FEATURES
Change the World Talks
Girlguiding UK celebrates its Centenary in 2010. Over that 100 years there has been a long tradition of Brownies and Guides undertaking many tasks and service projects locally, nationally and internationally. Members of Girlguiding Scotland will be celebrating this ongoing activity by delivering a series of talks entitled Girlguiding UK : Change the World Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. Come along to hear about the how the humble jam jar has had a significant part to play in this work. Find out about the life changing projects members have undertaken in Ghana and other African countries. Hear about the partnership between some of the biggest charities in world who teamed up with Girlguiding UK to help change the world.
Sunday Jan 31st, Feb 28th and Mar 21st 2010 from 3pm-4pm in Smith Museum & Art Gallery, Stirling.
At the talks there will also be a display/exhibition by Forth Valley County. All Welcome.
For tickets and further information, please contact libby@spenceweb.net or Centenary Department at SHQ 0131 226 4511.
New Girls Shout Out Research
According to the newest Girls Shout Out: Redefining Risk, girls today are not given the experience and information they need to assess risk and make good decisions about their safety.
The survey is based on polling among almost 1000 members of Girlguiding UK, with nearly 400 from Scotland, aged between ten and eighteen and a series of in-depth focus groups.
Over two-fifths of Scottish girls believe that they are not given enough freedom to do things on their own and that there are still more rules for girls than boys.
The research indicates that the reporting of serious but rare threats, coupled with the concerns of worried adults can actually distort the focus away from the more common daily risks facing young women today. However, rather than protecting girls this is making girls more vulnerable and ill equipped to deal with the challenging real-life situations that they encounter every day.
Redefining Risk: Girls Shout Out (pdf)
Guides Sing for Scotland
Guides from Kelvin Division, Dunbartonshire County sang in the promotional video that was shown at last year's Hogmanay Street Party in Edinburgh. The soundtrack was played from the Ross Bandstand and from speakers all along Princes Street to encourage the crowds at the event to sing-along Auld Lang Syne as the bells tolled - 100,000 people sang along! It is also being used to promote the Scottish government's Homecoming Scotland campaign. View it here...
Auld Lang Syne movie (.wmv) 4mb
Orangutan Activity Pack
Brownies can now learn about the dangers faced by orangutans and learn how to help thanks to a fantastic activity book written by 1st Crichton Brownies, from Pathhead in Midlothian. The Activity Pack contains activities, games and information to learn about orangutans in a fun and hands-on way.
The activity pack is just the latest in a series of activities undertaken by the Crichton Brownies as part of their long-running orangutan project which the girls first started in 2004 and which resulted in them winning a BT Seen and Heard Award in November 2007.
Assistant Leader Fiona Davidson said:
“When we first decided to find out about orangutans there was no material available for young people to learn from. Most of the literature was aimed at adults. So for the last four years we have been creating our own activities and games so we could learn more about orangutans and decided it would be good to share that with others”.
As well as writing all the content, the Brownies decided on every aspect of the activity pack – from its size and shape, to its colour and layout. And thanks to BT Scotland they were able to get copies of the pack produced in full colour.
The activity packs are free to other Brownie packs (although donations to an orangutan charity are encouraged). To obtain a copy of the pack write to 1st Crichton Brownies, c/o 7 Kippielaw Drive, Dalkeith, Midlothian, EH22 4HT Or email: weehoolet@hotmail.co.uk