On this day scouts and guides all over the world come together to celebrate the worldwide Fellowship in scouting and to focus on the basic values in Guiding and Scouting as laid down by the founder Baden-Powell.

When I was a young guide we used St George's Day to present ourselves and our activities in the neighborhood. We were active, visible and had a lot of fun.

We were proud of our troop and when we renewed our scout promise we thought of scouts and guides worldwide doing the same. It gave us a strong feeling of friendship.

Happy World Thinking Day 2013 to all the ISGF members.

The 22nd February it’s an unforgettable date for many many millions of individuals. Being still Guides or Scouts or now adults, they still remember their youth and the fantastic time in the movement. To celebrate the World Thinking Day 2013, WAGGGS, World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts developed the points 4 and 5 from the Millennium Development Goals.

The more than 10 000 000 Girl Guides and Girl Scouts will work the themes ”Every mother’s life and health is precious” and “Together we can save children’s lives”, and the focus will be on a country of each Region: Ireland, Jordan, Malawi, Pakistan, and Venezuela.

On this day and as members of ISGF we can THINK and find a way to collaborate with these issues in our countries or in other far away countries. Get informed, contact and see how your Guild can be active and be part of the work of the Region you belong.

The ISGF web is waiting for your news and Facebook on this day must be busy, full of information.

Mida Rodrigues

Chairman ISGF World Committee

You are welcome to register for the 45th European Forum in Grossarl, Austria.

Please forward this information to all your friends who may not have been to a Gathering before, There is no better time to be out in beautiful Austria nature. The gathering lasts 7 days and each day you may choose from many activities such as foot trails, hiking tours, workshops, music entertainment and excursions.

The National Scout and Guide Fellowships (NSGFs) in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden offer an attractive Europe Conference from 5 – 8 September 2013.

This 8^th Conference starts on Thursday 5^th September at 11:00 and is quite different from other Conferences as the participants will travel by ferry M/S Mariella from Sweden to Finland and vice versa while attending the Conference.

The Argentina Central Branch group of Scouts y Guias Adultos de Argentina (SGAA), held their 3rd Gathering from 12 – 19 January 2013 in the southernmost city of the world. Ushuaia is the capital of the province of Tierra del Fuego. It was hosted by the local Guild of Ushuaia with the help of the SGAA Committee.

After the success of the 1^st Caribbean Gathering in Curacao in 2010 the National Scout and Guide Fellowship of this island “Copernicia” takes the lead again and will also organize the 2^nd Caribbean Gathering.

The event will take place from 11 September 2013 until breakfast 15 September 2013 in hotel Trupial Inn within walking distance of shopping centres and only 20 minutes from Curacao International Airport (Hato Airport). Curacao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast.

The World Committee and the staff

from the World Bureau

wish you a very happy, 

healthy and peaceful year 2013. 

That the ISGF message continues 

to spread around the world 

with the contribution 

of all the members celebrating 

the 60th anniversary.

Quoting our Founder (B.P.´s "Scouting Round the World" -1935). "Here are ... a really mixed lot, but all grinning the cheery Scout/Guide smile and all jolly together, forgetting their differences..., and looking on each other as sisters/brothers in the one family, all playing the great game of Scouting/Guiding together."

202 ISGF members from Belgium, Cyprus, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Israel, Italy, Libya, Liechtenstein, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia and Uganda gathered at the Vincci Costa-Golf Hotel of Chiclana in Cadiz, Spain from 31 October till 5 November 2012.

The venue was our campsite because all rooms looking into the green where a most exact reproduction of the first scout camp in Brownsea Island (1907) was displayed. At that place was the opening ceremony with speeches, flag rising, a reading of the Spanish Centenary Manifest - as the whole 2012 is a commemoration of 100 years of Scouting in Spain - and with attendance of young guides and scouts groups from the area.

In 2012 again from 5 till 13 October, the National Scout and Guide Fellowship of Tunisia organised a journey open to all the National Fellowships. We were about 80 participants from 9 countries of the Arab region, France and Greece, and about the same number of Tunisians.

Meeting old friends, making new friends were very nice. It is always a pleasure to meet friends during those travels. The discussions particularly with the Tunisians, the Libyans and the Jordanese were very interesting concerning the actions done for the refugees.

The gathering was hosted by Bangladesh Scout and Guide Fellowship (BDSGF) in BRAC-CDM, Ashulia Savar, in Dhaka from 6 – 11 November 2012 and attended by 70 participants from Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. Delegates arrived, registered, settled and enjoyed welcome dinner on 6th November 2012.