Western News: October 26, 2023

Thursday October 26 2023 5
Guiding the way for young girls
• By Sasha Watson
CIARA GIBSON has just
returned from representing New
Zealand at an international Girl
Guiding governance forum.
Now, the 20-year-old
Canterbury University student
wants to see more girls step up to
leadership positions.
Gibson, who lives in Ilam,
was selected as one of two New
Zealand representatives at the
38th World Association of Girl
Guiding and Girl Scouting world
conference in Cyprus.
About 400 delegates from 106
countries attended the event
to discuss strategy, policy and
leadership at a global level, elect
new world board members
and participate in a range of
workshops.
Gibson said the conference
connected her with other people
around the world who are
passionate about empowering
young women.
“But I also learned young
women can have much more
of a voice on numerous issues
and take advantage of a whole
range of different opportunities
compared to our peers in some
other countries,” she said.
“Guides has inspired me over
the years and has offered me
a wonderful chance to really
challenge myself and to learn
and grow.
“I want to offer the same
support and mentoring to other
GOING GLOBAL: Ciara Gibson was one of two New Zealand
Girl Guide representatives at the world conference.
girls and young women who
may want to become the leaders
of tomorrow, or who may just
want to have fun and enjoy new
challenges with a great group of
other girls in a safe space.”
Gibson sits on the
GirlGuiding NZ
national board, as the young
leader representative, and was
a member of the national girl
advisory group, which focuses
on giving young women a voice
within the organisation.
She has also attained the
Queen’s Guide award (the
highest achievement in guiding)
and has served as both a leader
and co-ordinator for the central
South Island region.
“It sometimes takes guts
to put your hand up and step
out of your comfort zone, and
that’s where I’ve been lucky as a
Girl Guide,” she said.
“It’s important for girls to see
other girls in leadership positions
and Guiding has been invaluable
in that respect. The organisation
has done so much to help me
overcome those barriers and help
me become a leader.”
Gibson didn’t have to look
far for inspiration to become
a Girl Guide. Her mother and
both of her grandmothers were
Guides, and her father and both
her grandfathers were involved
in Scouting. She joined the
organisation aged 7 as a Brownie.
Her mum, Sharon, is still a
Guide leader and her younger
sister, Brianna, is also a leader.
Established in 1908,
GirlGuiding NZ offers a
non-competitive learning
environment which is openminded
and values-based.
“It’s a supportive place to grow
confident, adventurous girls
who are ready to be tomorrow’s
leaders,” said Gibson.
“Given its strong focus on
inclusivity, and given the
challenges girls and young
women face in today’s society,
it’s a special place where girls
and young women can learn
new skills, create lifelong
connections, and nurture
personal growth and confidence.
“There’s still much more we
need to do at home to encourage
young Kiwi women to step
up. Our ‘tall poppy’ syndrome
means we often still hold
ourselves back.”
• For more information
about Girl Guiding, go to
girlguidingnz.org.nz
GirlGuiding NZ has
partnered with Griffin’s
again to bring the
kiwi favourite choc
guide biscuits back to
supermarket shelves.
While not being sold by
Girl Guides, the biscuits will
be available at Countdown,
SuperValue and
FreshChoice supermarkets
for a limited time to raise
funds for the organisation.
Amyes Rd
arrow gets
green light
from road
users
• From page 1
A previous online discussion
regarding the difficulty of
turning right also saw about
100 people commenting on the
issue.
Between January 1, 2018, and
January 1, 2021, seven crashes
occurred at the intersection,
one of which resulted in a
minor injury.
There will be also a green
arrow turning right for those
coming out of Goulding Ave
turning right into Shands Rd.
“We would like to
acknowledge the work of Ross
Houliston in starting the
advocacy on this issue,” said
a GHRA spokesperson on
Facebook.
“Maybe they should be called
the Houliston Green Arrows.”
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