Youth Forum 2026

Youth Forum 2026 was held in Carlingford Adventure Centre on the weekend of April 10th-12th. We had over 250 people attend between the girls and their leaders, which is a great achievement so thank you to all the girls who came and to their leaders for bringing them! Also, a massive thank you to our staff in the office as events like this wouldn’t be possible without them!

The weekend started on Friday night with the arrival of all of the buses, some after having taken a few detours due to the fuel protests, but everyone arrived in time for some food. After everyone had been fed and the girls had put their bags in their rooms, we all headed to the pool hall for the official opening and everyone received their Youth Forum gift which was a CGI mug this year!

In the pool hall we met some of the Carlingford staff and they went through the centre rules, talked through how the activities and groups were going to work for the next day and then they answered any questions. Once the Carlingford staff had finished, our Programme Commissioner, Michelle, went through any additional information for the girls and Leaders and she answered any questions. Lastly, the Chief Commissioner officially opened Youth Forum 2026! After the opening it was quite late and everyone was tired from a long day of traveling and excitement so it was time for bed!

Saturday morning was action packed, with wake up at 7:30am and breakfast starting at 8am, it was an early start for all. After breakfast, the girls got into their groups and began their activities and then after lunch the activities swapped over so that everyone got to do as much as possible. The activities included the CGI Youth Forum sessions which were held in the centre and Carlingford’s own activities which were held off site and run by staff from the centre. The CGI activitiesincluded sessions like; Free Being Me, Sustainability, Meet the Chief, Stop Motion Animation and a Pathway to Leadership session.

The off-site activities which were run by the Carlingford staff included; Target Sports, Laser Tag and a Survivor Challenge. All of the activities concluded in time for dinner at around 5pm and then the girls had a bit of free time before the next activity.

To finish off a very busy Saturday we held our Guides Own ceremony. As Sunday's activities would take us up to Sky Park, we wouldn't have had enough time for the Guides Own so we opted for Saturday night to make sure that we had plenty of time! For our Guides Own we sang a verse of ‘This Little Light of Mine’ and then some girls from different units read out reflections that they had chosen ahead of time. We continued this pattern of singing a verse and then reading reflections until we had reached the end of the song. The girls were also given a battery powered tea light candle that they could pass while singing so that by the end of the ceremony everyone was carrying the flame of someone else and they could always carry the spirit of Guiding with them! This lovely ceremony was planned by the Spirituality Team and led by Julie, so thank you to all involved, it was a wonderful Guides Own enjoyed by all!

Once the Guides Own had concluded we were due to have a disco but unfortunately due to the road closures our DJ couldn’t make it, but it was no problem as a Guide Leader is always prepared! A number of Leaders jumped in to help as we all sang campfire songs. It was amazing to hear over 250 voices all singing together! We even had a very special guest join us for a few songs as Cara Bear paid us a visit! We sang a few songs before concluding Saturday’s activities as everyone was exhausted but very happy after such a fun day! The girls and Leaders headed to bed as it was another early morning on Sunday.

Sunday morning saw everyone getting up bright and early again in time for breakfast and then to their rooms to clean and pack their bags. Once the rooms were done everyone headed down to the pool hall’s car park and put their bags into one of the many vehicles that Carlingford had supplied for us as there were so many people! The bags were driven up to Sky Park and the girls walked up in their groups to begin the last few activities up there.

Unfortunately on Sunday the weather was not great and strong winds meant that the girls weren’t able to go up high on the high ropes and ziplines but the staff at Sky Park made sure that everyone got to try a number of fun activities that they hadn’t done on Saturday. The girls got to try activities like axe throwing, trampolining, footgolf and a maze, just to name a few!

This event and many others would not be possible without the teams who organise them and leading the organising team is our Programme Commissioner, Michelle, who is also stepping down from the board as she finishes her term at the end of April. So a massive thank you to Michelle for organising so many amazing events throughout the years, everyone always has so much fun and we appreciate everything you do!

I think it's safe to say that Youth Forum 2026 was a major success and a great time was had by all who attended. A massive thank you again to the staff in Carlingford and Sky Park for an amazing weekend.

Thank you to all who attended and thank you to the CGI office staff for all of their hard work and dedication always!