World Centres Closure for 2021

WAGGGS has announced the decision to temporarily close Our Chalet, Pax Lodge, Sangam and Kusafiri. Guías de México have also decided to close Nuestra Cabaña, which means that all the World Centres will now be closed until 2022.

At this time we send warm thoughts to our Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting sisters around the world.

Included below is the message received from the Chair of the World Board and the WAGGGS CEO:

In early 2020, our world changed in ways that few could have foreseen. Since the COVID-19 outbreak in March we have all had to find new ways of working and adapt to the huge changes which have affected the whole Movement.

In March 2020, WAGGGS made the difficult decision to temporarily close the World Centres in order to keep staff, guests, and the local community safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. All volunteers, and where necessary international staff, were repatriated. Whilst the centres have been closed, the amazing World Centre team has continued to show great commitment and passion. They have successfully engaged supporters through social media campaigns, offering bespoke tours, running online events and more. At the same time, they have ensured the security and safety of the centres.

We had very much hoped that all centres would be able to accept guests and restart face-to face activities by January 2021. However, due to the growing numbers of new COVID-19 infections around the world, and the uncertainty about guests’ appetite for travel it is not realistic to keep the centres open in 2021.

In light of this, and with the aim of preserving these vital resources for the future benefit of the Movement, we have made the very difficult decision to temporarily close Our Chalet, Pax Lodge, Sangam and Kusafiri. Guías de México have also decided to close Nuestra Cabaña, which means that all of the World Centres will now be closed until 2022. We will focus on retaining institutional knowledge, keeping the centres secure and properly maintained, and securing bookings for future visits in order to reopen successfully in 2022. This of course was a very difficult decision but one which is unfortunately necessary to ensure the long-term sustainability of our World Centres for the Movement. During this time these Centres will not be open to the public and we will be doing everything we can to keep costs as low as possible. We will maintain a skeleton operation to ensure the safety of the centres while our focus now will be to ensure a strong recovery in 2022.

We hope to be able to welcome you and your members back to the Centres in 2022. We will be taking bookings for 2022 throughout 2021. Please do support the centres by making bookings whenever you are able; the successful reopening of all the Centres will rely on us all supporting them over the coming year.

Many thanks,

Heidi Jokinen, Chair of the World Board and Anna Segall, Chief Executive Officer