In the run up to World Thinking Day we are celebrating all things international guiding. And we caught up with Brownie leader, Emily who volunteers with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). 

I volunteer on the WAGGGS Meaningful Youth Participation team. I saw the opportunity advertised on Campfire, a website full of WAGGGS information, resources and opportunities. This is a great place to look if you’re interested in a voluntary position with WAGGGS, they list current opportunities and how you can get involved. The application process was straightforward, I wrote in an application on why I wanted to join the team, and what skills I could bring. I also had a short interview with the WAGGGS staff member and volunteer team lead. After I was appointed to the team, I needed to be endorsed by my Member Organisation (Girlguiding UK). This is all part of the process when joining any WAGGGS role and just makes sure that you have all your requirements from your Member Organisation before you join the team.

I joined the team in January 2024, over the last 2 years I’ve worked on some really interesting projects and had some amazing opportunities. The goal has been to develop best practice and share this as widely as possible with members from across the world. This has looked like gathering case studies, facilitating online calls (including at 2am because of time zones), and developing practical tools that volunteers can use to reflect on their own projects.

Last year, I helped to develop a toolkit for volunteers to learn more about implementing Meaningful Youth Participation in their projects at all levels within Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting. It’s great having so much remote working technology, as I could collaborate with volunteers from across the world to create this toolkit. We met regularly to discuss different tools and activities, how the toolkit would look and feel, and how we could make it as accessible for different levels of the organisation (from unit right up to national levels).

I also had the amazing opportunity to share this toolkit at Academy Europe in November. Academy is an annual conference together with WAGGGS and WOSM. I was selected from the team to spend a week in Greece training volunteers from across Europe about Meaningful Youth Participation. This has been my biggest highlight of the role. Without volunteering for WAGGGS, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to go to Academy and make so many international connections. I spent the days facilitating sessions, speaking with volunteers and eating amazing Greek food! In the evenings we had cultural exchanges, including a Greek themed night and a big international night (somehow, I was pulled into a conga line!)

What I love most about the role is the diversity of experience. I wouldn’t have had the opportunities to meet and collaborate with other volunteers from across the world or learn so much about guiding in other countries. I’ve had the opportunity to try new things, learn about other cultures, travel, it’s a truly unique experience. And in what other role would you be hosting an online training at 2am!?

Learn more about opportunities with WAGGGS and how to get involved.