A Girl Guide troop in the United Kingdom, 1918

Singing Girl Guides in Germany, 2007

Girl Guides or Girl Scouts is a parallel movement to Scouting. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide Youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical mental and spiritual It evolved from the Scouting movement in the early years of the 20th century. Girls were attracted to Scouting from its inception in 1907. Year 1907 ( MCMVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year In different places around the world, the movement developed in diverse ways. In some places, girls attempted to join Scouting organisations and it was decided that single-sex organisations were a better solution. In other places, girls groups were started, some of them later to open up to boys or merge with boys' organisations. In other instances, mixed groups were formed, sometimes to later split. In the same way, the name Girl Guide or Girl Scout has been used by groups at different times and in different places, with some groups changing from one to another. In the past, boys had to join the Boy Scouts or Cub Scouts but in recent years Guides has been open for both boys and girls to join in most countries. A Cub Scout is a member of the section of the worldwide Scouting movement for young persons mainly boys normally aged 8–10

In 1909, Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, decided that girls should not be in the same organisation as the boys, and the Girl Guides were founded in the UK in 1910. Many, though by no means all, Girl Guide and Girl Scout groups across the globe trace their roots to this point. Agnes Baden-Powell was in charge of Girl Guiding in UK in its early years. Agnes Smyth Baden-Powell (16 December 1858 &ndash 2 June 1945 was the younger sister of Robert Baden-Powell 1st Baron Baden-Powell, and was most noted for her work in establishing Other influential people were Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA, Olga Malkowska in Poland and Antoinette Butte in France. Juliette Gordon Low ( October 31, 1860 &ndash January 17, 1927) was an American youth leader and the founder of the Girl The Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA is a Youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad Olga Drahonowska-Małkowska ( January 9 1888, Krzeszowice, Poland &mdash January 15 1979, Zakopane ^[1]

Two central themes have been present from the earliest days of the movement: domestic skills and "a kind of practical feminism which embodies physical fitness, survival skills, camping, citizenship training, and career preparation". Physical fitness is used in two close meanings general fitness (a state of Health and well-being and specific fitness (a task-oriented definition based on the ability Survival skills are techniques a person may utilize for an indefinite duration in order to survive a dangerous situation (also see Bushcraft) Definition Camping describes a range of activities Survivalist campers set off with little more than their boots whereas Recreational vehicle travelers arrive equipped Career is a term defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as an individual's "course or progress through life (or a distinct portion of life" ^[2] These two themes have been emphasised differently at different times and by different groups, but have remained central to Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting.

There has been much discussion about how similar Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting should be to boys' Scouting programs. While many girls saw what the boys were doing and wanted to do it too, girls' organizations have sought to avoid simply aping the boys'.

Even when most Scout organizations became coeducational Guiding remained separate in many countries to provide a female-centered program. Internationally it is governed by the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts with member organizations in 144 countries. The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS is a global association supporting the Female -oriented and female-only Scouting organizations in 145

See also

• Sections: Rainbow Guide, Brownie Guide, Girl Guide and Girl Scout, Ranger Guide
• List of World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) members

References