...and another one heads off...

If the World Conference is in Hong Kong, what's this fixation with China? 

With one of our delegation already holidaying in Beijing, I am the second member of the delegation to head East to - yes, ypu've guessed it Beijing! In my case, there is just a little bit of work to get through this week, before heading off to join the others in Hong Kong on Friday. 

In my day job as Director of Student Recruitment at the University of Bristol, I am responsible for the University's International Office - which involves a certain amount of international travel. When I knew I'd be heading out to Hong Kong, it seemed sensible to combine the trip with a visit to one of our key representatives in Beijing. So - tomorrow I head off for a couple of days of meetings; agent visits and alumni dinners...

When I booked the trip, combining a spot of work with the World Conference and then a few days' R&R in Hong Kong sounded like a very sensible use of time. It's only now that I realise what a packing challenge I've given myself. Clearly, I can't rock up at a businees meeting in my Girlguidng uniform - and I probably don't want to chill out by the pool in a business suit...The burning question now is 'will the suitcase close...?'

Have you tasted Hong Kong and a World Conference?

1st Wimbledon Park Guides perfect their chopstick style

Last year the Girlguiding staff team and I had the challenge of coming up with activities that would give UK members a taste of the proceedings of a World Conference and of life in Hong Kong. As plans got underway to develop the 'World Guiding Goes to Hong Kong' pack I asked a Guide leader based out there what girls most enjoyed doing in that part of the world. She replied 'shopping and eating' - not quite the distinctive and varied activities I'd been hoping to hear about.

So...we used our imagination to develop a programme which offers a snapshot of what visitors might see and experience in Hong Kong. We challenged girls to learn to use chopsticks and refine their technique by ferrying marshmallows in relay races. Another activity in the pack invites girls to build islands out of sweets with complex transport networks, reflecting the wide array of modes on offer in Hong Kong - boats, trams, buses, underground trains and even escalators between the different levels of the hillside areas of the city.

We also asked girls to consider the team that they would like to see running the world, weighing up the skills and experience needed to take on such a mammoth task, just as we'll be doing next week through the World Board elections. When I ran this activity with 1st Wimbledon Park Guides earlier in the year their team included David Beckham, Martin Luther King, Ellie Simmonds and Katie Piper.... Certainly a diverse range of skills! 

With just four more sleeps until I make my way East with Helen, Jo and Laura (with Catherine already in China and Angela on her way tomorrow) it's not long now until we'll be sharing with you our own impressions of Hong Kong and a World Conference.

In the meantime we'd love to hear about your unit's experiences of using the 'World Guiding Goes to Hong Kong' pack. Do share your stories with us using the comments functionality below.

To download the pack, visit: 

http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/members_area__go/activities/activity_packs/world_guiding_goes_to_hong_kon.aspx

What does a delegation need?

In preparing for conference we've read the papers, discussed national dress (see previous blog post!) and coordinated our opening ceremony uniform (including how to tie a smart knot in our fancy scarves). So what else is there to do?

Well, there's international evening.  As is the tradition at such events one evening will be turned over to an international market, so what will the Girlguiding UK stall be offering?

...

Well we don't want to spoil the surprise for all the other delegates so we won't spill the beans just yet. But needless to say it is all safely packed in a box and now winging it's way to Hong Kong. Keep checking back on the blog to find out more! We don't like to be too traditional with our stalls as previous conference delegates may remember (human fruit machine in Berlin anyone?) So expected the unexpected!!

Pre-trip prep…...

It's now the night before I head off on my tour of China before the World Conference…….so much to pack and get ready, not sure if the case will close!!  At least I have discovered travel vacuum bags which make your luggage go further, but no help with the weight allowance!!

Spent some time earlier this week sewing all the UK badges on my uniform……why did I leave it to the last week??  I must stop procrastinating……well, tomorrow maybe!  Sitting in the middle of the "Hong Kong pile" makes it more real, and it's not long to go now!  Looking forward to meeting up with the rest of the delegation at the World Conference!

National dress distress!

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that any delegation representing the UK at a Guiding event anywhere in the world, will face a major dilemma.  It's not what you might think. What does preparation for a World Conference involve? Well, so far, there's been the reading of preparatory papers; the analysis and comprehension of complex, potentially world-impacting motions; the complex booking of flights when everyone is going in multiple directions afterwards; a great deal of thought, administration and preparation; a lengthy kit list to peruse; the sewing on the Union Jack onto a multitude of polo shirts (make your sign, then put it onto your left shoulder and that's where the badge should be sewn - three fingers down); the post-conference options, of which there are many, and many more practicalities.  The complications of this non-exhaustive list pale into insignificance when a UK delegation is instructed to... 'wear national dress'.

If you're the Ghanaian contingent, that's easy! You can wear something made out of kente cloth, handwoven in Ghana; recognisable throughout the world.  Just google it and you're sure to recognise it.  

If you're part of the German contingent, you can wear a 'dirndl'; this is traditional German dress based on the historical costume of Alpine peasants.  Yes really.

If you are the Australian contingent, you can wear a hat with dangly corks; dress up as a koala; or a kangaroo.  

Fear not - I'm not going to go through the costume possibilities for all 145 member organisations of WAGGGS.  

It's not about stereotyping - it's about being obviously representative of a particular nation, as that is whom we will be representing.  So what on earth should the UK do?!

We had the discussion - 

'Kilts?' 'Is anyone Scottish?' 'I'm a quarter Scottish'.  'My uncle is Welsh?'

'What about Leprechauns?' One of the delegation is from Ulster.  The rest are not.  

'Let's dress up as Beefeaters!' The phone conference went eerily quiet at that point.

When I went to the Girls' World Forum in Chicago in 2012, we, the delegation, decided to dress up as though we were going to Royal Ascot.  There we were, at the International Evening, in dresses and (some, not me), fascinators, which I don't really understand. 

Unfortunately, it transpires that almost no-one in the world has heard of Royal Ascot, unless they live within 20 miles of Ascot, so we had to explain why were dressed as we were, to all participants, and that we were meant to look like this; we hadn't lost our way en route to a cocktail party elsewhere in the building; we were actually, at the right event.

My question is this - what would you wear to represent 'national dress' associated with the UK? Please comment and let us know what you would do, then you'll have to keep reading to find out what we actually decided to do!


   

What is a World Centre experience?

As part of the Big Brownie Birthday we have been getting more girls engaged with international guiding. As well as Eurohop, a 'book and go' trip in partnership with Venture Abroad, we've been travelling the length and breadth of the country turning our activity centres into World Centres.  I spent the weekend at Waddow Hall giving Brownies a taste of Sangam.

The girls arrived on Friday night, and after they had gone through passport control and security they spent the weekend learning about WAGGGS, guiding across the world and Indian culture.  The girls had a great weekend, trying out rangoli art, dressing up in saris and punjabi suits, and having a go at climbing, imagining what they might see if they were climbing the water tower at Sangam.

One of the highlights of the weekend was a skype call with some of the international volunteers at Sangam.  The Brownies got a chance to ask lots of questions about life at Sangam as well as about the volunteers from all over the world.  It was a great chance to the girls to make a real connection between the activities we were doing and the global family of girl guiding and girl scouting.

So was this a 'World Centre experience'? The girls never left their country, they were all from the UK as were the volunteers who led the event.  But I do believe it was a World Centre experience.  They girls learnt about WAGGGS, global guiding and made a real connection with members across the world.  And now they've had a taste of it, when they get the chance to travel with guiding in the future they will jump at the chance; their eyes have been opened.

And one of the topics of discussion at the World Conference will be whether you can have a World Centre experience without a centre! For the past three years WAGGGS has been running a pilot for a fifth World Centre in Africa, delivering event in different locations across the continent. At the conference we'll be scrutinising the evaluation of the pilot and the proposals for moving forward. Stay tuned for more updates!

But in the meantime, the delegation would love to hear about your World Centre experiences.  Tell us in the comment section about your trip and what you got out of it. We'd love to hear all about it.