OUR VALUES
Our approach to personal growth is rooted in our values, or “fundamental principles”. These were laid down in the original Promise and Law and are the values of coexistence, which Baden Powell felt would support “the education of the oncoming generation to international goodwill”3. Every member in Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting is encouraged and supported to develop their own value system, based on our shared values as a Movement, and to make a promise to express their active commitment to these values:
- INTEGRITY. Living honestly by your value system, with self-respect and self-worth and taking responsibility for your development and actions.
- CITIZENSHIP. Being active and informed members of the community who respect others, appreciate diversity and contribute to making a positive difference in the world.
- SPIRITUALITY. Acknowledging and developing personal beliefs.
3 Education in Love in Place of Fear, Robert Baden-Powell 1922
Values in action
Our values are the golden thread woven through Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting. They speak to the different spheres in which we support development:
- development of resilient, purposeful individuals through self-esteem and self-actualisation.
- development of active citizens with the agency to act as changemakers and work together to build better, more equal communities.
- development of human beings through their personal quest for meaning, connecting them to a deeper sense of wellness, purpose and belonging and supporting them to develop their beliefs.
Another way of describing our educational purpose would be to equip young people to live these values both for themselves and for the benefit of their world. The early commitment to shared values through reflecting on and making a promise is the foundation to this values base, and the experiences of both youth and adults should be an expression of this promise in action. Our approach, in particular the Girl Guide and Girl Scout Leadership Model, supports this by nurturing worldly leadership practice.
GIRL GUIDE AND GIRL SCOUT FUNDAMENTALS
The fundamentals of Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting are generally defined as our purpose, values (or fundamental principles) and method. These are the characteristics of Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting shared by all Member Organisations, and they are the foundation of who we are, why we exist, how we work and what we do. They remain as relevant today as over 100 years ago, if we keep their intention in mind and are ready to bring them to life in our organisations in new ways that are relevant for girls today.
In the early days of the Movement, Robert Baden-Powell described the aim of the Movement as “character with a purpose”. We can see from the outset the dual dimensions of our educational purpose – not only the development of “character”, but of “character with a purpose”. That purpose was active (global) citizenship; developing “healthy, happy, helpful citizens…and thus to develop mutual goodwill and co-operation not only within our own country but abroad, between all countries.”