BOOKING PACK 1 13TH ASIA PACIFIC REGIONAL CONFERENCE - BOOKING PACK A WORD OF WELCOME Dear Member Organisations and friends, World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts and the Asia Pacific Regional team are delighted to welcome you to the 13th Asia Pacific Regional Conference! My thanks to our generous hosts, the Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association, and the Conference Planning Team for all their hard work to deliver this wonderful event. Please read this document carefully as it will support your practical preparations for the Conference. To secure your place with our best rate, please ensure that you register by 19 April 2019. Join us to greet friends, make new ones, and create lifelong memories. As you already know, Asia Pacific Region is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year and we would like to celebrate it with all of you during the conference! Yours in Guiding and Scouting, Thanyaporn Krichtitayawuth Chair, Planning Committee AP Region Committee Member 13th Asia Pacific Regional Conference 2 13TH ASIA PACIFIC REGIONAL CONFERENCE - BOOKING PACK CONTENTS Information Page Welcome letter from the Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association 4 General information 5 Welcome to Sri Lanka 6 Conference highlights 7 Young Women’s Event 8 Venue 9 Registration 10 Accommodation 13 Optional tours 14 Useful information before you book 17 Contact information 18 3 13TH ASIA PACIFIC REGIONAL CONFERENCE - BOOKING PACK WELCOME FROM SRI LANKA GIRL GUIDES ASSOCIATION Ayubowan! A warm welcome to the 13th Asia Pacific Regional Conference and 7th FAPW Regional Gathering in Colombo, Sri Lanka! On behalf of the Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association, I look forward with immense pride and pleasure to welcoming all of you to Sri Lanka this August. As we celebrate 50 years of the Asia Pacific Region of WAGGGS and 20 years of the FAPW together, remembering both the challenges and successes of our glorious past and looking towards the future, we invite you to experience the best of Sri Lankan culture, heritage and hospitality. This occasion might provide you with the opportunity to renew old friendships and memories as you make new ones and grow the links of unity between our Member Organisations for the betterment of the girls and young women we serve. Yours in Guide service, Visakha Tillekeratne Chief Commissioner Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association 4 13TH ASIA PACIFIC REGIONAL CONFERENCE - BOOKING PACK GENERAL INFORMATION DATES The dates of the 13th Asia Pacific Regional Conference are: Saturday 10 August – Sunday 11 August 2019 Young Women’s Event Sunday 11 August 2019 Arrival and registration Monday 12 August – Friday 16 August 2019 13th Asia Pacific Regional Conference sessions Saturday 17 August 2019 Optional tours / departures THEME The theme of the 13th Asia Pacific Regional Conference is: Unite, Thrive, Grow. DEADLINES TO OBSERVE Action Information Deadline Submit the Nomination Form by sending an email to the 27 February Nomination Form Governance Team. 2019 Members interested in hosting the next Regional Conference Bids should complete the Expression of Interest form as fully as 4 March 2019 possible and sending it to [email protected]. You can propose changes to the Rules of Procedure by Rules of Procedure 8 March 2019 sending an email to the Governance Team. Submit your proposed motions and agenda items by using the Motions and Agenda Proposed Motions Form and emailing it to the Governance 12 April 2019 Team. You will have the chance to apply for a grant when Grants 19 April 2019 registering. You can register here: https://eu.eventscloud.com/ap-reco Registration for Participants will have one week to pay the registration fee 19 April 2019 Regional Conference after they receive the confirmation email to attend the conference. Registration for Young You can register here: https://eu.eventscloud.com/ap-reco. 19 April 2019 Women’s Event You can also apply for the Regional Conference grant. Late Registration for If you are registering later than 19 April 2019, the registration 31 May 2019 Regional Conference fee will increase by 10%. Travel You can add your flight details during registration. If you 1 July 2019 haven’t booked your flight yet, we will provide you with a link where you’ll be able to add the information later. 5 13TH ASIA PACIFIC REGIONAL CONFERENCE - BOOKING PACK WELCOME TO SRI LANKA SRI LANKA - A LAND LIKE NO OTHER Set in the Indian Ocean in South Asia, the tropical island nation of Sri Lanka has a history dating back to the birth of time. It is a place where the original soul of Buddhism still flourishes and where nature’s beauty remains abundant and unspoiled. Few places in the world can offer the traveller such a remarkable combination of stunning landscapes, pristine beaches, captivating cultural heritage and unique experiences within such a compact location. Within a mere area of 65,610 kilometres lie 8 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 1,330 kilometres of coastline – much of its pristine beach – 15 national parks showcasing an abundance of wildlife, nearly 500,000 acres of lush tea estates, 250 acres of botanical gardens, 350 waterfalls, 25,000 water bodies, to a culture that extends back to over 2,500 years. This is an island of magical proportions, once known as Serendib, Taprobane, the Pearl of the Indian Ocean, and Ceylon. OFFICAL NAME Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka CAPITAL The administrative capital of Sri Lanka is Sri Jayewardenepura, Kotte. However, the commercial capital is Colombo, where the conference will be held. TIME ZONE Sri Lanka Standard Time is five and a half hours ahead of GMT (allowance should be made for summer- time changes in Europe and in the USA). LANGUAGE Sinhala is spoken by about 74% of the population and Tamil by about 18%. English is commonly used and spoken widely especially in the corporate sector. Most of the offices,both in government and private sector, work in all three languages. GALLE FACE GREEN, COLOMBO The Galle Face Green in Colombo is a promenade that stretches for half kilometre along the coast of the Indian Ocean in the heart of the financial and business district of Colombo. This enjoyable space is next to the venue where the conference will be held. 6 13TH ASIA PACIFIC REGIONAL CONFERENCE - BOOKING PACK CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS • Come along and join us for the next 13th Asia Pacific Regional Conference, an opportunity to be part of the discussions about the future of your Region and WAGGGS. • The Regional Conference is a place for networking, inspire other participants with your Member Organisation success stories or be inspired by the amazing work being done in our region. You will also receive updates on the work that WAGGGS is doing in our region. • Join us to learn about our past, present and future planned activities and elect six new members to lead the Asia Pacific Region into the new triennium of 2019-2022. • Take an opportunity to give your opinion, present motions and discuss them with the rest of the participants. • Get an update on the work WAGGGS is doing to promote young women in governance and be inspired to include this work in your Member Organisation. • Have a say on where you would like to go for the next Asia Pacific Regional Conference. • The Regional Conference is one of the most important Governance events for our Region; however, you will also have the chance to discover the history of guiding in Sri Lanka, remember the past of our region and have the chance to say what you would like to see in the future for our region. Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association will show us their land and their culture, with music, dance and food. • The International Night and World Market will provide a unique international experience and a great opportunity to find souvenirs from all parts of the Region. This event allows Member Organisations to raise funds to cover their membership fee costs, or to contribute to the World Thinking Day Fund. • Don’t miss the opportunity to meet Friends of Asia Pacific WAGGGS, who will join some of the sessions we prepared for the Conference. • Come to the 13th Asia Pacific Regional Conference and join us celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Asia Pacific Region all together with Friends of Asia Pacific WAGGGS! • We hope that you will leave the conference excited about the future with a clear sense of where the Movement is heading. 7 13TH ASIA PACIFIC REGIONAL CONFERENCE - BOOKING PACK YOUNG WOMEN’S EVENT The Asia Pacific Region are delighted that we will celebrate a Young Women’s event (for young women aged 18 to 30 years old) prior to the Conference. This means that the young women participating in the pre-event should stay to join the main Conference to continue with the project of young women in governance. The Young Women’s event will support young women who are passionate about our Movement to pursue a governance or leadership position within their MO or WAGGGS. It will also link to the current global project to deliver Motion 32 of the 36th World Conference - to look into the reasons why more young women are not standing for governance positions and to develop a set of actions that will significantly increase the number doing so. The Young Women’s event will run from Saturday 10 August to Sunday 11 August 2019. You can apply for the Young Women’s event when registering: https://eu.eventscloud.com/ap-reco. Registrations deadline is 19th April 2019. WAGGGS aims to provide grants to attend the Young Women’s Event for one young woman from each Asia Pacific Member Organisation with less than 50,000 members and two young women from each Asia Pacific Member Organisation with more than 50,000 members.