Our First Real Day

Friday 4th December.

Today was a day of inhouse training, getting to know each other and hearing about what’s in store for us over the next two weeks. Linden Edgell (Deputy Chair of the WAGGGS World Board) gave us an overview of how WAGGGS sits within the UN framework and why WAGGGS should be represented at COP-15. As a group we brainstormed and decided that WAGGGS was better positioned to represent the voice of girls and young women at COP-15 because we are a value based, cross cultural, intergenerational movement which represents 10 million members worldwide. We are the largest organisation for girls and young women, and one that crosses most normal dives of socio-economics, geographical and cultural regions and other barriers.

Our logistical miracle maker, Katie from Our Chalet, ran us through a couple of getting to know you games, which included hitting people with pillows, and a ‘concentration recall’ game that involved repeating actions associated with climate change, including pretending to be tsunamis, earthquakes, polar bears and melting ice bergs.

We spent a lot of time working through WAGGGS’ key messages for COP-15. This was a really full on afternoon editing different documents that will help us as a WAGGGS delegation best promote the voice of 10 million girls and young women. WAGGGS believes that girls and women are the key to fighting climate change. Over the next 2 weeks as youth delegates we will be spreading the word that women and girls are most affected by climate change, and are the people best placed to taking action against climate change at a grass roots level.

This afternoon we also identified which ‘working groups’ that we would initially like to be involved in. These working groups will be used to develop our policies, handle communications and media, develop climate-change oriented programs for local school and Guiding/Scouting groups, organise our stand for the exhibition hall, and identify opportunities for us to link with other youth organisations through action.

After a pizza dinner each delegate presented a poster that they had designed (as homework), centred on environmental programs and activities that they undertake in their home countries. This was a great opportunity to hear about all the awesome things that other countries are doing and the effect that WAGGGS can have on people’s lives.

This rather long and tedious day in some ways was capped off with each delegate being presented with a WAGGGS scarf, a symbol which we are honoured to wear as we represent not only our countries, but 10 million members worldwide.

As we finish typing this Speedy is already asleep and Ally and Petina think that they should be so good night all.

Ally, Petina, Speedy.

Quote of the day: “If Kevin can’t bring an ETS to Copenhagen, the least he can do is to bring the Vegemite” (An Aussie at breakfast).