About the Pfadfinderinnenschaft St. Georg (PSG)

The PSG (Pfadfinderinnen St. Georg) was founded in 1947 as the Association of Catholic Guides in the Federal Republic of Germany. Today it is open to all girls and young women who agree with the aims of the Association and are willing to work within our groups towards the realization of our goals.
The work of the St. George Girl Guides encompasses three aspects: we are Guides, we are girls and young women, and we are Catholic.

• That we are Guides, means to "be prepared", that is, that we seek to recognise the needs of people in society, to develop the fullest potential of every single Guide, and to take responsibility in the world.
• That we are girls and women means that we work in accordance with the needs of girls and young women, enabling them to learn to act on their own behalf. The PSG takes the part of girls and young women in society.
• That we are Catholic means that we stand in the tradition of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which the Association understands as a message closely related to life and which leads to freedom.

On this basis, doubt as well as faith can be lived out in the groups of the Association. Within the Church, the PSG stands up for girls and women and for those who experience discrimination in the Church. Immigrants, as well as girls and women with disabilities also take part in the groups of the PSG. The Brownie programme “Zirkus” (‘circus’) encourages Brownies to develop as individuals rather than to compare themselves with others. The new programme for Guides is called “Sternenhimmel” (“starry sky”). There is also a programme for the Caravelles, called “Windrose” (“wind rose”), and for the age group of the Rangers, called “Spirale” (“Spiral”). The general principles of all these programmes are similar, but their form and content correspond to the interests of the particular age group.

Age Groups:
Wichtels (= Brownies) 7-10
Pfadis (=Guides) 10-13
Caravelles 13-16
Rangers 16+

Promise:
I promise to do my best, to recognize God in my life, to accept responsibility in the community where I live, and to observe the rules of the Guides. When she makes her promise, the Guide expresses its meaning in her own words!

Training for leaders within the Association is organized at regional level, and consists of a combination of seminars and supervised practice. The training programme is divided into general and specialized parts for specific branch issues. The formation of trainers, a responsibility of the national board, is more extensive and includes a training camp. The Association encourages community development projects, and has a triennial campaign dedicated to the support of relevant projects in Germany and abroad. The PSG co-operates with other European Girl Guide / Girl Scout Associations and the International Catholic Conference of Guiding (ICCG).

Since 1980 the association maintains a partnership with the Association of Guides in Rwanda (AGR). This partnership was upheld even in the midst of the civil war and genocide in Rwanda, a fact that demonstrates the cohesion and trust between the two associations. This partnership offers Rwandan and German Guides the opportunity to discover similarities and differences between their cultures, and to have the exciting experience of looking beyond their own horizon. Time and again clans or dioceses organise events to gather money to help support the work of the AGR. 

The Association receives good press coverage of important events and publishes two periodicals: Spunx and Olave. The PSG is a member of the Bund Deutscher Katholischer Jugend (BDKJ) (Association of Catholic Youth), and is represented in the Deutscher Bundesjugendring (DBJR) (National Organization of Youth) by the RDP.