The story of a young girl in Hiroshima, who folded a thousand paper cranes to make her wish of world peace come true, captured the imagination of delegates in President Lynn’s opening address.

She explained that the young girl’s school friends were so inspired they erected a memorial to her which is still decorated with thousands of paper cranes to this day. “The message coming from one so young is an example to us all”, said Lynn. “Important messages will also emerge from our discussions and we must find an efficient means to ensure they they also are delivered clearly and effectively.”

Years of preparation have gone into preparing for this Convention with the determination to make it a celebration of Soroptimism’s place in international society. “Just as we believe that our Soroptimist service has a beneficial impact on our communities and relevance in society, so I hope the days that we will spend together on the banks of the Clyde will have an impact on Soroptimism everywhere.” She continued: “Just as we cannot exist without the sun, so our Soroptimist groups and the communities we serve will only thrive if they are linked to the energy source that is generated on occasions such as this.”

She listed some statistics which illustrate how much work there is still to do:

* If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the one million that will die this week.

* If you have never experienced the fear of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

* If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death, you are luckier than 3 billion people in the world.

* If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75 per cent of the world.

* If you have money in the bank, in your purse and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top eight per cent of the world’s wealthy and by reading this message you are doubly blessed because you can read.

President Lynn said she and Immediate Past President Joan want to ensure that as many members as possible participate in the activities outlined in the programme. It is divided into sub-themes for each day which all contribute to the overall theme of “Unity of Purpose; Diversity in Action.”

During the coming days there will be much action as well as discussion as we take note of our key speakers and the outcomes of our workshops and panel debates. Our keynote speakers have been chosen to give context to, and provide more information on the many areas in which we work.

Members ranging from those who are relatively new to those with vast experience will introduce speakers and give votes of thanks. Federation Presidents will join us on stage regularly throughout the Convention and will participate in discussions alongside the Strategic Planning Group.

Members in the audience will be encouraged to ask questions and put forward suggestions. The programme team will be outlining our new Focus and will be engaging in conversation on the issues. “We want the Convention to be inclusive and positive in its outcomes.”

Peter Cox may well have joked that he could hear the audience snoring, but in fact his frightening array of statistics showing the consequences of global warming had Soroptimists sitting on the edge of their seats.

Climate change is something that we all have to live with, he said, as he bombarded us with scientific facts and then looked at our attitudes and responses to climate change and what we all needed to do to avoid the most damaging aspects.

Some facts:

* The global temperature has increased by 0.7 degrees C since the late 19th C.

* The 10 warmest years have all occurred since 1990.

* Atmospheric carbon dioxide has increased by approximately 25% since 1700.

* Natural factors, such as volcanic activity and the output of the sun, cannot explain recent warming.

* The increasing destructiveness of tropical cyclones over the last 30 years.

* Tropical deforestation accounts for 20% of all global C02 emissions and an area of Amazonian forest the size of Belgium is cleared every year.

We cannot rely on self-interest and leave it to the grandkids to deal with, said Peter. It is difficult to get action on climate change as it is too easy to think that it is someone else’s problem. Climate change is unjust; the source of the problem lies with the industrialised nations, but the worst effects will be felt by the developing world with a decrease in crop yields. Carbon dioxide does not recognise national boundaries.

Global C02 emissions took off from the 1950s and were now on a path to destruction. However, Peter’s message was that we still have a chance to reduce future emissions. Depending on the choices we make, there could be a range of 2 - 6 degrees C additional global warming by 2100. Many scientists believe that an increase of 2 degrees C could be dangerous and that to avoid such warming we need to make a 60% cut in global emissions by 2050, with a continuing reduction thereafter.

His conclusion was that the human fingerprint on climate change is now clear ... To make any impact on global warming we must act now and act drastically!

Teresita Choa opened her presentation by saying  “Soroptimism will remain healthy and vital only if it adapts to the needs of members and potential members” was the central strand of President Tes’s speech.

SIA’s commission of a professional survey had resulted in the Renaissance Campaign to improve programmes, projects, membership, fundraising and public awareness of Soroptimism.That included a Women’s Opportunity Award; a corporate sponsorship programme; 66 new clubs with 16,000 new members; increased news releases and media hits; and a Live Your Dream Campaign to inspire women from all walks of life.

And her goal for the future? …An ambitious and challenging 250 new clubs and 50,000 new members.

She said that despite there being more female heads of state and CEOs, women and girls still lagged behind men and faced obstacles and discrimination. Dire statistics showed that one in three women had been abused; women worked two-thirds of the world’s working hours but earned only 10 per cent of the world’s income and owned less than 1 per cent of the world’s property; globally women’s unpaid work was worth $11 trillion a year; two-thirds of the 880 million illiterate adults were women; by age 18 girls had had 4.4 fewer years' education than boys; and each year more than 600,000 women were trafficked for sexual slavery.

Teresita’s pride and passion shone through as she highlighted clubs' and members’ enthusiasm for helping others through their wide-ranging and far-reaching projects. SIA had had a busy four years and believed they were now providing a strong foundation for Soroptimism well into the future – moving forward in leaps and bounds and embracing new technologies and ideas to help women and girls.

The full script of this presentation is available on the Download page.

Professor Mary Renfrew used moving visual images to support her goals of gender equality, good parenting and healthy children. Professor Mary Renfrew gave a fascinating presentation on maternal and infant health and emphasised that nothing is more precious than the start of a new life. Her passionate desire for better conditions for mothers and babies shone out in her lecture as she begged us all to improve the situation locally and internationally through advocacy and action.

She reminded delegates of the UN Millennium Declaration and the eight goals to combat poverty, pointing particularly to the fundamental importance of Goal 4 - to reduce child mortality; Goal 5 - to improve maternal health and Goal 6 - to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

Globally, one pregnant woman dies every minute – 600,000 a year – while 20 to 30 times that number suffer injury, infection, disease and mental health problems. Mothers under the age of 15 are five times more likely to die and 99% of maternal deaths occur in developing countries. Six million babies are stillborn or die in the first week of life and a million children are left motherless every year, having grave consequences for the future of the children.

Among the many improvements needed are empowering, enfranchising and engaging women, as well as education for girls and women. Better housing, nutrition, clean water and transport are essential, as is free access to health care. In particular, she spoke of the need for skilled attendants at births, which necessitates the training of midwives, yet in many countries the status of midwives is very low.

She asked clubs and regions to keep maternal and infant health at the forefront of all programmes in all countries. Highlighting the significant improvements in Glasgow during the past 30 years, she said she believes that huge and dramatic improvements in the welfare of mothers and babies can be achieved.

The extensive globetrotting of the 'Women Building Peace' Ambassador, SIE Past President Heidrun Konran, soon earned her the logo 'The Flying Lady'. Circling the globe six times, chartering 62 clubs in 25 countries, taking in the Peace Marathon in Rwanda and the Peace Dolls projects in St. Petersburg and the Netherlands, she tirelessly promoted her message of “PEACE”.

In contrast, President Monique Riviére took her audience back to 411 BC, when Aristophane created Lysistrata – an illustration of the first peace handicraft woman. Her project, 'Let us Build Peace through Local Heritage' had just two critical messages: “NO TO WAR” and “YES TO PEACE”. She encouraged delegates to capitalise on local heritage as a tool for peace – to draw lessons from history, embrace what was good and cherish the diversity of culture and language through our actions.

The full script of this presentation is available on the Download page.

'Carry on Caring' Princess Anne tells Soroptimists

Working in a sustainable way to bring real understanding and depth to communities was the keynote message of The Princess Royal’s 15-minute address to a packed convention hall.

She drew repeated parallels between the projects started and maintained by Soroptimists around the world and her own charities, principally Save the Children.

She knew about our work and said: “You know a lot about what’s required” and later she thanked SI for work both locally and nationally and “for the rigorous way you examine what you do and why you do it”.

Princess Anne outlined the origins of Save the Children, which was founded in 1919 and quickly recognised that women were the best way to bring about improvement in health and education in their families.

This sort of work requires a deep understanding, how to address priorities, measuring the impact and making sure it lasts and then move on to repeat the process. This is the crucial element which drives Soroptimists too, she said, “It’s not just a case of dropping in!”

Moving into difficult areas is more challenging with real risks and we need to support NGOs. The Princess referred to a micro finanacing organisation called 'Opportunity International'. Eighty-eight per cent of the money is lent to women but because they play such a vital part in health and education they repay 100 per cent all the time.

Turning to The Princess Royal Trust for Carers, Princess Anne talked about the impact on individual carers who can’t always continue because of their own health reasons. We must be careful of making assumptions and need to listen carefully and learn and ask ourselves “could we do it better?” 

Finishing her address, Princess Anne said "We only need to improve the design of the wheel, not reinvent it".