Category: News

“Peace and security are essential foundations for social progress and sustainable development. That is why, three decades ago, the United Nations affirmed the right of peoples to peace.” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Since 2001, the UN has recognized 21 September as International Day of Peace, an annual day of non-violence and cease-fire. To mark…

In a message to Soroptimists and supporters for International Day of Peace on 21st September, International President Ann Garvie has urged Soroptimists to promote peace and tolerance in their communities, while influencing decision-makers worldwide to end conflict and violence. Read President Ann’s full message below. PEACE… “It does not mean to be in a place…

Exciting times for the small Soroptimist International HQ staff team based in Cambridge, UK!  SI welcomes Jane Griffiths as part-time Project Manager for See Solar, Cook Solar, President Ann Garvie’s December 10th Appeal to educate and empower women and girls and tackle energy poverty through solar energy. Jane will be working one day a week,…

  Updated 15 September 2014 The Soroptimist International UN Representative team in Paris has been instrumental in organising an event at UNESCO to mark International Literacy Day today. Soroptimist International of Europe Executive Director Anne Simon was one of the speakers at the event,  standing in for SIE’s President-Elect Maria-Elisabetta de Franciscis who had to…

 Image: SI Bonaberi-Douala’s adult literacy centre, Cameroon, PFR 34067 "Literacy not only changes lives, it saves them". That’s the simple and powerful truth at the heart of UNESCO’s rallying call for  greater investment and a redoubling of efforts to bring literacy to all. Literacy is an absolute necessity for achieving basic rights and when women…

  Members of SI Freetown (2012) Soroptimist International Freetown (Sierra Leone) has been working closely with local partners to respond to the Ebola outbreak, which has now killed over 1900 people in West Africa. According to the World Health Organisation, there have been 3500 confirmed or probable cases in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, leading…

Nigerian activist Hadiza Bala Usman has urged people around the world not to forget the schoolgirls abducted from Borno, northern Nigeria in April, who are still being held by Islamist militant group Boko Haram. In a video interview with former Soroptimist International UN Representative Yoko Komori Olson at the UN DPI/NGO conference in New York,…

This article was originally published on 22 August 2014 and updated on 26 August 2014 Image: Past President Alice Wells and President Ann Garvie at NGO/DPI A Soroptimist International delegation is attending the 65th Annual United Nations Conference for Non-Governmental Organizations this week to push for a Post-2015 development agenda that meets the needs of…

  Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon marked 500 days of action until the deadline to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at an event in New York this week.  “Action now will save lives, build a solid foundation for sustainable development far beyond 2015 and help lay the groundwork for lasting peace and human dignity,” the Secretary-General said at a…