by Michelle Gates Roberts, AWC Korea, FAUSA
I have over 10 million reasons to feel hopeful about our future.
Walking into the room I could feel the familiar buzz of Girl Scout energy. Youthful, curious, vibrant, get-stuff-done.
I felt right at home in the “Empowering Women through Non-Formal Education: Developing Leadership and Decision-Making Skills” session at CSW69 facilitated by Girl Scouts of the USA, Girl Scouts of Taiwan, and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGS).
As a Brownie and Junior, I sold countless boxes of cookies, sang silly camp songs, learned about science, art and how to think beyond myself. As a Girl Scout troop leader at Seoul Foreign School, I witnessed my Juniors and Cadettes grow in confidence as they figured out the world around them.
As per Girl Scout philosophy, the session was girl-led. Even in our breakout sessions the girls took charge, encouraged everyone to participate, and made sure everyone had a chance to be heard. Unsurprisingly, the girls had wonderful insights and thoughtful answers.
With a 100+ year history, 153 countries and territories represented, and over 10.11 million members worldwide – WAGGS continues to be an incubator of thoughtful, courageous women of confidence and character.
There are over 10 million reasons to feel hopeful about our future. I call them Girl Scouts and Girl Guides.
And in case you didn’t know, former NASA Deputy Administrator Pamela Melroy, almost all female astronauts including Eileen Collins and Sally Ride, Christa McAuliffe, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Dorothy Hamill, Patricia Diaz Dennis, Carol Bellamy, Lolo Jones, Anna Roberts, Jackie Joyner-Kersey, Senator Tammy Duckworth, Madeleine Albright, Sandra Day O'Connor, Venus Williams, Dr. Condoleeza Rice, Katie Couric, Laura Bush, Queen Latifah, Queen Elizabeth, Hillary Clinton, Sally Ride, Taylor Swift, Anna Beth Gorman and many, many other trailblazing women were Girl Scouts or Girl Guides.