Region Meeting and AGM This is at The Imperial Hotel, Llandudno on Saturday 9th September. The day will begin at 9.15 am to set up tables followed at 10am by coffee – All the posters displayed at Soroptimist International Convention in Dublin will be on view. At 10.45am Region President Susan will hope the meeting and introduce our Speaker Rebecca Morgan-Brennan who will speak about “The Little Princess Trust” and “Look Good Feel Better” There will be reports from SI Nantwich and SI Bebington, and President Elect Janet will speak about the Region visit to the Arboretum. Anne MacDonald (SI Chester) and Sarah Froggatt(SI Runcorn/Frodsham) will give a report on the Dublin Convention Please note – Lunch is not provided Region Business Meeting This will begin at 2.20pm followed by the Annual General meeting at 2.45pm where Regional officers will give their reports. The meeting

Llangollen 2023 International Eisteddfod 2023 - Tuesday 4th July until Sunday 9th July   Each year Soroptimists from Clubs throughout the Region enjoy running the Friendship and Information Centre at the prestigious Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.   This year is the 76th Anniversary of the Eisteddfod which dates back to 1947, when the first event was held in this little Welsh town.  The concept was the promotion of peace following the second World War.  Today musicians and dancers come to Llangollen from all over the world to participate in the various competitions. A busy day at the Eisteddfod bustling with children of all ages, several groups took part in colouring Welsh loving spoons. We were fortunate to welcome to our tent our Sponsored dance group.  Regional President Susan Heywood presented the leader of the group with a commemorative certificate on behalf of the Region. The

Region Meeting Cheshire North Wales & Wirral in Chester Region Meeting 20th May 2023 saw Soroptimists from our region arriving early at the Queens Hotel, Chester.   Many were carrying bags of sanitary products while others were weighed down by display boards, laptops and other items for their Barbara Dixon Award displays. There was a real buzz in the room as clubs set up their displays.   8 clubs entered - Anglesey, Bebington, Chester, Heswall, Llandudno, Nantwich & District, Northwich & District and Rhyl & District.   Judging was to take place at lunchtime by Alan Dixon and Lindsey Green. Our first speaker was Adam Norton a police officer with the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit.   He gave an excellent talk on how “County Lines” worked, explaining how vulnerable individuals were intimidated and eventually became victims of violence and exploitation.   It is

The new members’ lunch took place at the Faenol Fawr Hotel, Bodelwyddan on the 26th March 2023 in the beautifully oak paneled Tudor Room. It was well attended by 10 new members and their mentors, along with many Region Officers;  31 attended in total.  We had some ‘games’ and some more informative aspects to the afternoon – such as an explanation of how SI is structured, how PA works at all levels and an example of a charity shop pop-up in Holywell. New members were tasked with creating a club project on Bin Twinning and others created a guidance sheet on mentoring new members which will be distributed to Clubs in due course.  The event was greatly successful with a warm atmosphere and gratitude expressed by attendees.  

Barbara Dixon Programme Award Regional President Susan invites all clubs to participate with an entry for the Barbara Dixon Award 2023. It should be a current club project which will demonstrate  the 3 E’s of Education Empowerment and Enabling for women and their communities. The brief is wide to encourage as many clubs as possible to take part and be able to show off the work they do. We  hope that clubs consider an entry and prepare it in good time. Criteria: 1. The project responds to an identified need, local, national or international. 2, There are clear SMART objectives – specific, measurable,achievable, realistic and time related. 3. It demonstrates partnership with other agencies where possible. 4. It demonstrates links to SDGs and 5 P’s. 5. The display will clearly communicate the steps taken to bring the project to fruition. Closing date for entries  is 20

Congratulations to Region Clubs This year our Region clubs again supported this campaign #OrangeTheWorld #16DaysOfActivism against gender based violence. Thanks to all our #Soroptimist Region clubs who have taken part in this campaign either by taking action, holding events or posting Social Media Campaigns. Congratulations #Soroptimists on a meaningful, poignant, innovative and interesting #16days Congratulations South Caernarfonshire For an excellent Social Media Campaign 'She Only..." posted each day from 25th November, the International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10th December, Human Rights Day- to mark #16DaysOfActivism, #OrangeTheWorld. There has been much acclaim on Face book - Club, Region, Federation and world wide for this  innovative, interesting, sometimes poignant, and emotive campaign. The Region Communications team asked the club WHY and HOW they achieved this SI South Caernarfonshire members says: "Following our successful “orange stone campaign “ in 2021 a Programme Action  sub committee

Region Meeting Change of Insignia Congratulations and all the very best of wishes to new Region President Susan Haywood. At the Region Meeting on Saturday 19th November the Region welcomed Susan Haywood as our new President, and we were finally able to take some lovely photos of the change of Insignia. Huge thanks to Immediate Past Region President Yvonne Johns, who despite many difficulties enjoyed an excellent year as Region President Region President Susan Haywood's Address It is an overwhelming privilege to have been elected as the incoming Regional President.  There are some resplendent footsteps to fill from previous inspiring and diligent women who have preceded me.  I have a great team of Officers who are the stalwarts of Region; I am the one who is transient with only a year to wreak havoc or, better still, bring about unity! My tag line for this

CHAIR OF UKPAC We are very pleased to announce the new Chair of UKPAC (The United Kingdom Programme Action Committee) is Gillie O’Rourke of SI Bebington.  Gillie was formerly the Regional Programme Action Officer. We are very proud of her, and wish her well in her new role Gillie comments on her election to this prestigious position. “I am extremely honoured to have been elected by my peers to the role of Chair of UKPAC.  The role is challenging and wide-ranging covering, as it does, not only working with Regional Programme Action Reps, but also having regular meetings with national partners/organisations as well as the UN and Europe. We are now a completely new team leading United Kingdom Programme Action (starting with our new Programme Director, Lindsey Green). As a new team we are looking at our strategy and extending the work of the current

Region AGM & Speaker Meeting President Yvonne welcomed members and the meeting began with a 2 minute silence as a mark of respect to our late Queen Elizabeth 11. President Yvonne outlined the agenda for the day and thanked officers for completing and submitting their Regional Job Descriptions. She also advised that SIGBI is planning to update its Regional Job Descriptions in line with current requirements. Members were advised that the SIGBI Federation Conference will be held in London in October 2023 this being in addition to the Soroptimist International Convention which is being held in Dublin in July 2023 with the theme ‘Challenge the Future’. An update on E Clubs was given by Regional Membership Officer Penny Clarke who advised that a pilot scheme SI Libertas had attracted 18 members and that they were meeting virtually 3 times a month and becoming involved in

Region E-Club Do you live in Cheshire, North Wales or the Wirral? Are you interested in joining an International Women’s Organisation that works for the empowerment, education and health of Women and Children throughout the world? We have 14 active clubs in the region please click here for information but also know that attending face to face meetings can be difficult. We are offering the opportunity to join Soroptimist International virtually and at the same time keep in touch with what clubs in the region are doing and to join up occasionally for events. The membership and development regional officers have been working towards developing an E-club for the Region. Soroptimist Federation SIGBI has kindly sent out an e-mail (see below) to past members who have left our clubs in the past 2 years Dear Past Member of SI Cheshire North Wales and Wirral, we