The regional meeting was held on Sat 15 March 2025 at Milford Village Hall, hosted by SI Surrey Hills. The theme of the day was Awareness.
It started with a short council meeting, during which Lizzie Rodgers from SI Poole, Purbeck & District was voted onto the Regional Management Team (RMT) as regional Secretary. There was also a session on how we want to run the region, with agreement that 3 in-person meetings a year and possibly 1 extra online was right for us. After coffee we heard from each of the 9 clubs, about their Programme Action activities and their plans for the coming year.
We were served Ukrainian borscht for lunch, along with the usual sandwiches, fruit and desserts. 
In the afternoon we heard from Natalia Maievska, of the local group of Ukrainian women, about the situation in her country and the harrowing stories of her heroines. “Ukrainian women, whether on the frontlines or in the diaspora, have emerged as pillars of resilience and strength, preserving culture, supporting those in need, and advocating for peace.” She gave examples of women in wartime as Defenders, Military medics, Volunteers, Social Integrators, and Journalists documenting war crimes.
President Ruth was presented with a copy of the book by the Ukrainian journalist mentioned, published after her death: “Looking at Women Looking at War: A Diary of War and Justice”. This was followed by a presentation from SI Epsom on the support they have been providing through their Friendship Link with SI Lviv.
At the end of the day we assembled on stage to take a group photo, which will now be used as the banner for the website.