Down to business

So the final day of conference is voting day. Before confeence we had a number of motions sent through. Over the past few days delegations have huddling in corners and lobbying others to support their motion or amendment. This is the serious bit.

Each country gets one vote, no matter what size they are. Some votes are only for full members and others are full and associate members. Everyone has to vote, there is an abstention option, so there were a few hiccups and repeated votes when the count wasn't high enough, but we got there in the end.

We started off voting for the membership development strategy, which we have been discussing in detail over the past two days. And then onto the money  ...
The 2014 budget went through smoothly. We agreed to change the name of the 'voluntary' contribution to 'European' contribution. This is to reflect that whilst it was the choice of the Region to make an extra payment for extra services in Region, particularly in relation to joint activities with WOSM and the unique political European context. To deliver the services the contribution is needed so changing the name helps to reinforce the important nature of this contribution.

We agreed the budget for 2015-17, including the level of European Contribution. Our delegation submitted a new motion regarding the finances that WAGGGS World contributes to the core costs of the Region. We asked for greater transparency, a clear definition of the role of the Regions in delivering WAGGGS world global strategy and to consider the way that all Regions are funded to ensure that the core offer is fully covered across the globe. Switzerland spoke passionately in support of our motion and it was carried by conference. We will now work closely with the Region and WAGGGS World, offering our support in this task.

There was also an interesting discussion about spiritual development and relationships with specific faith groups. Girlguiding UK absolutely supports spiritual development within guiding and scouting. The events run at Europe level make a space for reflection and celebration together and WAGGGS has a fantastic resource in the spiritual development toolkit. The motion was not carried as it implied additional resources needed from the Region and this contradicted the strategy and budget that had already been agreed.

So a fascinating morning for those of us who were new to conference and a great mandate for a new committee. The next three years are going to be a great opportunity to build on the fantastic work of the outgoing committee to strengthen the region and deliver a greater impact for girls.