Thinking day celebrations at Sangam

What a day!! 400 Scouts and Guides from around Pune flocked to Sangam World Centre to celebrate World Thinking Day. We started with the World Song and raised both the WAGGGS and the Bharat Scouts and Guides flag. Donna Lednicky, the World Centre Manager, then honored prominent guests of the Pune Bharat Scouts and Guides.

Check out the Thinking Day celebrations video!

She then invited the participants and the day visitors to explore the opportunities of international Scouting and Guiding. The participants in groups of 2 or 3 led an hour of activities with a unit of scouts or guides each.

They made crafts, played games and sang songs from their home countries, therefore widening the scouts and guides horizons. The scouts and guides in turn taught them Indian traditions. Refreshments were offered and money was raised for the WTD fund, through donations and the sale of swaps from around the world.

We finished the morning with a message from Margaret Treloar the World Board Chairman, the Indian National Anthem, and a group picture.

After a restful afternoon we heard from guest speaker Nirmala, the chairman of Tara Mobile Creche. Guests and staff learned about the work she is doing to eliminate poverty and hunger, the theme of 2010 World Thinking Day.

At night we had a special Sangam Ceremony in the Thinking Day Courtyard, reflecting on what World Thinking Day means to us. We then went on a candle light reflection walk based on the theme of eliminating extreme poverty and hunger.