The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts has World Centres, located in Mexico, Switzerland, India, Africa and the United Kingdom. The World Centres offer week long programs for troops that are interested in travel with a Girl Scout global perspective. They offer exciting and thought provoking activities, service in the community and a chance to live, eat and share an adventure with other girl scouts and girl guides around the world.
I’ve taken Girl Scouts traveling with these programmes as our mission and they are wonderful! They give your trip some structure and REAL Girl Scout program value. I encourage you to sign up to visit one of these centers and then plan some other activities around that program.
Read more about the World Centres at the WAGGGS website!
Pax Lodge – London, UK
Journey Through London Programme
I took a group of 14 Destination girls to London. We stayed at Pax Lodge, the WAGGGS World Centre in London, and participated all week in the Journey Through London Programme. This five-day guided programme takes girls and young women on a journey through London, Pax Lodge, and the World Association. We took the opportunity to come 2 days early and to stay an additional day after the programme finished.
Participants have the opportunity to go up in the London Eye, experience a West End theatre show (we saw Wicked), volunteer at a local community service project, and more. During free time, we encourage you to explore London and make friends with other international Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting groups.
Accommodation, meals, and entry fees are included in the programme cost which is £475.00 per person.
Event Highlights
- For girls 14 – 18 years old
- Visit various London attractions
- Participate in a Community service project in the local area
- Take the Leadership Challenge around London
- Evenings exploring Pax Lodge, participating in international activities, going to the theatre and participating in a celebration party
- Free time to explore the city and local area
- Learn more about WAGGGS
What’s Included :
- 5 nights of accommodation in shared rooms
- All meals from dinner on Day 1 until breakfast on the morning of Day 6
- Transport during the event via public transport
- Activities and entrance fees as scheduled during the programme, including a trip to the theatre and all scheduled evening programmes
Evening Programmes
Are you a group of 15 or more staying the night at Pax Lodge? Or do you want to just pop in for an evening? Book one of our exciting evening programmes!
Groups can choose to have an evening built around one of the following themes: Pax Lodge, WAGGGS, Campfire, Games, or International Guiding and Scouting. You can also custom-build your own evening.
All evening programmes will be hosted by a member of Pax Lodge’s international team.
Pax Lodge Challenge and Self-Guided Challenges around London
On another visit when we went to London with 18 girls from our Service Unit we stopped at Pax Lodge one day and did the self guided Pax Lodge challenge. This challenge only takes a few hours and you will receive a Pax Lodge challenge badge upon completion. Purchase the Pax Lodge challenge at reception for £2.50, and feel free to chat with our staff and volunteers about the challenge. Many of them have completed it and would be more than happy to help you complete yours.
Pax Lodge offers several self-guided challenges that take guests around London. You can choose between seeing London’s top attractions on the Monopoly challenge, chasing after the Boy Who Lived on the Harry Potter challenge, travelling through time with our Turn Back Time challenge or more!
Purchase a challenge at the front desk for £3.50, and you will also receive a special badge and certificate upon completion.
Nuestra Cabana – Mexico
Our Cabaña offers a unique programme based on the principles and values of Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting. We host exciting, fun and interesting activities, filled with adventure and the promise of new experiences, as well as the chance to explore México’s rich culture and traditions. With events designed for every age group, our participants will feel right at home surrounded by new friends from around the world. They will have the opportunity to contribute to essential service projects in the local community under the guidance of our experienced staff.
Throughout the year, we offer many international events with various themes, such as adventure, ecology, cultural celebrations and gourmet discovery. These events vary in length and content and are open to every member of WAGGGS. We also provide custom events to groups and provide a bed and breakfast service to all our visitors.
One leader writes: “We did Savannah in 2014, so a world center was on our list. Europe was really expensive so the girls chose Our Cabana. We did a week long Summer Friendship Event. It was an incredible experience. If you want to go to a world center, I highly recommend it.
We did all the San Diego training for International Travel and worked with council and our Service Unit A.C. to make sure we did everything correctly. It’s a little inconvenient to pay because it required money transfers from the bank but it was the easiest trip I have ever done as a leader with girls.
It was 1100 per person-included all meals, accommodations, and a day of waterfall jumping. We flew out of Tijuana ($200 +/- pp) used the cross border bridge ($30 pp plus a visa fee) and had a car from Nuestra Cabana pick up and return us to the Mexico City Airport. The only other expenses were Lunch/water at the airport, incidentals, snacks, souvenirs.
We spent a few days at the Cabana doing activities which was good for our sea level girls and adults. We did a service project at a safe house, went into Cuernavaca to the craft markets, went to a pyramid, did some waterfall jumping, and went to Tepoztlan. Different sessions offer different activities. Depending on the time of year, they have a butterfly session, a day of the dead session, a new year celebration, etc. This was the summer friendship event.
There were 2 other troops from the US. It was the first event of the season. We only had about 30 people. The next sessions are more full (80-100) with people from other countries. It is their 60th birthday this year. The staff and volunteers are from Mexico, US, UK, Venezuela, Paraguay, Ecuador., Canada.”
Our Chalet – Adelboden Switzerland
A package full of adventure, challenge, nature, friends and fun with new Programme for the coming summer.
Who are the Swiss Challenge Events for?
Summer International Events also called Swiss Challenge are open to youth (Girl Guides, Girl and Boy Scouts) from 12-18 years of age.
Participants must be Guides or Scouts aged 12 – 18 years and accompanied by their adult leaders. All attending adults should be registered leaders or registered helpers. There should be a maximum ratio of 2 adult leaders for every 8 youth participants in order to ensure the delivery of a high-quality programme, suitable for this age group. This may be relaxed for groups camping outdoors who are in need of one additional leader to support their group.
Programme and Cost
At Our Chalet we are aware that different guests have different wishes. As such, we are offering two different package options to cover both accommodation and catering options. Both packages include the same day and evening programmes. Please decide which package you would like to participate in when booking. The packages we offer are much more cost effective than participating in activities individually.
For more information on the programme and costs, please see our event Flyer and Information Pack.
Our Chalet is open to groups, families and individuals throughout the year. We’d love to see you soon, book your stay online today.
Sangam – Pune, India
Sangam offers five kinds of international events: Leadership, Cultural, Celebratory, Wellness and World Bureau Led Events. Each event is different, all run between a week and 12 days, and provide the opportunity to explore India’s exciting culture and traditions and interact with Sangam’s Community Partner organizations.
LEADERSHIP EVENTS
Leadership events emphasize intercultural learning and personal growth through interaction with Sangam’s Community Partner organizations and exposure to the means and methods of creating change.
CULTURAL EVENTS
Cultural events introduce you to India, a country of ancient customs brimming with modern innovations. Try your hand at rangoli or mehendi, and enjoy Indian dance. Take in the sights, the sounds, the smells and the spicy sensations, and enjoy a cross-cultural adventure you will never forget!
CELEBRATORY EVENTS
Celebratory events honor international Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting. You will explore the history and traditions of WAGGGS and its Member Organizations, and learn about the latest projects and plans for the future – all in the company of Guides and Scouts from around the world.
WELLNESS EVENTS
Wellness events honour the goddess/god within you! They are designed specifically with your health and well being in mind. Spend time at the birthplace of yoga exploring your physical, mental and emotional self and discover a new point of balance during sessions designed to expand and enrich your life.
WORLD BUREAU LED EVENTS
World Bureau Led events give you the opportunity to delve into an international issue that you are passionate about. These intense but enriching events focus on key global topics and provide training and self-development using the non-formal educational methods of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.
Kusafiri – Africa
Kusafiri World Centre is using existing facilities to bring World Centre experiences to Africa. The ‘centre’ has no fixed site, but changes location for every event, creating international experiences for girls and young women in different countries in Africa.
From 11th to the 17th of April 2017, Kusafiri World Centre hosted Arts4Change, Kusafiri in Madagascar, in partnership with the Skotisma Zazavavy Malagasy. 69 participants from 13 countries representing 4 WAGGGS Regions participated in the event. The 8 member Planning Team represented 3 WAGGGS Regions from 5 countries.