Dabble in Dusseldorf
Attend Dabble in Dusseldof as an adult group
Have you ever wondered about offering an international trip to Guides and Rangers, but not sure where to start? Have you heard of our region international wide game weekends and thought it would be a good chance to try it out, but maybe as a team of adults first? Do you have other local leaders who could form a team to plan a small adventure with you? Then consider joining us for a practice opportunity at Dabble in Dusseldorf!
This year, as part of the region’s aim to support and build confidence for leaders to consider international, we are opening up Dabble in Dusseldorf to teams of adults for them to experience what it is like and to travel to and around a European city. Each Autumn, Girlguiding London and South East England's international and adventure teams host a one-day wide game in a UK or European city for Guides and Rangers. Previous adventures have been:
- Assemble in Amsterdam 2025
- Converge in Cardiff 2024
- Breakaway to Belgium 2023
- Escape to Edinburgh 2022
For our young members, these weekends provide a chance to travel internationally, develop life skills around travelling, independence and resilience, and meet other members of our region.
For leaders, these weekends provide a chance to take part in an international opportunity but with a common purpose and supported by lots of other groups going at the same time.
Perhaps you are interested in offering to lead an international trip in future – maybe taking part in a region weekend, organising a trip for your unit, or being part of a team who offers as opportunity for your county. If so, this is the perfect opportunity for you.
Destination spotlight: Düsseldorf, Germany
Perched on the banks of the River Rhine, Düsseldorf is a vibrant and welcoming city, easy to reach by flight or train from the South East of England. Even better, it gives us the letter D to continue through our journey through the alphabet! And with Cologne (Köln) just 25 minutes away by train, groups might like to explore two German cities (or other local places) in one trip.
Dabble in Dusseldorf – the 2026 wide game
The game will run on Sunday 24 October 2026 10am – 4pm and will be inspired by Scrabble and other word games to tie in with our 2026 Region A–Z Challenge! We have designed the game for the Guide/Ranger age group, but believe it would be just as fun for a group of adults and provide an opportunity for you to practice designing your own trip and travelling, to consider how you might do this with girls at a future date.
Teams build their own adventure
As a team you decide how and when to travel – perhaps consider travelling one way by train to learn more about catching trains in Europe, or you can get flights into Dusseldorf, Cologne or Frankfurt (which has direct 90 mins trains as easy connections) where to stay (Dusseldorf or Cologne) and the type of accommodation how long to go for (just come for one night or extend your stay to explore a little more) how many people are in your team and what to do when there (as well as the wide game). All the while considering how you would manage each step of the journey if you were with girls. We would encourage teams to involve all the leaders in their planning, so everyone is learning new skills or gaining new experiences. The event team will provide you some resources and ideas to discuss before and during the event, including an essential zoom call in June We will encourage you to consider how to plan and lead an international trip in future and be on hand to answer any questions.
Costs
The event fee is £20 per person which includes an event badge and scarf. Team members would then self-fund their weekend, so you set your own budget.
How to get involved?
To sign up:
- Nominate one leader to be the main contact and sign up your team on this link. The absolute deadline for teams to sign up is 10 June 2026 – though bookings may close early if demand is high, so please get in early to avoid disappointment.
- Once booked, please pay the £20 per person by 15 June 2026 – we will send the bank details by confirmation email once you sign up.
- On this form you will need to confirm the number of people in your team and your contact details. Nearer the time we will send a second form to collect details about where you are planning to stay, your travel info and a home contact for your group.
- Attend the information session in June
Please note:
- All adults attending should be Girlguiding members, who will have a valid disclosure check and have completed their Safer Guiding training by October 2026.
- We would expect each team to have at least two first aid qualified members.
- We would encourage you use best practice and have a home contact system for your team members.
- As an adult only group, you don’t need to go through the REN (Residential Event Notification – international version) process, although we will share information on how this process works for girl trips, so everyone knows for future trips.
- However as an adult only group taking part in a Girlguiding event we would strongly encourage you to write a risk assessment as part of the practice element of this trip – it will be useful to discuss potential risks and how you might plan a trip to mitigate against these with the whole team – as this is an opportunity to gain practical experience.
Information session – June
In June the Event Team will host an information session online and request each team have at least one (but more welcome) attend, where we will share more information about the game and the city, as well as discuss planning international trips as part of the development opportunity.
Once you sign up you will receive further information. If you have any questions, please contact us on international@girlguidinglaser.org.uk
We look forward to you joining us to Dabble in Dusseldorf!
