World Foundation for Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, Inc.
World Association for Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS)
Click here to visit the WAGGGS website
Who We Are
The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts is the largest voluntary Movement dedicated to girls and young women in the world. Our diverse Movement represents ten million girls and young women from 152 countries.
Our strengths lie in innovative non-formal education programmes, leadership development, advocacy work and community action, empowering girls and young women to develop the skills and confidence needed to make positive changes in their lives, in their communities and countries. Through our global programmes, girls from all over the world come together to learn new skills, share their international experiences and form lifelong friendships.
History: Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting
In 1909, a group of girls appeared at a Boy Scout Rally in the UK declaring themselves to be Girl Scouts. Lord Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of Boy Scouts, decided that there should be a Movement for girls.
Guiding was introduced that same year to respond to the specific needs of girls and young women. Groups of Girl Guides soon started in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand and South Africa.
A year later, the Girl Guide Association was officially established in the UK under the leadership of Agnes Baden-Powell, Robert’s sister. By 1912 there were also groups in Ireland, Portugal, Norway and Juliette Low founded Girl Scouting in the USA in 1912.
History: WAGGGS
The First World Conference held in England, in 1920 was a historic occasion that gave representatives of the Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting world the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas and experiences.
Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting became known to the International Council, with the First World Camp organized to coincide with the Third International Conference, in 1924, Foxlease, UK, and brought 1,100 girls and young women together from 40 countries.
As the Movement grew and expanded, country representatives began to feel that it was time to create something more solid and binding and the idea of forming a world association was proposed after the 4th World Conference in 1926.
The founder of the Movement, Lord Robert Baden-Powell, sought the opinions of all known Girl Guide and Girl Scout organizations and asked them to consider the proposition. Delegates from 26 countries met at the Fifth International Conference in Hungary in 1928, and formed the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), with a World Bureau as its secretariat to be located in London, replacing an advisory body, the International Council created in 1919.
The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts is the largest voluntary Movement dedicated to girls and young women in the world. Our diverse Movement represents ten million girls and young women from 152 countries.
Our strengths lie in innovative non-formal education programmes, leadership development, advocacy work and community action, empowering girls and young women to develop the skills and confidence needed to make positive changes in their lives, in their communities and countries. Through our global programmes, girls from all over the world come together to learn new skills, share their international experiences and form lifelong friendships.
History: Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting
In 1909, a group of girls appeared at a Boy Scout Rally in the UK declaring themselves to be Girl Scouts. Lord Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of Boy Scouts, decided that there should be a Movement for girls.
Guiding was introduced that same year to respond to the specific needs of girls and young women. Groups of Girl Guides soon started in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand and South Africa.
A year later, the Girl Guide Association was officially established in the UK under the leadership of Agnes Baden-Powell, Robert’s sister. By 1912 there were also groups in Ireland, Portugal, Norway and Juliette Low founded Girl Scouting in the USA in 1912.
History: WAGGGS
The First World Conference held in England, in 1920 was a historic occasion that gave representatives of the Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting world the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas and experiences.
Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting became known to the International Council, with the First World Camp organized to coincide with the Third International Conference, in 1924, Foxlease, UK, and brought 1,100 girls and young women together from 40 countries.
As the Movement grew and expanded, country representatives began to feel that it was time to create something more solid and binding and the idea of forming a world association was proposed after the 4th World Conference in 1926.
The founder of the Movement, Lord Robert Baden-Powell, sought the opinions of all known Girl Guide and Girl Scout organizations and asked them to consider the proposition. Delegates from 26 countries met at the Fifth International Conference in Hungary in 1928, and formed the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), with a World Bureau as its secretariat to be located in London, replacing an advisory body, the International Council created in 1919.
WAGGGS in One Word from Kaela Saenz Oriti on Vimeo.
Click on the picture below to be taken to the WAGGGS World Centres website where you will find information about staying, attending programs and volunteering at a World Centre.
Who We Support
