The Girl Guides Association Cook Islands proudly represented the country at the 38th World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) conference in Nicosia, Cyprus, along with 152 countries.

WAGGGS is the largest voluntary movement dedicated to empowering girls and young women in the world.

It is an international organisation that promotes and supports girl guiding and girl scouting activities worldwide.

This global gathering for all its member organisations is held every three years with over 500 members in attendance.

The Cook Islands head delegate Ngara Katuke from the Arorangi Girl Guides Company and young women delegate Destiny Nicholas from the Ngatangiia Girl Guides Company were “proud” to have represented the country.

The Cook Islands was the only South Pacific Island nation to attend the conference held from July 26-31, along with the Pacific countries of Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. 

In 2014, the Cook Islands became a full member of WAGGGS at the 35^th World Conference that was held in Hong Kong.

“Since then, we have voting rights and our voices heard in our guiding world family, and we are thankful for the opportunity to be participants,” said Katuke.

The highlight of the forum, coming from a small member organisation, was “our voices being heard”.

“I am also thankful we managed to take Destiny as our young women delegate as they are our future leaders,” said Katuke.

“Our young women can learn so much more from these forums and pass on the knowledge to any upcoming young women in the world of guiding.”

Meeting delegates from other countries and exchanging guiding stories and culture was a highlight for both women.

“Every day we wore our everlasting ei katu and poe tiare to showcase our beautiful culture,” said Katuke.

Another highlight was the opening ceremony held at the ancient theatre of Kourio, in Limassol.

Nicholas was given the honour to fly the Cook Islands flag amongst the other 151 countries.

The president of the Republic of Cyprus, Dr Nikos Christodoulides, addressed the delegates at the opening which included a drama bringing to life the rich heritage and history of Cyprus and the inspiring journey of Guiding in Cyprus, dating back to 1912.

Nicholas was one of over 100 youth (18-30 years) who participated in the “Get Ready for Governance” Youth Pre-Event.

“This was an opportunity to learn more in-depth knowledge about the conference,” said Nicholas.

“It was an amazing workshop to be a part of, learning so much more about guiding/scouting, and network with other young people.”

Nicholas also noted the “Brave Space Agreement” group sessions that included presentations on the six leadership mindsets “on how we can lead ourselves and those around us to ensure that the impact is real, necessary and achievable”.

These six models are: Reflective Mindset - Leading Yourself, Worldly Mindset - Leading in Context, Gender Equality Mindset - Leading for Girl Empowerment, Responsible Action Mindset - Leading for Impact, Creative and Critical Thinking Mindset - Leading for Innovation, and Collaborative Mindset - Leading Relationships.

“The Leadership mindset sessions helped us understand that different situations require different solutions, and to get to a solution we need to use these different mindsets to ensure we are making necessary and achievable decisions.”

Being the only young leader from the Pacific in the workshop, Nicholas said at first, she had difficulty connecting with others.

“However, in the end, I made some life-long friends and got the chance to learn more about different countries and cultures.”

Her group also learned more about how to “share leadership”.

Nicholas said: “We learnt that there are many roles in the planning process which can help to contribute to a final goal. So, we were all able to contribute equally ensuring that our relaxation session is suitable for people of all ages, sizes, cultures etc.”

“From this, we gathered that in most situations we cannot only just use our facts but rather our feelings too, to encourage a more diverse perspective.

“It was a significant event and have learnt a lot from the programmes and by sharing stories with the other young women delegates from all over the world.

“Thank you to all who have supported me in my first guiding international trip.”

The WAGGGS World Board has overall responsibility for the direction, strategy, governance and control of the organisation and is collectively accountable for compliance with relevant United Kingdom legislative and regulatory requirements.

Cambodia will be the next host for the world meeting in 2026.

Katuke and Nicholas would like to acknowledge and say “meitaki ma’ata” to everyone for their support and contribution towards their trip.

“We both understood that this year was a challenging one for all the organisations in our Cook Islands Christian Church (CICC) due to our preparation of the 34^th General Assembly and the 200 Years of the Arrival of the Gospel celebrations,” said Katuke.

“Thank you for believing in and trusting us both to represent the Cook Islands in Cyprus.

“Thank you to our Lord for keeping us safe upon travelling and returning back home to our families.

“Meitaki korereka, meitaki ngao e meitaki ranuinui to: the guiding members, families and friends, Cook Islands Consulate General, Keu Mataroa, Patipati Kareroa, National Council Members, Olave Baden Powell Society UK, Ngatangiia CICC Ekalesia, Madeline Sword- Tua, Jessie Sword, Anton Hayward and Liana Scott, Nga Teao-Papatua family, Tirata Farman, Tepaeru Kokaua Hagai, Pitia Ellis Kokaua, Poko Tuariki, Vaiana Tamarangi, Kura Manavaroa & Smith family, Nga Tuariki, Teokotai Ngatoko -  Manihiki Girl Guides, Nooroa Maora - Avarua Girl Guides, Nina Neubauer and Tutai Mauke - Arorangi, Apii Ben - Titikaveka Girl Guides, Josephine Maoate - Ngatangiia Girl Guides, and Upokotea Unuia- Tuakana.”