Thinking Day is chosen

In 1926 Guide and Girl Scout delegates met in the United States for the Fourth International Conference, which WAGGGS now counts as its 4th World Conference. Among other decisions, they agreed on a special annual day when members around the world would “think of each other and express their thanks and appreciation for our international Movement”. It was called Thinking DayAn annual day on 22 February, the shared birthday of Robert and Olave Baden-Powell, chosen at the Fourth International Conference in 1926 (these became World Conferences in 1928). Fundraising was added from 1932, and the name became World Thinking Day in 1999, according to both WAGGGS and Girlguiding.. They chose 22 February, the birthday of both Robert and Olave Baden-Powell.^[1][2]

Camp Edith Macy, May 1926

The conference met at the newly built Camp Edith Macy, at Briarcliff Manor in New York State.^[4] The Girl Scout historian Ann Robertson says it opened on 11 May 1926, with “over 32 countries” represented. Juliette Gordon Low had pressed for it to be brought forward from 1928. She died in January 1927.^[3] The meeting followed the first World Camp at Foxlease in 1924.

Evidence status: Disputed Accounts differ on the details. Girlguiding says a French delegate suggested an “International Thinking Day”;^[5] WAGGGS does not name the proposer. Robertson writes that the discussions led to a “Guide and Scout Day” (Thinking Day) in 1928, where WAGGGS dates the decision to 1926. WAGGGS also calls Olave Baden-Powell “World Chief Guide” at this point, a title she took only in 1930 (see her page). We have not yet seen the conference’s own record.

A penny for the movement, 1932

At the 7th World Conference, in Bucze, Poland, in 1932, a Belgian delegate pointed out that birthdays usually involve gifts. Later that year Olave Baden-Powell wrote to Guides and Girl Scouts asking them to “spare a penny” for Guiding around the world. WAGGGS says this fundraising is still an important source of its income.^[1]

Members made the day their own. Girlguiding’s centenary blog, drawing on its heritage collection, describes Guides placing their pennies on the floor to form a giant trefoil in 1953, and a unit in 1966 floating candle-lit boats named after countries down a river.^[5] These are chosen examples, not a survey.

World Thinking Day today

Evidence status: Unconfirmed In 1999, at the 30th World Conference in Dublin, the name was changed to World Thinking Day, “to better emphasise the international aspects of the day”.^[1] Girlguiding gives the same year.^[5] Both are organisational accounts and may share a source; we have not yet seen the conference record.

WAGGGS sets a theme each year. For 2025–2028 it chose a four-year sequence: Our Story, Our Friendship (2026, the centenary), Our People and Our Future (2028, the centenary of WAGGGS).^[7] In 2026 Girlguiding offered unit activities, including one for Rainbows inspired by Olave Baden-Powell’s penny.^[6]

Evidence status: Interpretation In our reading, the day tied a world movement to one family’s birthday, and its fund tied members’ giving to the world body. Both made a scattered movement feel personal. Both also kept the founders at its centre.

People and objects

• 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941

  Robert Baden-Powell

  Army officer and founder of Scouting, who set out the girls' scheme with his sister Agnes, wrote Guiding's handbooks from 1918 and signed them as "Founder".

• 22 February 1889 – 25 June 1977

  Olave Baden-Powell

  Chief Guide from 1918 and World Chief Guide from 1930, a much-travelled leader who held Guiding's international network together through visits, letters and ceremony.

• 31 October 1860 – 17 January 1927

  Juliette Gordon Low

  Founder of Girl Scouting in the United States in 1912, who adapted the British model for American girls and paid for much of its early growth.

Sources

1. World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, “World Thinking Day: History & Impact”, WAGGGS. Accessed 25 September 2026.
2. World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, “Our history”, WAGGGS. Accessed 25 September 2026.
3. Ann Robertson, “Girl Scouts and the Magic of Macy, Part 2”, Girl Scout History Project, 2025-12-15. Accessed 25 October 2026. Blog by a Girl Scout historian, drawing on GSUSA archive photographs and 1926 newspapers.
4. Edith Macy Center, “Explore the rich history of Edith Macy and Briarcliff Manor”. Accessed 25 October 2026. The conference centre's own short history; uses the later name "World Thinking Day" for 1926.
5. Girlguiding, “World Thinking Day celebrations over the years”, 2026-02-11. Accessed 25 October 2026. Centenary blog drawing on Girlguiding's heritage collection. Examples are chosen for interest, not as a survey.
6. Girlguiding, “World Thinking Day”. Accessed 25 October 2026. Current events page; content changes each year.
7. World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, “World Thinking Day 2027”, WAGGGS. Accessed 25 October 2026. Current campaign page; it sets out the 2025–2028 themes. Content changes each year.