World Thinking Day
Leadership roles, community service, and outdoor adventures — hallmarks of an organization that empowers girls to make a positive difference.
Activate Girl Guide and Girl Scout communities through fundraising events and outdoor challenges that drive donations, merchandise sales, and community engagement.
- Sponsor a local Girl Guide/Scout bake sale or sports day fundraiser
- Partner with outdoor/adventure brands to support Thinking Day challenges and treks
- Create limited-edition merchandise with proceeds benefiting Girl Guiding/Scouting movements
- Host sunrise group activities or campout events featuring your brand as a community partner
The observance of Thinking Day has been celebrated every year since 1926. The day began when the delegates from the Guide and Girl Scout organizations from across the globe attended the 4th world conference where it was decided that the day would be created and would be held on Lord Baden-Powell’s birthday, the founder of the Girl Scout and Guide movements.
Several years after the day was begun, at the 7th World Conference held in Poland, it was suggested that birthdays usually mean the giving of gifts. It was suggested that girls who were part of the movement could give some kind of gift or do fundraising to help support the movement.
Olave Baden-Powell wrote a letter that was addressed to all Girl Guides and Girl Scouts and asked them to give a penny to help support the Girl Guiding and Girl Scout movements around the world.
Since it was first launched, World Thinking Day has become a way to support Girl Guiding and Girl Scouts across the globe. It allows groups of Girl Guides and Scouts to get to know and connect with others within the Girl Guiding and Scouting community, even if they’re situated countries apart.
The aim of this day is to bring together young people from across the world – nearly 150 countries choose to take part in the celebrations – to celebrate international fun and friendship, as well as to help raise money and focus on the year’s global theme.
The Girl Guides and Girl Scouts are a global movement with 10 million girls spread across 150 countries, all of whom have diverse backgrounds, cultures and experiences.
Usually, one country is selected to be the focus of World Thinking Day. With the aim being that Girl Guides and Scouts from across the world will spend time researching the country, its culture and the living conditions in place there, and are then able to better understand how other people in the world live.
The idea around selecting one country to focus on is to help the community better understand and be aware of how different cultures and communities across the globe function and live on a daily basis. It’s also an opportunity to gain a better insight into different religions and how they impact the ways in which communities live and function across the world.
World Thinking Day is one of the most important days in the Girl Guiding calendar, with the theme of the event encouraging members of the movement to think about the bigger issues impacting themselves and the communities around them, as well as communities situated across the globe.
Hold Public Events
While some packs choose to celebrate this important day by holding public events such as bake sales and sports days, others choose to embark on challenges to help raise funds for the Girl Guiding and Scouting movement.
Attend Thinking Day Events
A common way that packs choose to celebrate is by taking part in wider events organized by the Guiding and Scouting communities; such as weekend campout events that include a hike of a set number of miles, along with a number of other challenges.
Complete Challenges
There are also endurance challenges set that a number of older Girl Guides and Scouts take part in, some in their home country, others in countries across the world. Experiences like trekking along complex trails, climbing smaller mountains, and taking part in races from one destination to another that allows the girls to utilize their map-reading skills, are all popular ways to celebrate.
Enjoy Group Activities
While some groups choose to hold special pack events, such as group sleepovers, parties, and other activities. Some groups of Girl Guides and Scouts choose to walk to a local point of interest and watch the sunrise as a group. This is a popular way that certain packs opt to celebrate World Thinking Day, with the time spent at sunrise dedicated to focusing on the theme set for the year.
Focus on Issues
World Thinking Day offers the Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting community the opportunity to think about others and focus on the wider issues impacting those within the Guiding and Scouting movement.
Focus on the Annual Theme
Each year, the theme for World Thinking Day changes and the activities organized are normally designed around the concepts of the day’s theme. In the past, the themes have been concepts like diversity, equity, and inclusion. With the aim being for the Girl Guiding movement to focus on how they can put these issues into practice and help the world to celebrate diversity both locally and in communities across the globe! Other themes have tackled difficult issues such as poverty, inequality based on gender, sustainability and the environment, as well as access to education across the globe. World Thinking Day FAQsWho started World Thinking Day?World Thinking Day was begun by a group of delegates attending the 4th International Girl Scout Conference and the idea of the day spread through to related girls groups all over the world in honor of international friendship.[1]When was the first World Thinking Day?The first World Thinking Day was decided upon in 1926 when an international conference is held at a camp in New York State. The delegates determined a day should be set aside for Girl Guides and Girl Scouts to consider and think about their “sister” scouts around the world.[1]When is World Thinking Day?World Thinking Day is celebrated on February 22 in honor of the birthday of both Lord Baden-Powell and Olave Baden-Powell who were instrumental in the founding of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.[1]What is the purpose of World Thinking Day?This day was originally created for those involved with Girl Scouts and Girl Guides to think about their “sisters” around the world. A few years later it was suggested that the girl scouts also might want to give a small donation on the day, in an effort to further the work of the Girl Scouts around the world.[1]How many countries celebrate World Thinking Day?World Thinking Day is observed in at least 150 countries throughout the world, including more than ten million girls worldwide.[1]