Why Is This Unofficial Website Needed?

Revised:  3/1/2020

When we began this website in January 2019, we said that we had recently heard via some council-level sources that GSUSA intended to be more engaged with delegates, the National Council Session (NCS), and our democratic process.  We thought that was  great news, and we hoped it was a sign that, under Sylvia Acevedo’s leadership, GSUSA was re-learning the value of listening to its members. Here we are a year and some months later, and the 2020 National Council Session Early Alert with agenda items is out.  In preparation for this year’s NCS, GSUSA received an unprecedented number of proposals from councils – nine – and four discussion topics.  From the Early Alert, GSUSA indicates it relied on an appointed National Advisory Team, council CEOs, and council Board Chairs to give feedback on proposals, and furthermore, relied on two “governance interns” and the appointed G.I.R.L 2020 Team to get advice on what discussion topic to put on the agenda.  In other words, guess what – our councils’ elected delegates are still not being used in any substantive way.  So, once again, here are the reasons we believe this website meets some very real needs:

• We originally created the Girl Scout Governance (GSG) website because historically, GSUSA has done far too little to involve delegates throughout the triennium.  That trend unfortunately has continued with the development of the 2020 NCS agenda.  An advisory team and the G-Team are NOT elected to represent councils or to give guidance and direction to the National Board.   With more proposals on the agenda for the 2020 NCS than ever, it is critical to get the membership of our Movement involved to use our voice and for our voice to be heard.
• We created GSG because a forum is needed where all interested members – not just delegates – can participate in our Movement’s democratic processes. Historically, GSUSA has only shared information with elected delegates and alternates and relied on councils to connect with their membership in order to both inform and request feedback.  Unfortunately, this type of connection doesn’t happen in a significant number of councils. GSG provides a place where all interested parties, including delegates and GSUSA representatives (should they choose), can find information, participate in discussion, and assess how the national membership feels about any proposals and discussion topics being deliberated without the reliance on councils, some of which are not effective conduits. In the absence of anything similar provided by GSUSA, we believe this website fulfills a needed purpose in an organization where the membership is, per our Constitution, ultimately responsible for the Movement.
• We created GSG in part because the existing delegate website was inactive from just after the 2017 NCS until a notice in June 2018 that it would be used for regular updates.  While it has been updated periodically since 2018, updates are infrequent and access remains open only to National Delegates.
• We created GSG because 2017 NCS delegates (still in their terms, although many are now being replaced by 2020 delegates) have little voice in the Movement since the last NCS despite a significant need for a Movement-wide discussion about strategies to counter new competition from other youth-serving organizations.  Example:  2017 delegates were not surveyed regarding membership dues issues (even though there are three membership dues proposals on the 2020 agenda), and they were not surveyed about appropriate discussion topics.  Instead, per the Early Alert, GSUSA went to two governance interns and the carefully-selected G-Team rather than consult delegates or honor the councils who participated in the constitutionally-described process to get discussion topics for the NCS agenda.
• We created GSG because some councils do not engage appropriately in democratic processes. Historically, some councils have done nothing to share information or train their delegates adequately.  As recently as the 2017 NCS, we heard of councils that did not provide their delegates a copy of proposals or workbooks until their delegates arrived at the convention site.  Other 2017 delegates reported they received either inadequate or no delegate training from their councils. In these circumstances, such delegates cannot possibly know about or effectively participate in the delegates-only website, conference calls, etc. prior to the NCS, nor can they actively engage with their membership or prepare adequately to participate in the NCS. These types of actions or inactions by some councils totally subvert the notion of democratic processes for the Movement. Our website, precisely because it is unofficial, allows for the possibility that delegates from such councils might hear about our website through social media and have the opportunity to participate here, albeit unofficially.
• We created GSG because the current model of delegate representation has no official way to connect the voices and knowledge of the 2017 NCS delegates to the newly-elected 2020 delegates.  Our website, by virtue of being open to all, is a location where past, present, and future delegates can learn from and mentor each other on GSUSA governance processes.
• Last, we created GSG because we recognize a very sad fact: in some councils, members who take positions differing from opinions of their council’s management fear repercussions for expressing their opinions. Unfortunately, in some councils, such repercussions have occurred. In an organization that values democracy, this is totally unacceptable; unfortunately, GSUSA historically has been powerless to stop such actions by local councils.  GSG provides a platform where these people can participate in debate.

Given the facts stated above, we see this website as a partner and as a complement to GSUSA’s efforts to engage delegates, as an alternative to GSUSA’s efforts when those efforts are non-existent or inadequate, and as a way to go beyond delegates by giving all interested members a platform for governance discussion and access to resources. We will use this website to additionally point delegate representatives toward GSUSA’s delegate platform and to point members toward other resources GSUSA may publish from time to time.  Here, we welcome ANY member of our Movement to comment and dialogue freely, provided they do so in a constructive manner and refrain from personal or organizational attacks.

In closing, we truly believe in Girl Scouting.  We believe that Girl Scouts has been and still is the best organization for girls to develop courage, confidence, and character as they grow into leaders who will change the world and make it a better place.  We believe in the ideals of our founder, and in the ideals of our Movement as stated in our Promise, Law, and Constitution. That said, we also believe Girl Scouts has gone through a significant period of time where it failed to really listen to and understand member concerns.  We believe that this failure to listen and understand has significantly weakened our Movement’s program, our brand, and what used to be a collaborative way of work.  We see adult members and older girls leaving Girl Scouting because they do not believe they can affect change and because of past programmatic decisions that have made them feel Girl Scouting no longer meets their needs.  The time and effort we have spent in developing this website is a testament to our conviction that one solution to the issues facing our Movement is through collaboration and democracy.  GSG is only a tool and will accomplish little on its own.  We offer this tool to everyone and urge you to roll up your sleeves and actively participate here and in any or all other manner which GSUSA or local councils may provide in the future.

We welcome your thoughts in the comments below.