Nigel Hedges, ex-Chairman of BCP Council, ambassador for the Bournemouth Chamber of Commerce and leader of the ‘Creating Health and Harmony in the Community (CHHC)’ initiative invited SI Bournemouth to a breakfast meeting with Jessica Toale, MP on October 4, 2024. The meeting was attended by members of the CHHC, ‘a rich showcase of passionate organisations and individuals that create health and harmony in Dorset in their own special way’. SIB has been contributing to the group over the past three years, presenting at the annual conference and engaging in opportunities to share and learn from each other. Jessica embraced the chance to join the group to find out more about CHHC and to meet some leaders from the local community. Dr Gail Thomas, secretary of SIB, attended and was able to share details of the Soroptimist movement as well as some of the notable

On a wet and windy Sunday in September, the Planet Group at SIB did a sponsored walk to raise funds for SIGBI’s charity of the year, Water Aid, an international not-for-profit organisation, determined to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere. All members of the club were invited to do a circular walk at an area of natural beauty alongside Christchurch harbour. Participants could do the circuit as many times as they liked aiming to secure sponsorship for the distance that they signed up to do. On the day, the heavens opened, and it was pouring with rain at the start time. Despite this a small select group undertook the walk and succeeded in raising £215. Well done those brave walkers!

Sarah Moneypenny, founder of UK SustainAbility, joined our meeting to share her experiences of helping individuals, organisations and businesses to implement sustainable practices. Sarah talked about the science behind climate change and, as well as being realistic about the disproportionately negative impact of climate change on women, was able to offer some glimmers of hope for the future. She suggested that we should ‘vote’ politically and with our money by choosing companies with genuinely green policies, switching to renewable energy sources and starting with one change per week in respect of recycling, composting and reducing beef and dairy consumption. Sarah also encouraged us to use our Soroptimist network to educate, sponsor climate change initiatives and organise ourselves to become greener. The SIB Planet Group will be taking up the challenge to reinvigorate our reduce, reuse and recycle campaign and to try out new green ideas.

We had a stimulating and thought-provoking presentation at our club meeting in August. Alimatu Dimonekene, Women and Girls Advocate, Human Rights Activist, Child Protection and Safeguarding Expert, zoomed in from the US to talk to us about her personal experience of female genital mutilation (FGM) and how it has motivated her to help other women. She is a tireless activist who has dedicated her life’s purpose to enhancing the reproductive rights of women and girls, especially those affected by harmful traditional practices such as FGM/cutting, child and early forced marriage, and other forms of gender-based discrimination and exploitation. Alimatu has displayed great courage and determination in achieving her aspirations of giving women, youth, and minority groups a voice at a local, state, and international level. She uses her powerful and inspired voice to advocate equality and inclusion. To see her presentation to SIB follow this

For the second year, BCP Council along with Soroptimist International Bournemouth are coordinating a programme of events throughout the 16 days of Activism against Gender Based Violence. We are looking to raise awareness of Domestic Abuse and promote support services that are available to everyone, regardless of gender or sexuality. An art exhibition will be held for eight of the sixteen days from November 30th til December 7th on the second floor of the iconic venue ‘Bobby’s’ in Bournemouth Square. The colour orange is bright and optimistic and was chosen by the United Nations to represent a future free from violence and abuse. Keep an eye on our website and Facebook page for more details as the date approaches but please put it in your diary now! Winners from 2023 exhibition If you are interested in this and would like to come along to a

A member of SIB participated in an unusual activity on July 13th 2024- a UWCB black tie boxing event! She used her experience of learning to box previously at local club ‘Fight like a Girl’ to win her match at a prestigious event at the Bournemouth International Centre attended by more than 1000 guests. Christelle Attisso (known in the ring as Kryvida) has been practising boxing for several years as she is convinced that contact sports are an excellent means to empowering women. She took up the opportunity to join an eight-week class at Phoenix MMA in Winton to prepare her for the fight night to fundraise for Cancer Research UK. SIB as well as some individual members sponsored Christelle who successfully raised £168 for cancer research. Well done Christelle; we are proud of you! If you are interested in this and would like to

Following the success of the previous two ‘Creating Health and Harmony in the Community’ (CHHC) conferences at Bournemouth University, we were again invited to present and have a stand at Harmony 3 (as it is known in shorthand) on June 5th 2024. Our presentation this year was about the art exhibition we curated as part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence, offering us an opportunity to raise awareness of the UN’s campaign and our part in it. Hopefully it will help to increase footfall at this year’s exhibition from November 25th. The programme for the day offered participants the opportunity to share how they contribute to harmony in Dorset. Speakers shared insights and projects relating to special educational needs, homelessness, violence against women, drug and alcohol addiction, restorative justice, young carers and therapeutic gardening. There was a mix of challenges and

It is nationally and internationally recognized that there is a shortage of girls choosing STEAM subjects as degrees, and a growing body of evidence about barriers to subsequent careers. We created this challenge in 2013 to inspire girls and encourage them to overcome these barriers. It invites secondary school girls to develop initiatives that will improve the lives of women and girls in other parts of the world; they work together in small teams to develop the concept, write up a brief and, if shortlisted, create a prototype. The teams then pitch these to experts in the field and are judged. Our experience shows us that engaging in this activity stretches the participant’s horizons effectively, so we continue it on an annual basis. This year we had teams from Bournemouth School for Girls, Canford and Parkstone Grammar Schools. The final was held on 21 March;

An amazing celebration of women’s achievements in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) was held at the Marriott Hotel on May 25, 2024. For the seventh year, the Arts for Survival CIC hosted this event to ‘celebrate strength when diverse women create community impact together’. Two members of SI Bournemouth joined the ceremony to learn about the significant achievements of these women and to applaud their influence in the local community. The organisers said: “We want to celebrate and credit women’s histories, contributions, and achievements that have had a profound impact to inspire the next generation of females in the community”. The event included speakers, awards, food, music, culturally diverse women, and more. The Chairman of BCP Council, Lesley Dedman, opened the evening which was supported by the Mayor of Bournemouth, George Farquhar, the Police and Crime Commissioner, David Sidwick, and representatives from many organisations totalling

The Leader of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, Vikki Slade, took the opportunity to recognise female leaders in significant leadership roles in our town on IWD March 8th 2024, inviting the secretary of SI Bournemouth to attend. Vikki said: “We’re in a unique position where our civic leaders across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole are all female. The Leader, Deputy Leader, Chair and all three Mayors of our towns are women. Most of our senior council officers are also female, and I know that businesses and organisations across our towns are led by professional women in senior roles. This is an opportunity for us not just to recognise and celebrate female leadership, network and connect with others, but also to look at ways we can encourage and develop other women leaders of the future. I want to use this event to gauge your support to an