About World Thinking Day
World Thinking Day is the international day of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, held every 22 February, which in 2027 falls on Monday, 22 February 2027. It was agreed at a world conference in 1926 and the date is the shared birthday of Robert Baden-Powell, who founded Scouting, and Olave Baden-Powell, the World Chief Guide. Scouts mark the same date as Founder's Day. In India it is observed by units of The Bharat Scouts and Guides.
World Thinking Day is a hundred-year-old idea with a simple instruction inside it: on one fixed date, every Guide and Scout thinks about every other one, and puts something in the tin. In India it is the day school units hold flag ceremonies and district rallies, and the day parents finally learn what a Bulbul is.
Why is World Thinking Day on 22 February?
The date is a birthday, shared by two people. Robert Baden-Powell, who started Scouting, and Olave Baden-Powell, who became World Chief Guide, were both born on 22 February, which made the choice obvious to the delegates who fixed it.
The decision was taken in 1926, at the fourth World Conference of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, held at Camp Edith Macy in the United States. Delegates agreed there should be one day a year when Guides and Scouts around the world thought of one another and said thank you for belonging to an international movement. It was called Thinking Day for seventy-three years. At the thirtieth World Conference in Dublin in 1999, delegates renamed it World Thinking Day to make the international part explicit.
The money came six years after the idea. At the seventh World Conference in 1932, at Bucze in Poland, a Belgian delegate pointed out that birthdays usually come with presents. Olave Baden-Powell then wrote to Guides everywhere asking each to spare a penny towards the movement's work in other countries. That is the origin of the World Thinking Day Fund, which still pays for projects run by member organisations.
How is World Thinking Day marked in India?
Through The Bharat Scouts and Guides, the national organisation formed on 7 November 1950 by merging the Boy Scouts Association in India with the Hindustan Scout Association. The All India Girl Guides Association came in on 15 August 1951, which is why India has one body for both Scouting and Guiding where many countries have two. Its national headquarters, Lakshmi Mazumdar Bhawan, stands on Mahatma Gandhi Marg in New Delhi, in a building inaugurated in 1963 by the then Vice President, Zakir Husain.
On 22 February, district and state units hold a flag break and a rally, renew the Scout or Guide Promise, run games and service activities, and collect for the Thinking Day Fund. Many units also hold a short ceremony at the Founder's portrait. Scouts generally call the day Founder's Day or B.-P. Day, Guides call it Thinking Day, and Indian schools with both sections usually hold one joint programme.
- Cub
- A boy in the youngest Scouting section, usually about 5 to 10 years old
- Bulbul
- The youngest Guiding section, named after the songbird
- Rover and Ranger
- The oldest sections, for young adults, whose top award is the Rashtrapati Rover or Ranger Award
- Rashtrapati Scout or Guide Award
- The highest award for the Scout and Guide sections, presented in the President's name
- Golden Arrow
- The highest award for Cubs and Bulbuls
- Thinking Day Fund
- The fund started in 1932 from the penny idea, still supporting Guiding and Scouting worldwide
Which world body does India belong to?
Both of the big ones, which is worth knowing because the day belongs mainly to one of them.
| Body | What it covers | India's link |
|---|---|---|
| WAGGGS | World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, which owns World Thinking Day | Indian Guiding was a founder member in 1928 and was re-admitted after independence in 1948 |
| WOSM | World Organization of the Scout Movement | Indian Scouting has been a member since 1938 |
| The Bharat Scouts and Guides | The single Indian body for both, formed in 1950-51 | Around 6 million members, one of the largest movements of its kind anywhere |
The United Nations named The Bharat Scouts and Guides honorary Peace Messengers in 1986, for its work during the International Year of Peace.
What to write on World Thinking Day
Happy Thinking Day. You came back from that camp filthy, sunburnt and very pleased with yourself, and you had cooked your own dinner. Proud of you.
Happy Thinking Day! Your scarf is the neatest thing in this house and we are all slightly scared of your knots.
Happy World Thinking Day to every Scout and Guide in the troop. Guides have kept this date since 1926, and today you are the part of it that is awake and in uniform.
Happy Thinking Day, and thank you for the weekends. Teaching forty children to pitch a tent in the rain is not a hobby, it is a service.
Happy Thinking Day. Twenty years since that jamboree and I still cannot look at a mess tin without laughing. Hope you are well.
Happy World Thinking Day to our Scouts, Guides, Cubs, Bulbuls, Rovers and Rangers. The school is cleaner, calmer and kinder on the days you are on duty.
Congratulations and happy Thinking Day. Years of service, camps and tests, and now the President's award. Well earned.
Do
- Use the movement's own words: Promise, Law, troop, unit, scarf, camp. Members notice when you do.
- Mention the fund. A small contribution on 22 February is the tradition, not an extra.
- Thank the adult volunteers. Almost all of them are unpaid and most are teachers doing this after school hours.
Avoid
- Don't confuse Thinking Day with Founder's Day in a mixed group. Same date, different name by section; using both covers everyone.
- Don't reduce scouting to camping and knots in a message to a member. Service projects are most of the actual work.
Related days: National Youth Day on 12 January, International Youth Day on 12 August, and World Students' Day on 15 October.
How to wish someone on World Thinking Day
This is a day inside a movement, so messages work best when they use its own language: a promise kept, a badge earned, a camp survived in the rain. For a child in a unit, name what they did rather than praising scouting in general. For a Scouter or Guider who gives up weekends, plain thanks is the right register.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Hindi + recipient language.
When is World Thinking Day in 2026 and 2027?
World Thinking Day is on 22 Feb every year. Only the weekday changes.
- 2026
- 2027
Frequently asked questions
When is World Thinking Day in 2027?
World Thinking Day 2027 falls on Monday, 22 February 2027.
Why is World Thinking Day on 22 February?
Because 22 February is the birthday of both Robert Baden-Powell, who founded Scouting, and Olave Baden-Powell, the World Chief Guide. Delegates at the fourth World Conference of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts chose the date in 1926 as an annual day for members to think of one another.
What is the difference between World Thinking Day and Founder's Day?
They fall on the same date, 22 February, and mark the same birthdays. Guides and Girl Scouts call it World Thinking Day, a day of international friendship and fundraising. Scouts more often call it Founder's Day or B.-P. Day, remembering the founder of the movement.
What is the penny tradition on Thinking Day?
At a world conference in Poland in 1932, a Belgian delegate suggested that a birthday should come with a gift. Olave Baden-Powell then asked every Guide to give a penny, and the collection became the World Thinking Day Fund, which still supports Guiding and Scouting in member countries.
Who are the Bharat Scouts and Guides?
The Bharat Scouts and Guides is India's national Scouting and Guiding organisation, formed on 7 November 1950 by merging the Boy Scouts Association in India and the Hindustan Scout Association, with the All India Girl Guides Association joining on 15 August 1951. It has around six million members and is one of the largest such movements in the world.
What do Scouts and Guides do on 22 February in India?
Units hold a flag break and rally, renew the Scout or Guide Promise, run service and awareness activities, hold games and campfires, and collect for the Thinking Day Fund. Schools with both sections usually run a single joint programme.
What is the highest award for a Scout or Guide in India?
For the Scout and Guide sections it is the Rashtrapati Scout or Rashtrapati Guide Award, given in the President's name. Cubs and Bulbuls work towards the Golden Arrow, and Rovers and Rangers towards the Rashtrapati Rover or Ranger Award.
Last verified by the Kehdoo team on .