There is a saying that when you meet a Guide from anywhere in the world that you meet a friend.

Well, it is true and if you have a look a little further on this page you can learn how to go about making some new international friends. You can read about the experiences of members in Forth Valley when they travelled far and wide with Scottish Guiding as one of them said “I never thought that Guiding would make such a big impact on my life when I enrolled as a Brownie!”   She went to Africa and fulfilled a lifetime’s ambition! 
You can also keep up to date with the latest news, publications and resources available.  

The CIA or County International Adviser has details about anything on this site so
contact her if you need more information. 

INTERNATIONAL CAMPS

The County selects girls to go forward for selection each year at Scottish Level and if they are lucky 
they may get the chance to take part in an international camp either in the UK or abroad the
following year. They will get the chance to mix with others from around Scotland, the UK and from all over
the world. The camp could take place in the UK or further field. If however you wish to take your own Unit,
or guides or senior section or maybe even Division to an International camp then read on.

INTERNATIONAL SELECTION FOR CAMPS IN 2008

NOW FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE FOLLOWING  

INTERNATIONAL CAMPS

GOLD

GIRL GUIDING SCOTLAND GHANA PROJECT

FIND A PEN PAL

REPORTS

WAGGGS

COMMONWEALTH YOUTH EXCHANGE

INTERNATIONAL IN THE PROGRAMME

RESOURCES AVAILABLE IN THE COUNTY  

GOING FOR GOLD

GOLD or to put it correctly Guiding Overseas Linked with Development. What does GOLD do and what
can it do for me? Well GOLD gives you the chance to go abroad for a few weeks, to use your skills to work
alongside others on GOLD projects which could be anything from primary health care to teaching English
or even clearing scrubland for campsites. The projects take place all around the world from Bangladesh to 
Russia.

Anne Young a Brownie Guider from Forth Valley went to Madagascar in 2007 with Gold ..... If you are interested you need
to be 16-30 years old, be a senior section member or adult leader of the Girl Guiding UK  be prepared to fundraise, show
initiative, stamina and be able to have FUN! 
Contact the CIA for selection date details.

GIRLGUIDING SCOTLAND GHANA PROJECT                  

This is a service project which takes place every 3 years. There is a selection process for this
project and last year a group of Scottish senior section/young guiders went out to a small village called
Shia to build a bakery and a group of experienced guiders who went out to train the Ghanaian guiders.

FIND A PEN PAL

You can do this by contacting the Scottish Post Box Secretary; your guiders will
be able to get the address for you.

The aim of this scheme is to promote International friendship between Guides. It 
was started before the Second World War and continues today. Not all countries
take part because it can be very expensive for postage but the secretary will be able
to let you know which countries have members who are looking for a pen pal and
also the age of that pen pal i.e. if it is a guide, senior section member or a leader
(it’s not just for the kids!)

WAGGGS

WAGGGS (World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts) co-ordinates all of the guide associations 
throughout the world. Visit their website and you can learn more about the projects they promote, you can 
also find links to other associations (useful for info for Thinking Day projects!). Senior section people may
also find it useful as WAGGGS sometimes has summer jobs in their London headquarters and also may
offer placements or secondments at various sites in Europe for members.

Please also Visit  www.girlguiding.org.uk  and www.wagggs.org                              

COMMONWEALTH YOUTH EXCHANGE COUNCIL

The Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council (CYEC) promotes educational visits between groups of young people in the UK and their contemporaries in Commonwealth countries. Through the provision of information, advice, training and financial support CYEC aims to enable young people from all sections of the community to participate in high quality youth exchange programmes in order to promote international awareness and contribute to both personal and community development.

Youth participation is intrinsic to the exchange model and the youngsters learn such things as personal confidence, leadership qualities, responsibility, social awareness and knowledge and understanding of other cultures. CYEC can help with grants, advice, information and training amongst other things. If you are considering taking a group abroad to another country and setting up an exchange and that is a commonwealth country then give the CYEC some thought.

INTERNATIONAL IN THE PROGRAMME

International is not just a once a year idea to be rolled out at Thinking Day. Remember leaders your Rainbows, Brownies, Guides, Rangers will benefit from learning about other cultures, religions, food etc all year round. It is not just about going to International camps or service projects there really is something for everyone and it can be what you make it. There are number of useful links from the GirlGuiding UK website www.girlguiding.org.uk
visit the international section where you can get ideas e.g. from the” on the line activity pack”. Try Guiding UK another useful website. Amongst the publications that are very useful are “A World Of Ideas” and “Small World” which is available from all guide shops.

Rangers and Young Leaders there are exciting new programmes coming forward such as Passport for Europe- see www.girlguiding.org.uk   There are also ideas for your gap year. Why not consider volunteering at Our Chalet or Our Cabana? Just like the WAGGGS volunteer jobs these are short-term volunteer jobs usually for 3 to 5 months.

  RESOURCES AVAILABLE IN THE COUNTY

There are many resources available within the county. There are a number of books etc. that can be borrowed from the CIA. These range from activity books to recipe books and maps. There is also information on Guiding and Scouting around the world. If e.g. your unit cannot afford to buy Trefoil Around The World to use for your Thinking Day projects then why not borrow it from County? They are there for using!! Take up the opportunity – you could use unit funds for other things.