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.
Having been very lucky enough to travel to the four 'static' WAGGGS World Centres (on multiple occasions & for very different reasons), I think the key is the spine-tingling feeling you are sure to get at some point during your experience, the moment when you realise just what a life-changing opportunity this has been, when you interact sisters in guiding from around the world & instantly have that common bond, when you feel the spirit of guiding all around you! And I completely agree, that doesn't have to happen in one permanent place!
ReplyDeleteMy 'world centre experience' was last summer at Sangam, the best moment for me was when our girls realised that despite being half way around the world with a bunch of people they had never met - it felt like home! And climbing the water tower of course!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of the 5th World Centre and having the world centre experience without a centre, it is definitely the people which make the experience. But then I think there is something special in a particular place, especially when it has such a great history and helps you connect to the Guiding of the past.
Great to hear your experiences - who else has been to a World Centre?
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