From the Board Chair

So many exciting events and opportunities have been keeping Units busy. Have you been out and about in your community?

Board Directors took the opportunity to connect with Region teams for dinner a few weeks ago at the Region Personnel Conference in Sydney. It was great to catch up with old friends and meet many new Members of the Region Teams and listen to their successes and challenges! I was very pleased to see so many new faces and enjoyed chatting to younger women who are stepping into Region roles.

Thank you for all you do for Guiding in your Regions.

The Board has a strategy day coming up in early September where we will review the projects that will be our focus for 2026. We are looking at strategies to continued over page continue to build membership. This is a critical factor that we should all be focusing on.

You may be interested in the recent World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) Census Report on membership:

Census report 2025

For the third year in a row total membership across WAGGGS has increased! However, the Asia Pacific Region has had a 1% drop in membership. India has shown very strong growth however the trend in Australia sees membership dropping.

As an organisation we need to have a membership growth mindset but also focus on retention. We are mindful that many of our Adult Members wear multiple hats in Guiding (I'm guilty of that too!) and we all have to work out ways of sharing the load. This includes mentoring people to take on a role that they may have never considered before and supporting them to success. That takes commitment from all of us!

A wise Guiding friend once said membership growth is everyone's responsibility!

We could easily grow Guiding if we had more adults in Regions, Districts and Units. This is not a new problem—we have tackled this over the decades with varying success.

As Martine Robins said last month: when we have great programs the girls come from word of mouth through their friends. The Leadership team should plan strategies on proactively connecting with parents and carers throughout the year and ensure they have a positive experience too.

When you have a bigger leadership team the sharing becomes easier if someone has to dip out for a night and we still have enough qualified Leaders and Volunteers to maintain safe ratios; after all we are a Child Safe Child Friendly (CSCF ) organisation!

Retention is the other half of the coin. Giving our older Guides flexibility as they study and start careers means discussing options proactively. Think outside the Unit and District and have the conversation to keep them as Members, not necessarily in their old Unit.

The same thought process applies to Adult Members. If something isn't quite working for them in a particular role—then have the conversation. Discuss alternative options. To retain we have to be flexible in our own attitude to helping people belong. We are stronger together.

On another note I'd like to thank Aine Leonard for her hard work and commitment to the Finance Audit & Investment (FAI) Committee in the past three years. Aine recently completed her term on the committee and we thank her for her extra service to the organisation.

Michael Silman will join the FAI committee this month and is currently in a senior role at Macquarie Bank.

I'm looking forward to spring—new growth and opportunities. How about you?