Established in 1927, the World Board, originally World Committee, is a governing board for the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). Today, it is made up of seventeen active members of WAGGGS, all of whom are elected democratically by all member organizations at the World Conference. Of the seventeen, five are representatives of each of the five regions of WAGGGS - the Arab Region, the Western Hemisphere Region, the European Region, the Africa Region, and the Asia Pacific Region. These regional representatives are elected at the Regional Conferences.
The World Committee of nine was increased to twelve in 1963 and the period of service nine years. World Board members may serve for as many as two three-year terms. There is also a World Board Chairman, who is elected by the World Board members. The Chairman is assisted in that capacity by the Deputy Chairman and WAGGGS's Chief Executive, all three of whom may sit on any committee of the World Board.
The purpose of the World Board is to oversee the execution of WAGGGS's goals and make sure the organization is fulfilling its mission statement: "To enable girls to girls and young women to develop their fullest potential as responsible citizens of the world." [1] Each member of the World Board sits on a committee (or group). The regular committees include the Chairman's Coordinating Group, the Development of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (which includes the five regional committees and the World Centers Committee), the Communications and Coordinating Committee, and the Finance and Management Committee.
This group is typically made up of the chairman, the deputy chairman, the WAGGGS Chief Executive, and representatives from several regions. They monitor the activities of all committees, task forces, and members of the World Board, and give help or report successes as they are needed.
Although there is an overall coordinator for this committee, it is really made up of several smaller subcommittees, each committed to the five regions and the four World Centres. It works with the organizations in each member country to create and offer programs for the Girl Guides and Girl Scouts internationally. They also address the development of organizations, recruitment of girl members and adult volunteers, and retention of all members. Primarily, this committee gathers, uses, and shares information from each of the chairmen of the five regions and the directors of the four World Centres.
This committee includes a chairman and three to four members. Their responsibilities include coordinating the annual World Conference, following the messages about WAGGGS in marketing and media, directing the re-positioning of the organization, creating the triennial theme (2005-2008 is Adolescent Health), maintaining the relationship created between WAGGGS and the United Nations, and some fund-raising.
A chairman and one or two members oversee all the responsibilities of this committee. Not only do they monitor the finances of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, they also oversee WAGGGS's governance and constitution, as well as all the constitutions of WAGGGS's member organizations. The committee also addresses facilities and operations, risk assessment and management, and human resources.
The World Organization of the Scout Movement is the largest international Scouting organization. WOSM has 171 members. These members are recognized national Scout organizations, which collectively have over 50 million participants. WOSM was established in 1922, and has its operational headquarters at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and its legal seat in Geneva, Switzerland. It is the counterpart of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS).
The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts is a global association supporting the female-oriented and female-only Guiding and Scouting organizations in 150 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 five 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.
The Council of Irish Guiding Associations is the national Guiding federation of the Republic of Ireland. Guiding in Ireland started in 1911, and Ireland became a member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) in 1932. The council serves 13,837 Guides.
The Association of Scouts of Azerbaijan, (ASA) the national Scouting organization of Azerbaijan, was founded in 1997, and became the 150th member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement on 20 August 2000. In 2017 it was admitted as a full member in the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. The coeducational association has 1,748 members as of 2012, about 35 % are girls.
The European Scout Region is one of six geographical subdivisions of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with a satellite office in Brussels, Belgium.
Scouts of Syria is the national Scout and Guide organization of Syria. Scouting in Syria was founded in 1912; Guiding started in the 1950s. The coeducational association serves 9,358 members and is a member of both the World Organization of the Scout Movement and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.
The WAGGGS Europe Region is the regional office of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, which supports Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting in Europe, including the former Soviet Republics of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine, but inclusive of Cyprus, though technically not part of Europe for cultural reasons, and Israel for political ones.
Lietuvos skaučių seserija is a Guiding association in Lithuania. Guiding in Lithuania started in 1926, was banned by the Soviets in 1940 and restarted in 1990.
The Scout and Guide movement in Denmark consists of about ten different associations. Most of them are members of two large federations, but there are also some independent organizations. Affiliated to Danish Scouting and Guiding are the organizations in Greenland, on the Faroe Islands and in Southern Schleswig.
The National Union of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts of Armenia is the national Guiding union of Armenia. Guiding came to Armenia in 1988, the union was founded in 1996 and became an associate member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) in 2002 and a full member in 2014. The girls-only organization has 1200 members.
Sangam World Centre is one of the five World Centres of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). Located on the banks of the Mula River in Pune.
The Fédération Libanaise des Eclaireuses et des Guides is the national Guiding organization of Lebanon. Guiding was introduced to Lebanon in 1937 and became a member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) in 1954. The girls-only federation consists of five independent organizations with a total of 6,615 members(as of 2008).
Elspeth Henderson is former World Board Chairman of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) and an educational consultant. She is Irish.
The Association Nationale des Guides d'Haïti is the national Guiding organization of Haiti. It serves 782 members. Founded in 1942, the girls-only organization became an associate member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 1946 and a full member in 1950. In 1962, Haiti became the first country to issue a postage stamp featuring Lady Baden-Powell.
Non-aligned Scouting organizations is a term used by the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM), World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) and their member national organizations to refer to Scouting organizations that are not affiliated with them. See List of non-aligned Scouting organizations.
Our Chalet is an international Girl Guide/Girl Scout centre and one of five World Centres of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). The others are Our Cabaña, Sangam, Kusafiri and Pax Lodge. Our Chalet is just outside Adelboden, in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland. Located in the Bernese Alps, it is 1,350 metres (4,430 ft) above sea level.
Our Cabaña is an international Girl Guide centre of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) located in Cuernavaca, Mexico, It opened in July 1957 as a Baden-Powell centennial memorial. The centre can house over 100 guests.
Helen Osborne Storrow was a prominent American philanthropist, early Girl Scout leader, and chair of the World Committee of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) for eight years. She founded the First National Girl Scout Leaders' Training in Long Pond, Massachusetts; headed the leaders' training camp at Foxlease, UK; and donated the first of the WAGGGS World centres, Our Chalet.
Girl Guides is a movement found worldwide, which was originally and still largely designed for girls and women only. This organization was introduced in 1909, because girls demanded to take part in the then grassroots Boy Scout Movement.
Helen Mary Laird PhD OBE, DL was an electron-microscopist working laterally in the Veterinary Faculty Pathology Department at the University of Glasgow. She worked as part of a research team studying cancer, and particularly viruses in spontaneous feline leukaemia. She served on various committees of the Royal Microscopical Society.
