Innovate 2008

Friday Night

After a long journey of eight hours, I arrived at PGL Dalguise - the location of Innovate 2008. Following my registration, I unpacked my suitcase and proceeded to the canteen to refuel in preparation for the night ahead. Friday evening's entertainment involved a variety of relaxed challenges and icebreakers such as the Yes/No game, Consequences and Charades etc.

Saturday

Saturday morning began with an official welcome from all the Innovate Planning Team and a reminder about the purpose and value of the weekend. Ready to make a difference to Girlguiding UK, we all proceeded into our workshops. I had opted to take part in the 'Hard Up, Not Left Out' workshop which involved examining what financial barriers exist in Guiding and the ways of overcoming them. The three hour Saturday morning session was spent debating what the term 'financial barriers' actually meant, whether any existed in Girlguiding UK organisation and if so, what they were. One of the most revealing activities was when Lizzi, our workshop leader, asked each member to write down how much they had spent on guiding in the last year. The range of amounts was fascinating - from nearly £3000 right down to absolutely nothing. After lunch it was 'Why Don't You' time. The 'Why Don't You' activities gave each participant the opportunity to let off a bit of steam by trying something a bit different or reacquainting themselves with some old favourite. I had chosen quilling and fencing. Fencing was amazing. Once you got over the initial claustrophobia of helmet and armour, it is so much fun, tiring, but fun. We paired off to practice lunging and parrying before having little battles against each other. By end of the session we were all exhausted but we'd all had a great time.

A traditional Ceilidh was Saturday night's entertainment interspersed with bath bomb making, a silent auction and disco. The Scottish members of Innovate were in high demand throughout the evening as they were the only ones who had any idea of the steps.

Sunday

After a much needed extra hour in bed, everyone made their way back once again to their workshops. Following yesterday's discussions, the 'Hard Up, Not Left Out' group set about thinking of ways to approach the problem of financial barriers and any possible solutions. All of our efforts culminated in the design of resources to help combat the problem. These include a book detailing 100 unit activities that could be done for free and a 'Swap Shop' style website for both uniform and other equipment. After lunch and a visit to the Fringe event set up to publicise the many opportunities within Girlguiding UK - we all headed off our separate ways.