1932 – 1970
Established in 1932 in Adelboden, Switzerland, Our Chalet was the first WAGGGS World Centre and was formally opened by the first World Chief Guide, Olave Baden-Powell, and Mrs Helen Storrow.
At the start of the Second World War, the Chalet was closed to regular guests. However, it played an important role in helping to reunite refugees (who had arrived in Switzerland) with lost friends and family through Guiding and Scouting connections around the world.
Our Chalet offered a place of international understanding and co-operation during a time when the world needed it most. After the war the Centre re-opened and guests began to return in numbers greater than ever before.
The Juliette Low Seminars – international leadership development seminars that had been held annually at Our Chalet since its opening year – resumed in 1946. There were held at Our Chalet until 1968 when they began rotating between the then four World Centres.
1970 – 1990
1968 was the start of another era of change at Our Chalet.
The traditions of having ‘Friends of Our Chalet’ sessions, along with special weeks for Trefoil Guild members and their husbands were started. By 1972, over 33,000 people had visited Our Chalet. The 1980s also marked another significant landmark in Our Chalet history when the Centre hosted the first Helen Storrow Seminar in 1986, in memory of its founder.
These seminars are still held today and focus on international education and supporting young women to be changemakers.
1990 – Present Day
Our Chalet expanded at the turn of the century with the opening of a new building for additional accommodation, meeting rooms and offices, and weathered a global pandemic to reach its 90th birthday.
Permission for the new building was given at the World Conference in 1990. ‘Spycher’, a name traditionally given in the Canton of Bern to a barn in which valuables are kept and equipment stored, was opened in 1999. The lower ground floor has a bomb shelter (where Our Chalet stores archived materials), and rooms for storing equipment, while the main floors house office space, guest accommodation, and a small shop.
The new accommodation not only increased the number of guests able to stay at Our Chalet, but also improved accessibility with a platform lift making wheelchair access to guest accommodation possible for the first time.
In 2020, as the COVID19 pandemic shut down much of the world, Our Chalet shifted to offering virtual programmes for Guides and Scouts to access from their homes. The Centre briefly closed to guests before being able to partially open offering accommodation for private families and groups.
In 2022 Our Chalet was able to announce its re-opening for Guide and Scout groups from around the world to once again take part in exciting, adventurous programmes at their home in the Swiss Alps.
Future Development
Still going strong after 90 years, Our Chalet continues to work towards becoming accessible and inclusive to all.
With an exciting new range of programmes, building improvements, and closer collaboration with the other four World Centres, Our Chalet is continuing its tradition of offering a welcoming home in the Swiss Alps in a modern way.
Our virtual programmes, developed in response to the pandemic, offer the opportunity for Guides and Scouts who cannot make it to the Centre in person to experience the spirit of Our Chalet. And our volunteer leadership programme and youth activity programmes welcome young people from all over the world, whatever their interests and abilities.
With all the challenges facing the world today, Our Chalet remains focussed on offering a place of international understanding and co-operation open to all.
