The dream of peace and social justice will come to pass. It matters little whether you or I live to see that day. It is only important that each of us struggle towards it. And so, until we reach that future, Let us keep our foot on the firing line.                                             Dr. Lena Madesin Phillips        Theme for Triennium: Why Not a Woman? Tuulikki Juusela of Finland was reelected as President of the International Federation at the Eighteenth International Congress (1987) at The Hague, Netherlands. She promised to strive to put into effect those plans which had been agreed on at Congress 1987 and to continue to work hard on behalf of the aims of the International Federation while keeping in mind the words of Robert Louis Stevenson: To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive, and the true success is the labor. The biennium's theme "Why Not a Woman?" was chosen to encourage women to seek positions that reflected their capabilities. Five means of addressing the theme were suggested: introduce young women to nontraditional occupations and fields; help provide opportunities for entrepreneurship and changes in careers through BPW networks; become role models and mentors for other women; support women in politics and in positions of economic and legislative influence; and encourage communication and leadership training. Tuulikki Juusela, in the first President's Message of her second term, said, "As women we have to ask ourselves daily - Why not a woman? Finding the ways that will lead men and women to the construction and consolidation of a society tomorrow where everybody has equal opportunities to work and live together in dignity is our goal." Let us learn together to: Think positive Act positive Be Positive Women - BPW! VAN DER ENT BEQUEST With the death of Marie Theodora Cornelia van der Ent (Netherlands) in 1988, the BPW Netherlands and the International Federation lost a devoted life¬long member. She had served as President of BPW Netherlands and as Vice President of the International Federation. A Certificate of Appreciation had been awarded to her at Congress in 1987 for "outstanding service to IFBPW." On the occasion of the Sixteenth International Congress (1983), she and her sister had donated $15,000 to set up a fund to support economic activity for women. The expenses of publication of the first IFBPW Trade Directory were underwritten by this fund called the van der Ent Economic Project Fund. Upon her death, Maria Th. C. van der Ent bequeathed one-third of her estate to be divided between her beloved BPW Netherlands and IFBPW. Accepting the bequest, President Juusela recalled M. Th. C. van der Ent's favorite quote, "There is no right without duties, no freedom without discipline."* * An article in the IFBPW magazine Widening Horizons (1970, 39:2, p.13) attributes this quote to former IFBPW Vice PResident Corrie van den Bos, Founder President of the South African Federation (1948). BADGE OF HONOR Rosmarie Michel (Switzerland), Immediate Past International President, and Willie van Iersel (Netherlands), Finance Officer, introduced a new award at Congress in 1989 called the Badge of Honor. It was IFBPW's highest award and was to be presented at International Congresses to an individual who had made a very special contribution to IFBPW. The first individual to be awarded the Badge of Honor was Esther Hymer (USA) for over forty-five years of continuous outstanding service to IFBPW. Her association with IFBPW had begun in the early 1940s when Dr. Lena Madesin Phillips, International President at the time, invited her to work at International Headquarters in New York City. Esther Hymer and Margaret Hickey (USA), International's first Chairperson of the International Relations Committee (precursor to the UN Committee), attended the signing ceremony of the United Nations Charter in San Francisco in 1945.* A few years later, Esther Hymer's efforts contributed to the selection of IFBPW as one of the first international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) ever to be granted consultative status at the United Nations. Esther Hymer had served the International Federation over the years as Chairperson of the United Nations Committee and was currently the IFBPW Representative to the UN in New York. She had been awarded an Honorary Membership in 1985. *Note: Esther Hymer represented the International Federation at the fiftieth anniversary of this occasion in San Francisco in June 1995. INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS NEWS After more than four years at International Headquarters, Tamara Martinez announced her decision to leave her position as General Secretary in April 1988. She said, "It has been my privilege to work with outstanding women from all walks of life in an organization that is truly a vital force for women." President Juusela thanked Tamara Martinez for "all the work she had done for the International Federation." Marianne Haslegrave, formerly employed by International Planned Parenthood Federation in London as consultant on Women and Development and NGOs, was hired for the position and officially began work as the new General Secretary in August 1988. Carol Fells, IFBPW's accountant, was presented with a retirement gift at Congress in 1989 in appreciation of eighteen years of dedicated service (1971-1989). During the biennium, she had been responsible for both finding and arranging the purchase of the new International Headquarters, Studio 16 in the Cloisters Business Centre, London. Moving had been necessary due to redevelopment in the area of the previous address. President Juusela stated that "we [IFBPW] were most fortunate in being able to sell the lease at Buchanan House which funded the purchase of the new, more spacious International Headquarters." Members contributed to the "New Image Fund" to be used for purchase of new office equipment. The staff moved into the new premises in June 1988. IFBPW REGIONS AFRICA: Beth Mugo (Kenya), Regional Coordinator Eight newsletters and reports were sent by the Regional Coordinator to all affiliates in the African Region. An African Sub Regional Committee was established. The African Region organized the All Africa Women's Non-governmental Organization Leaders' Workshop, the seventh All Africa regional meeting since 1969, which was hosted by BPW Ghana in January 1989. Participants came from ten countries and included the International Federation's Second Vice President, Esther Ocloo (Ghana) and Honorary Secretary, Jess Sanders (Zimbabwe) as well as the Regional Coordinators from Africa and North America. The Workshop was funded by UNIFEM, UNDP, UK Overseas Development Agency and the Commonwealth Foundation (UK) with the theme "Why Not A Woman?" Representatives from UNIFEM, UNDP, FAO and the Environmental Protection Agency were featured speakers. There were exhibits of members' manufactured products and produce in addition to the main exhibit on food processing. One member from each country presented a paper on food preservation and/or food processing. A day was spent at Nkulenu Industries Ltd., Accra, Ghana - a company specializing in bottling, canning and packing Ghanaian foods, owned by International Federation's Second Vice President, Esther Ocloo. During the biennium, the African Region was represented at regional meetings of the ILO and UNICEF. The Coordinator attended the founding meeting of the African Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) on behalf of IFBPW in 1988. The Network was established to implement the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women in the region. ASIA and the PACIFIC: Alix Haywood (New Zealand), Regional Coordinator The Regional Coordinator stated that ''because her region covered four subcontinents, there was no natural or ethnic awareness of regionalism [among BPW members of the Asia and Pacific Region]." Correspondence had been the primary means of communication. A regional newsletter was issued six times per year suggesting projects to complement special programs of the United Nations. Special attention was given to literacy projects in support of International Literacy Year 1990. EUROPE: Livia Ricci (Italy), Regional Coordinator The Fifth European Regional Congress was attended by more than 200 participants including Tuulikki Juusela, International President, and Willie van Iersel (Netherlands), International Finance Officer. It was held in Stockholm, Sweden, in June 1988 with the theme, "Women, A Resource in Economy and Leadership." Chafika Sellami-Meslem, Director of the Branch for the Advancement of Women, United Nations Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs, spoke to the Congress of "contending with a kind of exhaustion based on exhilaration in the implementation phase [of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women]." She said that "many people - women and men alike would like to turn the advancement of women over to the forces of history and the 'magic of the marketplace,' but when you start with a situation of inequality, all the market does is perpetuate inequality. To overcome inequality, you must consciously act to do so." During the biennium the European Coordinating Committee conducted surveys in the Region on the subjects of women and the economy, and women and technology. The European Region maintained close links with the Council of Europe and with the Commission of the European Communities. Regionalism had been encouraged through publication of a membership directory, adoption of a unified theme "Here is Europe" and creation of a specially designed scarf and BPW Europe badge. LATIN AMERICA and the Spanish-speaking countries of the WEST INDIES: Isabel de Peralta (Costa Rica), Regional Coordinator During the biennium, the Regional Coordinator visited Argentina, Brazil and Panama. A Regional Seminar, with six countries represented, was held in San Luis Potrero de Funes, Argentina. A proposal to promote the integration of subregions was approved with the ultimate goal being the integration of the whole of Latin America. Plans to strengthen relations in the subregion comprised of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay were underway. NORTH AMERICA and the non Spanish-speaking countries of the WEST INDIES: Anne Steinbeck (USA), Regional Coordinator Anne Steinbeck reported visiting the Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada and the USA during the biennium. A Regional Conference in June 1988 had been hosted by BPW /USA (North Carolina) with emphasis on implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women. In addition to members from the North American Region, a Zambian member representing the African Region attended the conference. In turn, Anne Steinbeck represented the North American Region in 1989 at the African regional conference "All Africa Women's Non-governmental Organization Leaders' Workshop." The resultant sharing of cultural and educational experiences between members of different continents had been invaluable. MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE Yvette Swan (Bermuda), Membership Committee Chairperson, and her committee had launched a Membership Campaign which culminated with the presentation at Congress in 1989 of Certificates of Recognition to affiliates showing an increase in membership during the biennium. Six women from six different countries had joined during the biennium as Individual Associate Members (IAM) - a new category of membership. The Chairperson drew attention to the importance of this membership category as "IAMs can form the nucleus of an Associate Club in countries where no affiliate exists." In fact, IFBPW's first Individual Associate Member, Gladys M. Jusu-Sheriff of Sierra Leone in West Africa, helped establish the Freetown BPW Club. Chairperson Swan explained that "many developing countries encountered problems in paying dues because of problems with foreign currency exchange." Twinning arrangements with a country without this difficulty had already been established and offered a solution to the problem. "Because of currency restrictions in 1989, it was necessary for an affiliate to sponsor the first Individual Associate Member from Ethiopia, Jember Teferra; the affiliate sponsor was the Annapolis Network BPW Organization of Maryland, USA., according to Membership Committee Chairperson Swan. There were affiliates in 68 countries in 1989, a gain of four countries since 1987. Including the countries where individual associate members lived, IFBPW now had representatives in 74 countries. A new category of membership was created at the 1989 Congress called ''Members at Large" and defined as "any business or professional person who, because of location and/ or travel commitments, is unable to become a member of an affiliated Federation or Associate Club." HONORARY TREASURER/FINANCE COMMITTEE Julia Arri (USA), Honorary Treasurer, told Congress that IFBPW had suffered through a difficult financial situation during the past two years which was aggravated by fluctuations in currency exchange rates and late payment of dues. She thanked Carol Fells, IFBPW's accountant, for coordinating the purchase of the new premises for International Headquarters in addition to performing her normal accounting duties. Finance Officer, Willy van Iersel (Netherlands), reported that IFBPW had shown deficits each of the last two years making it necessary to draw from the Accumulated Fund to meet financial commitments. She explained that the Fund had been established during the 1977-1980 triennium with the goal of maintaining the equivalent of one year's expenditure to be used in the event of unforeseen expenses. During the 1987-1989 biennium the Accumulated Fund had been used to pay $60,000 for unforeseen expenses associated with the purchase of the new premises for International Headquarters as well as to cover day-to-day operating costs of the International Federation. The Finance Officer reported that the Accumulated Fund had decreased by more than fifty per cent during the biennium. The number of issues of the IFBPW Circular and magazine, Widening Horizons, had been reduced to cut costs. Therefore, the Committee had no choice but to recommend a dues increase. Congress delegates approved the recommendation and voted to raise dues from $2.40 per member to $3.00 as of April 1, 1991. Ursula Schulthess (Switzerland), Chairperson of the "Friends of IFBPW" Committee (Ad Hoc), reported that the number of "Friends" had shown steady growth during the biennium. "Friends" were members who supported IFBPW financially with a sum of $100 or more per year over a period of at least two years. It was announced at Congress in 1989 that the annual subscription for "Friends" would rise to $150 per year. PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE This newly formed Committee inherited some tasks from the former Publications Committee including supervision of the International's magazine, Widening Horizons. In addition, the Committee was responsible for all IFBPW publicity. There had been continuous review of methods to improve the International's magazine during the biennium. The number of issues per year was reduced from four to three in 1989 for financial reasons. However, the length of the magazine had been increased from sixteen to twenty pages. At Congress in 1989 a Widening Horizons Ad Hoc Committee was established to examine how to increase the magazine's appeal to members, improve circulation, and make it financially self-supporting. In 1988 Debbie Scholes retired after four years as editor. Amanda Hewett, newly appointed Executive Assistant at International Headquarters, then became editor. Ulla-Liza Blom (Sweden), Public Relations Chairperson, reported that public relations work had been geared to meeting the differing needs of the countries affiliated with the International Federation. During the biennium the Committee had developed a new publicity leaflet, press kits and basic guidelines for public relations including suggestions for membership recruitment and retention. The Chairperson led an informative Public Relations Committee Workshop for the membership at Congress in 1989. AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE The Agriculture Committee, chaired by Tamara Sanchez-Pena (Bolivia), submitted a resolution to Congress which was approved that "urged Affiliates to educate and encourage women in food production and food preservation at domestic and commercial levels and to seek the commitment of their government and of donor agencies to flexible policies, financial support and credit facilities for women in agriculture." BUSINESS, TRADE AND MARKETING COMMITTEE (AD HOC) This new Ad Hoc Committee, established in 1988, was named the Business, Trade and Marketing Committee. One of its main purposes was the coordination of assistance to women in small and medium-sized businesses in the developing countries. Willie van Iersel (Netherlands), International Federation's Finance Officer, was the Chairperson, and Lucile Dunham (USA) and Esther Ocloo (Ghana), International Federation's Second Vice President, served as advisers. Regional Coordinators were asked to investigate the possibility of Regional Trade Presentations and encouraged to maintain close liaison with Willy van Iersel who was appointed Liaison Officer on Trade and Commerce between CBI and IFBPW Regions for the biennium. Willy van Iersel chaired a panel discussion at the 1989 Congress on "Enterprising Women in Marketing and Exporting." The four panelists were Dick de Man from the Dutch Government Agency for the promotion of imports from developing countries (CBI), Trade Promotions Section (Netherlands); Saara Kehusmaa-Pekonen, Director of the Programme for Development Cooperation at the Helsinki School of Economics (PRODEC) in Finland; Michaela Walsh, Director of Women's World Banking (WWB); and Sheryl Swed, Director of the Small Business Administration of the United States Government. Dick de Man of CBI stated that "exporting was one possibility for helping women become economically independent in developing countries." Since its founding in 1971, CBI's main objective was to "assist exporters in developing countries in the expansion of exports to Western Europe." Saara Kehusmaa-Pekonen of PRODEC told Congress that "investing in human resources [people] gave a better rate of return in the long run than any other type of investment." Since its founding in 1969, PRODEC had been funded by Finnish development funds and specialized in the training sector, with special emphasis on the advancement of women and their training. In 1988 PRODEC introduced special courses for women entrepreneurs. Michaela Walsh of Women's World Banking reported that since 1985 the capital base for WWB had expanded from $1.6 to $6 million, and WWB had made 8,000 loans to more than 45,000 women with total value of $8 million. With credit secured by WWB, many women had been able to borrow money from commercial banks that had never previously made loans to women. Access to credit through WWB was a lifeline for many women. Sheryl Swed of the USA Small Business Administration said that "small business could no longer assume that local markets would be insulated from international trade. There were opportunities open to small business owners but it took tenacity and energy." She concluded by saying, "The International Federation had a unique opportunity to foster cooperation and understanding through international trade." A three-day Congress workshop on "Business, Trade and Exporting" was made possible through generous financial support of CBI. Four experts from CBI served as workshop leaders. Thirty-five women from twelve developing countries participated. The Committee Chairperson, Willy van Iersel, coordinated the workshop and reported that "in addition to providing expertise on a broad range of issues and taking into account the specific needs of the participants, CBI leaders had given practical advice on samples brought by individual participants for evaluation and commented on project proposals." A parallel business and trade Congress workshop "Ideas for Exchange of Goods and Services to Create Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs" was directed primarily toward women from developed countries. It was led by Lucile Dunham (USA), IFBPW Small Business Adviser and Adviser to the Business, Trade and Marketing Committee. Daisy de Wende (Bolivia), Trade Directory Adviser, reminded members in her report that the first IFBPW Trade Directory, a business index of members, had been made available at Congress 1985. It was a major achievement of the Trade and Commerce Committee (Ad Hoc) which she chaired from 1983-1987. She was pleased to report that positive reaction had enabled the publication of a new 1989 edition. It was published in English, French and Spanish. PRODEC-IMPORT (the Finnish Import Promotion Office for Products from Developing Countries) had printed the Trade Directory free of charge. EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL COMMITTEE Angelica Biacca Branca (Italy), Educational and Cultural Committee Chairperson, said that her Committee's plan of action for the biennium had been to gather information from affiliates on a number of relevant themes: the influence of how females are portrayed in schoolbooks, education and reentering the work force, surrogate mothers, and AIDS prevention. The Chairperson described activities of affiliates in Pakistan and Italy. In 1988 the Kathore Club of BPW Pakistan set up a Literacy Committee which established three centers where adult literacy skills were taught. BPW Italy hosted a two-day international musical "Meeting of Friendship and Peace among Peoples" in 1989. All musicians performed an instrumental or singing program. BPW Italy included Education in Arts and Music as an important subcategory within its Educational and Cultural Committee. EMPLOYMENT COMMITTEE/ILO M. Alba Iriarte de Lofiego (Argentina), Chairperson of the Employment Committee (formerly called the Employment Conditions Committee), listed the two basic topics which concerned the Committee during the biennium - women's pay and unemployment. According to a global analysis, there had been a marked deterioration of employment conditions of women worldwide during 1988 and 1989, especially in the developing countries. A BPW member from the developing country of Gambia wrote an article for the March 1988 issue of Widening Horizons describing employment conditions in her country. She said, "Women are tied to the land to a great extent, being the major food producers mainly of rice and vegetables raised for consumption by their families. If rice is left over, it is used to buy cooking utensils and clothing. By contrast, the men are engaged in producing crops for cash and export. As a result of the double burden of sole responsibility for growing food for the family and household tasks, a Gambian woman usually begins work at 6 A.M. and ends work at 10 EM. Each day she cooks, cleans, cares for the children, the elderly and the sick, and walks long distances for water and firewood as well as farming the land." On the other hand she said, ''Men meet each day in the village 'Bantaba' (a public gathering place) and are remunerated in cash for their work. Women have no such break from work and their work is largely unremunerated. Health care is so poor that average life expectancy is forty in Gambia as compared to seventy-five in Europe. Most marriages are arranged by the family, and material gifts and a dowry are exchanged for the bride." She believes that "this exchange lays the foundation for the subjugation of the woman by the man. Women are bound by endless rules to obey and serve men and have very limited rights." She concluded the article by saying that "active participation of women in the mainstream of collective production is essential to break the chains of their economic dependence on men and become more confident of their own strength." Angela Butler (Switzerland), ILO Representative, reported that the participation rate of women in national delegations accredited to the International Labor Conference held in 1989 was more than ten per cent. Among the 1,793 representatives of government, employers' and workers' groups, 214 were women (Widening Horizons, 59:3, p.6). Forty-one years previously, the cover of the 1948 November /December issue of Widening Horizons had proclaimed the news that L.E. Eberling (USA) had attended the Thirty-First Session of the ILO Conference in 1948 as the first woman ever selected as a representative of employers. The International Labor Organization was founded in 1919 so it had taken twenty-nine years for that to happen. According to Angela Butler, ten per cent was still "deplorably low." She advised affiliates to insist that women were adequately represented in the future since the study and evaluation of the employment conditions of women, often followed by recommendations, constituted a very important aspect of the ILO's work. Of particular interest to women at the 1989 Conference were the changes under consideration regarding the ILO Night Work Convention (No. 89) for Women initially adopted in 1919. Plans were "to change the Convention in order to regulate the terms and conditions of night work concerning employment of men as well as women while retaining some 'protective' clauses to cover special circumstances pertaining to women." During the biennium, BPW Kenya had organized a series of Small Business Entrepreneurs' Seminars for women funded by the International Labor Organization's program called "Improve your Business." Elizabeth Tsuma of Mombasa, Kenya, credited attendance at the seminars as "a turning point in her life" because she "accepted one of the challenges of the seminar, that women must expand their businesses and not settle for marginal activities." She learned business management skills and developed the confidence to expand her dressmaking business beyond the barely marginal operation that it had been (Widening Horizons, 1989, 59:2 p. 15). HEALTH COMMITTEE The priority themes of the Health Committee during the biennium, according to Chairperson Sirkka Lehto (Finland), were the World Health Organization's program - "Health for All by the Year 2000," AIDS education, and planned parenthood. Following the World Health Organization's World AIDS Summit attended by 148 Member States of the United Nations, it was announced that the first World AIDS Day would be on December 1, 1988. All affiliates were asked "to disseminate information on the AIDS crisis to their members and to highlight the range and scope of the fight already underway against AIDS." Anne Marie Kimball, a representative of WHO, spoke to Congress in 1989 about the WHO Global Program on AIDS. She told members that cooperation of NGOs such as IFBPW, private organizations and every individual was needed in order for the fight against AIDS to be successful. The Chairperson noted that working toward consultative status with the World Health Organization would continue in the next biennium. At Congress, Workshops were held on a variety of health issues: the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women as it relates to reproductive rights, maternity and other issues; the Safe Motherhood Initiative (SMI); the Child Survival Program; and women, children and AIDS. LEGISLATION COMMITTEE Legislation Committee Chairperson, Minnie McNeal-Kenny (USA), reported that her Committee had drafted position papers, conducted surveys and established liaisons with other national and international women's organizations. Some subjects on the Committee's agenda during the biennium were the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), female heads of households/single mothers and their children, women in positions of authority, women offenders, and women victims of crimes. The Chairperson noted that, although governments of most affiliates had ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), discrimination against women still existed. Complex issues such as adolescent pregnancy, dependent care, education, employment and marriage laws related to female heads of households/single mothers and their children. Statistics showed that an increasing number of women were becoming politically active, but women still remained grossly underrepresented in parliaments and high levels of government. The Committee recommended that affiliates continue monitoring the number of women in politics and their impact on legislation and encouraged affiliates to report their findings. A draft resolution to amend the United Nations' Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners was prepared by the Legislation Committee in relation to women offenders. Over the course of many years, BPW UK made a significant impact on its nation's laws by introducing legislation favorable to women and acting as a pressure group for passage of that legislation. UK Federation Vice President Jean Skinner addressed the UK's Golden Jubilee Conference in 1988 in relation to a particularly significant legislative victory saying, "There are plenty of problems facing women in business, one of the most common being taxation. March 15, 1988, will surely go down in history as victory day for women because it was on that day that the government announced that, as of 1990, women would be able to file their own tax returns, claim their own allowances and take financial responsibility for their own affairs. We couldn't have a better indication of how worthwhile it is for women to join together to fight these battles. It may take years, but together we can make a difference!" PROJECTS COMMITTEE The Chairperson of the Projects Committee, Khorshedi Alam (Bangladesh), reported that correspondence between her Committee and INSTRAW and CBI had been ongoing during the biennium. The President of the Marie Schei Association had offered assistance to small projects run by BPW members. BPW Bangladesh had provided food, clothing, drinking water and low cost shelter to the victims of floods and tornadoes that had devastated the country. BPW Ireland sponsored a course in literacy and vocational skills for women. BPW Panama organized projects to highlight and help improve the status of women. PROJECT FIVE-O MEXICO Silvia Salazar Salazar (Mexico) was pleased to report that since the last Congress in 1987, construction of the School of Nursing ("Escuela de Enfermeria") in the city of La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico, had begun in August 1988 and was seventy-five per cent completed in August 1989. She said that "thanks to our International President, Tuulikki Juusela, Project Five-O Mexico was now a reality." On July 30, 1988, the foundation stone of the School of Nursing was laid by the International President accompanied by the First Vice President, Yvette Swan (Bermuda). President Juusela also planted tree on the site to commemorate the occasion and expressed her appreciation, on behalf of IFBPW, to Silvia Salazar Salazar for her outstanding work as Project Coordinator, to the Mexican Federation and its President, Olga M. Ramirez de Rodriguez, and to members of the La Paz Club for enormous financial, organizational and physical support of this international project. Donations totaled $85,000 as of August 1989. At the 1989 Congress, President Juusela introduced Molly MacLaren and Kathleen Bond, both from BPW UK, and thanked them for their efforts in raising more than $2,000 for Project Five-O Mexico by selling stickers, badges and other items to members attending Congress. INTERNATIONAL AID FUND The Projects Committee was responsible for running the International Gift Shop at Congress in 1989 and reported that proceeds totaled $8,034. The decision was made to deposit one half of the proceeds into the International Aid Fund and the other half into the Fund for Young BPW (Young Career Women). These funds provided financial assistance to members so that they could attend Congress. UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE Esther Ocloo (Ghana), UN Committee Chairperson and Second Vice President, summarized the two main objectives of her committee: encourage implementation of the "Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women" and strengthen communication between members and the UN Committee. The Committee published eleven UN Bulletins and twelve UN Notes (shortened versions of the Bulletin) during the biennium. The UN Chairperson thanked Yvonne Crampin, IFBPW's UN Administrator, for her work in publicizing reports sent to her from all UN Representatives during the biennium and also acting as liaison between the UN and IFBPW in gathering information from affiliates on implementation of the "Forward-looking Strategies" and the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Yvonne Cramp in served as UN Administrator from 1986 to 1988. Twelve UN Representatives shared the work of representing the International Federation at UN agencies, commissions, and programmes such as CEDAW, CONGO, CSDHA, CSW, ECA, ECE, ECLAC, ECOSOC, ECWA, ESCAP, ILO, INSTRAW, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNIDO, UNEP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNIFEM, WHO, the Commission on Human Rights and the General Assembly. Beginning in 1988, IFBPW appointed and sent Representatives to meetings of the UN Regional Economic Commissions. During the biennium, the UN Representatives reported to the membership on many subjects: aging, agriculture, development, economics, education, employment, entrepreneurship, environment, the family, health (AIDS, primary health care, traditional practices), human rights, literacy, peace, women in policy-making positions, remuneration for work, rights of the child, rural women, shelter, technology, and violence. Referring to the celebration of the tenth anniversary (1987) of the United Nations Development Fund for Women, Esther Ocloo wrote that "people marvel at the impact of UNIFEM in its relatively short span of life." She paid tribute to Margaret Snyder, its architect and first Director (1977-1989), whom she described as being "sensitive to the poorest of the poor, dedicated, sincere and humble (Widening Horizons, 59:1 p. 9)." Margaret Snyder was a frequent speaker, panelist and resource consultant at International Congresses. In 1988, BPW member Claire Fulcher (USA), IFBPW Representative to the UN in New York, was elected convenor of the Committee of NGOs on UNIFEM, and, in the same year, another BPW member, Helvi Sipila (Finland), was elected the first Chairperson of the World Federation of National Committees for UNIFEM. The International Federation issued or collaborated on eighteen statements presented to the Thirty-Second Session of the Commission on the Status of Women in 1988. Five representatives of IFBPW, including President Juusela, attended the Session. The President emphasized that "the importance of this Commission could not be overstated as it was the United Nations body responsible for the promotion and monitoring of the "Forward-looking Strategies" and oversaw the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women." In turn, she said, "IFBPW, as a non-governmental agency (NGO) in consultative status, assisted the Commission by monitoring actions of governments and acting as an external pressure group through lobbying, disseminating information to members, and collecting information about the working conditions of women." A UN Committee resolution was approved by Congress delegates in 1989 that urged affiliates to establish training programs to upgrade women's skills within their professions, assist members in securing credit for establishing their own businesses and in preparing for employment in a rapidly changing market place. This resolution was based on the belief that increased participation of women in economic life was necessary in order to implement the "Forward-looking Strategies." UNIDO GRANTS IFBPW CONSULTATIVE STATUS The United Nations Industrial Development Board (UNIDO) granted IFBPW consultative status in October 1988. President Juusela called this appointment "a great achievement" for the International Federation because "this status will help us [IFBPW] in developing women's entrepreneurial and managerial skills. Consultative status will allow us [IFBPW] to develop close relations with the organization and to be represented in observer status at the meetings of its governing body and its committees." Willy van Iersel (Netherlands) was appointed as the International Federation's first UNIDO Representative in 1988. UNIDO is a specialized UN agency that promotes industrial development in developing countries through promotion of small and medium-sized businesses and is financially supported by contributions from Member States of the United Nations. Esther Ocloo (Ghana), UN Chairperson, told delegates that October 18 was designated as "United Nations Day" at Congress. It had been set aside as a day to "celebrate the work of the United Nations and show appreciation for what it had done for women worldwide" and featured a panel presentation on the related topics of Implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination. The panelists were: Norma Forde, member of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women; Marie-Anne Martin, Regional Program Planner for UNIDO; and Marianne Haslegrave, General Secretary of IFBPW. Norma Forde said that "it was fitting that, on the threshold of the tenth anniversary of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), an International non-governmental organization such as IFBPW should spend time examining it." She suggested that IFBPW urge its individual countries to ratify or accede to the Convention. Marie-Anne Martin congratulated IFBPW for achieving consultative status with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in 1988. She noted that a joint IFBPW/UNIDO seminar was already in the planning stages. Marianne Haslegrave pointed out that "the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies document had been of crucial importance to women worldwide and was the umbrella under which all the issues of concern to the International Federation could be found. When talking about the Forward-looking Strategies," she continued, "the Convention (CEDAW) should also be kept in mind as the two documents complement each other." In 1988 IFBPW joined with other NGOs in observing the fortieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that had been adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 10, 1948. It was the first international agreement on human rights and set the stage for adoption of future human rights' documents such as the Declaration on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1967) and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1979). A news bulletin distributed in October 1948 to members around the world by Margaret Hickey (USA), IFBPW's first UN Committee Chairperson, reported on the Third Session of the Commission on Human Rights that "views of many National BPW Federations have been forwarded to members of the Commission" based on a UN questionnaire on the Draft Declaration of Human Rights which had previously been circulated to International's affiliates for comments. Just two months following adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, IFBPW members celebrated International Week by listening to an NBC radio broadcast from New York City on February 19, 1949, on the subject of "Human Rights, Cornerstone of Peace." Lisa Sergio (USA), editor of Widening Horizons and radio broadcaster, moderated a panel discussion of prominent members of IFBPW. Eleanor Roosevelt (USA) stated, "One may say that the Declaration of Human Rights is just words but so were the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights (USA) and the French Bill of Rights." Alva Myrdal (Sweden) made the following observation, "Only when peoples themselves will want a more rigorous application of the great principles of freedom and brotherhood, which are embodied in the Declaration, can we expect governments to take a vigorous stand for their implementation and only when governments do so can this document be said to have real power (Widening Horizons, March/April 1949, p.3)." Much as BPW members turned their energies to the study and publicizing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, so too did BPW members in 1988. UNITED NATIONS PEACE MESSENGER AWARD IFBPW received the United Nations Peace Messenger Award on September 15, 1987, in recognition of the organization's contribution over many years to the promotion of peace throughout the world. Esther Hymer (USA), IFBPW's longest-serving UN Representative, represented the organization at the awards ceremony. BPW Pakistan was also honored by the United Nations as a Peace Messenger. Soon after the International Federation was honored as a Peace Messenger, Tuulikki Juusela wrote a President's Message in which she quoted from a speech made by John F. Kennedy, President of the United States of America, to the United Nations General Assembly in 1963: Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures. President Juusela continued, "As business and professional women, our joint responsibility for the future of the world obliges us to do our best in furthering the cause of peace. We, as women, will cross the geographic, political and cultural boundaries and together work for the maintenance of peace." 19th INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS NASSAU, BAHAMAS, October 16-20, 1989 Welcoming everyone to the Nineteenth International Congress held in Nassau, Bahamas, the International President stressed the importance of the Congress theme "Women the Spirit of Enterprise." She expressed pleasure in announcing the official start of celebrations in honor of IFBPW's Diamond Jubilee (1990). Barbara Pierre, President of the hosting Bahamas Federation, greeted the 1,060 participants from five regions of the world representing 47 countries and noted that this was the first International Congress ever to be held in the Caribbean region. She spoke with pride of the recent achievement of BPW Bahamas in gaining the status of National Federation and of the 107% increase in number of members since the last Congress. Continuing the very successful idea first launched at Congress 1985 of sponsoring the attendance of young career women at Congress, the Young BPW Fund '89 supported the attendance of twenty young career women, aged thirty years or less. In addition, affiliates sponsored their own young career women raising the number participating to forty-five, double the number that attended Congress in 1987. The newly formed Young Career Women (YCW) Task Force was chaired by Maxine Hays (USA) and had concentrated on developing a YCW international program and expanding the YCW program at the 1989 Congress. The Young Career Women and members of the Strategic Long-Range Planning Committee, chaired by Immediate Past International President, Rosmarie Michel, joined together at Congress to present a panel discussion on the topic of "IFBPW Diamond Jubilee: Meeting Our Challenges." The keynote address "Investing in Women - The Focus of the Nineties" was given by Nafis Sadik, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). She reported that UNFPA had funded 2,366 projects in 174 countries in 1988. She told Congress that "improving the role and status of women was the crucial goal for all population policies with education being the strongest influence on women's control of their own future. The long-term benefits of investment in health, education, training and rewarding employment for women had been clear for many years and were priority issues in many countries but consistently took second place when actual investments were made." She continued, "The International Federation has done pioneering work in providing jobs, skills and investment in developing countries - may it long continue! We at UNFPA look forward to close cooperation with IFBPW on all these issues." INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS International President Tuulikki Juusela addressed Congress with these words: "I have strong faith in our [IFBPW's] future. I believe that with the positive action and involvement of all of our members worldwide, we can be an effective voice in the future. Our decisions here [at Congress], our cooperation and involvement will benefit all women, not only our own members." Tuulikki Juusela quoted the following verses from a Chinese poem as a thank you to all affiliated members for their good work on behalf of the International Federation: Go to the people Live among them Love them Start with what they know Build on what they have But of the best leaders When their task is accomplished Their work is done The people all remark We have done it ourselves.