Girl Guides SL is 105!

Tomorrow, March 21, the Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association (SLGGA), the largest female youth movement in Sri Lanka marks 105 years of service to the nation. The Girl Guides movement helps young women to build their self-confidence and provides its members dynamic, flexible and values-based training in life skills, leadership and citizenship.

Founded by Lord Robert Baden Powell in 1910, today it is the largest voluntary movement dedicated to empowering girls and young women in the world. With over 152 member countries the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) has over 10 million members around the world.

Guiding was introduced to Sri Lanka in 1917 by Miss Jenny Calverley, a young teacher from England who joined the staff of Girls’ High School Kandy where the first Guide Company was formed.

To celebrate its anniversary, the SLGGA has organised the Girl Guides Flag Day at the Prime Minister’s office tomorrow. A three-km walk and cycle rally on the theme “Breaking the bias” will be held today, March 20 across the nine provinces of the country while a street drama and talk at the Vihara Maha Devi open theatre in Colombo will raise awareness on how to create a gender- equal world, free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination and showcasing the association’s commitment to gender equality.

The inaugural Jenny Calverley Green Oration will be delivered on the 21st at the Sri Lanka Girl Guides Headquarters in Colombo 7 by Prof. Maithree Wickremasinghe, Chair Professor of English and Senior Professor on the relevance of Guiding in the 21st century. To wrap up the celebrations an Interfaith programme will be held at the National Headquarters on the 23rd.