On Being Selected: Notes from Susie and Bryanna

Susie's journey to the 33 World Conference team.

Hi,

My name is Susie Hawkins and I am the other young adult observer who will be attending the 33rd WAGGGS World Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa.

I am 28 years old, and I have been a member of Girl Guides of Canada – Guides du Canada since I was 5. I started as a Brownie in Portugal Cove, Newfoundland, and I continued through all of the guiding levels up to Rangers. I spent 4 years as a Ranger in order to fulfill a 2-year term on the Newfoundland and Labrador Senior Branches Council and then, during my undergraduate degree, I was registered as a Link Member. I was an adult guider for Brownies, Pathfinders and Rangers before I returned to school to complete my education degree. With my new degree, I moved to Qikiqtarjuaq, Nunavut, where I have been teaching high school for the past three years. I am moving back to Newfoundland this year, where I hope to be a unit guider once again, and, hopefully, take on more leadership roles within the guiding community.

The World Conference will not be my first International guiding experience, but I feel that I am very fortunate to have this opportunity. I have participated in two nationally sponsored trips – to Our Chalet in 1997 and to Sangam in 2003 – and both of these experiences were amazing. Travelling with guiding not only provides networking with women from around the world, but it also allowed me the chance to learn about other countries, cultures, and to realize that guiding is so global and touches so many girls and women worldwide.

I have been a member of guiding for my entire life, but I still don’t know a lot about what happens at the national and international level. I am looking forward to learning more about policies, goals and how other WAGGGS member countries are meeting the demands of their society and the needs of their girls.

I would also like to become more involved in outreach programs, at home in Canada, and abroad. I am looking to learn from other member countries how they get their girls involved in such programs, and what the impacts have been on the communities and for the girls themselves.

I am extremely excited about being selected to attend the World Conference and to get the opportunity to visit Africa, a continent that I have always dreamed of exploring. I still have moments where I can’t believe that I’m actually going – and it’s in less than 2 weeks! Bryanna and I will continue to share our observations of the conference and to post pictures as much as possible.


Bryanna's journey to joining the 33rd World Conference team.

Hello all,

To start I have to admit I have not been involved with guiding as an adult member very long. I recently turned 22 and have been volunteering with the girl guides for barely two years. There are many issues in guiding of which I am not yet aware that I can only learn through experience, but given the opportunity to experience them, I will take full advantage. As I shared with the selection committee for the World Conference trip, it is my experience outside of guiding that has enabled me to develop the skills and characteristics that have been valued in guiding and I hoped that I would be given the opportunity to apply them in Johannesburg. I am thankful I have been given this chance and I know in this way I will be an active participant in bettering Guiding around the world.

I was first introduced to Guiding in Montreal. I was a Brownie from 1992-1995 and subsequently a Guide with the 1st Baie D’Urfe Guides from 1995-1998. However after this Guiding became less of a priority in my life because of my involvement in other activities.

In 2006 I rejoined the Organization in Vancouver as an adult volunteer. In my first year I co-lead the 58th Pathfinders in West Point Grey, a position I still hold, and in my second year, I also took on the role of Vancouver Area International Adviser. I have been very active and vocal in the Area and hope to continue to be a valued resource to the Organization in whatever manner I can.

I would like to share with you some of the reasons why I was interested in applying to attend the WAGGGS World Conference, especially being so new to the political side of the organization.

First, I am very interested in global issues and politics. I consider myself to be a global citizen and I strongly believe in the benefit of thinking globally and acting locally. That being said, before individuals can begin to locate their regional issues in the global web, they need to take on the task of educating themselves about “the global”. This task requires commitment, caring and a certain level of leadership.

Next, I am very interested in the planning and policy making element of the World Conference. I have been trained as a free, open-minded thinker that must adhere to the expectations of a science-based society; what this means is that I am a good listener, I am open to forward-thinking ideas, and I am able to frame the feasibility of these ideas within a manageable structure. I really enjoy the energy and enthusiasm people share about their causes, being exposed to their ideas, problems and alternate view points on a given issue, as well as sharing those from my own context with others. Girl guides has enabled me to do all of this.

Further, I am interested in the networking opportunity that the World Conference provides. People in my life have often commented on my curious nature – I am always interested in learning about things I know little or nothing about. That being said, I am really intrigued about what people are doing with their lives, the obstacles they have had to overcome, the challenges they face presently, and the forces that have allowed them to come to be where they are today.

I also applied because I have heard from past participants that the World Conferences are amazing experiences. A new-made friend of mine shared with me, “It's what made me a Lifer. I got to witness this debate about whether we should let men into all of our member countries and how some delegates spoke against this so passionately made me teary - Guiding is a really unique opportunity in much of the world.” It is my hope to be able to speak about Guiding with the same conviction as my friend.

All in all, I am still in shock that I am going on this trip. When I got the phone call from Myrtle in February that I had been selected I was is disbelief. Honestly, after she hung up I jumped up and down in my house (alone too) screaming for joy; my heart was racing and I had a smile on my face that must have literally stretched from ear to ear. Attending the World Conference is a dream, and the fact that it is Africa, a continent I have never visited, is an enormous bonus. I can't wait to observe the dialogues that will take place during the event and to share my experience with you.

Selecting the Young Observers

On November 6, 2007, a memorandum was released across Canada by Gretchen McCurdy, the then International Commissioner, to invite young adults to apply to be observers at the 33rd World Conference in July 2008.

The memorandum read:

The 33rd World Conference is being held in Johannesburg, South Africa – July 6 – 12, 2008. The World Conference of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, consisting of 144 Member National Organizations, meets every three years and is the policy making body of the World Association. At this conference the program offers the opportunity to report on progress on the Strategic Plan to Member Organizations, news of the Centennial celebrations, input from keynote speakers, and opportunities to meet with other Conference participants from all over the world – both formally and informally.

The Canadian Delegation to the World Conference will consist of the Chief Commissioner, International Commissioner, the Chief-Elect or a Deputy Chief Commissioner, the Executive Director Canada and one or two young adult members. We are seeking applications for young adult members, who must be under 30 years of age, at the time of the event.

I am pleased to attach the Fact Sheet and application form for those Young Adults who wish to apply with a deadline of December 31 2007 to be returned to my attention at 50 Merton Street, Toronto, M4S 1A3.

The role of the delegation will be to actively represent Girl Guides of Canada as ambassadors, spokespersons and decision-makers, referable to conference issues.

Skills and characteristics of the applicants required are:

Exceptional leadership and communications skills
Broad Guiding experience and experience other than as a Unit Guider
Knowledge of current issues/trends affecting Guiding in Canada
Knowledge of WAGGGS
Ability to participate and contribute to discussion at the World level
Self-confident; adaptable and can be comfortable in unfamiliar environments
Ability to take an active role in leading discussions
Proficiency in English
Ability to speak French and/or Spanish would be an asset.

A selection committee, which will include the Chief Commissioner, will review the applications.
If necessary, applicants will be short listed, after which telephone interviews will take place. One alternate will be selected. The deadline for receipt by the National Office is December 31, 2007. Please forward to WorldConf@girlguides.ca or by regular mail.

There were almost 50 applicants from all reaches of this great country, and after a difficult selection process, two young adult members were chosen to join the four other Canadian women going to the World Conference on behalf of the GGC.

The young observers will be Bryanna Thiel from British Columbia/Quebec and Susie Hawkins from Nunavut/Newfoundland.

Introducing the Delegation

Good Morning to All,

I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce each of the members of our delegation.

Myrtle Corkum (Chief Commissioner) - I'm sure you all know (or know of) Myrtle, our Chief. She is excited about leading this talented delegation to Johannesburg in July. Myrtle will be arriving at the World Conference on her own as she will first attend the Commonwealth Chief Commissioner's Conference to be held in Cape Town, South Africa, immediately preceding the World Conference. Myrtle is familiar with the proceedings of a World Conference having attended the last one in Jordan in 2005. She has met may of her counterparts in various parts of the world and is looking forward to introducing you to them in South Africa.

Deborah Del Duca (Chief Executive Officer of GGC) - As our chief staff person, Deborah attends the World Conference to participate equally with other members of the delegation. Deborah has a great deal of international experience in and outside Guiding. She also attended the 32nd. World Conference in Jordan as well as the last 2 Western Hemisphere Conferences. She will be able to support Myrtle and the rest of the delegation in a number of areas, especially governance and procedural related matters. Deborah has been with GGC for 7 years now. Those of you who have not yet had the pleasure of meeting her will be impressed with how well she understands GGC and our particular passion for Guiding.

Chris Burton (Chief Commissioner-Elect) - Chris was the last person to be selected to be part of the delegation to South Africa. On May 31st, at the joint meeting of the Board of Directors and Provincial Committee in Montreal, the election for the next Chief Commissioner was successfully conducted and Chris was elected to serve as Chief Commissioner-Elect for the next year. During this time, she is a full serving board director. She will assume the office of Chief Commissioner at the next annual general meeting which will be held in June 2009 in Halifax.

Enidd Isaac (National International Adviser - NIA) - Enidd has been our NIA for the past 2 years. Although you will quickly hear her Welsh accent, she has lived in Alberta for many years. Enidd participated in the Western Hemisphere Conference in Toronto last summer and is looking forward to expanding her international experience and knowledge during this upcoming 33rd. World Conference. As NIA she is responsible in large part for the initiatives GGC has in partnership with our twinning partner Dominica.

Bryanna Thiel - (Young Adult) - Bryanna (pronounced Bri (as in Brian).. Anna) lives in Vancouver where she is studying Global Resource Systems at UBC. She speaks French and German fluently and is conversant in Spanish. She is sure to be an asset when you communicate with new found friends in Johannesburg. Bryanna is well travelled and knowledgeable with a wide variety of global issues.

Susie Hawkins (Young Adult) - Susie teaches school in Qikiqtarjuaq in Nunavut north of Iqaluit. Susie calls St. John's, NL home and will depart from St. John's when she heads to Johannesburg. Susie speaks French fluently and brings to our delegation a knowledge of life in Canada's north, which will likely add an interesting component to considerations of other Member Organizations, where personal living situations can be challenging.

(Between Bryanna and Susie, I think we have the country well covered - from coast, to coast, to coast.)

One thing we all have in common is a long history with Girl Guides of Canada-Guide du Canada (GGC), a fact that will bring high quality understanding when reflecting the reality of GGC to your discussions.