SOROPTIMIST INTERNATIONAL
SCOTLAND NORTH REGION
SPOTLIGHT ON NEWS 43
May 2022
WORLD LAUGHTER DAY
This day is celebrated on the first Sunday of May and this year that is the 1st May. Mostly celebrated in India – but the day is spreading all over the world. So have a good laugh, it will feel good and can improve your everyday wellness and wellbeing. (Go on you know you want to!)
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF FAMILIES
Held on the 15th May of every year and is a way to raise awareness of issues faced by families throughout the world. These days, people are switching more towards solitary and independent modes of lifestyle and are moving away from the beautiful institution society calls ‘Family’. It is an occasion for us to celebrate connections among all members of our families and what we can do to strengthen those family structures. Our nation is built on the family system. It is the place where we receive our first education and where values and other traits are learned. It is, therefore, our responsibility to develop the right attitudes towards our families, because a family in harmony will prosper in everything.
The United Nations have recommended that nations:
1. Offer support to working parents, improving flexibility of working arrangements.
2. Invest in parenting education and in the digital literacy skills of family members.
3. Promote work-family balance in the digital world.
4. Research the impact of technological, urbanization, migration, demographic and climate change trends on families around the world.
NATIONAL CHILDREN’S DAY UK (NCDUK)
It will be held on Sunday 15th May and is all about the importance of a healthy childhood, and how we need to protect the rights and freedoms of children and young people. Get Involved!
How do we create a kinder world. What makes people so unkind?
How can everyone choose to be kind?
Clubs might want to discuss these questions: How we celebrate diversity.
How we understand difference and prejudice?
The Science and Biology of Unkindness. Bullies – are they born or made? The lifelong benefits of Kindness The lifelong costs of Unkindness Unkindness and Technology and, finally …..Kindness and how we promote it.
Remember children are the future, encourage everyone to slow down and pay more attention to the children in our lives.
If you are looking for a charity to support this year, consider UNICEF UK. The war in Ukraine is putting millions of children and their families in immediate danger. More than half of Ukraine’s 7.5 million children have now been displaced by the ongoing conflict. UNICEF calls for an immediate ceasefire and reminds all parties of their international obligations to protect children from harm and to ensure that humanitarian organisations can safely and quickly reach children in need. unicef.uk/UkraineAppeal
………………..For every child: Peace ………………..
ORANGE THE WORLD CAMPAIGN
Even before COVID19, Violence Against Women was one of the most widespread violations of Human Rights. Every year since 2008, the UN Secretary General’s UNITE to End Violence Against Women Campaign with the theme of Orange The World has called for global action.
From 25th May 2022, UKPAC along with all of its 6’0 partners are asking us all to wear orange every 25th of every month.
Soroptimists are calling for global action to increase awareness, galvanize advocacy efforts and share knowledge and innovations.
Use orange umbrellas to show you stand united to fight physical, verbal and emotional violence, both online and offline AND, SAY NO TO VAW.
As a bright and optimistic colour, orange represents a future free from Violence for Women and Girls. Orange Day calls upon us all to mobilize people and highlight issues relevant to preventing the ending of violence to women and girls not only just once a year on 25th November which is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women…….BUT every month. With our partners let’s make a statement and be known for our work and projects on Violence Against Women and Girls.
Perhaps your club could promote a success story demonstrating that VAW and girls is preventable or, publicize a women or girl that has become a leader in her field.
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STRUT SAFE
A new charity dedicated to helping anyone who needs to get home safely.
Rachel Chung and Alice Jacks founded the charity following the murder of Sarah Everard in March 2021. In one year they have over 50 volunteers across the UK. This charity offers free walks home in Edinburgh as well as a free phone service for the entire UK.
Perhaps you know someone who would benefit from this fantastic service. 
How about volunteering? They are looking for more volunteers as they expand their administrative and leadership staff…….Interested? Check their website: https://www.strutsafe.org
They are helping to dismantle systemic VAW and other marginalised groups and also welcome donations.
Phone lines open Friday to Saturday
From 7pm to 3am and Sunday 7pm to 1am. They also have a partnership with Rascals on Thursdays from 6.30pm to 10.30pm when they offer a free car service. They have an organised buddy system.
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May 21st: International Tea Day
Adopted in 2019, but first began in 2005 by trade unions to celebrate the health benefits, economic importance and cultural heritage of tea, all the while ensuring a more sustainable production from field to cup. Tea is the second most used drink in the world….after water!
Four Sustainable Development Goals to note:
1. Reducing exreme poverty.
2. Fighting hunger.
3. Empowering women.
4. Sustainable use of terrestrial eco-systems. (Goal 1, Goal 2, Goal 5 and Goal 15)
Tea is a drink made from the Camellia Sinesis plant. It is thought that tea was drunk in China over 5,000 years ago. The Tea Industry is a main source of income and export revenue for some of the poorest countries and as it is labour intensive, provides jobs in remote rural areas in developing countries.
Tea consumption can bring health benefits and wellness due to the drinks anti- inflammatory antioxidant and weight loss efects. It also has cultural significance in many societies. However, tea production is highly sensitive to changes in growing conditions and can only be produced in narrowly defined agro- ecological conditions. Many of these areas might be affected by climate change eg. changes in temperature and rainfall patterns. Today, floods and droughts are already affecting yields, tea product quality and prices which with lower incomes then threaten rural livelihoods.
Tea can be a mood setter for the day by having a cup in the morning to freshen up minds and souls. The seven best teas served around the world are Black Tea, Ooolong Tea, Pu’erh Tea, Matcha Tea, White Tea, Green Tea and Herbal Tea.
Note: Micro tea plantations are taking root in the UK eg in Cornwall and Perthshire!
Tea came to the UK in the 17th Century and the main tea producing countries are India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Kenya, Vietnam, Nepal, Malaysia, Uganda, Malawi, Tanzania, Bangladesh, Rwanda, China, Korea and Japan with small holders responsible for 60% of the world’s tea production.
Enjoy a Tea Party together as the summer approaches and try out new flavours. Celebrate the fact that a Portuguese Woman, Catherine of Braganza, popularized the beverage in England. In 1662, she married King Charles 11 and in her dowry were several crates of loose tea. The Royal Court quickly adopted the tea-drinking process. The Duchess of Bedford, Anna Russell, introduced ‘Afternoon Tea’ during the late 1840’s – mainly to cure her hunger between the two daily meals at the time!
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International Day of Biological Diversity – 22nd May ‘Building a shared future for all Life’
Biodiversity remains the answer to several sustainable development challenges – from nature based solutions to climate health issues, food and water security and sustainable livelihoods. Biodiversity is the foundation upon which we can build back better.
Celebrate this Day to make sure that our Earth remains a place where all creatures, no matter what environment they depend on, can not only survive but also thrive.
Things to do:
1. Make your garden organic and replace invasive plants with native ones. Eliminate some of your hard surfaces that discourage growth and refrain from using pesticides. Show off your own native ecosystem!
2. Buy organic, sustainable food. Organic food is not code for expensive posh food. Organic food has not been exposed to pesticides or fertilizers. Although they are not necessarily harmful to humans – they can have negative impacts on the environment.
3. Conserve energy (Especially as Costs Increase)
By reducing your energy consumption, you minimize the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of your activities. In additiion, you reduce the demand for companies to disturb the environment in a search for fossil fuels.
While individually we do not bear the same responsibility for the environment as big corporations do, it is still important for all of us to preserve life on this planet.
Encouraging biological diversity means that humanity thrives all over the planet. In addition, if lots of different kinds of ecosystems are allowed to flourish, then it becomes easier for the planet as a whole to recover from natural disasters.
While it is important for humans to survive, we also have to take into account that humans have the biggest impact on the planet of any living creature. We can be a force for positive change – encouraging growth and diversity OR, we can be a force for negative change….morphing the planet into something as unable to sustain life as every other planet in our solar system.
Since we have the most power to change the world, it is up to US to use that power responsibly.
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Meetings coming up:
- S I Yorkshire’s Domestic Abuse Conference will now be held online on 21st May and zoom tickets for the event are available via EventBrite.
9.30 to 10.00 am, START.
Cost £6 with proceeds to charity.
- Saturday, 28th May will be our Next Face to Face Regional Meeting in Perth.
- Saturday, 28th May will be our Next Face to Face Regional Meeting in Perth.
- Also the next UKPAC meeting will be on Saturday 25th June. We have been asked to speak about the projects Clubs are doing around the issue of Violence Against Women and girls.
(From the database and completed recently)
REMEMBER:
Even the smallest act of kindness can make someone’s day.
Janice Wilson
Programme Action Chair
Soroptimist International Scotland North
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Janice Wilson
Programme Action Chair
Soroptimist International Scotland North.