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A newly-launched Brownie Lottie doll is set to empower girls to become more adventurous and to pursue their dreams.

The Brownie figure, like all Lottie dolls, is modelled on the proportions of an average nine-year-old child. She comes with a Brownie uniform and accessories include a tent, camping equipment and a kayak. There’s even a campfire and sausages and marshmallows!

The Brownie Lottie doll was launched on 4 August at our international camp, IGGNITE2017, which saw 1,800 Girl Guides from 12 different countries camp under canvas in Rockwell College. The girls took part in a range of activities to help them ‘BE’ adventurous, active, confident, unique, limitless, inventive and to ‘BE’ survivors and advocates.

Launching the doll, Nicola Grinstead, Chair of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), said: “We love the way Lottie dolls are age-appropriate and relatable and they empower children to be themselves, to be imaginative, adventurous and, of course, to have fun. This partnership is a perfect fit for us as WAGGGS’s vision is that ‘All girls are valued and can take action to change the world’.”

Irish Girl Guides Chief Commissioner, Helen Concannon, said: “We hope the Lottie Brownie doll will not only encourage our younger members to be more active and adventurous, but will facilitate the empowerment of many more girls besides and might encourage them to become Brownies and Guides too.”

Ian Harkin, Managing Director of Arklu, the Donegal-based company that designs the Lottie dolls, described the new doll as “a must-have plaything for every young Brownie, who’ll be able to bring Brownie activities to life with Lottie in their very own home. She’ll appeal to other adventurous-minded children too.”

The Lottie Brownie doll retails at €19.95. To find your nearest stockist, use the store locator on Lottie.com or order online. 80 cents of every sale in Ireland goes to Irish Girl Guides.

We are Megan and Abigail from Griffeen Valley Senior Branch, Sub-camp Glow 14. On 2 August we took part in the overnight survival. We and two others from our sub-camp arrived outside the pool and were greeted by a team led by a Trócaire representative named Ellen. We soon realised it would be an extraordinary night. We would be taking on the role of climate change refugees from Honduras in an evacuation simulation. Due to flash floods many families were evacuated.

We, in groups of four to six, were given roles as these families. We were a “family” together with two girls we had never met but coincidentally were also from Dublin. We were given folders and selected characters. We became the Flores family consisting of Elvia – a 65-year-old woman and her three-year-old great granddaughter Kritza. The rest of our “family” were the Lopezes with a 32-year-old woman and her two-year-old daughter. We were told to become our characters as the Sparks and Ellen would be treating us as these characters.

The folder also held $120 in monopoly money, identity cards for everyone but the grandmother who had a passport and, lastly, cards explaining the family’s story and a picture of the family. As we passed the Sparks they gave us sheets with belongings on them. We accumulated a bike, credit cards, a photo album and a selection of sanitary items. When we were about to board the bus they said it would cost $100 to get on. We scrambled through our folder to pull out the required cash after we realised we would have to take good care of all our belongings and barter wisely.

When we arrived at the “border” to Guide Land we were ordered to gather some firewood. We were the first to approach the border and we were told to stand to one side for an intelligence test. After the rest of the families were cleared and sent to register we started the intelligence test. We presumed it would be about our backstory and why we were at the border but soon realised it was to test our logical thinking, like a game. There was a river constructed with two buckets of water along with a five-litre water bottle and a three-litre water bottle. Our test was to show exactly four litres of water in five minutes as the border was closing. We have to admit it took us at least twenty minutes to complete as it took a while to find a solution and even longer to pour all the water around. When we finally completed the task we were chastised for wasting too much water. We were strongly advised to “Sweeten the Deal” to be allowed in.

We all agreed the best option was to hand over the bike as it would be the least useful to us in the future. Our bribe was greatly appreciated and we were led to registration. Here the rest of the families were either already across the border or were filling in registration forms. We presented our IDs, but with only one passport between four people there was a slight dilemma. As women of very young and very old ages without, as they said, “a man to take care of us”, we would not offer enough in return for their kindness . We tried to mention various skills like how Elvia was a seamstress but it was to no avail, as to get in we were forced to hand over our last $20. As we walked towards the refugee camp in the forest, we were given a ground sheet, rope and a tarp.

After all this one of our family members muttered one word of complaint not thinking straight so we were immediately told to stop and drop everything. As we were “ungrateful” we were forced to do star jumps while the Sparks yelled at us to go faster. They then ordered us to do push-ups on the wet grass and, needless to say, none of us were successful. After we had each collapsed on the ground several times they showed slight mercy and asked us to sing instead. We discussed for a while and came to the conclusion that the only song we all knew was Happy Birthday. This was another mistake as Ellen took advantage of this saying if it was her birthday we owed her a gift. No single item was enough so we surrendered all of our remaining belongings.

We finally were able to enter the site but the main camp was full so we were placed in the back of the forest. As it was getting dark we hastily began to set up our shelter. Using our trusty reef knots we tied our rope at a comfortable distance between two trees, threw a tarp over and held the edges down with rocks we found. At this point we were taken off camp by two Sparks who were acting suspiciously nice compared to earlier, we were soon informed the simulation had ended. Our group were led through the dark forest across a wooden bridge to a spider web of rope. We had to pass each player through a different hole to earn s’mores for the campfire. After a few falls and failed attempts we completed the task.

We approached the campfire first and the Sparks began repeatedly attempting to light the fire, but in fairness they said they had lit the fire perfectly the past few nights, we were just a bit unfortunate that night. After the fire was lit we sang some campfire songs, which included a new song we had never heard before from Malaysia, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. We roasted marshmallows and drank hot chocolate before retiring to our bivvies for the night.

Through all the rain and wind we both still slept fine although our sleeping bags were a bit damp in the morning. We then discussed the effects of climate change and the struggles of refugees. It was an enlightening, albeit slightly scary, but overall a fun adventure.

It was something we would recommend to all Guides, Senior Branch or anyone else who has the opportunity (wecwould recommend lots of layers and a mosquito net though)!

Hello there. My name is Aine Foley. I’m from Newbridge in Co. Kildare and I am a member of the cermony team at IGGNITE2017. And guess what?! Today was a ceremony day! It started off very early when two of my tent buddies got up super early to see the 8am Flag Ceremony. I woke up, dreaming of sausages, and I swear, Adrienne and her team must be mind-readers, because as I walked into the staff canteen, I was greeted with the salivating scent of sausages! We praised the kitchen staff as they cooked roughly 1000 sausages for us!

Today, we hit the mid-week mark of IGGNITE2017 – time sure does fly when your having fun. Activities were still continuing on throughout the day as we saw campers move from swimming to dance, kayaking to Free Being Me. We even said good-bye to groups as they went off-site, out to explore different parts of Ireland, including the gorgeous Cashel town , Fethard and some lucky Guides even got to get close and personal with some some giraffes and monkeys in Fota Island.

We were absolutely blessed with weather today, the rain stayed away for most of the day. But, hey, we’re at camp – the rain isn’t going to stop us anyways. As I walked through the IGGNITE village, it was so beautiful to see girls all over the world communicating through song, dance and games. It really got me excited for our Guides Own taking place in the evening.

As it came closer to 7, everyone started arriving up to the big marquee. After many preparations throughout the day (and many months before we arrived) the team we were ready to start for what was sure to be a memorable ceremony.

As the ceremony commenced everyone was aware of the fact that it was a peaceful ceremony, with a lot of time to reflect throughout the evening. Everyone got time to think about others and themselves. We had beautiful dancers and singers from all across Ireland, and indeed, all across the world.

I don’t want to spoil what happened in it, but you can find it on the Irish Girl Guides website. (You’ll also find our Opening Ceremony, and in the future, our IGGNITE’s Got Talent footage, our Campfire and our Closing Ceremony)

I can’t believe we are half way through camp – it has been incredible and I hope you have been enjoying our blogs, photos and snapchats! Please look out for us tonight – in IGGNITE’s Got Talent. Who are you shouting for???

COME ON THE LILY REBELS!!!!!

On Tuesday morning we, Griffeen Valley Guides from Lucan, Lily Guides from Newbridge and our international visitors, North Down Guides from Kent in England, all woke up to a day of fun-filled activities, as we were heading off to Cashel.

We packed our lunch, waterproofs and applied the sunscreen before we left our site. We piled onto the bus with excitement and travelled to Fethard, where we showed off our skills at archery and enjoyed a nice tour of the town. We were greeted by a very funny tour guide who told us the history of each building and stories of soldiers’ forbidden love. The town became alive as we explored the castle and old churches. We sat down in the sun for some lunch with the beautiful town as a view, before we hopped back on the bus to Cashel. We were very excited for our talent show in the evening and practised our song with the help of our bus driver’s speaker.

We hiked up to the Rock of Cashel and sat down to enjoy the view and amazing weather before joining a tour around the castle. We said goodbye to the rock and walked back down to the town centre. There we met with some activity staff for some more exciting activities. We were treated to some ice-creams as we rested in Cashel.

Next, we split into two groups, half of our group joined some staff in a small library beside a church not too far from the castle. We learned about the art of calligraphy and the history behind it. We were shocked with the amount of work that went into decorating and writing each page in some of the ancient books in Ireland, such as the Book of Kells. Each girl then had the chance to use a quill and ink to practise her skills.

The other half of our group took part in a scavenger hunt around the town of Cashel. Braving the rain, the girls ran frantically around searching for clues and figuring out riddles as they worked in teams to complete the hunt.

We jumped back on the bus to Rockwell exhausted after enjoying our day off-site. After a dinner of pizza and potato wedges, we returned to our campsite to practise our song and dances for the talent show. We put on our matching t-shirts and walked down to represent Glow 14. We really enjoyed the talent shows and loved every minute of performing and showing off all of our dancing and singing to all the other girls in Glow.

We returned to our campsite for a campfire, hot chocolate and goodies. We all slept well that night and overall we loved our day off-site and being a part of the talent show and really becoming a lot closer as a sub-camp.

See the IGGNITE2017 Facebook page for lots of photos!

Waking up your first morning at camp is always an exciting feeling! Maybe the light coming through your tent woke you up, or the birds in the trees, or the giggling girls walking past in their wellies as they go to brush their teeth.

The buzz of the previous night’s Opening Ceremony certainly hadn’t worn off when I emerged Monday morning – and neither had the rain. Lots of girls in their raincoats were running around getting ready to go to their activities, wondering what they would be doing first.

From adventurous activities, like Medi Disaster and wide games, exploring the local area, to kayaking and drama workshops, learning how to be an advocate, as well as fun and silly games, there were loads of different things the girls would be doing and they couldn’t wait to get started.

After a very busy day, there was one more thing to do, and that was a Scavenger Hunt. The girls were given a list of 20 items that they had to find on the campsite including a feather, a bottlecap, a candle and something that had been on more than three Guide camps. With these items, once they’d found them all, they had to make a picture or sculpture or an art piece with them. And the creativity was amazing! Everyone had loads of fun and loved checking out everyone else’s art pieces.

On your first day of a big camp, it can sometimes be a bit daunting, with all these new people from all over Ireland and all over the world. But after Monday’s activities there were new friendships formed that will cross the seas and oceans from Ireland to Scotland, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand and so many other places.

I think it’s safe to say that Day 2 was a successful one and I can’t wait to see what adventures the rest of the week holds!

See the IGGNITE2017 Facebook page for lots of photos!

It was an early, slightly damp start yesterday morning, as about 100 of the staff team grouped together to greet all our campers and help unload their buses for them. With so many campers and buses arriving we were tasked with unloading the buses within a 10-minute time frame, to try to avoid having a queue of vehicles.

We were an amazing team and, after the first bus, had a system going – two people physically unloaded the buses and then everyone else took the kit to the holding bays, a further team then assisted with taking the kit down to the camp sites.

Each bus was greeted with a cheer and we soon were beating our 10-minute target and the average time it was taking to unload a bus was about two minutes (well, except a couple of buses that seemed to have been built by the same person that built the Tardis, but that’s another story…..).

Although we did have some rain in the morning, the weather did improve throughout the day and I’m sure that the campers were very happy to be putting up their tents in the dry! People were starting to walk about and explore the campsite, and lots of trolleys of food made their way down to the campsite from the supermarket.

In the evening, prior to the opening ceremony, we hosted a Welcome Reception for various people, including local dignitaries, representatives of various partner organisations (including Concern, Gaisce, Irish Aid and the National Youth Council of Ireland), the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Irish Girl Guides, and lots of people who have assisted the camp in some way. In the reception we had a table where the guests could partake in a classic Guiding activity – making s’mores!

Then finally it was time for the Opening Ceremony. Making our way down to the marquee it was a real surprise to walk in and see the stage area and big screen. Live video showed us all the campers streaming down to the marquee and slowly it filled up. (The whole thing was also being streamed live on the Irish Girl Guides website).

I think it might have been the best opening ceremony that I have ever been to. There were super talented singers and dancers, girls in the different uniforms that you have worn throughout the years, a beautiful piece of video where we actually heard Olave Baden-Powell’s voice and, of course, the presentation of the different flags of the 12 international countries that are being represented at the camp. Declaring the camp open, Jenny wasn’t allowed to cut a ribbon, oh no, instead she had to saw through the branch of a tree!

At the end of the opening ceremony, there was a short break and then a band was playing live for the Guides to continue to party to. After a long day I’m sure everyone slept well last night 🙂

Hello, we are Ava, Caoimhe and Sorcha from Carrigaline, Co. Cork and Newbridge Co. Kildare.

We arrived bright and early on Saturday July 29th to Rockwell College in Co. Tipperary. When we arrived, Aoife Leamy collected us on a golf cart and gave us a quick tour around the campsite. We then went to register and got our fabulous sparkly t-shirts and our name-tags, which made us feel and look very professional. After our lunch, made by the amazing Adrienne and her team, we were immediately put on a job to go put up a UNICEF tent. It took us about 20 minutes to figure out how it worked, but with great skills and Finnish acrobatics, we managed to get the tent up.

We (Caoimhe and Sorcha) decided it was a good idea to go visit our Unit Leaders at their camp. We weren’t even there 5 seconds and we were given a job to put up sitemaps. Five o’clock came around and we all rushed to pick a good spot to put up our own tent. We eventually found one and set up our homes for the next week.

After our fabulous turkey dinner, we had a staff meeting in the cafeteria. The staff meeting was great and we got a very enthusiastic and inspirational speech from Camp Chief, Jenny Gannon. We were introduced to all the main staff members and found out what was going on for the week. After the staff meeting we went outside to find it was now really dark and Aisling had no tent up, so we had to put up the tent in the dark and then we decorated it with very pretty lights. It was 11 o’clock by now and we were ready for bed but then we were told we had to write this blog. Thanks Aoife xoxo.

Overall the day was busy but a really great first day at IGGNITE2017 and we’re very excited  for the week ahead!

Hey! We’re Jenny McKeever and Claire Patterson from Tullow Guides, Foxrock, Co. Dublin and we participated in the Pre-Camp Challenge at IGGNITE2017 and we would love to tell you all about it.

We’re going to be honest with you, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. We initially thought that we were camping at Rockwell for the week and trying out all the different activities… oh, how wrong we were!

Two weeks before pre-camp, we got ‘THE’ email that broke the news (not so gently) that we were actually hiking 55km in four days, which didn’t include the cycling or kayaking! We realised that we were completely unprepared for the week that was ahead as we had limited experience in camping (ask the others)!

Tuesday morning dawned bright and early. We decided to spend an extra minute mourning the loss of our beds, lord knows we wouldn’t see one of them for a while. When we arrived we were shocked to discover that there was only one small bus to carry what we expected to be hundreds of people. Instead, there was only 14 of us, which in hindsight was a positive as we became like family.

The hike was long but the views and banter made up for it. We thought it impossible, but one can actually get sick of bacon (every day, twice a day) #Ewwww. We were very impressed by the fact that we could survive for four days based on a  €4 per day budget. The tent was an interesting endeavour for us. Every night there was a different problem with our tent. Inside out, wrong way round, not pegged properly, gusts of wind blowing it down the road. Who needs TV when you can watch us putting up a tent for free? We were known as the married couple of the camp for our bickering over food and tents. (We get along, we swear…)

I (Jenny) was Miss Accident Prone. After just two days I managed to go over the handlebars of my bike. My lip was nice and swollen but I managed to pull it off! The next day I received a nice nettle sting on my cheek. Other injuries during pre-camp included blisters, strep throat and pulled muscles. We are troopers, to say the least! At the end of Friday eventually we made it to Rockwell, and we were greeted with a feast of a takeaway and luxuries called showers and beds which we forgot existed.

All in all we have memories that we will cherish forever and friendships that will last a lifetime.

Top tips for Pre-Camp Challenge;

1. You really don’t need the kitchen sink – pack light (but be prepared to smell!)

2. No matter how cute, DON’T touch the vole (we’re looking at you Ciara)

3. Don’t let the distance faze you, If we can do it, so can you.

4. Make sure you bring a good first aid kit because you never know what you might encounter.

5. Finally, be prepared for the experience of a lifetime and smells you won’t forget!

Thank you so much to IGG for providing us with this opportunity and to Jenny, Ann, Roisin and Clare for putting up with for 4 whole days.We can’t thank you enough.

1,800 Girl Guides are counting down the days until the start of international camp!

IGGNITE2017, which starts on 30 July 2017, will see girls from 12 countries join Girl Guides from all corners of Ireland camping under canvas at Rockwell College, Thurles, Co Tipperary.

It will be the biggest ever Girl Guide camp to take place in Ireland!

There will be a total of 250 visitors, including Girl Guides from the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Georgia, Zimbabwe and St Vincent and the Grenadines as well as England, Scotland and Finland.

“After two years of planning, we’re excited to be in the final days of the countdown until camp takes place,” says IGGNITE2017 Camp Chief Jenny Gannon. “We can’t wait to welcome all the girls and introduce them to the different kinds of fun and adventurous activities they’ll be taking part in during the camp.”

Activities will include kayaking, horse-riding, water obstacle courses, building rafts and rockets and playing quidditch as well as drama, music, body confidence, yoga, meditation and coding workshops. “The girls will also learn how to advocate for gender equality and to stand up for refugees and, by learning about the Sustainable Development Goals, it is hoped they will be enthused to make a difference in their local communities and overseas,” says Jenny.

“Guiding aims to ignite a social and environmental conscience in our members from age five-plus while they take part in team-building and problem-solving games and challenges. They learn how to speak out on issues that concern them and how to inspire others to take action too.

“Our overall aim is to see our members become responsible citizens of the world; that is part of our ethos. Guiding is also a wonderful place to make friends for life!”

Twenty-two members of Irish Girl Guides aged 14-22 took part in a Lego Robotics Summer Academy in Dublin City University’s LEGO Education Innovation Studio. Here two of the participants, Maggie Cumiskey and Méabh Lonergan, tell us of their experience.

Before starting our LEGO camp journey, we were all very excited and a bit nervous.  Some people came with friends, some with sisters, and some went without knowing a single person.

We arrived in St Patrick’s campus, DCU, on the Monday morning. We were each assigned our own room in student accommodation, which comprised of a desk, bed, wardrobe and a sink.

Each day was different on the Robotics course. We were gradually introduced to the robots and the idea of coding. We started off rather simply with a cute robot called Milo. Building the robot was really fun as I think most of us hadn’t played with LEGO in years. It was really nice to be able to sit back and feel like a kid again! Coding Milo was also really fun and surprisingly easy. We followed instructions step by step to make him go forwards and backwards as well as make him stop with different sensors.

At first it was really daunting because I don’t think many of us had done any coding before. However, once we got into it, it was very easy. Each of us turned to our partner at some stage and said “That was us. We did that!” and maybe high-fiving each other every once in a while.

After Milo, we moved onto a new, slightly more complicated robot. We built him as normal but the coding was slightly different and way more specific. It was a lot harder to make him move and there was a lot more work involved to make him go. We had to measure the distance we wanted him to move and then calculate the number of wheel rotations needed to get there. My original thoughts were “Oh dear God, maths. I haven’t done maths in two years!” It was very easy maths, though, so I was very relieved. We also could make this robot turn, unlike Milo, which took two robots. On this new one we had to be very specific and calculate the exact degree we needed. He was a lot more challenging but also a lot more fun. It was really cool to code it ourselves and make it complete little challenges that we were set.

We used this robot for the rest of the week in our “Mission To Mars” project. This was so much fun and I think it’s safe to say the most enjoyable part of the week. We were all split into groups of four and given a new robot to build (We called him Tobias Walowitz and Brobot). The aim of this project was to build and code a suitable robot to complete up to seven challenges on Mars in under than two and half minutes. This was so much fun as we had the freedom to extend our robot and use the skills we had learned in the prevoius few days. We measured, calculated distances and angles like crazy. There were so many different emotions running through everyone those few days when it went right and when it didn’t. Needless to say, we were all very proud of our robots when we finished the challenges. Especially as both our teams came at a respectable first and second.

During the week, we heard talks from Dr Niamh Shaw, a woman who took part in a Mars simulation experience and Rosemary Steen, director of Eirgrid.  It was interesting to hear these women speak, and hear their opinions on how to succeed in male-dominated areas.

After we left the robotics room, we took part in a number of evening activities:  we went to the cinema to see Baywatch and Wonder Woman, went rock climbing in Awesome Walls, went to Bounce Zone, and finally visited Google and Milanos! These were a great way for us to push our comfort zone and get to know the others better.

We learnt a lot from this week: like, how to programme a robot (of course). It wasn’t as hard as I imagined: so much of it was measuring and working out angles, before writing them into a basic code. I’d never played much with LEGO before and I was surprised at how easy it was to build a robot that could grab, lift, drop and spin things. Overall it was an excellent week and I think we were all sad to be going home. It definitely opened our eyes to the world of programming and computing, and especially how women can influence STEM.

One of the best parts of the week was because of the fact that, as we were such a small group (22), we all bonded really well with the others over the five days. Seeing each other push our comfort zones in the evening activities, watching each others’ creations fail and succeed, and supporting each other all the time, (and having impromptu singalongs to Fall Out Boy), made us become great friends, and feel almost like one big (and loud) family by the end of the week.

We’d like to thank Ross, Rob, Deidre, and all those at DCU for creating such a fab week, Rosemary and Niamh for giving up their time to talk to us, and Lorna and Emer for organising it, and making sure we didn’t die or get lost in Dublin. And the other girls, for grabbing the opportunity with both hands (and not killing me every time I asked them could I use them on the IGG and SB snapchat stories).

Make sure to sign up for next year!

From 26-30 June 2017, 22 Senior Branch members descended on the DCU St. Patrick’s campus for the week to take part in the IGG Lego Robotics Mission to Mars Summer Academy.

We were kept very busy all week. Every morning we arrived into the Lego Education and Innovation Studio at 10 am and would spend the days building and programming robots made out of Lego to attempt different challenges that would be associated with colonising Mars.

We learned how to make the robots move forward and backward and how to combine three robots to pull a plant sample and then we moved on to the more compilcated challenges. Some of the challenges included engaging a satellite, launching a rocket, rescuing a Mars rover and rescuing some astronauts from the moon.

We used the Lego robotics software to programme the robots. We were able to drag and drop blocks on the screen to program the bots, so none of us had to write any complicated code that most people would associate with robotics, and it was a huge relief for everyone!

We learned how to make the robots move forward and backward and how to combine three robots to pull a plant. We finished the workshops at 4pm and IGG had a whole range of different activities organised for us. We went to the cinema, we visited the Google headquarters, we tried trampolining and rock-climbing. There really was something for everyone!

I was really nervous to be the only girl from my Unit going to this event, but even though I didn’t know any of the other girls beforehand, we all became very close very quickly.

Former IGG Chief Commissioner and former Senator Jillian van Turnhout has been nominated to run for election for the World Board of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS).

Jillian writes:

I am greatly honoured to be nominated by the Irish Girl Guides and Catholic Guides of Ireland to run for election for the World Board of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS).

In my volunteer and professional work, I instinctively advocate for children’s and women’s rights. From an early age, the Guiding flame burned brightly when I joined Brownies at the age of seven. The fundamental principles of Guiding and Scouting continue to be a beacon to guide me on my path through life.

WAGGGS has 10 million members in 146 countries across the world supporting girls and young women to develop their full potential as leaders and active citizens of the world. I believe we must see more women in leadership roles and this is one of the reasons that has motivated me to stand for election. I would bring my practical experience of working with Guides in my locality and leading the reinvigoration of the Irish Girl Guide national programme for girls and young women aged five to 30.

I would share my global knowledge of advocating for children’s rights at UN, European and national level. I believe my governance experience on European and national Boards would be an asset.

Anyone who knows me can see my belief in Guiding shines brightly. It is a tremendous honour to even be considered and I hope everyone can support me in my campaign to get elected to the WAGGGS World Board at the World Conference in September in India.

Members of Irish Girl Guides are set to develop business and entrepreneurial skills when our Cookie Programme kicks off in the autumn!

Girls from age 5+ will sell packets of biscuits for €2.50 each, thus raising funds for their Units. This will involve teamwork and business skills and girls will have a say in how the funds for their Unit are spent.

This initiative fits in with our aim of helping girls and young women develop important life-skills. We also want to change the imbalance of the number of women in decision-making positions across the various sectors of society such as business, companies and boardrooms around Ireland.

We are thrilled to have the support of Alison Cowzer (Dragon’s Den) for this project. Alison is keen to help girls and women to develop business and money management skills. In an interview about the project with the Sunday Business Post, she said, ‘It could take centuries to achieve equality without serious efforts to bring women into male-dominated spheres such as business and politics.”

Alison is a founder of East Coast Bakehouse – the factory that will produce more than 110,000 packets of biscuits for IGG to sell over the next three years. Alison’s own daughters were members of IGG and she has been an excellent mentor to us, giving generously of her time and expertise in the food industry.

The project will be taking place under the tag of #FutureCEOs, which stands for Creating Entrepreneur Opportunities and will link with the Journey Programme for each Branch. By taking part in the initiative and striving to do their best, girls will earn a Cookie Badge.

In September Units will receive guidelines on selling, details of the badge curriculum and templates for recording sales. If your Unit is interested in learning more about the Cookie programme, please email cookies@irishgirlguides.ie.

Girl Guides from around the world are getting excited as the countdown for IGGNITE2017 continues … there’s only 73 days to go!

Irish Girl Guides look forward to giving a big Irish welcome to Guides from Canada, the US, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Georgia and Zambia as well as England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

“We’re thrilled to have received such a great response and we’re looking

forward to hosting Ireland’s biggest Girl Guide camp,” says IGGNITE2017 Camp Chief Jenny Gannon. “Some of our Guides and Leaders have visited Rockwell already; it’s a great location and the grounds are perfect for camping. Having a lake is a definite bonus as the girls will have the opportunity to kayak and do other water-based activities.”

The camp will see the girls building rafts, rockets and volcanoes, playing quidditch, cooking international dishes and doing an assault course as well as taking part in drama, music, body confidence, yoga, meditation and coding workshops. There will also be sessions on climate justice and sustainability and trainings on how to advocate for gender equality and to stand up for refugees.

Day trips will include a visit to Cloughjordan eco village and to nearby Cashel where the girls will take part in a community mural project.

“We want to give the girls a fun and memorable experience,” says Jenny. “As well as the water sports and all the many other fun activities we will arrange for them, there will be a serious side to the camp too. Through a variety of activities and challenges, the girls will learn about the Sustainable Development Goals and they will be encouraged to explore ways that they can make a difference in their local communities and overseas.”

Jenna Goodwin, Jemma Lee and Elizabeth Moody all took part in the recent WAGGGS Europe Region Volunteer Training at Our Chalet. Here Elizabeth reflects on her experience:

Having applied to be a Europe Region Volunteer back in January and being accepted onto the Communication Working Group I was delighted that the time to actually travel to Our Chalet had come, so to say I was marking off the days on my calendar would be an understatement. The trip to Our Chalet wasn’t just for a nice holiday or a box to tick on my Guiding adventure but an opportunity to experience what it means to be a member of WAGGGS and to train with women from across Europe. Each volunteer would get a general training in each committee – External Relations, Growth, Gender and Diversity and Communication – and the general strategy of Europe Region for the Triennium (three years; don’t worry my sister didn’t know it either)! Every Working Group would get a detailed look at their specific task and the strategy they wanted to work on over the triennium, with a sponsor from the Europe Committee to bridge the gap between us and them. But the rest would be revealed when we arrived.

When I applied I thought that the chance of being accepted was slim to none as my experience levels weren’t everything I felt Europe Region wanted. So I was shocked and stunned when I got accepted. When I got over the excitement of being accepted then the feeling of doubt came in, moments where I questioned my experience or knowledge began. I questioned did I have what it took to make the most out of it for myself and for the team I was to be a part of. This feeling persisted till boarding the plane to Switzerland and arriving at Our Chalet as many of the people I met had more experience, but one thing for sure I wasn’t going to let my doubts slow me down.

I was one of three girls going to Our Chalet from Ireland to take part in the training. I was the only one to sit on the communications working group as the other two, Jenna and Jemma, were to be in the External Relations working group (you can imagine the confusion this caused two girls from Ireland whose names were basically the same, with similar features that both were on the same working group)! Our trip to Our Chalet was long and each of us took one bus to the

airport, a plane, a train in the airport, four trains and then a taxi. We arrived just after 1 o’clock in the morning and exhausted! We made our way into the very quiet Our Chalet to find welcome letters for each of us detailing which room we were to be sleeping in, where we could get a midnight snack and all the other basic information we needed. The best piece of information though was the complimentary wifi codes we were given because, you know what they say, if it isn’t on Instagram it didn’t happen. Safe to say we all immediately checked in online, had a midnight snack and crawled into bed.

The next morning we got up at 8am for breakfast not really knowing what to expect. We were welcomed by the slim few that were early birds too. We all tucked into a huge breakfast spread and COFFEE! We got chatting to all the different women from around Europe that had decided to take the plunge and volunteer on a working group. After breakfast we followed the blind leading the blind as we tried to find where all our sessions would be taking place in. Our first session was led by the chair of Europe Regions Committee, Marjolein: it was an introduction to the training and a look at Europe Region’s strategy for the next three years, the length of the Committee’s term.

The day continued with a few icebreakers and more sessions about the strategies of the individual working groups and, for those not in the know, what they were about. Thursday focused on two of the key areas – Gender and Diversity and Growth. After the sessions all the countries came together to have an international night where we got to share food and entertainment from the different countries.

We were offered a campfire song from Germany, the UK, and Denmark, a dance from the girls from the Czech Republic and Slovakia and Ireland decided to teach everyone how to do the Walls of Limerick. After the performances it was down to the important part, the eating! We enjoyed Viennese sparkling wine, haribos from Germany, the “best soda in the world” according to the Danish at the Scandinavian table and scones from the UK. Ireland certainly left our mark at the International Evening with everyone leaving with a lovely Irish (temporary) tattoo, let’s just say they were ready to be kissed.

The next morning there was a slight change of plans. Originally, we were supposed do our sessions in the morning and go for a hike in the afternoon but due to the weather this was rearranged. So after breakfast we all set out on our hikes – one to the village and one to the mountain in weather that could only be described as standing in a cloud with visibility only an arms width ahead of you and a constant drizzle of rain (the Irish were in their element). We were told this was better than the weather forecast for the afternoon. With this in mind I decided to join the group trekking to the village as there was a chance of shelter and a hot drink instead of imagining seeing the mountains. So we set out in all the waterproofs and warm layers and we arrived at the idyllic village of Adelboden where we took part in a scavenger hunt and only got as far as the question about the café where we stayed and chatted for the remainder of our time. We hiked back up to Our Chalet just in time for lunch.

After lunch the serious part of the training resumed again. The sessions focused on the work of the External Relations Working Group and the Communications Working Group. Included in the Communications presentation was a talk about the rebranding of WAGGGS. I found this really exciting as finally we got a more detailed look into exactly what I would get to work on and the background behind the new branding. Plus we got an impromptu break go out and play in the surprise snow.

That evening after dinner we took part in an exercise on Gender and Diversity. We listened to music from different countries and tried to guess where they were from and, let me tell you, I failed miserably: modern music is almost impossible to guess. We then looked at the kind of world we wanted to live in and the obstacles that were in our way but, in typical Guiding fashion, we didn’t just sit around and talk about it we visualised it through a game. Each person wrote on a sticky note two characteristics of the society they want to be part of. Then we wrote on two balloons our obstacles. We then helped each overcome these obstacles by bursting each others’ balloons.

Saturday was the day we got to work in our Working Groups. My group got the T-Bar which, for anyone who has been to Our Chalet, is the best room in the whole place as it’s got the comfy chairs and the coffee and tea. This became vital in my group as there were three British among the group who loved tea! The Communications Working Group is made up of four women from the UK, one girl from Denmark and one girl from Ireland, me (in case you didn’t guess). Our meeting consisted of two of the women from the UK, the Denmark Elizabeth, the Irish Elizabeth, as well as our sponsor from the Europe Region Committee, Lilit, and Ruth from the UK who work for WAGGGS Global as part of the communications team. We discussed the guidelines set out by the Europe Region’s Committee for what they considered was important for us to complete. We looked at how we felt we should achieve this as well as how we could work with the other committees. This all went into creating our strategy for the next three years.

That evening we took part in the Our Chalet Who Wants to be a Millionaire. This version of the game was very different to the TV original.  Our version was not only Guiding-themed but also included a challenge every round that typically involved running around Our Chalet, and in girl guiding fashion and with Olympic competitiveness my team fought successfully to win the competition.

The next morning was the last of day of the training weekend and there was already a feeling of sadness about leaving. We started off the morning again in our Working Groups to finalise our plans and figuring out how we were going to achieve our goals. After this all the Working Groups came back together to discuss their strategy and goals for the triennium. As well as discussing how we, each group, could work together. This is very

important for the Communication Working Group as we will liaise with the groups the most. After the presentation from the Working Group we had to wrap up just in time before it was time for the Irish to leave. We were the last group to leave on that day after many heartfelt goodbyes throughout the day.

The journey back to Ireland wasn’t as long or as complicated as the journey to Our Chalet, I wouldn’t even change that for the world or all the Badges in Our Chalet.

Thirty-three people from SW Region, SE Region, WCM Region, NE Region and Eastern Region attended Trefoil Guild’s AGM and the atmosphere was full of  friendship and enthusiasm.

Seven new Lone Members were enrolled by our President Maureen Murphy and eight members  (including Maureen)  were presented with the first bead of the Evergreen Challenge.

We were also very excited to launch our  new Journey book and 95 of these have now travelled to Guilds around the country.

We had presentations about the visit to Our Chalet that six members had made during the year and also a presentation from a member who had attended an event in Slovakia.

Looking forward, a visit to Lorne is planned for the autumn and a presentation was made about an IFSG gathering in Eastbourne in October 2018.

Well done, well done, very well done to all the Guides who took part in the recent Timpeall an Domhain (Around the World) competition!

Guides from all around Ireland travelled to Killarney, Co Kerry, for the final on 6 May 2017.

All the girls took part with great enthusiasm and had obviously put great time and effort into researching their chosen countries.

In the end it was two Cork teams who came out tops. Arbutus Guides, Summerhill, won the senior section and Marian Guides, Bishopstown, won the junior section.

Arbutus Guides focussed on India. They learned all about the ancient body art of henna and impressed the judges with their culinary and acting skills by cooking Indian dishes and performing a play about Mother Teresa.

“They were really enthusiastic throughout the entire competition and put in a lot of work both at Guide meetings and at home,” said Arbutus Guide Leader Helen Moriarty. “They enjoyed learning henna, which they chose to teach as their craft element, as well as making various Indian meals. They were thrilled once they heard that they won!”

Marian Guides focussed on the Netherlands. “It was hard work but the girls took on the challenge, worked well as a team and had a lot of fun along the way,” said Marian Guides Leader Clare Flynn. “The girls were thrilled to be named winners of the junior section and all the Leaders are very proud of them.”

We are delighted to launch a partnership with Gaisce – the President’s Award to encourage young women to reach for the sun, moon and stars!

Recognising the similarities between IGG and Gaisce’s award schemes, the two organisations have decided to join forces with the aim of encouraging greater numbers of girls and young women to undertake challenges and activities that will help them become confident, active and responsible citizens.

IGG Chief Commissioner Helen Concannon says that, given the recent re-engineering of IGG’s whole programme for 14-30 year-olds, it is perfectly apt to work in partnership with Gaisce, especially given the organisations’ similar values of volunteerism and empowering young people to be active citizens.

“Recognising the mutuality between the aims and objectives of IGG’s Overall Awards programme and the Gaisce programme, and in order to facilitate delivery of Gaisce in a way that is complementary, IGG has aligned the requirements of the Overall Award to Gaisce at each level. IGG members who successfully achieve a Bronze Star, Silver Moon or Golden Sun Award will now receive a Gaisce Award at the corresponding level.”

Given their joint aim of encouraging young people to reach for the sun, moon and stars, IGG and Gaisce chose Dunsink Observatory, Dublin 15 – part of the Astrophysics and Astronomy Section of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies – to launch their new initiative. Both organisations hope that the partnership will ensure that greater numbers of young people will engage in a range of activities and challenges, like community action, mountaineering and international travel, that will help them develop confidence, self-reliance, responsibility and other essential life skills.

Yvonne McKenna, CEO of Gaisce – The President’s Award says “We are delighted to announce our special partnership with the Irish Girl Guides. Gaisce’s vision fully aligns with that of the Guides – ‘to enable girls and young women to develop to their fullest potential as responsible citizens of the world’. We recognise that it is through partnership and working together that our shared ambitions can be achieved. We look forward to working together to achieve an Ireland where young people dream big and fulfill their potential.”

Helen Concannon, who herself achieved the Gold Gaisce Award, says: “It was an honour to wear my Girl Guide uniform when President Mary McAleese presented me with my award. It was through my involvement in Girl Guides that I first heard about Gaisce and I think it is wonderful to see the two organisations work together in this way. This partnership is another example that shows the skills, competencies and behaviours fostered in IGG are transferrable to other aspects of our members’ lives.”

Carlow Leader, Maureen Murphy, has been appointed IGG’s new President.

Maureen has been involved with Guiding since her teens when a Brownie pack opened in her home community of Norwich, England. Her first role was as Tawny Owl.

Since joining IGG in 1972, she has held many roles, including Leader with Sleaty Guides, Graiguecullen, Carlow, Regional Commissioner for the South East and co-ordinator for accreditation of volunteer Leaders.

“Being nominated for President was a great honour that I never envisaged,” Maureen told Council on 1 April 2017. “To represent Irish Girl Guides, which is a forward thinking, vibrant movement for girls and women, is an exceptional role to be given and I will enjoy the challenge it presents.”

Development through guiding

Maureen said she had always felt that, whatever she put into Guiding, had been returned a hundredfold. “I have found friendship, fun and a huge sense of satisfaction in playing a small role in enabling the girls and women I worked alongside to achieve for themselves their full potential,” she said.

“Guiding is a safe environment that provides an up-to-date evolving programme full of variety that keeps the girls and their development central. I have so many memories of new and good experiences – from taking a group of Sleaty Guides to International Camp, to hosting a Guider from Georgia on an exchange visit and having the opportunity and confidence to go to third-level education in Youth and Community Work. Also, the fun and laughter at the weekly meetings.”

“Guiding for me has been – and is – special. It is non-competitive, it encourages service to others, it has world-wide connections and it gives a sense of belonging. Maybe that is why the day I was made President eight others received 50 year service awards.”

Outgoing President, Maureen Dillon, was thanked at Council by Chief Commissioner Helen Concannon for her six years’ service as President. During this time she represented IGG at over 100 events.

We are delighted that blogger, social commentator and Alternative Miss Ireland, Sinéad Burke, has agreed to be our Honorary Ambassador for 2017.

Sinéad, who is also known by her alter ego Minnie Mélange, was presented with a Trailblazer Award by IGG’s (outgoing) President Maureen Dillon at our annual Council meeting in Airfield on 1 April 2017.

Maureen said she was delighted to welcome Ms Burke as the recipient of the award. “Sinéad is a primary school teacher, a PhD candidate, a broadcaster, a public speaker, Alternative Miss Ireland and, under her alter ego Minnie Mélange, a blogger and social commentator,” she said.

“Sinéad is a person of great spirit and heart who has already gone far. We are very fortunate that she is to be our Trailblazer Ambassador for the next 12 months as, in a short time, she has blazed a trail for women in so many aspects of modern day Irish society. A wonderful advocate for girls and women, she is working hard to create a future where equality is a reality rather than an aspiration.”

Personal Development Begins During Childhood

Addressing IGG Council members, Sinéad said: “So many of the personal characteristics that I’m proud to possess as an adult were first instigated and nurtured in my childhood,” she said. “Qualities such as resilience, kindness, leadership, organisation, empathy, thoughtfulness and a deep understanding of the power of friendship were modelled and then emulated during the many intensely pleasurable years I spent as a Girl Guide.

Young Women in Irish Society

“The organisation has transformed the ways in which young Irish women and girls are positioned in Irish society, but it has also enriched members with experiences and networks that challenge, support and satisfy their curiosities and ambitions.

“Most importantly, the Girl Guides has cultivated a safe space where girls and young women can admit their vulnerabilities and revel in their unique successes. It arms the next generation with confidence, pride and an awareness that encourages them to speak out against injustices and chase the most aspirational realities. I could not be more honoured to be this year’s Honorary Ambassador for the Irish Girls Guides and am tangibly excited to meet with and learn from the young women.”