Margrethe Parm
Margrethe Parm was a Norwegian Christian leader, teacher, scout leader and prison director. She founded Norway's YWCA Scouts in 1920.
Early life and education
Juline Margrethe Parm was born on 18 October 1882 in Kristiania, the former name of the Norwegian capital, Oslo. She was the daughter of Carl Olaf Parm and Helga Margrethe Johannesen. She had two sisters, one dying in childhood. She attended several schools in Oslo and then studied for a year at the University of Oslo before going to Denmark in 1903 to work as a governess for a Danish family, staying there until 1905. In 1907, after recovering from an accident, she continued at the university, where she studied science until 1909. During her studies, she was active in the Norwegian Students' Christian Association, and was a board member and chairman of the Female Students' Club. She graduated as a teacher from the Hartvig Nissen School in 1910.YWCA career
After receiving her teaching qualification, Parm worked as a teacher at Nordstrand Middle School until 1915. She then went to the US on a scholarship from the YWCA's World Federation, studying for a year at the YWCA America's secretarial school in New York City, graduating in 1916. When she returned to Norway, Parm was employed as national secretary of the Norwegian Christian Youth Association, with the YWCA as her special area of responsibility. In 1919, together with Anne Katrine Bredvei, she drafted the first Norwegian scout law for women. She represented the YWCA on the Norwegian Women's National Council from 1919 to 1924.In 1920, Parm believed that the time had come for a girl scout movement. In the summer of 1920, she arranged a scout camp for girls in Røldal Municipality and, on 3 November 1920, Norway's YWCA scouts were founded. She herself became the "scout leader", although the job title was later changed to "country manager". Parm served in this role until 1927. From 1922 to 1923 she was also the editor of the YWCA Scouts magazine. From 1920–26 she was a member of the committee of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts and in 1927 she became general secretary of the world association, which took her out of Norway for five years, residing in London and Geneva. She was again on the committee from 1936 to 1940. She remained involved with the scout movement for the rest of her life, although scout work was banned during German occupation of Norway in World War II.