World Thinking Day

On 22 February each year 10 million girls and young women and over one million adult volunteers celebrate World Thinking Day by doing activities and participating in campaigns related to the years’ theme.

WTD 2011 badgeThe World Thinking Day theme for 2011 is MDG 3: girls worldwide say “empowering girls will change our world” and the aim is to raise awareness of the situation for many girls and young women and empower them to take a stand against inequality. This World Thinking Day website has exciting new functionality! You can now upload pictures of your national uniforms, add your WTD activities to our new global map and send an online card!

World Thinking Day (WTD) was first celebrated in 1926 at an International conference in the USA, when attendees decided that there should be a special day when Girl Scouts and Girl Guides all around the world think of each other and give thanks and appreciation to their ‘sister’ Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. In 1932, at another event in Poland, the idea of further showing appreciation and friendship to all girls by offering a voluntary contribution to the World Association was established.

How do we celebrate

Every year girls and young women around the world organize fun activities to celebrate World Thinking Day and to learn more about the theme. These are just some examples of what they did in 2009, which focused on the theme girls worldwide say “Stop the spread of AIDS and other diseases”:

  • The 22nd Hamilton Spark Unit in Hamilton, Ontario, raised a total of $112.00 to buy 16 mosquito nets for the ’Malaria Bites’ programme through the Canadian Red Cross.
  • The Association des Guides Musulmanes du Liban celebrated World Thinking Day 2009 with songs, games and sweets. They visited patients in a hospital to wish them a speed recovery and put a smile on their faces.
  • In Santiago, Panama, Guides did some door to door visits in the neighborhood to give information on HIV and AIDS. They also did a survey about the knowledge on HIV and AIDS in the village of La Chorrera.
  • Federaçao de Bandeirantes do Brasil asked their members to participate in an interactive online course about the theme ‘Stop the spread of AIDS’. The course is part of the project ‘Listen, Learn and Live’ about preventing the spread of AIDS and sexual transmitted diseases.
  • ASIJ Troop 16 from Tokyo Council of USAGSO participated in a postcard exchange, traded patches with troops in other countries and also a couple shoeboxes with things from Japan with troops in Ireland and New York.
  • A group of Wolves called ‘The Joyful group of Winnie The Pooh,’ which meets at Primary School nº1 Jaworze (Poland), took part in a Red Cross initiative called “Stop malaria”. They watched a multimedia presentation and learned important facts about the disease.

Today World Thinking Day raises funds for the Movement worldwide, benefiting millions of girls through the work of the World Association and our Member Organizations. The money raised is used to carry out projects and advocacy campaigns and to support Member Organizations in their work at the grass roots level.

WTD celebrations 2010- Clark, USAFor 2010 we highlighted the difference Girl Guiding/Girl Scouting makes and the ways it challenges poverty in five countries. The five countries, one from each of our regions are:

  1. Haiti
  2. Georgia
  3. Maldives
  4. Sudan
  5. Zimbabwe
Each of the five countries in 2010 will receive a small grant from the World Thinking Day Fund for a project along the theme of ‘Poverty’ in order to offer more to girls. Read more on the WTD website.

Get involved!

  1. Visit the World Thinking Day 2011 website to learn about the theme and more about Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting worldwide using our fun and informative activities. Complete six activities to earn a World Thinking Day badge (available to purchase from our online shop)
  2. Make a donation to WAGGGS or raise funds for World Thinking Day – there are some great suggestions of how on the World Thinking Day website
  3. Become an advocate for change through the Millennium Development Goals – find out more using our online resources
  4. Spread the word! Tell other people about World Thinking Day and invite them to join us in this unique global day. Find out what others are saying about it and how you can help raise the profile
  5. Send a WTD card to a Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting sister somewhere in the world and start an international friendship based on cultural understanding.

The 2011 theme is taken from the first UN Millennium Development Goal and is part of our WAGGGS Global Action Theme girls worldwide say “together we can change our world”. The theme encourages girls, young women and those around them to make a personal commitment to change the world.

Our World Thinking Day themes will continue to be based on the Millennium Development Goals and will be as follows:

2010 “together we can end extreme poverty and hunger” (MDG1) We have a special focus on the difference Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting can make in five countries: Zimbabwe, Sudan, Maldives, Haiti and Georgia

2011 “empowering girls will change our world” (MDG3)

2012 “we can save our planet” (MDG7)