need for international cooperation was felt. Lady Baden-Powell founded an informal International Council in London in February 1918. At the fourth World Conference held at Camp Edith Macy in 1926, representatives from several countries suggested the formation of a World Association to take the place of the informal International Council. After the 1926 International Conference the Baden-Powells were approached about setting up a formal association and in 1928 the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts was founded at the 5th International Conference held in Parád, Hungary. Rose Kerr was Vice Chairman, later Commissioner for Tenderfoot Countries. From 1930 to 1939 WAGGGS occupied a room at the headquarters of the British Girl Guide Association, until it moved to 9 Palace Street, next door to Our Ark.

In 1920, two leaders from each known Guide country were invited to the British County Commissioners Conference held at Saint Hugh's College, Oxford. This became known as the First International Conference. The 13th World Conference was held in the same college in 1950. The member organizations continue to meet every three years (initially every two years) at World Conferences.

List of Chief Executives

• 1928–1928: Rose Kerr
• 1929–1929: Esther Welmoet Wijnaendts Francken-Dyserinck
• 1930–1934: Helen Storrow
• 1935–1936: Marie Dillner
• 1936–1946: Marie Thérèse de Kerraoul
• 1946–1948: Nadine Corbett
• 1948–1950: Ethel J. Newton
• 1950–1952: Sylvi Visapää
• 1952–1957: Helen Means
• 1957–1960: Estelle Romaine Bernadotte
• 1960–1966: Dora Lykiardopoulo
• 1966–1969: Mary Nesbitt
• 1969–1972: Marjorie M. Culmer
• 1972–1975: Beryl Cozens-Hardy
• 1975–1981: Joyce Price
• 1981–1984: Helen M. Laird
• 1984–1987: Doris Stockmann
• 1987–1990: Odile Bonte
• 1990–1993: Barbara Hayes
• 1993–1996: Doris Riehm
• 1996–1999: Heather Brandon
• 1999–2002: Ginny Radford
• 2002–2005: Kirsty Gray
• 2005–2008: Elspeth Henderson
• 2008–2011: Margaret Treloar
• 2011–2014: Nadine El Achy
• since 2014: Nicola Grinstead

  World regions

  
  
  The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts has offices in five regional divisions:
  

    WAGGGS-Europe Region

    WAGGGS-Arab Region

    WAGGGS-Africa Region

    WAGGGS-Asia Pacific Region

    WAGGGS-Western Hemisphere Region

    There is no WAGGGS Region corresponding to the World Organization of the Scout Movement Eurasian Region; post-Soviet nations are divided between the WAGGGS-Europe Region and the WAGGGS-Asia Pacific Region

    grey areas such as Laos and Cuba have no Scouting
  The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts has five regions: Europe, Arab, Africa, Asia and Western Hemisphere.

  World Centres

  WAGGGS operates four World Centres that offer training programmes, activities and lodging for girls and leaders, as well as members of some other groups and independent travellers. Activities are primarily focused on international friendship and cooperation, personal development and leadership training, enjoyment and service. The Friends of the Four World Centres organisation supports and promotes the centres.
  The four World Centres are:
• Our Chalet, in Adelboden, Switzerland; opened in 1932.
• Pax Lodge, in Hampstead, London, England; current location opened in 1990. It is actually London's third World Centre; the first was Our Ark, opened in 1937, which was renamed Olave House on its 25th anniversary.
• Our Cabaña, in Cuernavaca, Mexico; opened in 1957.
• Sangam, in Pune, Maharashtra, India; opened in 1966.

A new centre, Kusafiri, meaning “to journey” in Swahili, was announced in 2015. Unlike the other centres it will be a roving centre and exist for a fixed period of time in different places with a particular theme in Africa. While testing the idea, starting in 2012, the country organizations involved include Ghana, South Africa, Rwanda, Kenya, Nigeria, and Benin. Focuses so far have included “Stopping the Violence” training in Rwanda and developing entrepreneurial leaders among others.

World Trefoil

WAGGGS membership badge

          Miss Kari Aas designed the World Trefoil emblem that was adopted at the World Conference in 1930, a gold trefoil on a blue background.

The three leaves represent the three duties and the three parts of the promise, the two five point-stars stand for the promise and the law and the vein in the centre represents the compass needle showing the right way. The base of the trefoil stands for the flame of the love of humanity and the colours blue and gold represent the sun shining over all children in the world.

The World Badge, incorporating the trefoil, was first adopted at the 11th World Conference in Evian, France in 1946.

The World Association Badge, similar in design to the World Badge, was first adopted at the 7th World Conference in Bucze, near Górki Wielkie in Poland, in 1932. It is worn by members of the World Board, its Committees, World Bureau and World Centre staff.