Girls’ World Forum – what happened next?!

It’s about a year to the day since we returned from the epic Girls’ World Forum.  I thought you might like to know what happened next.  

The other day I took part in the official close of the Girls’ World Forum (GWF), one year on, via a webinar with other participants and delegates from around the world.  Since the end of the Forum, we have kept in touch, thanks to the joys of social media, including numerous Facebook groups and Twitter hashtags. 

The GWF was a unique meeting of minds from around the world, all united by the Guiding and Girl Scouting promises which we have all made within our organisations.  WAGGGS has 145 member countries, at the time of writing, with 10 million members across the world.  I relay that mind-blowing statistic at every available opportunity, to young members including Brownies, Guides and Senior Section, and to other interested parties, such as the parents who attended a recent information meeting for a forthcoming Brownie and Guide holiday.  I think to some people, Guiding is still ‘what Sophie / Olivia / <insert appropriate Brownie name> does on a Monday, or a Tuesday, or <insert whichever day is relevant>'; it is crucial that we convey what our members are part of, on a global scale, to those who are interested.  And also to those who are not interested – let’s make them interested! I am really very much in need of Brownie and Guide Leaders to enable my units to develop and to grow.  Across the country, we have giant lists of girls who want to join, and not enough Leaders.  So why not find out more about it? You don’t have to live and breathe Guiding, it can be accommodated into your routine.  Visit www.girlguiding.org.uk for more details about what you could be part of.

But moving back to what I'm meant to be writing about.  

The purpose of the Girls' World Forum was for delegations to go home with a ‘Take Action’ project to deliver within their organisation.  Amy and Issi, our two fantastic delegates, were particularly struck by our national lack of women in senior positions within government. 

The GWF focussed on three Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), relating to poverty, the empowerment of women, and environmental sustainability.  Whilst the delegates were trained in the issues associated with these goals, we chaperones were trained in how to facilitate and support the delegates to achieve their aims.  As you’ll have seen if you read this blog whilst we were in the US last year, I had a fascinating time meeting chaperones from across the world, sharing experiences, talking about the challenges we face and learning about how we can work effectively with our young people to bring about change. 

Amy and Issi formulated a draft plan whilst we were at the GWF, deciding which MDG they wanted to focus on.  Their ideas continued to evolve and develop in the months after we returned to the UK. 

Amy, Issi and I presented our experiences to the Guiding Development Committee in November, which was attended by the Chief Guide Gill Slocombe, Girlguiding’s International Commissioner Caroline Davis and many others.  It was wonderful to hear about the impact the GWF had on the delegates and I was so proud of them.  They then spent the day developing their ideas with Jen Buche, Project Coordinator for Programme, and I dashed to my Dad’s 80^th Birthday celebration!

I subsequently met with Jen Buche at Girlguiding Headquarters, after a run-in with an angry squirrel in St James’ Park on the way.  I don’t trust squirrels.  They look so innocent, but have vicious teeth.  Be aware.

We talked about the girls’ ideas and about how to take it forward.  It had been agreed that we could develop a Go For It.  If you’re not a Guide Leader, this won’t mean a lot, so let me explain.  In a Guide unit, patrols choose challenges called ‘Go For Its’ which they work towards during a number of ‘patrol times’.  There are a plethora of Go For Its for the patrols to choose from, ranging from old favourites such as ‘Go For It Glamorama’, to quirky new ones such as ‘Go For It Streets Ahead’ – you can see the full list of GFIs here. 

The process of developing our ‘Go For It’ then began, with various meetings with the four of us, where we worked out who was going to write which sections.  Many e-mails passed between us over the subsequent months – ideas, suggestions, reminders.  Gradually, we developed the content, all around the theme of encouraging girls to live a political life and to make their voices heard locally and beyond.  We wrote activities about characteristics of a good leader, famous women, political engagement, how government works, lobbying etc., then shared our ideas with each other, constantly commenting and developing. 

We had lengthy discussions about the name of the GFI; we wanted something which would appeal to the Guide age-group; a name which was appealing but at the same time would indicate the serious subject matter.  We went through hundreds of options, with the help of the CHQ staff who made suggestions.  Eventually, Go for It ‘Be the Change’ was born and it will soon be available for you to download from the Girlguiding website.  It is now in its very final stages of production, along with a lovely badge which the delegates’ helped to design.

So, the delegates' Take Action plan is complete.  We can’t wait to see what happens once the resource is downloadable and Guides start working on the activities.  If you are a Guide Leader, be sure to download it and tell your unit about it.  Tell everyone in your District, your Division, your County.  These girls are the future, and we need to seriously address the political gender imbalance and encourage our girls and young women to get involved in politics at all levels, to make their voices heard, to stand up and represent people.  No pressure, but it is up to you.

There is going to be an article about GFI Be The Change in the next Guiding magazine, so look out for it, and spread the word!

Thank you to everyone who supported us with the Girls’ World Forum, especially to Caroline Davis.  It has been a great adventure and it was a privilege to be the Chaperone for two amazing young members of Girlguiding.  Developing the Go For It was an exciting process, and I can’t wait to hear about Guides’ experiences of being the change!

Helen Beecher Bryant

Chaperone - Girlguiding delegation to the Girls’ World Forum 2012

Twitter: @Helen_B_B