Soroptimist International is a vibrant, dynamic organisation for today’s women, with over 100,000 members world-wide. We are committed to a world where women and girls together achieve their individual and collective potential, realise their aspirations and have an equal voice in creating strong, peaceful communities worldwide.
Soroptimists are women in responsible positions who join together for friendship and service in the community. We have a wide variety of interests and combine our expertise and talents to support human rights, promote social and economic development, protect the environment, advance the health and education of people in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, and seek to improve the general quality of life for all, but especially for women and children.
We tend to be practical. Our International projects reflect this. Soroptimists world-wide network to raise money and organise projects. In recent years we have raised money and supervised projects to bring clean water to the villages in Senegal; promoted health and hygiene and helped Sight Savers to establish a network of children’s clinic’s to prevent child blindness in Bangladesh; collaborated with the Population and Community Development Association in Thailand; developed and implemented AIDS Education programmes; in conjunction with the International Committee of the Red Cross rehabilitated land-mine victims in Angola, Cambodia and Georgia, to enable them to regain dignity and lead normal lives; provided women in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Rwanda with tools and skills they need to rebuild their lives after surviving wars and internal conflicts and many more projects nationally.
Soroptimist International has Category 1 Status (General Consultative Status) at the United Nations Economic and Social Council and a voice at United Nations Centres in Geneva, New York, Paris and Vienna. As a non-governmental organisation Soroptimist International also has official relations with the World Health Organisation and accreditation with the High Commissioner of Refugees. Soroptimist International is represented on many NGO Committees, including the Women’s National Commission and The Human Rights Commission. In fact we are one of the few women’s non-governmental organisations to have such status, and this enables us to keep our finger on the pulse of world issues.