Category: News

A little European charm, a lot of urban vibe, Montréal is always an exciting place to meet. The city is compact, safe and pedestrian friendly, so from the Palais des congrès (convention centre) to your hotel to off-site venues, everything is always within easy reach. Montrealers are renowned for being easygoing and friendly, ready to…

 Today is the international day of remembrance for the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda. MESSAGE FROM SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON ON THE 17TH COMMEMORATION OF THE GENOCIDE IN RWANDA, 7 APRIL 2011 “Today, we honour the memory of more than 800,000 people murdered in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Our thoughts are also with the survivors, left…

SI is delighted to release an update of project donations so far received*. As you will see from the figures below, Soroptimists are really committed to raising funds for international projects. All of these projects are changing the lives of women and girls. We are extremely grateful for your on going support! Project SIerra: Sierra Leone Project SIerra: A…

 95 days until Convention, 11 days until the early bird rate closes. It’s time to register! Yvonne Machuk, Chair of the Convention Committee, reported back to us about her recent visit to Montreal: We are in the final phase of convention preparation and are very excited about this opportunity to host Soroptimists from all over…

 "… Mine clearance prevents an indiscriminate weapon from causing harm and havoc long after conflicts have ended, while also creating jobs, transforming danger zones into productive land and setting societies on course for lasting security …" Secretary General Ban Ki-moon 4th April 2011 Until the Nineties, landmines or other cluster munitions were used by almost all…

SI is excited to announce the launch of our new monthly focus files! Over the course of each month, SI will provide in-depth information and cutting edge resources on a specific topic to translate the work of our international advocacy team, focussing on the work of our UN Reps, into practical tools and action ideas.…

Source: UN Women Earlier this month, UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet announced a new initiative to boost women’s roles in conflict resolution. In an address, she described how UN Women will create an international roster of gender experts who can be rapidly deployed to work on issues such as constitutional law, electoral and party…

 38 NGOs, including Soroptimist International, have joined an NGO statement assessing the draft UN declaration on Human Rights Education and Training. This is being presented at the 16th session of the Human Rights Council, which meets this week. The statement reflects discussions facilitated by the NGO working group on Human Rights Education and Learning and others,…

 Soroptimist International were honoured to be invited to take part in a Commonwealth Observance Day in the Wellington Cathedral, New Zealand, on March 14, 2011. Yvonne Simpson, President of SI South West Pacific took part. Yvonne reports: "The theme of the day was “Women, Agents of Change” and my address reflected the Soroptimist focus of empowering…

Congratulations to Hilary Ratcliffe and Anusha Santhirasthipam on their international programme appointments!  SI received a number of strong applications for the advertised posts of International Programme Director and International Assistant Programme Director.  We can now announce that Hilary Ratcliffe has been appointed as International Programme Director and Anusha Santhirasthipam as International Assistant Programme Director. Both…