Internationalism and empire between the wars
Our Chalet, the first World Centre, opens
A centre near Adelboden in the Swiss Alps for international gatherings, the first of what are now five WAGGGS World Centres.
Our Chalet, near Adelboden in Switzerland, was formally opened on 31 July 1932 by Olave Baden-Powell and Helen Storrow, the American Guider who paid for it to be built and for its first four years of running.[1] It was the first World CentreA WAGGGS centre for international gatherings and training. There are five: Our Chalet (Switzerland), Our Cabaña or Nuestra Cabaña (Mexico), Pax Lodge (UK), Sangam (India) and Kusafiri (Africa Region)..[2]
Five centres today
WAGGGS now has five World Centres:[3]
- Our Chalet, Switzerland, opened 1932.
- Our Cabaña (Nuestra Cabaña), Cuernavaca, Mexico, dedicated in February 1956 and officially opened on 24 July 1957.[4]
- Sangam, Pune, India, declared open by Olave Baden-Powell on 16 October 1966.[5]
- Pax Lodge, London, opened 1991, successor to Our Ark (1939) and Olave House (1959).[6]
- Kusafiri, Africa Region, piloted from 2011 as a travelling World Centre and named in 2015.[8] In 2023 the World Conference decided to base it in Accra, Ghana, until 2026.[7] Where it will be based after 2026 is not yet clear from WAGGGS’s published information.
Who got to go?
Evidence status: Interpretation World Centres made international Guiding tangible. They also raise questions of access: travel was expensive, and the chance to attend depended on money, selection and nationality. That Our Chalet itself depended on one wealthy benefactor makes the point. We are looking for evidence of who travelled, and how it was paid for.
People and objects
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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.
Sources
- WAGGGS World Centres, “Story of Our Chalet”, WAGGGS. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, “Our history”, WAGGGS. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, “About World Centres”, WAGGGS. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- WAGGGS World Centres, “Nuestra Cabaña”, WAGGGS. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- WAGGGS World Centres, “Sangam”, WAGGGS. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- WAGGGS World Centres, “Pax Lodge”, WAGGGS. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- WAGGGS World Centres, “Kusafiri”, WAGGGS. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- WAGGGS World Centres, “About Us | Kusafiri”, WAGGGS. Accessed 25 September 2026.