BGO Public Statement – 5th August 2023
To all members, supporters and friends of British Girlguiding Overseas:
We are extremely grateful for the support we have received from many individuals and groups over the last few difficult months.
Thank you to all Leaders across our Region. They have gone above and beyond, working hard to plan and deliver wonderful events, building lasting memories for all of our members.
Many people have been working for and with us to try and find a way for BGO to continue our journey as members of Girlguiding, but sadly, our efforts have been in vain.
Thank you to everyone who has supported us, either by signing the BGO petition, sharing our story, writing letters and emails, asking for meetings or further information, contacting the media, supporting us on social media, or sending us messages of support and encouragement. Thank you for showing us the true spirit of the sisterhood of Girlguiding that we all know and love.
Despite our sadness and disappointment, we continued to fight for our survival. Since we were first informed of the closure plans, we have, in true guiding spirit, done our best to find a solution for all of our members, at great personal cost in terms of time, emotions and energy. We did this willingly to try to find a future for BGO.
We repeatedly requested further information from HQ so that we could understand the decisions, but we have not received this.
We lobbied at the highest level of Girlguiding with a request to become a charity in our own right or to set up as a different charity as a franchise of Girlguiding. These alternatives, amongst many others, were repeatedly rejected by the Board and CEO. In particular, we presented a comprehensive proposal to become a charity in our own right on the same basis as the other regions. Despite the inclusion of a dedicated risk manager, office staff and a detailed risk assessment, this proposal was ultimately rejected by the trustees.
We also lobbied for an extension for the Middle East and Africa, Asia, Benelux and France, Europe, and Lones counties until the 31st December, so that we could continue discussions, in line with the extension given to our members in the Caribbean and Atlantic. This was also rejected.
We requested that HQ process a partial refund of £7 per member from our annual subscription payment but the finance department at HQ was unable to do this, instead expecting the BGO Financial Adviser, local treasurers and volunteers to manually make each individual refund payment. This was too much to expect our volunteers to administer.
We have now been informed that our last possible attempt to find a way forward has been rejected. As no other options are open to us, we must sadly recognise that no solution can be found to enable us to continue as members of Girlguiding UK.
We continue to hope that all Girlguiding members, staff and trustees will learn from these experiences and that the organisation will take time to reflect on the management and communication of these actions, as we hope that no other part of our still-respected sisterhood will ever have to face such a situation.
We thank each and every one of you who have supported us on this difficult journey.
The BGO executive committee
BGO Statement - April 2023
The decisions taken by the Girlguiding Board of Trustees in the UK to cease the operations of British Girlguiding Overseas (BGO) has come with immense shock and sadness to us.
British Girlguiding Overseas has been in existence for well over 100 years after the first unit was established in Portugal in 1911. Our leaders have always worked extra hard to keep their units compliant with the standards set by Girlguiding in the UK and additionally in the countries that host them. To this end, our safety record is exemplary.
The closure of the BGO region will have a negative impact on both our Guiding members in the ex British territories as well as many British families living outside of mainland UK. Those who are already Girlguiding members will have to leave guiding and the valuable English speaking, girl-only space, which has continuously provided a lifeline to our members when they move overseas, will disappear.
We have worked hard to suggest solutions to the Board of Trustees in order to provide an alternative delivery method so that we may continue as a Region. We are disappointed that we have not come to a solution at this time.
Whilst we will never fully understand the decision that has been made and it is not of our making, we will work with our membership to make sure that we continue to care for every individual girl and member; and we hope that an alternative offer can be swiftly made to them in one form or another.
We would kindly request that any letters of complaint and disappointment are sent to the email addresses provided by Girlguiding HQ and not directly to members of the BGO executive team or to local volunteer members.
To Contact Girlguiding HQ:
enquiries.bgo@girlguiding.org.uk or Telephone +44 020 8159 4040
Girlguiding Press Office - 020 7592 1891