GirlGuiding New Zealand actively encourages youth participation in all levels of decision-making and is working to embed a youth participation approach into its organisational culture.
The National Girl Advisory and Participation Group (GAP) is an initiative that provides continuous opportunities for girls to participate in decision-making across the organisation. The Girl Advisory and Participation Group is formed of 10 Rangers (girls aged 12-17) from the 10 regional hubs of GirlGuiding New Zealand. This enables girls from across the country to participate in decision-making.
The Girl Advisory and Participation Group are highly active, meeting to discuss and offer their views on a range of topics including girl opportunities, programme content, delivery of events and the best way to communicate with members. The Girl Advisory and Participation Group then works to reach a consensus regarding the representative view, which is put forward and considered by GirlGuiding New Zealand governance groups.
GirlGuiding New Zealand holds an annual National Forum where members from across the country come together to make decisions for the organization and set the strategic direction. This year, the Girl Advisory and Participation Group attended and contributed their voices to all conversations across the weekend, including the National AGM. The National AGM for 2024 included strategic planning sessions aligning with GirlGuiding NZ objectives 'Opportunities for Girls and Young Women', 'Girl-Led Influence' and 'Strong and Vibrant Movement. They also participated in workshops alongside adult volunteers in Regional representative roles such as 'An introduction to Governance', 'Using your voice effectively' (a professional voice coach led workshop on overcoming fears to speak out) and a workshop on the UN Development Goals (delivered by Bead to Proceed).
Each Girl Advisory and Participation Group member holds voting rights and can contribute to the decision-making of this governance body. These voting rights are laid out in the constitution so they are assured for every AGM.
Voting rights are crucial for ensuring that members of the Girl Advisory and Participation Group feel valued and signaling that their role is more than advisory, it is to actively participate in decision making.
Youth participation has greatly benefitted GirlGuiding New Zealand and Girl Advisory and Participation Group members.
There are many benefits from meaningful youth participation, for the member organisation and the girls individually. The Girl Advisory and Participation Group has reinvigorated the vision of GirlGuiding New Zealand to ensure that “All girls and young women are valued, inspired and empowered to take action to change their world”.
All girls involved in Girl Advisory and Participation Group develop a greater understanding of their role as Kaitiaki / Guardians of GirlGuiding New Zealand, knowing their voices matter and they can make a difference now and in the future.
The experience of being on the Girl Advisory and Participation Group has also encouraged many members to reach out and discover other ways that they can create an impact within the organisation- taking on other roles and being role models for their peers.