- - - BPW International -

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,
it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief,
it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness,
it was the Spring of hope, it was the Winter of despair.

A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens

Theme for Triennium:
Women the Spirit of Enterprise

Yvette Swan was elected as the fifteenth president of the International Federation at the Nineteenth International Congress (1989) in the Bahamas and had the pleasure of presiding over IFBPW's Diamond Jubilee (1990) celebrations. The first International President from Bermuda, she also had the distinction of being the youngest president in the sixty-year history of IFBPW, just eight months younger than Immediate Past International President Tuulikki Juusela was when she took office. Yvette Swan was the first International President ever to be elected from an affiliate of the International Federation with Associate Club rather than National Federation membership status. Her association with BPW had begun in 1975 as a Charter Member of the BPW Association of Bermuda. She was the Association's President from 1979 to 1981. After serving as Chairperson of the International Legislation Committee for two terms (1983-1987), she was elected First Vice President of the International Federation in 1987.

At the age of sixteen, Yvette Swan proved to be a girl with the "spirit of enterprise" as illustrated by what she calls her "first formal stand for equal opportunities of females" in 1961. Unlike many teenagers, she already knew what she wanted to be when she grew up - a Doctor of Optometry. Pursuing this goal with single-minded purpose, she wrote for guidance on what courses she should take in preparation for her chosen career. One of the courses recommended was Physics. This represented a major stumbling block. Although it was offered in boys' schools, it was not part of the curriculum in the girls' school which she attended. The Headmistress of the school was unsympathetic to her pupil's plight and told her that, "'Physics was not a ladylike subject.'" That was the end of that, or so the Headmistress thought, but she became a firsthand witness to Yvette's enterprising spirit! With the backing of her parents, who were both educators, she told her Math teacher about her problem. To Yvette's amazement, her teacher informed her that she was also qualified to teach physics and would be glad to have her as a student. With that information in hand, Yvette was very encouraged and returned to tell the Headmistress the wonderful news only to be told that in order to start a physics class, there had to be eight students enrolled. Far from being discouraged, Yvette rose to the challenge. She returned to her dormitory and "told seven girls that they were going to take physics, like it or not." She recalls that not only did all seven girls agree to take the introductory one-year course, but they all elected to take advanced physics the following year. Nine years later, Yvette Swan graduated from a university in England with her degree as a Doctor of Optometry. Yvette Swan proved to be a woman with the "spirit of enterprise" to guide the International Federation into its sixtieth year and through the worst financial crisis in its history.

IFBPW PRESIDENT - MARGARET P. HYNDMAN
1956-1959 Canada

IN MEMORIAM

It was with great sadness that the Canadian Federation announced the death of Margaret P. Hyndman on January 18, 1991. She was the International Federation's fourth president and President of BPW Canada from 1946 to 1948. She was a Life Member and Honorary President of the Canadian Federation. In 1988 she received the Persons Award presented by the Status of Women Commission of Canada. She will be remembered for her efforts to improve the status of women both nationally and internationally.

BADGE OF HONOR

Tuulikki Juusela (Finland), Immediate Past President, and Willy van Iersel (Netherlands), Treasurer, announced at the Twentieth Congress in 1991 that the Badge of Honor, the highest award of IFBPW, was awarded to Angela Butler (Switzerland), International Labor Organization (ILO) Representative in Geneva and Esther Ocloo (Ghana), former Vice President of the International Federation, for their outstanding service to IFBPW.

Angela Butler (Switzerland) served as ILO Representative in Geneva for many years during which time she made outstanding contributions to the work of the International Federation through sharing her expert knowledge gained through a thirty-eight year career (1943-1981) with the International Labor Organization. As IFBPW's ILO Representative, she furthered the parallel aims of both organizations including protection of the rights of workers, improvement of working conditions, and promotion of social justice throughout the world.

Esther Ocloo, in addition to founding BPW Ghana and serving the International Federation as its Vice President for two successive terms, had worked tirelessly for the improvement of the status of women, especially rural women in Africa. As a founder (1979) and first Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Women's World Banking (1979-1985), she helped advance and promote the entrepreneurship of women, particularly those women who had no access to the services of established financial institutions. She was honored in 1990 by the Hunger Project as its first woman recipient of the Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger. Esther Ocloo used the prize money to found the Sustainable End of Hunger Foundation in 1991.

IFBPW REGIONS

AFRICA:
Eme Nwakamma-Okoro (Nigeria), Regional Coordinator

The eighth All Africa regional meeting was held in Lagos, Nigeria, in November 1990 - a five-day workshop entitled "Developing Women's Entrepreneurial, Organizational and Management Skills." Hosted by BPW Nigeria, it was sponsored by UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) and the Commonwealth Foundation. Participants came from thirteen African countries. Also attending were International President Yvette Swan; Past International Vice President, Esther Ocloo (Ghana); and the Regional Coordinator of Africa, Erne Nwakamma-Okoro. Topics included methods of starting business/investment projects, production, lab or, marketing, financial and administrative management and budgeting. Participants were encouraged to help establish banking facilities in their countries through contact with Women's World Banking.

The African Regional Coordinator reported the biennium as "a vintage one" for the region. Two countries with Associate Club membership status had qualified as Federations and three Individual Associate Members (IAMs) had organized Associate Clubs in their respective countries.

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC:
Hatsue Ando (Japan), Regional Coordinator

The Regional Coordinator, Hatsue Ando, reported that no regional meeting had been held during the biennium in the Asia and the Pacific region due to her prolonged illness, but that the Region looked forward to hosting the International Congress in 1993.

EUROPE:
Britta Calminder (Sweden), Regional Coordinator

Britta Calminder, Regional Coordinator of Europe, reported that BPW was getting stronger and stronger in the European region. European members had welcomed their new sisters from the Eastern European countries of Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Czechoslovakia to the European Regional (EFBPW) Congress in Aachen, Germany, October 1990. The European Friendship Fund had been established to aid women from Eastern European countries in attending the European Congress in Aachen and future Regional Congresses. Before World War 11, many Eastern European women had been members of BPW Clubs and Federations. These included Senator Frantiska F. Plaminkova, an International Vice President and Founder President of BPW Czechoslovakia (1937). She was executed during World War 11. From that time on, BPW members from around the world remembered their Eastern European "sisters" annually on International Night. In 1990, the Canterbury Club of the UK Federation chose "Eastern Europe" as its theme for their International Night Candlelighting Ceremony and lit a candle to honor the brave women from those countries.

The first Associate Club in Eastern Europe to be founded after World War 11 was in Poznan, Poland on April 25, 1990, and the first Eastern European country to become affiliated as a National Federation was Romania on July 5, 1991. By joining IFBPW, the women of Poland and Romania expressed "the hope that affiliation would give them an opportunity to share the International Federation's vast experience in the international women's movement."

LATIN AMERICA and the Spanish-speaking countries of the WEST INDIES:
Olga M. Ramirez de Rodriquez (Mexico), Regional Coordinator

Latin America's Regional Coordinator was pleased to report that the joint IFBPW/UNIDO workshop was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina in May 1991. She informed Congress delegates that a member of BPW Mexico had donated a record that was being sold to benefit the International Federation and $1,200 had been raised to date.

NORTH AMERICA and the non Spanish-speaking countries of the WEST INDIES:
Jennifer Cox (Jamaica), Regional Coordinator

Jennifer Cox reported that affiliates in her region had communicated and shared information through correspondence. Four reports had been sent to affiliates during the biennium. International President Swan visited Jamaica in 1990 and was guest speaker at the Candlelighting Ceremony. Many Clubs in the region increased in membership, and a new Associate Club had formed.

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE

Membership Committee Chairperson, Livia Ricci (Italy), reported that her committee had launched a successful "One to One" membership campaign. She congratulated her Committee members and their correspondents in the five IFBPW regions for helping to significantly increase membership during the biennium. There were affiliates in 77 countries in 1991, a gain of 9 countries since 1989. Including the countries where individual associate members lived, IFBPW now had representatives in 86 countries.

A sponsorship fund was created by the International Federation to which affiliates could contribute to pay the International dues of new Individual Associate Members and Clubs in areas with financial hardship and/or currency problems. Many affiliates responded.

TREASURER/ FINANCE COMMITTEE

The Treasurer and Finance Committee Chairperson, Willy van Iersel (Netherlands), reminded members that a decision had been made at the previous Congress to combine the posts of Treasurer and Finance Officer/Finance Committee Chairperson. She therefore presented both the Financial Statement and the Budget to Congress in 1991. The Treasurer reported that due to late payment or lack of payment of International dues by some affiliates including one of the largest, IFBPW's revenues had decreased by approximately fifty per cent each year during the biennium forcing the Executive Committee to enact austerity measures that included: reducing the number of issues of Widening Horizons from three to two issues annually, operating the International Headquarters with the bare minimum of staff, launching the President's Appeal Fund, and suggesting that affiliates remit their International dues early. Despite exercising every possible economy, the Financial Statement showed a combined deficit of $249,592 for the two fiscal years of the biennium.

The Treasurer presented the Budget for 1991/92 with a projected deficit of $109,643 and reported that the Executive Committee had concluded that it was not possible to reduce the budget any further. Congress delegates voted to increase dues from their current rate of $3.00 to £2.25 per member to take effect as of April 1, 1993. The delegates also voted to amend Article I of the International Bylaws pertaining to dues. As of April 1, 1993, the graduated dues structure that came into effect in 1985 was rescinded and all members of a Federation were required to pay dues on a "per member" basis, irrespective of the size of the Federation. It had been decided to calculate dues in sterling rather than in U.S. dollars as previously done because eighty-five per cent of the International Federation's expenses were incurred in the United Kingdom.

President Swan thanked the Treasurer for her work and the detailed information contained in the Financial Statement and the Budget. She told Congress delegates that the financial resources of the International Federation had been severely tested during the biennium. It had only been through the "tremendous efforts of the Treasurer, Headquarters' Staff and members of the Executive Committee, by cutbacks in staff as well as cutbacks in the budget, by drawing from the Accumulated Fund, and through contributions to the President's Appeal Fund and support of the "Friends" that IFBPW had managed to survive the biennium." The President's Appeal had been launched with the goal of "raising a minimum of £200,000 in donations, loans, and deposits against future dues to enable the International Federation to meet its immediate financial obligations." Individual Associate Members, Associate Clubs and National Federations had responded generously to the emergency President's Appeal.

PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE

Public Relations Committee Chairperson Ulla-Liza Blom (Sweden) reported that her committee had concentrated on producing new publications, advertising materials and a new membership leaflet. Much work was done in relation to public relations and press activities during the 1991 Congress by the Committee. A growing number of members had volunteered to liaise between the Public Relations Committee and their National Federations or Clubs. The Chairperson expressed regret that Widening Horizons was now only published twice a year due to financial constraints and stated that "we are missing a good Public Relations channel as it is our [IFBPW's] line of communication with women of the world."

AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE

Agriculture Committee Chairperson less Sanders (Zimbabwe) reported that she had corresponded with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, on the topics of food production and world food security during the biennium. The Chairperson paid particular tribute to Committee member Njeri Mungai and her Federation (BPW Kenya) for efforts on behalf of women engaged in agriculture. Many projects had been initiated by affiliates that assisted and advised women on nutrition. Members of BPW Pakistan had pressed their government to provide for special incentives for women in agriculture.

BUSINESS, TRADE AND MARKETING COMMITTEE (AD HOC)/SMALL BUSINESS ADVISER

The leader of the Business, Trade and Marketing Committee, Willy van Iersel (Netherlands), reported that the work load of the Committee had steadily increased during her two successive terms as Chairperson due to the enthusiasm of affiliates for developing programs relating to business, trade and marketing. The Chairperson had put affiliates in contact with many sources of funding for their programs such as: CBI, DANIDA, ILO, PRODEC, RVB/FEMCONSULT, SOS Werelhandel (World Trade), UNIDO and UNIFEM and other international organizations. Affiliates had made good progress in focusing attention on the problems of women entrepreneurs.

A seminar in "Business Management for Women Entrepreneurs" of four weeks duration was held in Nairobi immediately preceding the Twentieth Congress in 1991. Organized by the Programme for Development Cooperation at the Helsinki School of Economics (PRODEC) of Finland in cooperation with IFBPW and in partnership with the Kenyan External Trade Authority, it was a full-fledged seminar for entrepreneurs from small and medium-sized enterprises with at least three years experience at management level. Willy van Iersel (Netherlands) and International Immediate Past President, Tuulikki Juusela, were resource persons during the seminar. Saara Kehosmaa-Pekonen, Managing Director of PRODEC, made a short report to Congress emphasizing the long-term objective of the course- "to strengthen the participation of women in the economies of their countries and particularly in the business sector." Quoting the former President of Tanzania, she said, "'Great things could not be attained on a single stroke. We have to confine ourselves to the policy of small steps despite that our resolve might yearn to see the promised land on earth and not in the distant future. With only determined goal-oriented struggle will we be able to reach our development goals.'" The Managing Director continued, "These words express the spirit of the seminar and the goals to be faced by every entrepreneur today and in the future. An entrepreneur has to have her head in the clouds but her feet on the ground."

Lucile Dunham (USA), Small Business Adviser, prepared a paper during the biennium on "Small Business Start Ups" for use by a BPW member from Russia. She cited this type of communication as an example of how IFBPW can fulfill its role of facilitator of the exchange of ideas and programs among women of diverse cultures, economies and governments and as a channel for networking of ideas among BPW members worldwide.

Committee member Amalia Ruth Borges Schmidt (Brazil) contributed an article to the Spring 1991 issue of Widening Horizons entitled "Being a Business and Marketing Committee member makes all the difference" and paid tribute to Chairperson Willy van Iersel for her leadership over the past four years beginning with the Trade Presentation at Congress in 1987. A small business owner herself, Amalia Schmidt expressed her deep appreciation for the opportunities for career growth which she had experienced as a result of her membership in IFBPW. Panamanian member Dagmar de Alvarez wrote in the same issue of Widening Horizons that she had been busy disseminating information and ideas gained at the CBI Workshop at Congress in 1989. Her Federation had held seminars on "How To Start Your Own Business" and "How To Sell What You Produce."

Chairperson van Iersel spoke of "the end of an era" for the Business, Trade and Marketing Committee (1987-1991) and noted that a new Standing Committee called the Business, Trade and Technology Committee would commence operation during the next biennium.

EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL COMMITTEE/UNESCO

The Chairperson of the Educational and Cultural Committee, Dorothy Bain (Bahamas), reported that her committee had distributed information from UNESCO to affiliates to assist them in the promotion of literacy worldwide as provided by the UNESCO Representative, Andree Bailly (France), who kept the Committee informed about UN meetings, conferences, and activities relating to International Literacy Year 1990. Women's literacy programs were being developed and supported by UNESCO because surveys revealed that worldwide, one woman in three was illiterate, the majority of whom were in the developing countries. The least developed countries had a female illiteracy rate of approximately eighty per cent, often due to social and cultural practices which, in many instances, prevented females from receiving a basic education. Among 889 million illiterate adults worldwide, two thirds were women. More than 100 million children had no access to primary schooling of whom 60 million were girls.

To launch International Literacy Year (1990), a United Nations World Conference called "Education for All" was held in Jomthien, Thailand (March 1990). It was the first high level international meeting to address basic learning needs necessary to eradicate illiteracy. Sudathip Gin Indira of BPW Thailand represented IFBPW at the conference. UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Bank were the four major sponsors. The consensus documents at the World Conference were called "The World Declaration on Education for All : Meeting Basic Learning Needs" and a "Framework for Action." IFBPW committed itself to participate, through its UN Representative and the Educational and Cultural Committee, in the follow-up "Education for All Network" at regional levels.

Education and training for girls was a high priority of the Freetown Club in Sierra Leone. The project known as the Annual Shadow Scheme gave thirty girls in secondary school paid work experience during their summer vacation. The Club also supported a private secondary school for girls.

May 31, 1991, was designated by the United Nations as World Day for Cultural Development. One of the most significant cultural developments among affiliates during the biennium was the founding in 1990 of an all-women orchestra composed of forty-two musicians belonging to and sponsored by BPW Italy. Called the "Ensemble Femminile Italiano," the orchestra was founded by the Chairperson of BPW Italy's Music Committee, Lydia Mandich Fuser, a harpsichordist. She also provided initial funding for the orchestra.

The Santiago Club of Chile sponsored a short story writing contest in 1991. Open to women from Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America, it was judged by leading Chilean writers and Club President, Elena Torres Seguel.

EMPLOYMENT COMMITTEE/ILO

The Employment Committee, under the leadership of Mara Mosca (Italy), surveyed affiliates on the following aspects of working conditions of women worldwide: legislation regarding women's working conditions, equal opportunity laws and policies, existing ratification and current implementation by national governments of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), women's work patterns and access to credit.

The Employment Committee conducted a workshop during the 1991 Congress where professional, technical, educational and environmental training opportunities available to women were discussed.

In her position as IFBPW's first Representative to the ILO Training Centre (International Centre for Advanced Technical and Vocational Training - Turin, Italy), which complemented her position as Chairperson of the Employment Committee, Mara Mosca coordinated the dissemination of information about up coming ILO training courses to qualified BPW members around the world. The ILO Training Centre had been established in 1964 by the ILO in collaboration with the Italian government to provide international expertise to meet the advanced training needs of the ILO's Member States. Mara Mosca reported that training courses for women from developing countries were only recently introduced by the ILO because of growing recognition that women often play key roles in low-income societies and become important social and economic motivators in their communities. Since it was recognized that the formation of associations (such as BPW Clubs) often was the first step in a nation's development process, Mara Mosca, by invitation of the ILO, held seminars during each course offered by the Training Centre on the role of associations in developing countries and other related themes. She acted as a liaison between the IFBPW and the ILO Training Centre mainly by notifying the membership about training courses for women in entrepreneurship, small and medium-sized business enterprises and training of trainers. Mara Mosca introduced all women participants in courses at the ILO Training Centre to BPW members and arranged for them to attend BPW meetings.

Gwendoline E. Burnley, Founder President of the Limbe Club in Cameroon, expressed appreciation to the International Federation and Mara Mosca for making it possible for two Club members to attend a course at the ILO Training Centre in 1991. Upon returning to Cameroon, the members had begun valuable work with the Small Business Training Programme sponsored by the Limbe Club.

Angela Butler (Switzerland), ILO Representative, attended the Seventy-Seventh (1990) and Seventy-Eighth Sessions (1991) of the International Labor Conference. She noted three developments: a revision of the ILO Night Work Convention (No. 89) which replaced outdated ideas that had become restrictive to women and detrimental to their career prospects, new standards governing the conditions of work in hotels, restaurants and catering establishments, and concerns about conditions of work and employment in the informal sector and the social protection of home-based workers. A resolution on "ILO Action for Women Workers" outlining priorities for the future was adopted at the 1991 Conference. The ILO Representatives reported that participation of women in the official delegations to the International Labor Conference had risen from 11.9% in 1989 to 12.3% in 1991, still far too low, and an area for continued action and lobbying by affiliates. The ILO had set its target for number of women in delegations at thirty per cent by 1995. Assuming the continuation of current trends, that target would not be met.

HEALTH COMMITTEE/WHO

Health Committee Chairperson Lucia Villamizar de Hill (Colombia) listed the following priorities of her committee's plan of action for the biennium: continued activities by affiliates in cooperation with the UNICEF Child-Maternal Survival Program and the WHO program on Health for All by the Year 2000, support of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, study of moral and legal dangers inherent in new reproductive technologies, and prevention of AIDS.

WHO GRANTS IFBPW CONSULTATIVE STATUS

The World Health Organization (WHO) of the United Nations recognized the International Federation as a non-governmental organization (NGO) with consultative status in January of 1991. This was welcome news to the Health Committee since it had worked toward this goal since its establishment in 1983. The five areas chosen for collaboration between IFBPW and WHO were: the Safe Motherhood Initiative, Women and Nutrition, Women and AIDS, Women and Tobacco, and Women and Aging. A member of the Health Committee, Michele Gerber (Switzerland), was selected to serve as the first WHO Representative and attended the Forty-Fourth Session of the World Health Assembly in May of 1991.

The Health Committee Chairperson reported on health-related activities of two affiliates. In recognition of World AIDS Day on December 1, 1990, the BPW Association of Bermuda held a public discussion on the subject of young women and AIDS. All girls in secondary school were invited to hear presentations by three health care professionals and learned that the number of women with AIDS was increasing each year. By sponsoring this discussion, the BPW Association raised the awareness of a large audience about how to help in the fight against this deadly disease. As a means of addressing nutrient deficiencies in the diet of many Nigerians and raising capital for social projects, BPW Nigeria adopted soya milk processing as a national project.

LEGISLATION COMMITTEE

Legislation Committee Chairperson Minnie McNeal-Kenny (USA) listed issues that her committee had focused on during the biennium: ratification and implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women; ratification and implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; and incorporation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies into the public policies of governments.

A great concern of IFBPW encompassed issues affecting children with the recognition that healthy children and healthy families were a precondition for sustained economic and social progress. The Convention on the Rights of the Child was ratified and came into force during the biennium because governments recognized the importance of protecting the growing minds and bodies of young children.

PROJECTS COMMITTEE
LITERACY PROGRAMME

President Swan reported that the International Federation was working with the Associate Club in Nepal on the development of literacy projects. The Nepal Club launched its Literacy Programme in May 1991 with encouragement from the International Executive Committee which had decided to support this project as IFBPW's contribution to the follow-up for the International Literacy Year 1990 and in support of UNESCO's "Plan of Action to Eradicate Illiteracy by the Year 2000." For several years, BPW New Zealand had assisted members of the Nepal Club by paying their International dues as they were unable to purchase foreign currency. Therefore, when the International Executive Committee invited BPW New Zealand to assist the Nepal Club in beginning a Literacy Programme for Women, the response was immediate and generous. BPW Belgium and other affiliates and individuals also gave financial assistance. This Programme was particularly important because Nepal's adult literacy rate was the lowest in the world at eighteen per cent. Participants in the project were women factory workers ranging in age from seventeen to forty-five. After working all day, they attended classes six days a week for one hour each evening. At Congress in 1991, BPW New Zealand donated $1,200 to the Nepal Literacy Programme. The President thanked members of BPW New Zealand for help and financial support in setting up the Programme.

PROJECT FIVE-O MEXICO

President Swan attended the official dedication ceremony on July 30, 1990, marking the completion of construction of the school building and library that would, in the future, house the Project Five-O Mexico School of Nursing in La Paz, Mexico. Two years previously, as First Vice President, she had participated in the groundbreaking ceremony. She told members at Congress in 1991 that the International Federation and all affiliates should be proud of the accomplishment and that special thanks were due to Silvia Salazar Salazar, Project Coordinator, and Maria del Pilar Martinez Castro, Architect, for "all the time and energy that they had invested in seeing the project through to its successful completion." The library had been furnished with the most up-to-date medical books given by universities, medical societies, physicians in the state of Arizona, USA, and members of BPW/USA - Arizona. The Arizona members had coordinated the massive effort with help from the North Phoenix Rotary Club and AeroMexico Airlines. The President informed the membership that negotiations were now in progress with CONALEP (Colegio Nacional Profesional Tecnico - the Technical Institute of Mexico) in reference to operating the School of Nursing.

The International Gift Shop, coordinated by Projects Committee member, Lucia Quachey (Ghana), raised approximately $2,000. Twenty-five per cent of the proceeds were deposited into the International Aid Fund and seventy-five per cent into the Young BPW Fund. These Funds were used to pay the travel expenses to Congress of members in financial need.

UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE/UNITED NATIONS LIAISON OFFICER

United Nations Committee Chairperson Pam Radge (UK), and UN Liaison Officer and Second Vice President, Beth Mugo (Kenya), worked together to provide leadership of the International Federation's work that related to the United Nations. The UN Liaison Officer reported that since the last Congress, the International Federation had been granted consultative status with the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). She described the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) to be held in 1992 as "our [IFBPW's] foremost future commitment." During the biennium UN Bulletins and Notes were published to update members on IFBPW/UN issues.

Preceding the extended Thirty-Fourth Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (1990), an NGO Consultation for organizations in consultative status with ECOSOC (the principal organ of the UN to which the CSW reports), was held in Vienna with a strong IFBPW delegation led by President Yvette Swan. The theme of the 1990 NGO Consultation was "Popular Participation in the Implementation of the [Nairobi] Forward-looking Strategies." Workshops were held with President Swan leading one on the theme "Women in Decision-Making Positions and Employment."

The Thirty-Fourth Session (1990) of the Committee on the Status of Women (CSW) was extended to provide the first opportunity for a review of the progress to date in the implementation of the "Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women" adopted at the World Conference in 1985. The decision to hold a World Conference in 1995 to renew and appraise the implementation of the "Forward-looking Strategies" was made during this Session. Once again the CSW was designated as the UN Preparatory Body for the Conference. The IFBPW Representative to the UN in New York, Claire Fulcher (USA), expressed concern about deteriorating economic conditions and indifferent or negative attitudes which combined to increase the feminization of poverty but also noted that the World Conference on Women planned for 1995 provided a positive goal for all IFBPW members working towards women's advancement."

The UN Committee Chairperson reported that the priority themes selected by the Commission on the Status of Women for 1991 were Equality: Vulnerable Women; Development: Machinery to integrate women in the development process; and Peace: Refugees and displaced women and children. Following up a resolution passed at Congress in 1989 on discrimination against women on the basis of age, a questionnaire was used to gather information on the issue from affiliates in the five regions of IFBPW. The responses formed the basis for a statement that was presented to the Commission's Thirty-Fifth Session (1991) intended to ensure that older women be included in the definition of Vulnerable Women and that they be guaranteed a variety of retirement options as well as access to retraining programs. Pam Radge thanked UN Representatives, Esther Hymer (USA) and Maria Pollak (Austria), for all their help during the biennium. The Chairperson coordinated a "Women and the United Nations" Workshop at Congress. Participants visited the Headquarters of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (HABITAT) as part of the Workshop.

The IFBPW Alternate Representative to the UN in New York, Esther Hymer (USA), was pleased to report to Congress that the quadrennial evaluation by ECOSOC, the principal organ of the United Nations with which the International Federation had consultative status, resulted in renewal of consultative status Category I in 1991 for another four years.

In addition to representing IFBPW at the General Assembly, ECOSOC, CEDAW, the CONGO Board, and the Commission on the Status of Women, the IFBPW Representative to the UN in New York, Claire Fulcher (USA), was the Convenor of the NGO UNIFEM Committee; the Committee was composed of representatives of twenty international women's organizations with consultative status at the UN. She reported that IFBPW members were involved in the formation and leadership of National UNIFEM Committees and in educating the public and governments on women in development issues (WID). IFBPW had presented a statement in support of UNIFEM on behalf of fifteen international women's organizations at the Thirty-Fourth Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (1991).

During the previous biennium, IFBPW had been granted consultative status with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). Collaboration began immediately under the leadership of the first UNIDO Representative, Willy van Iersel (Netherlands), resulting in a joint IFBPW/UNIDO seminar on "The Role of Women in Industry in Latin America" in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1991.

Both UNICEF Representatives, Ildaura Murillo-Rohde (USA) and Rosa Thea Creton (Switzerland), reported that 1990 was a very important year for UNICEF. Eighty government leaders had met at the United Nations World Summit for Children (1990) to plan for the development, protection and survival of children. Work on the Convention on the Rights of the Child as well as the "Education For All" initiative were priority issues of UNICEF. Rosa Thea Creton attended the NGO Committee meetings on the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde was on the NGO Committee responsible for the planning of the 1994 International Year of the Family.

Congress delegates in 1991 approved a resolution submitted by the United Nations Committee suggesting that affiliates observe International Women's Day annually on March 8 by honoring leading women and by planning special events to mark the occasion. International Women's Day had been first proclaimed in 1910 at an international women's conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, attended by one hundred delegates from seventeen countries (UN Focus: Women, UN Department of Public Information, 1992). It was first designated for observance by the United Nations in 1975. It was a day designated in many countries as a national holiday, a day to reflect on decades of struggle for women's equality. In a special message on International Women's Day in 1990, the United Nations Secretary-General, Perez de Cuellar, noted that "one hundred and one countries had ratified the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The United Nations monitoring of action taken by Member States party to the Convention", he said, "had contributed to a reexamination of traditional attitudes regarding women."

YOUNG CAREER WOMEN (YCW) TASK FORCE

The Young Career Women (YCW) Task Force, appointed at Congress in 1987, was again chaired by Maxine Hays (USA). The three other members of her Task Force had been participants in the YCW Programme at Congress in 1989. Formal selection criteria, selection procedure and an application form for Young Career Women had been developed during the biennium. The maximum qualifying age had been raised from thirty to thirty-five in order to provide a larger pool of young women from which to make a selection. Although the Fund '91 for Young BPW and the International Aid Fund provided some assistance to Young Career Women, it was limited. Therefore, affiliates had been encouraged to undertake fund raising in order to sponsor their own Young Career Women. Over thirty-five Young Career Women, representing twenty countries, attended the 1991 Congress. Monique Siegal (Switzerland) moderated the Young Career Programme which had as its theme "Do's and Don'ts of an International Career." As a result of the growth of the Young Career Women's Programme since the 1985 Congress, a Young Career Women Committee (Ad Hoc), to be chaired by a YCW, was appointed at Congress in 1991 to carry the Programme forward. Fabiola Kun, a Young Career Woman from BPW Mexico, volunteered to edit a quarterly YCW newsletter and plans were made to publish an International Directory of Young Career Women. The Young Career Women Programme, begun in 1985, had indeed become an integral part of IFBPW.

20TH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS
NAIROBI, KENYA, November 3-8, 1991

"Karibu Kenya" (Welcome to Kenya) was the greeting Beth Mugo, President of the hosting Kenyan Federation, extended to the 720 participants representing 52 countries at the Twentieth Congress. She noted that this was the first International Congress ever held on the continent of Africa. President Swan was especially pleased to be able to welcome members from Eastern Europe to Congress for the first time since the Third International Congress in 1938.

"Women - Environment and Development" was the theme of Congress with two keynote addresses on the theme. Njoroge Mungai, Kenya's Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, spoke on the topic "Women and the Environment." He said that "until women's voices were heard, sustainable development could not be achieved. The key factor was that women had to be involved in the planning, management and implementation process in all matters pertaining to the environment and development." Barbel Chambalu, Coordinator for the Integration of Women into Development for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) spoke about "Women and Development." She said that cooperation between IFBPW and UNIDO had been greatly strengthened during the biennium and the joint IFBPW/UNIDO seminar in Latin America had proved that international organizations and international NGOs working together offer one of the most efficient ways of promoting the participation of women in industry at all levels."

A UN panel discussion at Congress called "Nairobi 1985 - Nairobi 1991, An Assessment of the Implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women" was chaired by Beth Mugo (Kenya), Second Vice President and United Nations Liaison Officer. Panelists included Margaret Kenyatta, President of the World Conference of the United Nations Decade for Women (1985: Nairobi); Eddah Gachukia, Cochairperson of the NGO Forum (1985: Nairobi); Barbel Chambalu, Coordinator of Women into Industrial Development, UNIDO; and Pam Radge, UN Committee Chairperson. Barbel Chambalu said that "a 1990 review and appraisal of the 'Forward-looking Strategies' showed that despite advances in some areas, the general pattern was one of loss of dynamism. There was reason for concern that, unless implementation was greatly improved, many objectives would not be met by the year 2000. Real change could only come from within countries and from women and men individually and in groups including NGOs. IFBPW and its affiliates were a strong force in promoting change, and it was most important that the organization promote its concerns at the national level."

The Programme for Development Cooperation at the Helsinki School of Economics (PRODEC) sponsored the attendance of five members from the African region at Congress who had also taken part in a four week pre-Congress PRODEC sponsored "Business Management for Women" seminar in Nairobi.

PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS

A highlight of the biennium was the celebration of the International Federation's sixtieth anniversary. The Executive Committee and other IFBPW representatives celebrated the Diamond Jubilee (1990) with a dinner hosted by BPW Switzerland in Geneva, birthplace of the International Federation in 1930. The Jubilee celebrations also included a landmark in IFBPW's relations with the United Nations in the form of a series of consultations between the International Executive Committee and senior representatives of the International Labor Organization (ILO); the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); and the World Health Organization (WHO). The purpose of the consultations was to strengthen working relations between IFBPW and the UN agencies. Consultative status with UNCTAD and WHO was subsequently granted to IFBPW during the biennium.

Quoting IFBPW's Founder President, Dr. Lena Madesin Phillips (USA), President Swan said that "the destiny of this organization is in the hands of its members. Let us build together and see what we can make." She concluded her President's Address by expressing confidence that "IFBPW fulfills a need of business and professional women and that through cooperation, IFBPW will thrive."