World Thinking Day

A short ceremony for the WAGGGS Pins you set aside during Investiture
and show your girls where their troop fits into the bigger picture.

World Thinking Day is celebrated on February 22nd, but your troop doesn't need to meet on that exact date. Whatever meeting falls closest, the week before, during, or after, works fine. This also doesn't need to take over your whole meeting (though if you'd like it to, there are plenty of activities online to choose from). This ceremony is meant to be a 5-10 minute segment you ca drop into a normal meeting alongside whatever else you already have planned that day.

What This Day Is About

World Thinking Day is celebrated every year by Girl Scouts and Girl Guides in over 150 countries. The date was chosen back in 1926 because it's the shared birthday of Lord Robert Baden-Powell, who started Scouting, and his wife Lady Olave Baden-Powell, who led Girl Guides around the world. Ever since, girls everywhere have used this day to think about their Girl Sout and Girl Guide sisters across the globe, all part of one organization called WAGGGS, the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.

What To Have Ready

WAGGGS pins (World Trefoil Pins) - one per girl. If you collected these at Investiture, this is the day they come back out.
A small basket or tray to hold the pins while you go through the ceremony
A look at your uniform ahead of time. You'll be pointing out your Council Identification Set during the ceremony, so know where it is on the vest/sash/tunic.

The Ceremony

We're going to have a quick extra ceremony today. Today is about remembering that being a Girl Scout means being part of something much bigger than our troop. This week has February 22nd, which is World Thinking Day, and it's celebrated by Girl Scouts and Girl Guides in over 150 countries around the world.

February 22nd was picked because it's the shared birthday of the two people who started Scouting and Guiding. Lord Baden-Powell, and his wife Lady Olave. Ever since 1926, girls everywhere have used this day to think about their Girl Scout and Girl Guide sisters across the globe.

Let me show you how we all fit together. You girls are a troop. Our troop, along with other nearby troops, makes up something called a Service Unit. A bunch of Service Units together make up our Council.

(Point out the Council Identification Strip on a uniform, showing how it names your specific council.)

See this strip? That's our council's name. And right next to it is a strip that says Girl Scouts of the USA, because a bunch of councils across the country make up all of Girl Scouts here in the United States.

And Girl Scouts of the USA is just oe country's worth of a much bigger group. Countries all over thew orld belong to an organization called WAGGGS, which stands for the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. That's what this ceremony is all about.

[Girl's name], today you're joining Girl Scouts and Girl Guides in over 150 countries around the world. Welcome to the worldwide sisterhood.

(Repeat for each girl, adding the World Trefoil Pin above the GSUSA pin on the Insignia tab.)

Congratulations again on joining WAGGGS, and Happy World Thinking Day, Girl Scouts!

After the Ceremony

Move right into whatever else you had planned for the meeting. If you're doing a World Thinking Day badge or activity, this is a natural place to lead into it. Otherwise a group photo is a nice way to mark the moment before moving on.

However this one goes, the point isn't a perfect history lesson. It's a girl looking down at a new pin, and glancing at a strip on her vest, and understanding she's part of something worldwide.

Note 1: Some service units host an event each year to celebrate World Thinking Day. Each troop attending picks a different WAGGGS country to learn about and create a tri-fold board about Girl Scouting in that country. Each troop then also finds a fun activity from that country to share with everyone else attending. Girls at the event rotate stations to do the activities for each of the different countries.

Note 2: There are themes that WAGGGS advertises each year for World Thinking Day on their website (www.wagggs.org). You can choose to participate in those activities or not--it's your choice. Some years, the content is more controversial, so feel free to skip the international activities on that website if you wish, and instead focus on the symbolism of the World Trefoil Pin or on activities Girl Scouts in other countries participate in (hiking, songs, games, etc).

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