Girl Guides badges updated for 21st century

Guiders could soon be be winning merits for vlogging and voting instead of hosting and homemaking

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 14:Girl Scouts brave the rain in The Lord Mayor's Show on November 14, 2009 in London. The Lord Mayor's Show processes through three miles of London's streets with
(Image credit: 2009 Getty Images)

Girlguiding is replacing its traditional badges with new ones such as vlogging and app design.

In an attempt to make the organisation "more relevant" to the lives of its members today, the organisation is asking for suggestions for new badges to replace the likes of "hostess" and "homemaking" merits.

More than 15,000 people have so far put forward ideas, including suggestions for awards for app design, vlogging, voting and upcycling.

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Gymnast Beth Tweddle, 32, one of several "inspirational women" who have joined the campaign, has suggested a "resilience" badge that would tackle the stigma around mental health.

The Girl Guides has now broadened the consultation to ask members of the public for suggestion, inviting them to submit ideas on social media using the hashtag #BadgeGoals.

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The Daily Telegraph says it is the Girl Guides' "biggest modernisation project in 50 years".

However, the BBC says the movement has a long tradition of introducing more groundbreaking badges, such as one for "air mechanic" in the 1910s, "architect and electrical engineer" in the 1920s and "electrician" in the 1930s.

Girl Guides say the new programme, to be introduced next year, will mark the "biggest investment in girls' futures outside the school system in the UK".

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