President Anita, Georgie, Tricia and Elaine received a very warm welcome from our Dutch Friendship Link club, SI Arnhem Oost, and our joint German Friendship Link club, SI Remscheid.The theme of the conference was ‘Empowerment’ and they attended interesting workshops, including one on mentoring.
A big ‘thank you’ to SI Arnhem Oost for the invitation to the conference and for looking after Club members so well.
Over 500 Soroptimists from 15 countries joined the weekend festivities and a full programme of events commenced with a welcome drinks party in the former Royal Palace. This was followed the next day by a conference with interesting speakers (in English!), afternoon workshops, a fashion show featuring local designers, a cabaret and finished with a walking tour of Leeuwarden. A canal trip on Sunday gave us the opportunity to experience Leeuwarden from the water. Leeuwarden is this year’s European Capital of Culture and has a beautiful mixture of old and new architecture. The atmosphere was relaxed, the weather was good, and we were made to feel so welcome by our fellow Soroptimists, and by the residents in the town itself.
It was a really great weekend of fun and laughter and the group were very impressed with the hospitality and organisational skills of their Dutch hosts. Proceeds from the conference will be donated to The School for Justice project – www.schoolforjustice.com
We hope to see all our overseas friends in Kenilworth next July.
