Representing Girlguiding at WAGGGS Growth Conference in Budapest!

By Brandi Lee Lough Dennell

My early morning flight from Edinburgh to Budapest, and bus to the city centre, delivered me to downtown Budapest in time for some sightseeing before I headed to my final destination. The weather was sunny and warm and I gleefully set out, with my detailed airport map and index card of key Hungarian words and phrases, to see what the capital city was like. Since I only had a few hours to find lunch and travel to the conference, I decided to leave indoor visits like museums for another trip, and instead walked all afternoon. Although I intentionally visited the largest synagogue in Europe and found a vegan food truck, just wandering the city with open eyes was great. The city is bisected by the River Danube, with a series of very busy bridges connecting traffic, and also has many parks and green spaces amongst the historic and business buildings. I was excited to see a lot of public art: I found a colourful ‘pop-up park’ with benches, tables, and games installed, and found statues, murals, and beautiful buildings every time I turned the corner onto a new street. Since I enjoyed exploring the city so much, I bypassed public transportation to get to the conference that evening and walked there via the Chain bridge, along the river, and through the more residential side of the city.

The conference

I checked in to the European Youth Centre and headed to find my room before meeting other conference participants at dinner. As I walked to my room, I reflected on how attending a WAGGGS event has been on my ‘to do’ list for a long time. Many years before moving to Scotland I joined Girl Scouts USA at the age of 5, was a member all the way through high school, worked as a camp counsellor at a Girl Scout Camp for 7 years, and was a leader for two Girl Scout troops. Now, I’m a Guide leader in Stirling and a member of Girlguiding Scotland’s Growth Group, which looks at how we can bring girlguiding to those who haven’t previously engaged and continue to support members to take up further opportunities within Girlguiding.

This conference was a three day event organised by the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) for member organisations in the Europe Region to focus on growth and development. Not only was I excited about hearing how other countries are sustaining and expanding guiding, but I was also thrilled to be representing Girlguiding. At dinner, I met a handful of other participants and we spent the evening together talking about our member organisations, our home countries, and our observations about the world today.

Soon, Friday morning came around and brought with it the official start of the conference. As the 6 WAGGGS facilitators and 24 participants introduced ourselves, it was clear that we brought a range of experiences with us. Some of us were volunteers with specific roles for growth, volunteering, or an area of the organisation’s development, or even national commissioners for their whole member organisation, while others were paid positions with similar development roles. Some of us had been members of our organisations as children, others joined when their children become involved and others were fairly new to the organisation when they saw a role advertised. We represented 16 member organisations from 15 different countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Georgia, Germany, Ireland, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, and United Kingdom. What was clear across all these differences, was the commitment to the WAGGGS values that underpin our organisations and brought us together that weekend.

Throughout the conference, we took part in a range of sessions: speaking with the chair of the Europe Region Board about WAGGGS’s aims for 2020; hearing about a research project that took place in 9 countries; learning about a WAGGGS leadership programme being piloted; and, sessions on diversity, planning, branding, and reaching new volunteers to name just a few. One of the sessions that inspired me the most was on the first day when we each presented briefly on our membership organisations. My input on Girlguiding included the following:

• Our central membership database (GO), upgraded last year, which helps us understand the demographics of volunteers and members and keep track of badges or qualifications earned. 
• The new programme launched this autumn. 
• Focusing on growth of the organisation at a county level, with county growth plans to be informed by local factors. 
• Our annual volunteer recruitment campaigns. 

During this session, I heard about scouting and guiding across the 15 countries and was struck by the similarities in issues we’re all facing, like how busy lives affect the capacity to volunteer consistently or the general age range when young members often leave. I also learned about the unique social, cultural, and political circumstances that shape the way the organisations deliver their programme, including:

• Malta is so small that when young members begin studying at university, if they have remained in the country, they are still very close to their original units.
• In Belgium, they have a high percentage of young people involved in their organsation because their minister for youth and their king were both involved as children.
• Denmark has such a strong outdoor culture that it is easy for them to find local spaces for unit meetings with very young children in woodlands and parks that have access to indoor toilets and running water. 
• Recent political problems in Armenia and new regulations about outside organisations meeting in schools have meant that many guide units have had to close. 

Aside from the insight from session discussions and the hilarity of programmed games, the most memorable moments of the conference were the time we spent together in between sessions, at meals, and in the evenings listening to one another animatedly talk about inspiring work taking place, connecting over shared life experiences, taking in the beauty of Budapest at night on group evening wanders, or belting out songs together at the tops of our lungs. It’s hard to describe what it felt like to go to a foreign city with an unfamiliar language (although the conference was in English) and unfamiliar currency and have it feel so deeply like ‘home’ because of the people around me but that is the amazing thing about being part of Girlguiding, or any WAGGGS member organisation. No matter where you meet, if you meet another WAGGGS member, you’ll have quickly opened up a whole world of conversation and established a level of trust because we live by the same values. That’s the magic of guiding and it was wonderful to experience it at an international event.

What’s next? 

Now that I’ve had a chance to catch up with myself (I definitely prioritised hanging out with other participants over getting enough sleep) and typed up all my session notes, I will be sharing my learning with Girlguiding. I’ll also present on the conference at Girlguiding Scotland’s Growth Group meeting. From there, we’ll think about what information to share with local commissioners, leaders, and other parts of the organisation to make sure we are creating opportunities for every girl.

Get involved!

If you’re interested in getting involved in an international opportunity, there are many options available. You can take part in an international camp right here in the UK (like Camp Brave in Scotland during August 2020), with your unit abroad, or go on International Opportunities (IntOps) to other countries with members from across the country. If you’re 18-30, you might be interested in a Guiding Overseas Linked with Development (GOLD) trips. Read up on Girlguiding's international opportunities and start planning! There are also plenty of opportunities to get involved with international activities directly through WAGGGS, just scroll down to the bottom of their webpage.