World Thinking Day is celebrated annually on 22 February by all those in Girl Guiding. It is a day when they think about Girl Guides and Girl Scouts throughout the world, the meaning of Guiding, and its global impact.
My daughter, Louise Kendal-Riches, has been a member of Guiding since 1987. She later went on to become a leader in Manchester, Calgary in Canada and Christchurch in New Zealand. Louise also led a multi-national team to train Guide Leaders in Thailand.
How did Louise end up in New Zealand? An earthquake occurred in Christchurch on 22 February 2011, World Thinking Day. It caused widespread damage across Christchurch and killed 185 people. Louise is a Civil Engineer and has been working on the rebuilding of Christchurch since then.
For Louise 22 February is a day to both celebrate Girl Guiding and also commemorate those who lost their lives in the Christchurch Earthquake.
In 2013 Girl Guiding New Zealand challenged girls to come up with suggestions on how to recruit Guide leaders. Louise’s girls came up with an idea to organise a flash mob. Their idea was selected and turned into a 30 second advert which was broadcast nationally on New Zealand Television. The two minute video below tells the story of what they did.
One & Other was a 2009 public art project by Antony Gormley in which 2,400 members of the public occupied the usually vacant fourth plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square, for an hour each for 100 days. Of the 35,000 applicants, Louise won a place. She choose to promote Girl Guiding. See an extract of her time on the plinth at the link below.