What's World Thinking Day?

The story of this special day and how we have celebrated it over the years

Girl Guides and Girl Scouts have been marking this special day since 1926.

World Thinking Day is a celebration of 10 million girls worldwide that has taken place on every 22 February since 1926. It remains a day for all Girl Guides and Girl Scouts to think of each other and celebrate their sisters all around the world. 

How did World Thinking Day begin?

In 1926, delegates from Guide and Girl Scout organisations across the world met in the USA for the 4th world conference. They decided to create a day for Girl Guides and Girl Scouts to think about others around the world and celebrate being part of an international movement.  

The 22 February was chosen as the date because it was the joint birthday of Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the scout and guide movement, and his wife Olave, who continued running the movement after his death. And so, 'thinking day' was born. 

At the 7th world conference in 1932, a Belgian delegate highlighted that birthdays typically involved gifts, and perhaps girls could show their thanks on Thinking Day by raising funds for the organisation. In response, Olave Baden-Powell wrote a letter to all Girl Guides and Girl Scouts asking them to donate just a penny – enough to buy a loaf of bread in those days – to help fund guiding around the world. This is now known as the World Thinking Day Fund. 

The name of the day was changed to 'World Thinking Day' at the 30th world conference in Dublin in 1999. Delegates wanted a new name to reflect the truly global nature of the celebration.

How do we celebrate today?

World Thinking Day remains one of the most important dates in the guiding calendar, and every year there’s a different theme to encourage members to think about the big issues affecting us and our global community. Previous World Thinking Days have tackled the subjects of poverty, gender inequality, environmental sustainability and access to education. 

If you’re a volunteer looking to engage girls in your unit about World Thinking Day and what it means to them, why not try out some of the activities in the WAGGGS activity pack (PDF, 11,870kB)? In the spirit of coming together, you might also go along to a World Thinking Day event in your country or region.

Support our global movement

Each year the World Thinking Day Fund supports girls and guiding across the world.