World Conference of WAGGGS

World Conference of WAGGGS
Name	World Conference of WAGGGS
Type	International conference
Founded	1920s
Parent organization	World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts

World Conference of WAGGGS The World Conference of WAGGGS is the principal governing assembly of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, convening representatives from national Girl Guides and Girl Scouts organizations to set policy, elect leadership, and guide global strategy. It functions as a triennial forum linking member organizations such as the Girl Guides Association (United Kingdom), Girl Scouts of the USA, Japan Girl Scouts Association, Scout Association of Ireland, and the Kenya Girl Guides Association with regional bodies like the European Scout Region, Africa Regional Office, Arab Region, Asia Pacific Region, and Western Hemisphere Region.

Overview

The assembly brings together delegates from full members including Guides Australia, Scouts Canada, Girl Guides of Canada, Associazione Guide e Scouts Cattolici Italiani, Fédération du scoutisme français, Pfadfinder und Pfadfinderinnen Österreichs, Scouts et Guides de France, Associação Guias de Portugal, Associação de Escoteiros de Portugal, Girl Guides Singapore, Hong Kong Girl Guides Association, Philippine Girl Guides Association, Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association, Pakistan Girl Guides Association, Bangladesh Girl Guides Association, Nepal Girl Guides Association, Bhutan Scouts, Malaysia Girl Guides Association, Indonesia Girl Guide Movement, Thai Girl Guide Association, Korea Girl Guides Association, Mongolia Girl Guides Association, Vietnam Girl Guides Association, Cambodia Girl Guides Association and others, alongside observers from bodies like the United Nations, UNICEF, UNESCO, World Health Organization, and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

History

Origins trace to early international gatherings linked to the Scouting movement and figures such as Robert Baden-Powell, Olave Baden-Powell, Juliette Gordon Low and national founders like Agnes Baden-Powell. Early conferences paralleled events at locations including Foxlease, Pax Hill, Kandersteg International Scout Centre, Gilwell Park, Saint Hilaire, Paris Expo, Geneva, London, Edinburgh, Baden-Baden and Stockholm. Postwar meetings intersected with global diplomacy at venues associated with the League of Nations, United Nations General Assembly, Yalta Conference-era institutions, and intergovernmental dialogues influenced by personalities such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Mahatma Gandhi, Marie Curie, Florence Nightingale-era philanthropy, and civic movements represented by organizations like the International Council of Women.

Historic resolutions reflected engagement with campaigns run by Save the Children, Oxfam, Amnesty International, Greenpeace, WWF, CARE International, Plan International, Room to Read, SOS Children's Villages and partnerships with philanthropic foundations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Rockefeller Foundation. Conferences adapted to political shifts involving states like India, China, South Africa, Germany, Russia, France, United Kingdom, United States, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine and others.

Organization and Governance

Governance operates under statutes and bylaws adopted by delegates, with elections determining the World Board of WAGGGS, chaired by an elected Chairperson and supported by committees similar to those in organizations such as the International Olympic Committee, International Committee of the Red Cross, World Health Organization Executive Board and the UN Human Rights Council. Committees include finance, governance, youth engagement, programme development, global education, advocacy and nominations; these echo structures found in the Commonwealth Secretariat, European Commission, African Union Commission, Association of Southeast Asian Nations secretariats and the Organization of American States. Professional support comes from the WAGGGS World Bureau headquartered alongside offices in cities historically linked to international civil society like Geneva, Brussels, Kuala Lumpur, London, New York City and Nairobi.

Conference Frequency and Locations

Meetings are scheduled regularly, historically every three years, with interim events and extraordinary sessions convened as required under provisions similar to emergency assemblies in the United Nations Security Council or ad hoc conferences like the World Economic Forum gatherings. Host selections have favored cities with infrastructure used by multilateral events such as Geneva, London, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Lisbon, Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Warsaw, Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt am Main, Zurich, Bern, Lausanne, Brussels, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Istanbul, Istanbul Congress Center, Athens, Istanbul School of Economics venues, Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore Expo, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila, New Delhi, Mumbai, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Nairobi, Kigali, Lagos, Accra, Casablanca, Rabat, Cairo, Alexandria, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Lima, Bogotá, Quito, Caracas, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro.

Agenda and Activities

Typical agendas reflect programmatic priorities including youth leadership, gender equality, sexual and reproductive health, climate action, sustainable development, humanitarian preparedness, peacebuilding, digital literacy and safeguarding, aligning with initiatives from UN Women, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Sustainable Development Goals. Activities include plenary debates, elections, workshops, training led by experts from Harvard University, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, London School of Economics, University of Cape Town, University of Nairobi, University of Tokyo, panels with leaders from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Planned Parenthood Federation, Médecins Sans Frontières, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank, and site visits to community projects operated by Habitat for Humanity, Rotary International, Lions Clubs International and local NGOs.

Participation and Membership

Delegates include youth representatives, adult volunteers, chief commissioners, chief executives, trustees and observers representing national associations like Girl Guides Association of Zimbabwe, Botswana Girl Guides Association, Namibia Girl Guides Association, Lesotho Girl Guides Association, Swaziland Girl Guides Association, Cameroon Girl Guides Association, Senegal Girl Guides Association, Mali Girl Guides Association, Ghana Girl Guides Association, Sierra Leone Girl Guides Association, Liberia Girl Guides Association, Mozambique Girl Guides Association, Madagascar Girl Guides Association and Pacific members such as Guides Samoa, Fiji Girl Guides Association, Papua New Guinea Girl Guides Association, Vanuatu Girl Guides Association, Solomon Islands Girl Guides Association. Affiliate organizations and partners include World Organization of the Scout Movement, International Scout and Guide Fellowship, Commonwealth Girl Guides Associations, European Scout Federation, Association of Scouts and Guides of the Americas and international donors like European Union, CIDA, USAID, DFID.

Outcomes and Impact

Outcomes produce strategic plans, amendments to statutes, advocacy campaigns, leadership elections, partnerships and resolutions influencing policy at global fora, contributing to programs that collaborate with entities such as World Health Organization, UNICEF, UNHCR, ILO, UNDP, GAVI, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, COVAX Facility, and philanthropic consortia. Measurable impacts include enhanced youth representation in intergovernmental delegations, capacity building in member associations, and partnership networks connecting to initiatives by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, Ted Turner, Warren Buffett, George Soros, Michael Bloomberg and institutional funders such as the European Investment Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Category:WAGGGS