Except for New York in 1952, all the International Meetings had been held in Europe up to 1955. The constant figure in attendances tended to be around eighteen countries during the years 1950 to 1956. Distances mainly influenced this number. It was understandably difficult for a country which had only Associate standing (i.e., one Club) to undertake the expenses involved. In 1956, the venue of the 7th Congress was Montreal, Canada. Again eighteen Federations were represented by Delegates and Observers. It was greatly regretted by members, and indeed by Dame Caroline Haslett herself, that she had again to be satisfied with sending greetings instead of presiding, as she was not permitted by medical advice to make the journey. Mrs. Agda Rössel, Deputy President, presided in her stead. In the unavoidable absence of Prime Minister St. Laurent, Congress was welcomed at its opening in the Mount Royal Hotel by Transport Minister Marler, and by Deputy Mayor Albert Guilbeault. A Reception by the City of Montreal followed. Next morning, July 9, the business sessions began. Almost the first subject was finance, and Miss Doris Smart, Hon. Treasurer, was able to report a surplus and that the Swiss Federation had given £168 16s. 7d. to the General Fund, this being profit from the meeting in Berne in 1955. Mrs. Phillips-Marder's Report was read for her as she was unavoidably absent. In it she referred to the International Delegates Fund recommended in Helsinki and ratified in London in 1950. She saw it as "one of the most practical expressions of Internationalism." It was for one single payment of three shillings and sixpence (or the equivalent) per capita for the purpose of paying the expenses of Delegates to the International's Meetings. The argument was that if fully subscribed, it would have been sufficient to provide in this respect for at least twenty years and have left National Federations' finances free for other purposes of their own. Some countries had subscribed to this fund, and grants had been made to several Federations but not the ideal of full expenses. In the larger National Federations, this Fund would have represented a formidable amount. As Miss Rawalt (U.S.A.) mentioned, it had not met with the approval of her Board and Executive Committee, as their Federation had faced several heavy commitments in the past. The suggestions would, on the present membership basis, mean some $85,000. In answer to a question, it transpired that apparently no Federation contributed directly from its own funds, but ten or so had collected it voluntarily by individual donation. Mrs. Phillips-Marder had boldly prepared a Budget for the coming year on the assumption of an increase in annual Dues from 10 to 15 cents per capita, and she was not disappointed. Later, when an appropriate amendment to the By-Laws had been passed, her Budget was presented and adopted. A reasoned argument was put by Miss Lisa Sergio, Chairman of the Publicity Committee, for the transfer of its functions to the office of the International President, and for an International Week Committee with one Representative from each National Federation to be constituted in its place. Also on publicity, Mrs. Dorothy Titchener, Chairman of its Subcommittee Radio-TV, urged still wider use of these media by Nationals. During the Congress, 35 members were taking part in broadcasts directed to their own countries in their own language, and not on the assumption that they were talking to a women's audience alone. A possible weakness had been corrected by the drawing up of terms of reference for all but one of the International Federation's main and Subcommittees, which would avoid overlapping. The exception was the Food and Agricultural Organisation Subcommittee. Because of the limited common ground between its very specialised interests and the International and the resignation of its Chairman, Mrs. Thorbek, due to ill-health, this Subcommittee was allowed to lapse. This was in accordance with the early established policy of the Federation to be careful to treat only matters within its competence. Membership at International level and nationally at Club level still steadily increased. At this meeting in Montreal, two new Federations, the Philippines and Mexico, were admitted. There were also three new Associates, Colombo Club of Ceylon, the Salonika Club in Greece, and the Karachi Club in Pakistan, each, it was hoped, the nucleus of a future Federation. Little was now left in the Lights Up Fund, but the scope of its work had been extensive, and future development would be assisted by the two Dr. Lena Madesin Phillips Memorial Funds. The Report by Mrs. Claridge Taylor, Administrator of the Ford Foundation Study Grant, paid warm tribute to the late Dr. Lena Madesin Phillips and her associates in this project, including Miss Lisa Sergio, who had prepared the printed version booklet form entitled, Study of the Role of Women in Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Syria 1954-1955. At the ILO, the Federation was recognised but still working for Consultative Status. At UNESCO it had achieved this and was, moreover, one of the eleven on the governing Council. Mrs. A. M. de Saint-Blanquat was Chairman of the Subcommittee. Forward-looking resolutions advised National Federations to study automation with its impact on employment and standards of living, and urging the upholding of regional Seminars as a means of improving the Status of Women. The previous pattern of workshops was followed, with the slight variation that a general theme was adopted instead of one for each Standing Committee. The theme was "The Gainfully Employed Woman of Today and Tomorrow" and it had three sub-divisions: Her Economic Opportunities, Her Responsibilities in Public Affairs, and Her Role in Human Relationships. Among the final conclusions reached were the need for Clubs to study education, to prepare a financial programme for independence on retirement, and opportunities to keep their skills fresh during childbearing years. Discussion under all three headings had ranged from specialised training giving greater confidence in evaluating matters related to public affairs, to exchanges of visits to broaden understanding, and above all loyalty, as the necessary basis for women working together in Groups. A day of outstanding surprises and new experiences began with a special train to Ottawa where Mayor Charlotte Whitton met 900 members at the station and said "The City is yours for the day." This exciting gift covered a visit to Canada's House of Parliament to be greeted by M. Rene Beaudoin (the Speaker) and the earlier elusive Prime Minister M. Louis St. Laurent. A high tea as Government guests at the Country Club, music by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Band, and a carillon concert conducted by Carillonneur Robert Donnell made a memorable day. Organisers will always find something new about an International gathering. In this case it was at the Banquet. A head table was laid in both the rooms needed to take such a large number. Principal guests ate their first courses at one and then were led by bagpipers for dessert and coffee to the other room. The Minister of National Health and Welfare, the Hon. Paul Martin, was the Guest Speaker. "Future consequences, for good or ill, of the scientific discoveries made over the past decade are literally incalculable," he said, but he was convinced that it was "not beyond the capacity of the human mind and heart to work out a way of life in which great wars would have no part." Over 306,000 "minds and hearts" were, at that time, members of the International Federation. Somewhere among them were surely those who, joining with others yet to come, would "dedicate their best efforts" in the cause of humanity. Between the Montreal Congress and the 19th Meeting of the Board of Directors, the International Federation suffered the loss of another President. Dame Caroline Haslett, D.B.E., after a long illness, passed away on January 4, 1957. "Because of the death of Dame Caroline Haslett, D.B.E., J.P., the world is considerably poorer," wrote Miss Hyndman in Widening Horizons, vol. XXVI, No. 1, 1957. "Yet in our sadness we should be as lacking in perception as in gratitude if we did not recognize our great good fortune - the good fortune of all women of the Twentieth Century - in having had a woman of her stature to pioneer and to lead in the most exciting times of change for women in the history of the world." People from all walks of life attended a Memorial Service for Dame Caroline, held in St. Martins-in-the-Field, London. Significantly, there were at least as many men as women in that crowded Church, for "she enlisted the sympathy of the men with whom she worked for the things in which she believed" -that of the equality of all people. The Rector, the Reverend Austen Williams conducted the Service. As in the case of the Jubilee Meeting in Switzerland, this history turns to Widening Horizons, vol. XXVII, No. 2-3, 1958, for the official record of proceedings at the Board Meeting in Mannheim, Germany, May 24-29, 1958. Twenty countries were represented. Two Associates appeared for the first time in the persons of Mrs. Maimouna S. Hamid of the Karachi Club, Pakistan, and Mrs. Schoeman of the Windhoek Club (South West Africa). The President of the German Federation, Dr. Gisela Graeff, giving the welcome in the Hotel Mannheimer Hof, said it was the first time in many years that an International group of women had met in Germany. The City of Mannheim had shown great understanding of the importance of the event and had supported the German Federation in every respect. The newly elected International President, Miss Margaret Hyndman, Q.C., welcomed the Hostess Federation "into the International's widespread family." Miss Doris Smart, Honorary Treasurer, thanked the German Federation and the City of Mannheim for their hospitality. At the first business session the President presided. She asked members to rise and stand in silent tribute to Dame Caroline Haslett. The Report of the Legislation Committee presented by Lady Littlewood brought forth the comment that more answers were needed to questionnaires on the political rights of women. They had the right to vote in 70 countries but only 29 of their governments had signed and ratified the U.N. Convention on the Political Rights of Women. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was discussed by the Study Group. To make it a workable project, the Rights were broadly classified under four headings: (1) Social and Cultural (2) Political (3) Economic (4) Legal and Civil Resolutions were passed relevant to the points raised and urging Federations to supply more information when asked on specific questions so that the International could contribute more effectively when opportunity arose, particularly with the Commission on the Status of Women, the holding of policy-making posts, discrimination, and continuing cooperation with UNICEF. Member Federations were asked to use their influence in promotion of action to correct the shortage of schools, to obtain the inclusion of "marital or civil status" in Article I of the Draft Convention on Discrimination in the Field of Employment, and Occupation by the ILO. Bringing some of the problems right into the home camp, a resolution was tabled bearing in mind the foregoing principles of the Declaration and calling upon each Federation to examine their own constitutions and practices regarding them. They were especially urged to observe the 10th Anniversary in 1958 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights itself. Miss Lisa Sergio gave a forceful summing up in which she said there was a tendency to regard The Declaration as a mere document. "It is anything but this. It is dynamic. It is an intrinsic part of our hourly living. It has its roots at the deepest level of society which is the family. To make this clear to all whom you can reach is one of the grave obligations undertaken by our Federation to the U.N. which has given us the privilege of acting as one of its advisers." Earlier in the deliberation, Miss Sergio had told members of a visit she had made recently to the Middle East. In the five countries covered in the Study, she said, there were a great number of women not professionally trained but doing professional jobs such as running hospitals, clinics, homes for the aged, and so on. They were highly educated women of the upper class but not membership material for the Federation. The Government in each of these countries was offering great help to these volunteer bodies while trying to educate and train enough younger women to carry on the work done largely on a philanthropic basis. She thought that if some of the professionally trained B. & P. members could volunteer to visit these Arab countries in a spirit of fellowship, offering to share their knowledge and experience while adjusting it to local conditions and needs, their presence would help the course of fast growing social programmes. The Federation could eventually reap membership results along with the satisfaction of having contributed to standards raised chiefly through the efforts of women. At this time, the Federation might be forgiven a feeling of pride. One of its Vice-Presidents had been appointed as a permanent delegate to U.N. by her country, Sweden, the first woman in U.N. history to be so placed. It was Mrs. Agda Rössel whose name has appeared many times in these pages. The idea of the Federation adopting refugee children had originated with Mrs. Rössel, and they had just lately been asked by the U.N. Refugee office in Austria to adopt a third girl. Members agreed to this after hearing the report by Miss Elisabeth Feller, Trustee for the Federation's Hungarian and Other Refugee Relief Funds. The Federation's U.N. Fellowship, of which six had already been awarded, was withheld in 1958. In Miss Helen Irwin's report it was stated that none of the eleven applications received had met the committee's requirements. Not all the time was spent in Mannheim. When social pleasures had their turn, they included a tour to Heidelberg to see its beauty and be guest of the City Government there and to Weinheim for visits to factories. The official Banquet given by the City of Mannheim was a "culinary treat" accompanied by an informality which had abolished speeches save for the Lord Mayor's trilingual toast, and Mme. de Saint-Blanquat's fluent response for the Federation also in English, French, and German. It had also been Mme. de Saint-Blanquat's privilege to record as Chairman of the Federation's UNESCO Subcommittee that the Federation had received 53 votes out of a possible 57 as a candidate for another two year term on the Standing Committee, which plans future work for Nongovernmental Organisations. This meant the Federation's voice would still be heard on matters dealing with education, science, and culture. Everyone left Mannheim stimulated and with much to think about. Whether it was hearing how each Member Federation dealt with such vexing domestic questions as getting their own memberships to overcome difficulties in the time factor in handling questionnaires, or on the wider issues of expansion and increased appreciation of the Federation's ideals, all took away with them a greater understanding of what had still to be done. By the time of the 8th International Federation Congress, Mrs. Agda Rössel, now Her Excellency, had been appointed as Ambassador Plenipotentiary to the United Nations and Head of the Permanent Delegation of Sweden at the United Nations. Great Britain had admitted women to the House of Lords; Norway had ratified the ILO Convention on equal pay; and Canada had a woman Cabinet Minister. All this was part of many signs of success. For the third time, the International was meeting in Paris. Indications were many indeed that women had moved a long way since the first time in 1936 or even the second in 1947. No one organisation could claim the credit, but there could be little doubt that the International Federation of Business and Professional Women had contributed in great measure to the advancement which had taken place. As a result of the recommendation made during the Montreal Congress in 1956 to the Secretary General of the United Nations that seminars be held as a means of promoting improvement in the Status of Women, two seminars were organised, one in Bangkok, Thailand, at which the Federation was represented by Miss Jean Randall of Australia, and the other in Bogota, Colombia. In the previous three years, hundreds of the Federation's members in many countries had been honoured for distinguished service in their own communities. Some had been at the top of their careers when they joined the B. & P. W.; there was evidence that others had been encouraged and given self-confidence through the widening of their horizons. Perhaps some of the inspirational fire of the pioneering days was beginning to change into a colder, more practical flame, and therefore becoming more acceptable to more people. Perhaps it was simply that experience was acting like a magnet and drawing success towards it. Could anything be deduced from the fact that members of the Diplomatic Corps were at the opening meeting instead of only sharing the delights of the closing Banquet, as previously? The opening Ceremony was held in the Great Hall of the Sorbonne on July 20,1959, with Miss Margaret Hyndman, Q.C., presiding in her third year of office as President. The French Founder President, Mme. Marie Laudner, evoked the memory of Dr. Lena Madesin Phillips before the sitting President, Dr. Irene Bernard, welcomed the gathering. Building Bridges Between Peoples First to speak was Mon. Jean Thomas, Acting Director-General of UNESCO, which had, he said, always been aware that it could not fulfill its difficult task without the constant support of organisations such as the International Federation. The theme chosen for this Congress was "Building Bridges Between Peoples," one which meant the elimination of lack of understanding, of suspicion, fear and ignorance, from which less developed countries suffered the most. This theme was pursued throughout sessions of the Study Groups, which met for two hours daily during the next three days. Three "pillars" of such bridging were 1) Social and Educational, 2) Economic, and 3) Political. The discussions appear to have been very much an underlining of those which took place at Mannheim. The need for awakening women to the urgency of qualifying for and then assuming positions of responsibility, of support, and loyalty from other women, of a regard for politics as the science of government, and of their need to be far more informed as citizens in local and national councils and legislatures, was foremost. A point which was strongly but inconclusively argued was whether men had a greater urge for power than women. A special Session was devoted to the changing position of women in Asian and Middle Eastern countries. Under the Chairmanship of Judge Sarah T. Hughes, a panel of experts reviewed the position and gave answers to questions, some of which must surely have been eye-openers to those members from the Western hemisphere, who were unaware of the extent of their emergence from "sequestered" lives, supposedly without rights. As Miss Freda Gwilliam, O.B.E., said, telling how women in Fiji had raised enough money in three weeks to send a representative to a world conference in Tokyo, "Today there is an interesting paradox, with young countries showing the way to some of the old ones." From time to time, questionnaires circulated through the United Nations Committee are seemingly repetitive. In answer to a question by Miss Wood of Australia, the Federation's Technical Adviser on U.N. matters, Mrs. Esther Hymer, pointed out that there were different bodies of the U.N. requesting information, and while some questions might cover the same general area, they deal with different aspects. Statistical information can be easily obtained by governmental departments. Miss Tomlinson emphasised that what was expected from National Federations was their own experience. The time factor seemed an insoluble problem in which the Federation itself was helpless. Miss Hyndman completed her term of office as President. For the first time, there were two candidates for the succession. When the vote was taken, Miss Elisabeth Feller of Switzerland was elected. Miss Doris Smart (United Kingdom), formerly Honorary Treasurer became Honorary Secretary, and Mrs. Paula Van Gorp (Belgium), Honorary Treasurer, both elected unopposed. Increased interest through the growth of membership at national and international level was reflected in the number of resolutions which had been submitted. There were 34, some of which the Resolutions Committee were able to present in a coordinated form or properly pass on to the Executive Committee. Some interesting figures were given from a statistical survey. The constitution requires a 75% membership for the fully affiliated to be "gainfully employed." The approximate percentages of those seventeen countries which replied were: 1 Federation had 95-100% 2 Associate members had 95-100% 9 Federations had 85-94% 3 Federations had 76-84% 1 Federation had 60% 1 Associate member had 30% Five countries had not answered this question. Membership categories showed a high overall percentage of business directors and other office workers, civil servants, architects and engineers, teachers, retail trade, office managers, social workers, nurses and medical services, artists, actresses, lawyers, and agriculturists. Special projects carried out reflected the main purposes of the Federation and subjects which National Federations had studied in connection with the work of those specialised agencies of U.N. on which the Federation was represented. One of the questions the Employment Conditions Committee was asking, reported Mrs. Svea Starrin-Reindahl, its Chairman, was how to get more women - not least young women and girls - more interested and active in what was being done on their behalf. How indeed? At least the Federation was making a serious effort to explain what was going on. Along with this seriousness came also lighter moments for enjoyment of social events. The Hostess Federation put on a Fashion Show the night members arrived. As the days went by, the City of Paris gave a Reception at the Hotel de Ville, at which the first Vice-President of the Municipal Council bestowed medals and citations to commemorate the occasion on Miss Margaret Hyndman (President), Judge Sarah T. Hughes (First Vice-President), and Miss Bergliot Lie (Second Vice-President). The French Federation gave a concert by distinguished artists of the Paris Club, one of whom, Mlle. Lili Bienvenu, played one of her own compositions. One night was filled by a visit to the Opera to see Gisele and the Firebird. Quite out of the ordinary was the Banquet held in "the stables" of the Chateau de Chantilly, through the kindness of l'Institut de France. Afterwards the story of Chantilly was told in Son et Lumiere in the gardens surrounding the Castle. Not all the dreams of the new plan worked out in 1947 had come true. "Now we are faced with a new challenge ... to build bridges for peace ... joining hands with men in our countries," was Miss Hyndman's concluding remark.