28 th November 2000

For Immediate Release

In the International Year of Volunteers, The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts urges organizations to provide youth-friendly opportunities for volunteering

The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) will celebrate the UN International Year of Volunteers by promoting young people as volunteers – and urging all organizations to provide young people with suitable opportunities to gain invaluable experience through volunteering.

WAGGGS has over one million volunteers, all dedicated to helping girls and young women to develop their fullest potential as responsible citizens of the world.

Many of WAGGGS’ volunteers are young women. They work at all levels of the organization: in individual units, on national executives, and as part of the international governance of WAGGGS.

The vital experience young women gain through volunteering equips them to progress to positions of leadership and decision making in their careers. Joséphine Diallo, General Secretary to the National Assembly of Senegal, said “Being involved in Guiding has greatly influenced my professional life, especially as I am in charge of men as well as women. It has given me the ability to deal with stressful and challenging situations.”

Young volunteers for WAGGGS are trained in leadership and decision making from the time they join the organization as a Brownie or Junior Girl Guide or Girl Scout. Good succession planning ensures that young women can work their way up the organization, gaining experience at every level of leadership.
Josephine Diallo said “Experience of leadership in itself is unusual for young women in many parts of the world, and it can only help them in their daily lives – at work and at home.”

WAGGGS believes that if an organization is to survive, volunteer leaders should reflect the constituency of the organization. Lesley Bulman of the WAGGGS World Bureau said, “If an organization’s membership comprises young people, it can only succeed if young people are visible at all levels of the organization.”
“If organizations are serious about recruiting young volunteers, they must ensure that their voluntary positions are flexible, enable personal development, are financially viable, and that young people are appropriately trained and briefed,” Lesley continued.

WAGGGS recognizes that young people’s situations change and that they cannot always commit to the same number of hours or to regular times for their voluntary work. Within WAGGGS, no young woman is expected to fund any of her work as a volunteer.

Lesley said, “The International Year of Volunteers should acknowledge the wonderful work that young people are doing. WAGGGS urges all organizations to recognize young people’s potential, and to provide them with opportunities to gain invaluable skills and experience, which cannot be gained at school or at work, through volunteering.”

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Notes

1. WAGGGS is the largest international voluntary organization for girls and young women in the world. There are 10 million Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 140 countries, with over 30 countries working towards membership.
2. The UN General Assembly designated the year 2001 as the International Year of Volunteers. The Year is designed to enhance recognition, facilitation, networking and promotion of volunteer service. The intended outcomes are that more needs to be identified with which volunteers can help; that more people everywhere offer their services as volunteers; and that volunteer programmes receive increased resources and facilities, to help them assign those new volunteers to tackling the needs.

For further information, contact: Charlotte Collett-White, Head of Communications Tel 0044 20 7433 6451

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