SINGAPORE – The Girl Guides International Camp kicked off on Wednesday (June 1) at the Guide House in Bishan, offering activities for girls and women aged 8 to 80 to engage in issues like gender equality, body image and climate change.
Such topics resonate with 15-year-old Girl Guide Fellah Citra Feroz Muhamad.
Fellah, a student at Crescent Girls’ School, said: “Equality to me means to live and discover who you are without being affected or restricted by things like your gender.
“It’s important for us to look at where we are in society from time to time so that we can move forward and ensure that everybody is equal.”
The inaugural hybrid camp involves participants from 11 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, India and Singapore, and will run from June 1 to 4.
Those based overseas will engage in activities in their own countries and the sessions will either be livestreamed or pre-recorded, before being shown at the camp.
Some of the activities include discussions on “unconscious bias” in gender, yoga sessions and plogging, where Girl Guides pick up litter while jogging at public parks.
At the launch of the camp on Wednesday, guest-of-honour President Halimah Yacob announced the opening of a new water obstacle course at the Guide’s Camp Christine, at Jalan Bahtera.
In a speech, she reiterated the need for continued commitment in the quest for gender equality.
Said President Halimah: “While Singaporean women have made considerable progress in the past decades, more needs to be done for Singapore to become a fairer and inclusive society…
“Guiding programmes are intentionally designed to be relevant for meeting the needs of girls and opening up new horizons and possibilities for them.
“An example is Girl Guide Singapore’s efforts to nurture girls’ interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)… we benefit from having equal representation of women in these fields that will shape our future world.”
Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Low Yen Ling stressed the importance of the Girl Guides in instilling confidence in young girls.
