New Zealand is one of 144 member countries of the World Association of GirlGuiding and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). As with other countries, every member of GirlGuiding New Zealand automatically becomes a member of WAGGGS – there are now over 10 million girls and women in the World Association.

The Mission of WAGGGS is:
“To enable girls and young women to develop their fullest potential as responsible citizens of the world.”

Each WAGGGS member organisation chooses how it believes it can best promote this mission, taking into account its culture and the needs of its young people.

For more information about the World Association, visit www.wagggsworld.org

WAGGGS’ Triennial Themes
The Current Triennial Theme - OUR RIGHTS, OUR RESPONSIBILITIES
WAGGGS regions
Asia Pacific Region
Asia Pacific Region Logo
World Badge
World Flag

Wagggs’ Triennial Themes

WAGGGS’ practice of selecting triennial themes is designed to help the individual members and member countries to develop their ongoing work in fulfilling the mission of WAGGGS and moving towards a shared Vision of the future.

Vision Of WAGGGS

• An organisation with global impact
• A youthful organisation
• A dynamic organisation

Current Triennial Theme

2002 – 2008
Our Rights, Our Responsibilities

In the next three years, human rights, particularly as they relate to young people as part of the global community, will be explored under six broad headings. See the headings,what they mean and the badges that will be earned in New Zealand below:

1. The Right to be Me
   This is about the discovery of who you are, the development of self-confidence and self-awareness; it is about recognising the right to be different and learning to respect and appreciate others.
2. The Right to be Heard
   This is about democracy and the opportunities that we have to develop our opinions and to have them questioned by others. It's also about defending your viewpoint, being able to identify appropriate ways of presenting your views in a coherent argument and reviewing them in the light of new information. Holding onto our beliefs and opinions, even in the face of opposition, can be important. However, being able to change one's mind in the light of new knowledge may be just as big a strength. And if we want to persuade others to our way of thinking, then we need to use negotiation and develop influencing skills.
   It is about working out better ways to express ourselves to our family, friends and the community in which we live. It is also about understanding the principles of democracy and how these can be applied in our daily lives.
   
3. The Right to be Happy
   This module helps us to think about what makes each of us happy and what we can do to make ourselves happy without hurting ourselves or other people.
4. The Right to Work Together
   Teamwork is especially important in GirlGuiding/Girl Scouting. We can share skills, support each other and achieve far more working together than on your own.
5. The Right to Learn
   We all have abilities that need to be developed in different ways’ we also need to acquire life-skills to fulfil our potential.
6. The Right to Live in Peace
   Many of us do not live in a peaceful environment whether at home or in our community or country. This module will help us to recognise why these situations occur and how we can help protect others.

These specific areas are very important – they deal with important principles which relate to confidence in oneself, awareness of others and co-operation between individuals and groups.

For more information, visit the WAGGGS at www.wagggsworld.org

WAGGGS Regions

Administratively, WAGGGS is divided into five regions – Africa, Arab, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Western Hemisphere – New Zealand is part of the Asia Pacific region.

Each region has a regional committee and it is these committees that determine and implement the goals, strategies and priorities of the regions to help achieve the mission of WAGGGS. They look at the needs of the member countries and administer the development and carrying out of activities, events, training and projects.

For more information, visit WAGGGS at www.wagggsworld.org

Asia Pacific Region

New Zealand belongs to the Asia Pacific region. It is one of 27 member organisations (countries) in this region with nearly 2.4 million members. Two countries – Mongolia and Nauru – are also working towards membership.

There are six members on the Asia Pacific regional committee and they’re elected by the regional conference which is held once every three years. A committee member is elected for a three year term, renewable for a further term of three years. At least one member must be under 30 years of age at the time of election.

Tracey Peoples was the most recent New Zealander on the committee. She was elected onto the committee in 1996 as the young member and in 1998 she became the Vice Chairman of the committee. She retired from the committee in 2001 and became the Chairperson of our National Programme Committee.

The 27 member countries of the Asia Pacific region are:

Asia Pacific Region logo

Each part of the logo has a separate meaning:

• The blue bird flying freely symbolises the Pacific Ocean, liberty and peace.
• The circle of white enclosing the World Trefoil symbolises enlightenment.
• The trefoil of WAGGGS spreads the GirlGuiding/Girl Scouting spirit throughout the Asia Pacific region.
• The World badge is in gold.
  

For more information on the Asia pacific region, visit the WAGGGS at www.wagggsworld.org

World Badge

The World Badge was updated in 1991 – every part of the Trefoil has a separate meaning.

• The outer flowing circle around the trefoil represents the world-wide association.
• The golden yellow trefoil on a blue background represents the sun shining over the children of the world.
• The three leaves present the three-fold promise as originally laid down by the founder.
• The base of the stalk represents the flame of the love of humanity.
• The vein pointing upwards through the centre of the trefoil represents the compass needle pointing the way.
• The two stars represent the Promise and Law.

World Flag

The World Flag is used in New Zealand and in every other member country of the World Association of GirlGuiding and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS).

The blue flag has the trefoil as its focus. In addition to the meaning of the trefoil, the remaining parts of the flag also have specific meanings:

• The three yellow blocks are a re-enforcement of our three-fold promise.
• The white corner shows out commitment to peace.