Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland www.sigbi.org Soroptimists: who we are and what we do Please take a look at the SIGBI website to find out more. The website has links to all the other parts of the Soroptimist organisation, Soroptimist magazines, and also to our Facebook and Twitter accounts. You can see examples of what Clubs are doing to improve the lives of Women and Girls on the Programme pages of the website.

Soroptimist Vision Soroptimist International is committed to a world where women and girls together achieve their individual and collective potential, realise aspirations and have an equal voice in creating strong, peaceful communities worldwide. SI is a global women’s organisation with 80,000 members in 127 countries, mostly of local ‘Clubs‘, but SIGBI is launching in May 2016 an offer of Associate Membership, for anyone who is interested in this. Soroptimist International is the umbrella organisation and is made up of four Federations: Americas, Europe, Great Britain & Ireland, South West Pacific. SIGBI has 29 countries – including commonwealth countries in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. Pictured are members of SI Chester on a March for International Women’s Day in 2015 – to highlight the number of women who experience domestic abuse.

Soroptimist Mission Soroptimists inspire action and create opportunities to transform the lives of women and girls through a global network of members and international partnerships. Soroptimist International works together with other non-governmental organistions (NGOs) and various United Nations (UN) agencies to promote the changes necessary to make the world a better place for this and future generations. SI is represented on the Board of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organisations (CONGO) and has General Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). SI has permanent, volunteer representatives to the major UN centres in New York, Geneva and Vienna, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in Paris, the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) in Rome and the Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi. Soroptimist International of Europe (SIE) has participatory status in the Council of Europe (CoE) and actively contributes to the decision-making process of the CoE. Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland (the Federation we belong to) – has recently attained Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). These forums, in which Soroptimists takes part, especially at the UN, are highly valued, as opportunities where Soroptimists can put forward position statements to influence world-wide action on global issues. The accreditation at the UN is not easy to achieve and candidate organisations have to demonstrate the work they have done and are doing. Pictured here are Members and others at a Convention in Uganda on Menstrual Hygiene Management. Many Clubs actively support the production of reusable sanitary pads in Africa and Asia, for girls who would otherwise have to miss schools when they are menstruating. As well as enabling these girls to attend school, the production of the sanitary pads also gives employment (and therefore an income) to the women who manufacture them.

Soroptimist Goals Soroptimist International will be a global voice for women and girls. The Soroptimist Federations will be linked in their efforts to improve the lives of women and girls through education, empowerment and enabling opportunities. “Educate to Lead" is Soroptimist International's overarching programme of work, sometimes called the SI long term theme. The words educate, empower and enable are our Mantra – we have some quite complicated objectives but this is the heart of what we are about. We want to create a world where women and girls have the skills and opportunities to fulfill their potential and be leaders in their field however large or small that field or place may be. And the best way to ensure this is through education, developing individuals and groups We see it as a 3 step process – you educate to create a dream, you empower with skills and confidence to take those dreams forward and you enable opportunities for those dreams to be fulfilled. Many Clubs have used the UN Gift Box (pictured) to raise awareness on Human Trafficking and slavery. These are happening worldwide, in the UK as well as in developing countries, and include forced labour and forced marriage as well as trafficking for the sex trade. By making people aware of what to look out for (eg girls not attending school for a long period) cases of trafficking and slavery can be detected much earlier and even prevented in some cases. Schools need to be aware, and also make the pupils aware, as girls may tell their friends things that may indicate what may happen later on.

Soroptimist Programme Objectives Education Elimination of violence Economic empowerment Food security Healthcare Environmental sustainability/water and sanitation Conflict resolution/peace promotion Disaster mitigation and relief The programme of projects and activities that Soroptimist Clubs undertake is called “Programme Action”. All work at Clubs, Region, National, Federation and International level focus on issues affecting women and girls across these 8 programme objectives – more detail on each area is available from the SIGBI Website. The breadth of issues being addressed by Soroptimists is vast, so Clubs have to focus on what is SMART for them – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timebound. As well as their own Projects, all Clubs support the SIGBI Federation-wide project, which from 2016-2019 is the Meru Women’s Garden Project, based in Kenya. The Project will educate women to grow their own crops, empower them by providing land, tools and seeds and enable them to become self-sufficient as well as providing an income for their families by the sale of surplus crops. Pictured is a woman in one of the gardens which the Project will help to provide.  

Soroptimist Values Human rights for all Global peace and international goodwill Advancing women and girls' potential Integrity and democratic decision making Volunteering, diversity and friendship We are a diverse group of women with these values and the focus on women and girls binding is all together. Pictured here is SI St Albans and District’s Club’s stall on St Albans market in recognition of International Literacy Day, raising much needed funds for the St Albans and Hertsmere Women’s Refuge.

National and International Programme Action UK – joint project with Prison Reform Trust to Reduce Women’s Imprisonment International President’s Appeal – “Education to Lead: Nepal” We also get involved with projects led by the Soroptimist organisation at a national and international level. UK Soroptimists have a joint project with Prison Reform Trust to reduce women’s imprisonment. There has been a consensus throughout the UK that community solutions that address the causes of women’s offending are more effective than prison in reducing crime and minimising the cost to society. Despite this, the number of women in prison across the UK has increased significantly in the same period, and approximately 13,500 women are now sent to prison each year. Over 80% of sentenced women entering prison have been convicted of non-violent offences. Many have young children. Many have themselves been the victims of serious crime, including domestic violence, sexual abuse and rape. Mental health problems, drug and alcohol addiction and self-harm are also very common. In the 12 months ending June 2012 women accounted for 31% of all self-harm incidents in prison in England and Wales despite representing only 5% of the prison population – more info www.soroptimist-ukpac.org The Soroptimist International President’s Appeal 2015-2017 “Educate to Lead: Nepal” was launched on Human Rights Day – 10 Dec 2015, as a result of the devastating earthquakes in Nepal. The Appeal aims to provide funds to rebuild and/or renovate schools in Nepal so that children’s education does not suffer. The Members of SI Kathmandu have been working tirelessly ever since the earthquakes to rebuild the schools that they support, as well as help people caught in the earthquakes to rebuild their lives. Many Members will make a donation to the appeal instead of sending each other Christmas cards.

Club Projects Clubs can support any projects they wish providing they do one or more of educate, empower, enable. Some support overseas projects, and others concentrate on issues in their own localities. Soroptimist Clubs can support any projects that they feel passionately about. They do need to do one or more of “Educate, Empower, Enable” in order to support SI and SIGBI’s status at the UN, but other than that they have free reign. SI Barbados have been raising awareness about Human Trafficking and lobbying to put an end to this, SI Keighley run their SAME Project (Soroptimists and Mothers of Eastwood, which brings women together to look at local issues that affect women, such as issues that make women feel unsafe outside at night, and holding cultural evenings. SI Bangalore ran jewellery making workshops to help women develop skills that can earn them an income in order to support their families.

What does it mean to be a Member? Members should attend meetings wherever possible Members should participate in club projects using their skills, knowledge and time to help others Members should help to run the Club and be prepared to take office Members should pay their fees in full and on time Clubs meet either once or twice a month, and usually have a break in August and over the Christmas period. Members should attend as often as they can so that they know what the Club is doing, and know all the other Members. All members should be involved in club projects, as much or as little as they wish to be. They should be copied in on all correspondence related to Projects that the Club is doing Clubs have the usual officers : President, Treasurer, Secretary etc. Very new Members should not be asked to take office straight away, but after the first year they should offer to take a role so that the onus of running the Club is not left to the usual few. There is an annual fee. Explain to the potential Members what this fee is for your Club, and what this fee covers, both in terms of what the Member will get but also why the fee is necessary – SIGBI Fees, Region/NA/Network fees, Hire of Venue for Club Meetings and events, Speakers etc. Can your Club offer a monthly payment scheme?

“Ask me why I’m a Soroptimist” “I enjoy the network of Soroptimists - locally, nationally, regionally, and globally.“ “These are women who share values, objectives and gain personal satisfaction from being change agents. I enjoy being exposed to different cultures and learning from this engagement. “ These are quotes from Members on being asked Why they are a Soroptimist. Is there anything here that you can relate to? There are two slides – you can change the order of the quotes, or substitute quotes from Members of your own Club if preferred.

“Ask me why I’m a Soroptimist” “Joining SIGBI is quite simply the best thing I have ever done in my life (apart from getting married!).” “I like the fact that I can join projects to improve the lives of other people. It is a privilege to meet other women with whom I would not normally have come into contact.“ These are quotes from Members on being asked Why they are a Soroptimist. Is there anything here that you can relate to? There are two slides – you can change the order of the quotes, or substitute quotes from Members of your own Club if preferred.