WORLD THINKING DAY

Thinking Day was first created in 1926 as a special day for Girl Scouts and Girl Guides all around the world to think of each other and give thanks and appreciation to their "sister" Girl Scouts.

February 22 was chosen as the date for Thinking Day because it was the mutual birthday of Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scout movement, and his wife Olave, who served as World Chief Guide. In 1999 the official name was changed to World Thinking Day to emphasize the global aspect of this special day.

WORLD THINKING DAY

World Thinking Day can be celebrated in a variety of ways from the simplest Troop activity to an elaborate council ceremony. In GSCNC World Thinking Day is normally celebrated at the troop or Service Unit level. As troops begin planning for Thinking Day they might want to consider some of the following activities:

• Learn about WAGGGS and the 4 World Centers
• Learn about World Thinking Day, its symbols and meaning
• Research a country: its culture, heritage, geography and people
• Develop a presentation to share with others
• Plan a service project

WAGGGS

The World Association of Girl Guide and Girl Scouts is the umbrella organization that unites 144 national Girl Guide and Girl Scout organizations in the world. It is the largest voluntary organization for girls and young women in the world, and one of the world's seven largest international youth organizations. There currently are approximately ten million individual members. WAGGGS provides girls and young women with excellent training and programs addressing their intellectual, spiritual, mental, emotional, social, moral and physical development needs. The organization promotes cultural awareness, international peace, understanding and appreciation. Its projects address issues of concern affecting today's girls and young women working on its own and through partnerships with the United Nations and other international organizations.

Think about Water is the theme for World Thinking Day 2008, which can be explored in three different ways:

• Provide access to clean water
• Drink water for health
• Conserve water for the world

Additional details about the 2008 World Thinking Day theme and activities related to it can be found on the World Thinking Day website and GSUSA's Thinking Day website.

WAGGGS supports four World Centers, places where girls and young women from all backgrounds can spend time together sharing their cultures and experiences, enjoying themselves and gaining a deeper understanding of the complex global community in which they live together. The Centers provide different program activities, but place a similar emphasis on international friendship and co-operation, personal development and leadership training, enjoyment and service. The 4 World Centers are:

• Our Chalet in Adelboden, Switzerland
• Pax Lodge in London, England
• Our Cabaña outside of Cuernavaca, Mexico
• Sangam near Pune, India

WAGGGS also supports the World Association Thinking Day Fund that began in 1932 as a way for girls to offer gifts to show their appreciation and friendship on Thinking Day. The fund helps offer Girl Guiding/Girl Scouting to more girls and young women worldwide by supporting international travel opportunities, providing scholarship assistance for seminars at the four World Centres, providing financial aid and emergency assistance through the Mutual Aid program and supporting the Juliette Low Seminars which bring together young women from around the world. GSUSA supports this fund through donations to the Juliette Low World Friendship Fund. (See page 4.)

WAGGGS Symbols

The World Trefoil or World Badge is the unifying symbol of WAGGGS. The golden Trefoil on a bright blue background represents the sun shining over all the children of the world. The three leaves represent the three-fold Promise. The base of the stalk represents the flame of the love of humanity. The vein pointing upwards through the center of the Trefoil represents the compass needle pointing the way and the two stars represent the Promise and Law.

The World Flag includes the World Trefoil described above with white and golden blocks in the lower right-hand corner. The white blaze symbolizes WAGGGS' commitment to peace; the three golden blocks represent the three-fold Promise.

The Thinking Day symbol, introduced in 1975, shows the World Trefoil in the center, with arrows pointing towards it representing action and direction. The circular design represents the World of the Girl Guide/Girl Scout Movement

Celebrating Thinking Day

Service Unit celebrations take many different forms. Many service units celebrate World Thinking Day with an international fair with each troop choosing or being assigned a different country to learn about. Often the countries selected are members of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts so girls can learn more about their sisters in the worldwide organization. A troop might choose to do some of the following activities related to their country as they prepare for Thinking Day:

• Learn about the Girl Scout/Girl Guide organization there
• Learn how to say the Promise in the language of the country
• Learn about traditional clothing or the Girl Scout/Girl Guide uniform there
• Learn some of the customs, games, songs or dances
• Try making and eating traditional foods
• Learn about the geography and national symbols by making maps or flags

Some troops may have a parent or other troop-associated adult who has lived in the country and can assist by sharing information about the country, or even make a connection with a girl in the country the troop can write to. When this is not possible, troops can use the library or the Internet to research international games, recipes, songs, etc. In the DC area, foreign embassies can sometimes be helpful and may even allow troop visits, but troops should be respectful and remember this is not the primary function of the embassy.

Troops working on their own might choose a different approach by working on the GSCNC Increase the Peace, Common Threads or Brownie Friendmaker patches; a recognition such as Brownie Girl Scouts Around the World Try-It, Girl Scouting Around the World Junior Badge or A World of Understanding Teen Interest Project; or the WAGGGS Our Rights, Our Responsibilities Junior patch (see GSUSA website.) Other activities might include service projects that reach out to individuals around the community or around the world.

Ceremonies

Many Thinking Day celebrations, whether done at the troop level or beyond, include a ceremony to present the WAGGGS (World) pin and/or include the collection of donations to the Juliette Low World Friendship Fund. Girls can plan Thinking Day ceremonies to suit their age and interest, but the ideas below might get them started.

• "Build" a World Trefoil, World Flag or Thinking symbol using flannel, felt or poster board. Enlarge and cut out the parts of the symbol. As girls reconstruct the symbol, have them explain the meaning of each piece. (See description of the symbols above.)
• Light a candle for each part of the Girl Scout/Girl Guide Promise and/or Law using the wording from different countries. For instance, begin by saying, "I light this candle for the first part of the Law. In the United States we say I will do my best to be honest and fair, while in Korea they say a Girl Scout's honour is to be trusted." Continue in a similar fashion including wording from different countries. (See Trefoil Round the World.)
• Give each girl a sheet of construction paper with one letter from "THINKING DAY" or other appropriate word. Have girls think about the letter and come up with a word or an idea related to that letter. Have girls line up in order and as each holds up her letter she relates her word. For instance, a girl might say, "T stands for Thousands of girls around the world celebrating today." The next girl might say, "H stands for Helping one another, one action that unites us." Girls continue until they have spelled out the word selected.

If donations to the Juliette Low World Friendship Fund are going to be part of a Thinking Day celebration, girls should decide the best way to collect the money in their troop. Girls might decide to set aside a portion of each week's dues or they might try one of the traditional penny collection methods listed below or make up one of their own.

• A penny for each inch of a girl's height
• A penny for each month in a girl's age
• A penny (or nickel) for each time she can jump rope without stopping
• For a troop project, trace the outline of one girl in the troop and have girls combine their pennies to cover the outline (or if they are really ambitious to fill it in)

At the ceremony, donations might be placed in a wishing well with each girl (or a troop representative at a large gathering) making a wish for world friendship or peace as the donation is deposited. However the money for the Juliette Low World Friendship fund is collected, the troop or Service Unit should forward the money to the GSCNC council office using a single check payable to GSCNC with JLWFF noted on the memo line.

Resources

Girl Scout handbooks and badge/insignia have many ideas, as do library books about international foods, games, etc. The following resources may also be helpful.

Available at GSCNC shop:
Trefoil Round the World
The 4 World Centres
Girl Scouts go Global!

Patch Program books available at Marilynn Carr Information Center
Increase the Peace
Common Threads
Brownie Friendmaker
Websites:
www.girlscouts.org
www.wagggs.org

Here's a couple of websites that have Thinking Day ideas.
www.geocities.com/Heartland/Fields/2763/td-games.htm
http://www.iupui.edu/~sharrin/td.htm

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