Thoughts of a girl out to change the world!

Passionate Girl Guide out to change the world! * WAGGGS Post 2015 Resource Coordinator (Volunteer) * WAGGGS Delegation Coordinator - Policy - UN CSW58 (Volunteer) * GGA World Conference 2014 Delegate (Volunteer) These views are all my own and not representative of any official groups.

[erinwicking]

And we're ready to go for a website revamp and our first round of promotions!

[davidroads]

[positive-outlooks]

[erinwicking]

Out of Office- Chasing Dreams

Thank you for your email. Erin is out of the office and will return on July 14th. For any urgent enquiries please contact reception. Many thanks for your understanding. Somehow this standard out of office message seems dramatically wrong for my current situation, so let's start again! Thank you for your email. Erin is out of the office chasing dreams at the 35th WAGGGS World Conference. Until July 14th she will be busy helping shape the future direction of the largest organisation in the world for girls and women. She will return enthused, renewed and inspired to continue building connections and breaking down barriers. She can't wait to reply to your email! Chasing dreams can come in many forms and for me, attending the World Conference is a dream I have held for the last 13 years and I couldn't be more proud to be in attendance! It is amazing how, when enabled to do so, you can achieve so much in one day. Today I had the chance to: -Speak up for what I believe in through the advocacy stand. -Share my life changing experiences at the 5th World Centre. -Look for future opportunities by networking- even having Princess Mabel wanting to set up a relationship to work with me! As a conference we have been charged with helping girls and women worldwide to chase their dreams. We heard presentations from amazing guest speakers who themselves are working to help advance the rights of girls and women. Our World Board leaders introduced us to the coming strategic plan so we could see how, through the choices we make this week, we can shape the direction of our great organisation. Our Opening Ceremony dinner, attended by OBPS Society and Friends of Asia Pacific, reminded us us that there are many parts of our movement all working together and dreaming big. So together let us dream big, let us continue to imagine more for the girls and women of the world, let us equip all girls and women of the world to go 'out of office' and chase their dreams!

[erinwicking]

The conference program starts: YoWoCo!

Today I was fortunate to attend an incredible event hosted especially for the young women of the 35th World Conference. This event bought together young delegates from all over the world to share and learn- and do a little adventuring along the way! In true Aussie style (a la Jen Barron, Susan Campbell and Linden Edgell) we learnt, shared, explored, challenged and left truly inspired about the very important role which young delegates play in the World Conference. As delegates arrived I was able to gather many MyWorld votes- exciting as we have the Secretary General's signed podium at World Conference with us! First up We had the chance to talk to Nadine and Nicola (WAGGGS Chair and Deputy) to better understand how we can ensure our voices are heard by WAGGGS. We discussed our feelings about the conference and our understanding of the days which are to come. As a collective we made a simply stunning human map of the world as well (Aussies in the room represent!). Then our biggest challenge, using the information and tickets provided, head out into Hong Kong in Patrols and along the way stop for cultural activities- such as tai chi (for my group) and even scheduled meetings with inspiring local organisations (such as Her a Fund) and amazing women business leaders! Lastly we reconvened to hear Linden moderate a panel of 5 fantastic women - one representing each Region- talking about their roles in WAGGGS and how Girl Guiding/Girl Scouting has shaped their personal and professional lives. In our final session we brushed up on our confidence and networking skills- a must have for the conference! A celebration (in this case of the power of young women) wouldn't be complete without singing, so to close we all joined in the singing of an empowering song written by participants at the recent Sangam Arts Exchange. The young women's event, or #35YoWoCo as typed on social media all day, was a wonderful opportunity for the young women of the conference. We hope that WAGGGS continues to build on this event in the future as it should be an integral part of the a World Conference experience and urge any future young delegates to take up opportunities such as this!

[erinwicking]

More than me, I am one in 10 million. #35WoCo http://thndr.it/Sao5o9

[erinwicking]

Day One- "Cakes on a plane!"

Day One: Cakes on a plane Today my world conference experience took off, literally, as I took the almost 9 hour flight from Melbourne to Hong Kong. Across the isle from me sat a couple and behind me sat their daughter and two granddaughters. The grandfather marvelled at how small the world really is, you see the pilot announcement came over the speaker, then he looked at his wife in amazement and exclaimed that he knew this man, in fact they rode their bikes together almost every day! It also transpires that today was his birthday and the first time on a plane for his excited granddaughters. Just after the breakfast service he took a walk around the plane - there was just enough time for his family to call for the cabin crew to bring them the birthday cake (which they had hidden away pre flight) and some knives and containers! The absolute joy in the voices of these girls when their grandfather returned to see his secret birthday celebration in full swing was tremendous. As was their amazement when the pilot came out into to the cabin to greet his friend and invite his elated granddaughters onto the flight deck once the plane lands. I found myself so happy for this family and so excited for these girls who I had never met before. It created, for me, a grounding experiencing, ironic while 36,000 feet in the air! It cemented for me that I simply love working with girls. I love watching them face challenges (like a first plane flight) and experience joy (like surprising someone dear to them) and I love seeing their faces light up when they know that they have something incredible in their future (like meeting a real live pilot). So as much as I love making change through advocacy or marvelling at the reach of our incredible organisation, I am here, in Hong Kong, in this movement, because i love the incredible chance this movement gives me to be part of the lives of girls and communities. I know, without doubt, that these girls we reach through Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting will go out and make a difference in this world as long as we, the Leaders and volunteers of WAGGGS keep bringing joy, challenge and hope to each girl we have the pleasure of working alongside. And to me, that is the sweetest cake anyone could ever ask for!

[bliss-kisser]

[erinwicking]

Especially for Suz :)

[thlnkdifferent]

[erinwicking]

I'll just keep on making big dreams then :D

[erinwicking]

Think Advocacy- Think Empowerment!

It is now just 10 sleeps until I wake up in Hong Kong for the 35th WAGGGS World Conference. While at the conference I will be doing my best to represent my organisation; to promote my fabulous colleague as she stands for a position on the World Board; to grow both my knowledge and my networks; and to help my sister Girl Guides and Girl Scouts see the important role advocacy plays in our great movement.

You may find this odd that I see a role in speaking out, educating others and taking action to support advocacy within the movement- especially when myself and many of my Girl Guide / Girl Scout friends seem to live an advocacy filled existence! To me this is the key, just because myself and my friends live in this world does not mean that the rest of the movement does. Despite two trienniums of the Global Action Theme, I feel advocacy is still a largely misunderstood concept in our movement and, it is my hope that I can in some small way change this.

As Girl Guides and Girl Scouts we believe in empowering all girls and women to understand and claim their human rights and the rights of others. We provide these rights within her Unit. We promote these rights within her community. We protect these rights globally through advocacy. In this way, advocacy is inextricably linked to empowerment. This is a message I hope to highlight and to promote.

When you strip down the many topics you have seen, heard and read about WAGGGS advocating for. When you strip down the fantastic resources, World Thinking Day themes, the Toolkits and the badge curriculums. When you strip down the campaigns such as Stop the Violence and Free Being Me. You find at their core the empowerment of girls and women and the undeniable knowledge that every human being has fundamental rights.

So next time you think about advocacy within WAGGGS I ask you instead to think about empowerment within WAGGGS. Think of the amazing outcomes which have come from over 100 years of empowering girls and women and think of what is yet to be achieved when girls and women of the world are empowered to speak out, educate others and take action to build the world we want for girls.

[bernadettelogue]

A smile is the lighting system of the face, the cooling system of the head and the heating system of the heart.

TheDailyPositive.com (via thedailypozitive)

[wanderingmind13]

from my physical therapists office

[asexual-not-a-sexual]

I think this speaks for itself. Accepting a person doesn’t mean you get to put limits on their freedom. You can’t be an ally and want us to stop talking, or labeling, or demanding to be heard. 

Acceptance has no exceptions. Period. 

[tra-nsparent]

[erinwicking]

Perspective and positivity- good to practice every day!

[bernadettelogue]

Seek respect, not attention. It lasts longer.

TheDailyPositive.com (via thedailypozitive)

[watercolourdiary]

[ifnotyouwhoelse]

40 Of The Most Powerful Social Issue Ads That’ll Make You Stop And Think Many people complain about advertisements as an obnoxious way for companies to invade our everyday lives and cram their products down our throats, but that’s not all that advertisements are good for. The advertisements on this list are excellent examples of effective advertising strategies for social issue campaigns that let their voices be heard.

A well-made advertisement is designed to grab your attention and to remain in your memory long after you’ve left it behind, and that is exactly what many of these social causes need. Getting people to think and worry about various social and environmental issues (or even simply getting them to be aware of them) is important for raising public supporting and affecting meaningful changes. A few of these ads are, in fact, commercial ads, but it’s still nice that they champion socially or environmentally aware causes/products.

Just like with commercial advertisements, having just the facts is not enough. They are important, but the ad must also appeal to the observer’s emotions. Many studies have indicated that emotion can have a powerful effect on memory formation, ensuring that memories with emotion will last longer than those without.

Picture 1: Torture Victims Are People Just Like You And Me by Advertising Agency: Advico Y&R, Zurich, Switzerland

Picture 2: Child Soldiers: It’s Not Happening Here, But It’s Happening Now by Creative/Art director Pius Walker, Amnesty International, Switzerland.

Picture 3: Save Paper – Save The Planet by Advertising Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, Copenhagen, Denmark

Picture 4: See how easy feeding the hungry can be? by Advertising Agency: TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris, Johannesburg, South Africa

Picture 5: Neglected Children Are Made To Feel Invisible. Stop Child Abuse Now “To dramatize the issue of neglect, we placed mannequins dressed as children behind billposters. When the inevitable happened, we revealed a second message.” (Australian Childhood Foundation, JWT Melbourne)

Picture 6: For The Homeless, Every Day Is A Struggle Advertising Agency: Clemenger BBDO, Melbourne, Australia