SIGBI 79th Federation Conference Newcastle – Gateshead

12 Club members travelled to Newcastle to attend the Federation Conference held in the magnificent Sage building in Gateshead. It was an opportunity to meet with 1300 Soroptimists from through out the Federation. The Keynote speakers were Lady Marie Stubbs and Baroness Helena Kennedy. There were speakers on Endometriosis, Women & Girls projects in Comic Relief, Mary’s Meals and Karma Nirvana, a helpline supporting victims of forced marriage. We were addressed by The President of Soroptimist International, the President of the European Federation and the Soroptimist International Programme Director.  We heard about many exciting club projects and were delighted when Barnstaple from our Region won an award for their Knickers for Knowledge project. The Annual General Meeting was held on Friday afternoon. Margaret Oldroyd takes over from Pat Black as President of our Federation. The photo shows club members wearing red for a rally to raise awareness of Endometriosis.