Technology... For better or for worse

It can be said that we are wed to our technology. Whether it be social media, phones, or 'just' computers, we can focus on them to the exclusion of other relationships. But as with any relationship, it comes as 'for better or for worse'.

For Better...

Like Estonia, we are aiming to be well connected!

The endeavour for GOLD Estonia 2016 to develop and 'online presence' has largely been 'for better'. As written communicator (Tamara), this is my first social media/blogging/online campaign, and I am trying to keep up with it! Tonight I got home from running an activity day to find that our Challenge Badge has been astronomically shared, and only going further. 

And For Worse....

But coming home tonight I also discovered an error in the coding of the master email account for the project. It appears that almost all of the emails sent to the project in the last two weeks have been jettisoned into the nether by the server. 

If you have tried to contact us on our email (GOLDEstonia2016@yesterday.me.uk OR GOLDEstonia2016@gmail.com), and not received a 'human' response, please resend your message. I am very sorry for any inconvenience that this might have caused, and I look forward to hearing from you soon!

GOLD Team Estonia 2016 thanks you for your support, and for the latest info, check out our facebook page or follow this blog!



Images: 
Wifi from Estonia Tourism
Computer Man from OpenClipArt

Preview of Estonia

In starting to look at our project, I was surprised to discover that Estonia is such a country of opposites.

A former soviet nation, with limited infrastructure upon independence in 1991, is now a world leader in digital infrastructure and connectivity. Did you know Skype comes from Estonia?

Estonia has stunning golden beaches which are well populated in Estonia, but frozen rivers and heavy snow in Winter. Winter is also the best time to watch the northern lights.

Tallinn (the Capital), has a beautiful medieval town centre, but is also a technological hub which is sometimes referred to as a Silicon Valley of Europe.

It is also has stunning natural beauty. From the bogs, to the forests, and the rolling countryside (but there are no mountains).

If you search for Estonia, you will find a plethora of sites with gorgeous photos. The Estonian tourist board has a collection of photos that are available for anyone to use when promoting Estonia. This is a fantastic initiative, and over the next few months we will share some of these photos with you.

This is a great initiative, because we have fantastic promotional tools, and it dis-incentivises plagerism or stealing of images. As the writer (Tamara), I am committed to not using photos for which we don't have access to an appropriate licence. That means looking for open source or appropriate creative commons images. And I would challenge anyone else to do the same. If we do mistakenly steal your image - please get in contact with us at GOLDEstonia2016@yesterday.me.uk to discuss.

In many ways Estonia is a world leader in digital technologies, and through their generosity we can share that with you.

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Guiding Weekends

Our Team!

It seems like briefing was sooo long ago - but it's just because we have all been busy getting on with our lives. While we live scattered across the country, we have a strong bond in guiding. Last weekend was a prime example of how guiding impacts on each of our lives.

Charlotte finished her Queen's Guide Award. This is a massive achievement and deserves a huge BRAVO. We shall have to celebrate with cake on second briefing!

Margaret braved the wilds by taking 20 cubs to Shepreth Wildlife Park for a sleepover. Service to others is a foundation of Guiding and we help with other organisations too. 

Alyson was at a planning meeting for a day event at Eaton Hall (the home of the Duke of Westminster) which will be held on Easter Sunday to fund raise for their Girlguiding county. While planning is not a glamorous or visible part of our events, it is critical to their success. We thank all our volunteers who willingly give up their time for guiding.

Tamara was up in the Cotswolds catching up with two of her co-leaders from Australia. One of the leaders had previously been a Brownie when Tamara first started as a young leader! Guiding really does give us amazing friends for life. 

Emily did a coffee morning at the church so that her Brownies could achieve their hostess badges. While modern guiding offers amazing adventures, traditional activities such as these give our girls life skills which are still relevant today. 

Girlguiding is an amazing organisation, with thousands of activities happening all over the country each weekend. Keep in touch and hear more of our adventures by following our blog, or liking our facebook page.

Stay tuned later this week for the launch of our new challenge badge!

Briefing Weekend #1

L to R: Margaret, Katie, Charlotte (front), Tamara, Emily, Alyson

Last weekend brought all 6 members of our team together for the first time at Tolmers' Scout Campsite in Herts. As always, we arrived as friends in Guiding, but we left a strong team with goals and deadlines ahead of us.

Our journey to GOLD had actually started some months earlier. First an application mid-last year, and then the selection event in October. This event was so large, that you got to know a few people, but by no means everyone. Then it was a seemingly long wait until December/January when we were finally offered a place on GOLD. While we were given names of our other team members in January, I (Tamara) wasn't sure who they were from merely a name! 

So we were at first briefing. It was all very new and exciting. New team members to gel with; new tasks to take on; new information to take in. After arrival and dinner on Friday night, we set about our first task: getting to know each other. We had lots of laughs, went through a large bag of skittles, and by the end of the night we were a team (To learn some of what we learrned that night, head to our Meet the Team page). 

Training by Doing

Saturday morning brought the start of training. Over the course of the weekend we covered topics such as cultural sensitivity, leadership roles, publicity, PR, fundraising, and what to expect of our journey on GOLD. All the sessions were presented by our leaders and other wonderful ex-GOLDies, and used a variety of delivery methods. As well as being interesting, this modelled the Girl Guide Method which underpins all of our projects' delivery. 

Our Great Leader to Support our Team

Throughout the course of the weekend there was a common thread of maintaining personal and team well-being on our GOLD journeys. For some, this may seem counter intuitive; if we are to be delivering projects in less than 6 months, surely project delivery is what we should focus on?!? However, this focus on self is critical for the success of our projects. Think about first aid - one of the critical teachings is DRS ABCD. In order to treat a patient, the first consideration is always danger; 1 - to yourself, 2 - to bystanders, 3 - to the patient. Why? Because you cannot help the injured if you need saving too. Similarly in our projects, we must protect ourselves individually and as a team in order to do the most good in Estonia. 

Team Leaders 2016 in Costume

Saturday night brought some light relief from the intensity of training sessions, with our own Rio Olympics, complete with opening ceremony and medal tally. Our events started out with a 'polo relay', and just got sillier and funnier from there! With crazy costumes, lots of laughter, and solid teamwork, it was a very enjoyable evening. 

Let the Games Begin!

Apart from the training sessions, which continued into Sunday, we also had blocks of time to work as a team We have planned our briefings, challenge badges, group expectations, and uniform requirements among other things. Over the following months we will be sharing these things, our experiences, and ideas for you to share, so make sure you follow us on facebook and bookmark the blog to be the first to know!