The secretariat of WAGGGS, the World Bureau, was first set up in 1928 and has moved to its current location, the Olave Centre in north London, UK, in 1984.
Originally a residential building built in 1810, it was named after the First Earl of Rosslyn, Rosslyn Lodge, who became Lord Chancellor in 1793. During the First World War, the building was used as a hospital, a hotel, a nurses' home and a hostel.
Today Rosslyn Lodge is part of the Olave Centre, home of both the World Bureau and Pax Lodge World Centre, which completed Olave Baden-Powell's dream of uniting the World Bureau with the World Centre in London.
You can find the World Bureau in north London:
Olave Centre
12c Lyndhurst Road
London
NW3 5PQ
UK
The work of the World Bureau
The World Bureau provides services to, and a link between, WAGGGS' Member Organisations, and to National Organisations Working Towards Membership; supports National Organisations in their preparations for Associate and Full Membership; assists with the overall planning and coordination of World Conferences and World Board meetings; and implements decisions taken at World Conferences, World Board and Committee meetings.
The work of WAGGGS is conducted in four official languages: English, French, Spanish and Arabic.
WAGGGS staff structure
A Chief Executive - who is responsible to the World Board - heads the World Bureau made up of a multi-national staff team of around 100 professionals. The World Bureau is divided internally into the below departments:
- Core Mission
- Membership and Regional Support
- Global Programmes
- International Operations
- Fundraising and Strategic Partnerships
- Governance and Corporate Services
Meet our CEO
Anna Segall
Chief Executive Officer
Anna Segall joined WAGGGS in September 2020 and is an Australian-German national. She brings a wealth of experience working with multi-cultural, volunteer-led teams, as CEO, Country Director and General Counsel and in change management roles globally. She has also held a number of Trustee roles on UK Charity Boards.
Anna has a vision for and experience in navigating diverse ever-evolving contexts in member-led organisations, able to connect local actions to a global mission whilst influencing change on an international scale. Across her leadership career, Anna has held Executive roles at the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), UNESCO and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Prior to joining WAGGGS, Anna led a change management process at the Mines Advisory Group (MAG), one of the world’s largest demining organisations.
Having spent four years as General Counsel to UNESCO, Anna has been directly responsible for guiding the Executive Board through complex governance, policy and legal issues, establishing mechanisms and systems that support innovation and transformation.