Since 1989, managers of Guide and Scout Centres across Europe have gathered every two years for the Guide & Scout Centre Managers’ Conference (CMC). The 18th conference took place at the Mario Mazza Scout Centre in Verona in October 2025 and brought together around 80 participants, planning team members, and experts. This paper is an invitation for any National Scout Organization (NSO) / National Scout Association (NSA) or Member Organisation(MO) / Component Association(CA) or Scout/Guide Centre that is interested in hosting the 19th conference. It is a guideline for a centre to determine the basic requirements for hosting this event.
Dates
It is planned that the 19th CMC will take place in or near October 2027, preferably over a weekend. In previous years, the event programme ran over two and a half days.
Planning Team
The planning team consists of a WAGGGS representative (this time chairing the team), a WOSM representative, three volunteers from European Scout and Guide Centres, and one staff member representing the host centre. Please note that your bid should include a representative working on this event for 4 to 8 hours per month, with the ability to participate in meetings and calls as a member of the planning team.
Costs
It is always the aim to keep the conference costs as low as possible to ensure as many centre managers as possible can attend. Part of the bidding centre’s requirements is to apply for event funding, such as an Erasmus+ programme through the national agency administering such grants, or a similar fund.
The fee should include:
- Overnight accommodation, food, coffee breaks and closing evening celebrations for up to 70 participants + 6 planning team members.
- Activities/excursion in the conference programme, including transport.
- Transport to and from the venue to the nearest airport and/or major railway station.
- Costs for the planning team’s travel to and from the conference venue, including overnight accommodation and food for two additional nights (the planning team arrives early to set up for the conference).
- Cost for travel, accommodation, and food for 2 “experts”/external presenters for 2 nights during the conference.
- The costs for a conference gift (polo, t-shirt, scarf, mug, etc.).
- All office material, the use of the internet and all technical equipment.
- The cost of hosting 1 meeting of the planning team for 3 days, including flight tickets and transportation to the centre (optional, depending on familiarity of committee members with the centre).
IMPORTANT: The budget needs to be prepared on the basis of 60 participants and 5 planning team members (excluding the host venue manager), but it must break even on fixed costs at 40 participants. It should be noted that any surplus or deficit of the conference is the responsibility of the hosting association and/or centre.
All these costs have to be considered when preparing a bid to host.
Requirements of the Host Centre
The Guide & Scout Centre Managers’ Conference is a large-scale event and therefore requires considerable facilities. These include:
Location
- An active Scout / Guide Centre open to all members of WAGGGS and WOSM, with at least one team member (preferably the manager) to work with the planning team for the event.
- In a location that will encourage a good atmosphere for the event and provide opportunities to see some of the local country and culture.
- Easily accessible from all parts of Europe (preferably not more than 1.5 hours by coach/train from the nearest major international airport), including ease of accessibility with regard to entry regulations and visas for EU countries.
Infrastructure
- Sleeping accommodation of a good standard for at least 70 people.
- A main plenary room seating around 80 people with full technical facilities.
- A catering operation able to accommodate 80 people in one sitting, and the ability to
- provide good meals and tea/coffee breaks throughout the day.
- At least 2 rooms, each accommodating 30 people (one can serve as the main plenary room).
- At least 4 rooms able to accommodate 10 to 15 people (two of which can be those described above).
- A social area for evening events (bar, etc.).
- An office for use by the planning team for the whole event, equipped with internet, printer
- and scanner.
- Technical facilities such as photocopier(s), internet access (wireless), beamers and flipcharts in each meeting room, DVD/video, stationery.
- It is desirable to provide Wi-Fi access for all participants.
- A staff member (ideally at a management level) from the host venue will be an active member of the planning team.
Services
- Needs to be able to host a meeting of the planning team, including within the overall budget in spring 2027 (optional).
- The ability to assist participants upon arrival and to help advise possibilities for extra time in the country for pre-/post-conference exploration, personal time, etc.
- Host the planning team for two nights before the conference begins.
- The ability to provide a contact service that participants can share with people back home in case of emergencies.
Bidding process
When an NSO/NSA or MO/CA has a Centre that meets these requirements and is willing to host the event, please do the following: Prepare a full application that details exactly what is available and can be offered at the Centre. This application should be based on experience and knowledge of prior conferences and should include:
- Full details of the Centre, the facilities and the possibilities;
- Proposal for out-of-centre activities such as excursions and post-conference tours;
- A price per person based on arrival on the 1st day before dinner and departure on the 5th day after breakfast. The price can be listed in several variants (e.g., with or without grant support). Price should include:
- 3 meals a day plus 2 coffee/tea breaks per day with snacks.
- A themed evening.
- Full bedding (sheets, blankets or duvets with covers, pillows and pillow covers and towels).
- Pick-up and drop-off for all participants and planning team members from the nearest main train station and/or airport.
- The infrastructural and service requirements are mentioned previously.
- Experience with grant proposals (Erasmus + is the most probable source for funding), the name of the person responsible for the grant application, and deadlines that need to be met.
Please include a budget spreadsheet to show the cost calculation.
Offers must be sent by email, together with full information about the centre and a letter of confirmation of the NSO/NSA and/or MO/CA if the offer is not made by the national headquarters. Offers need to arrive not later than: 6 September 2026 to europeancmc@gmail.com
We will keep you up to date regarding the progress of the procedure and will contact you for more detailed information as needed. Once the host centre has been selected and confirmed, all other applicants will be informed in writing of the decision.
If you have questions or need further information, please contact Liz Tranter, Programme Manager at Pax Lodge, at liz.tranter@paxlodge.wagggs.org or +44 (0) 207435220.