Girl Guides in Canada and around the world are celebrating the movement’s 100th anniversary this year. Canadian festivities kick off on Saturday.
The girl guiding movement began in London in 1910 when a group tenacious young women who had been copying the their brothers in scouting—usually in secret—challenged the norms of the day and moved beyond needlework to tracking, stopping runaway horses, and even rescuing people from burning buildings, according to the organization’s website.
“Both their mothers and the general public were shocked and horrified at the girls’ escapades and appearance—skirts hiked up, wearing Scout hats, carrying stout broomsticks hung about with whistles, knives and enormous haversacks decorated with large red crosses,” it continues.
Today, with about 10 million individual members globally, Girl Guides is one of the largest girl-focused organizations in the world and is aimed at engaging girls and young women in world issues and making a positive difference through self-empowerment.
The girl guiding movement began in London in 1910 when a group tenacious young women who had been copying the their brothers in scouting—usually in secret—challenged the norms of the day and moved beyond needlework to tracking, stopping runaway horses, and even rescuing people from burning buildings, according to the organization’s website.
“Both their mothers and the general public were shocked and horrified at the girls’ escapades and appearance—skirts hiked up, wearing Scout hats, carrying stout broomsticks hung about with whistles, knives and enormous haversacks decorated with large red crosses,” it continues.
Today, with about 10 million individual members globally, Girl Guides is one of the largest girl-focused organizations in the world and is aimed at engaging girls and young women in world issues and making a positive difference through self-empowerment.
While girlguiding has always stood for “fun, friendship and adventure,” in more recent years it has broadened from outdoors skills to include activities like fashion design and community projects.
Because of the way the movement developed, the 100th anniversary will be celebrated over three years, from 2010 to 2012, says Deborah Del Duca, chief executive officer at Girl Guides of Canada (GGC).
“Guiding commenced in Canada in 1910 but the movement in the majority of the 145 member countries substantively started in the window of 1909 through to 1911, so that’s why the centenary goes on for three years.”
In Canada, festivities begin on Saturday at the Casa Loma, an historic castle in Toronto. About 4,000 guests are expected to attend.
One of the biggest centenary celebrations to date took place at London’s Wembley Arena on October 17. Some of U.K.’s top music acts, including The Saturdays, Alexandra Burke, The Noisettes, and Pixie Lott entertained tens of thousands of Guides, Brownies, and Rainbows at The Centenary Big Gig.
In Australia, Federal Minister Tanya Plibersek declared 2010 the Year of the Girl Guide and the Australian Royal Mint has plans to produce a Girl Guide dollar coin. Canada Post will be issuing a stamp to mark the occasion in Canada.
Among the several signature events GGC has planned for the centenary year are a national rally on May 15 and a national camp occurring from July 8-17 at Guelph Lake in Ontario. About 3,000 girls and women will attend, including guests from 13 countries that have girlguiding.
Because of the way the movement developed, the 100th anniversary will be celebrated over three years, from 2010 to 2012, says Deborah Del Duca, chief executive officer at Girl Guides of Canada (GGC).
“Guiding commenced in Canada in 1910 but the movement in the majority of the 145 member countries substantively started in the window of 1909 through to 1911, so that’s why the centenary goes on for three years.”
In Canada, festivities begin on Saturday at the Casa Loma, an historic castle in Toronto. About 4,000 guests are expected to attend.
One of the biggest centenary celebrations to date took place at London’s Wembley Arena on October 17. Some of U.K.’s top music acts, including The Saturdays, Alexandra Burke, The Noisettes, and Pixie Lott entertained tens of thousands of Guides, Brownies, and Rainbows at The Centenary Big Gig.
In Australia, Federal Minister Tanya Plibersek declared 2010 the Year of the Girl Guide and the Australian Royal Mint has plans to produce a Girl Guide dollar coin. Canada Post will be issuing a stamp to mark the occasion in Canada.
Among the several signature events GGC has planned for the centenary year are a national rally on May 15 and a national camp occurring from July 8-17 at Guelph Lake in Ontario. About 3,000 girls and women will attend, including guests from 13 countries that have girlguiding.
The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) is committed to the UN Millennium Development Goals, and in 2010 girl guides around the world will take up the challenge to eradicate hunger and poverty.
“Starting now, we are encouraging our girls in their local communities to be food collecting,” says Del Duca. All donations will be contributed to food banks across the country.
Girl Guides Canada “enables girls to be confident, resourceful, and courageous, and to make a difference in the world,” says their mission statement.
Del Duca says this can be achieved through community activities and through the programming GGC offers the girls, such as an anti-bullying program which helps them be more courageous and a girl empowerment program to give them confidence.
“Their experiences around being resourceful, their contributions, their activities around camping, and learning a variety of skills through their regular meetings—those often dovetail into making a difference in the world, because they’re also committing to community events which can be anything from tree-planting in the local community to visiting seniors facilities to doing major clean-ups in their communities.”
The global centenary celebrations encourage girls and young women to reach out to each other and share stories. A guide named Dianne wrote on the WAGGGS website:
“I think this is wonderful and the projects are super-duper important!!!! I’m very happy about what the international girl scouts are doing. I’m a 5th grader and I am happy about what the girl scouts are doing.”
“Starting now, we are encouraging our girls in their local communities to be food collecting,” says Del Duca. All donations will be contributed to food banks across the country.
Girl Guides Canada “enables girls to be confident, resourceful, and courageous, and to make a difference in the world,” says their mission statement.
Del Duca says this can be achieved through community activities and through the programming GGC offers the girls, such as an anti-bullying program which helps them be more courageous and a girl empowerment program to give them confidence.
“Their experiences around being resourceful, their contributions, their activities around camping, and learning a variety of skills through their regular meetings—those often dovetail into making a difference in the world, because they’re also committing to community events which can be anything from tree-planting in the local community to visiting seniors facilities to doing major clean-ups in their communities.”
The global centenary celebrations encourage girls and young women to reach out to each other and share stories. A guide named Dianne wrote on the WAGGGS website:
“I think this is wonderful and the projects are super-duper important!!!! I’m very happy about what the international girl scouts are doing. I’m a 5th grader and I am happy about what the girl scouts are doing.”
