The two great challenges of the last few years, and now, have been Climate Change and Covid. Do we want to ‘build BACK better’ or take the opportunities we have to ‘build FORWARD better’? Personally, I like forward, not a return to ‘normal’. Where and how can we do better? Both topics affect women and
Dear Members, As we enter the month of February, no doubt your thoughts will be turning towards planning your events to celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March 2022. However before then, there are several UN Days in February which resonate with Soroptimists; on the 6th – the all-important International Day of Zero Tolerance to
Coming shortly after the festive season and the pandemic which has made us make changes in the way we live; this International Day of Human Fraternity is very timely and has never been more relevant. A fraternity is a sisterhood or brotherhood of people, formed typically around common goals or aspirations, networking and supporting each
Isn’t education a human right for everyone? The right to education is enshrined in article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The declaration calls for free and compulsory elementary education. Why is it then that 258 million children and youths still do not attend school; 617 million children and adolescents cannot read and
Dear Members, Welcome to 2022! I hope you have all stayed safe and well over the festive season, and enjoyed it, in whatever way you chose to celebrate it. As we enter the new year, the spectre of the pandemic still hangs over us, but I am confident that, as Soroptimists, you will rise to
World Braille Day is celebrated on 4th January which is Louis Braille’s birthday. Opening up the world of books and reading to those affected by visual impairment and sight loss is truly a gift. Do we take this pleasure for granted Perhaps? It is hard to imagine a life without the ability to read. For
As we approach the end of the year and start to reflect on the main issues the world has faced during the past twelve months, observing Human Rights Day gives us the opportunity to consider those which have had the greatest impact on us. The UN theme for Human Rights Day this year is ‘Equality
Climate Action – what now? Reflections on FPAC and conference Well, climate change is definately flavour of the month! We have had a ‘tour de force’, starting with the FPAC, then conference topped off with attendance at COP26 (in the Green Zone). But what now? Avani set us an excellent example starting with the damage
Preparing this blog has been a personal learning journey for me. I have friends who are disabled and to be honest, I rarely notice their disabilities – they are friends and neighbours, part of my local community, known to me by their name. Now, this is a positive thing, I believe. However, it is also
I heard of a police officer interviewing a woman who was complaining of being raped and remembered waking up to find she was having sex with a stranger. “Do you remember giving consent?” he asked. “No, I don’t remember much about anything” was the reply. “Well then, you could have consented,” How do we assess
