Now that the August 31st deadline for councils to submit proposals to the National Board has come and gone, what’s next? While the National Board mulls over the proposals and discusses which ones they want, councils will start the process to select their own National Delegates for next October’s National Council Session. The process and the timing are different for each council, so you’ll have to check with yours to find out how to go about becoming one. It’s a tough thing to get interested in becoming a delegate when you don’t know what’s going to be on the agenda, but now’s the time you need to make your decisions about applying. One thing for certain: being a delegate is not a “reward” or a way to get expenses paid for a trip. Being a delegate means that YOU need to be prepared to vote on decisions that could affect our Movement in major ways. It’s a lot of work to study in advance – in some councils you will need to do that on your own – consider a wide variety of viewpoints as part of your preparation, and then be attentive and engaged in the debate during National Council Sessions. So, if you apply, be ready to work and be ready to make important decisions – even if you don’t know what the debate will be about at the time you apply. Girl Scouting does NOT need “rubber stampers” who just want to get business done as quickly as possible so they can go play at Disney World.
In the meantime, here’s the schedule of what’s going on behind the scenes when it comes to developing the 2020 National Council Session agenda, courtesy of this timeline found on the GSUSA website: https://www.girlscouts.org/en/about-girl-scouts/GIRL-2020/ncs-resource-center/agenda-development-timeline.html
| January 2020 | National Board of Directors places any items for vote on the National Council agenda, with the Board position, balanced with topics for strategic discussion.
In follow-up: Each Girl Scout council that submits a proposal or discussion topic is notified of National Board action taken regarding placement of the proposal or topic on the National Council agenda. |
| February 2020 | An “Early Alert,” referencing proposals placed on the National Council agenda and topics for strategic discussion, is distributed to all Girl Scout councils for communication to delegates. |
| April 2020 | National Board adopts the final agenda for National Council Session. |
| July 2020 | The Workbook for the 2020 National Council Session/55th Convention is distributed to all Girl Scout councils for distribution to delegates. The Workbook includes the call to the session, proposals to appear on the National Council agenda, topics for strategic discussion, and nominations for the National Board of Directors and National Board Development Committee. |
| Spring 2020 – October 2020 | Elected delegates study the Early Alert agenda items (and final version of agenda items as published in the Workbook), attend webinars, host local input sessions, and review process of material posted to delegate website to prepare for participation in the National Council Session. |
| October 2020 | The 2020 National Council Session/55th Convention is held in Orlando, Florida, October 21 – 25, 2020. |
Here’s a preliminary schedule for the week of the National Convention. Please note that you can find OFFICIAL information from the GSUSA website: https://www.girlscouts.org/en/about-girl-scouts/GIRL-2020/ncs-resource-center.html
What’s in store for GSG during this down time? We’re going to be putting together orientations about what’s involved with being a National Delegate along with some about parliamentary procedure and other governance related topics! Check back from time to time to see what we’ve uploaded!
Questions or comments? Feel free to post them below or in the forums!