FAWCO Celebrates International Women's Day at its Biennial Conference in Bern
FAWCO celebrates International Women's Day by listening to an inspirational speech from Ambassador Betty E. King, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, marching to the nearest bridge for the global Join Me on the Bridge campaign, and participating in educational workshops and panel discussions.
- (1888PressRelease) March 09, 2013 - Participants at FAWCO's biennial conference celebrated International Women's Day with a variety of empowering activities. The conference attendees began the day with workshops on topics such as active aging, maternal health, climate change, and The FAWCO Foundation's charity updates. The morning's first conference session immediately followed and featured an inspirational address from U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva Betty E. King. Ambassador King then accompanied the FAWCO women in standing on the bridge over the Aare River on the Kornhausbrücke in support of Women For Women International's Join Me on the Bridge campaign. This global act of solidarity was created to bring awareness to violence against women in war-torn countries.
The Join Me on the Bridge campaign began in 2010 when the Country Directors of Women for Women's programs in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo had an idea that became the impetus for this global campaign. These two countries have been torn apart by the worst atrocities of war that the world has seen in recent years, including the commonplace rape and torture of women as a weapon of war. In 2010, women from opposing sides of war in these communities came together on a bridge adjoining the two countries. These women met to say "No" to war and "Yes" to peace and to show that they could build bridges of hope for the future. In its first year over 20,000 people took part with 119 events in 19 countries. (www.womenforwomen.org)
The International Women's Day festivities continued with an afternoon panel discussion entitled Moving Mountains Women and Politics: Switzerland. The panel was comprised of four women, all of whom are national-level, Swiss politicians - Claudine Esseiva , General Secretary of the FDP Women Switzerland, and National Council Members Margret Kiener Nellen, Christa Markwalder, and Barbara Schmid-Federer. Fritz Reimann, TV-Journalist at SRF Swiss Radio and Television, will serve as the moderator. More workshops followed in the late afternoon, covering local club strategies and repatriation to the United States. The grand finale was the evening's The FAWCO Foundation's Gala, entitled Knights in White Satin, in which members raised money to support the foundation's global charities throughout the year. (www.fawcofoundation.org)
Over 150 members are participating in FAWCO's (Federation of Women's Clubs Overseas) Biennial Conference in Bern, Switzerland on March 6-10, 2013. Local and international speakers have been covering a variety of global and club-level issues. Conference attendees are spending the week being briefed on a variety of issues facing Americans living abroad, receiving updates on FAWCO's global initiatives and participating in educational workshops. The 15,000 FAWCO members not attending the conference may view videos of sessions and speeches online via the FAWCO YouTube channel. Photos and newsletters will be posted daily, as well as PDF copies of presentations and handouts. Anyone can follow FAWCO on Twitter at ( @ ) fawco, join the conference conversation using #fawco2013 or find FAWCO on Facebook dot The full conference agenda as well as speaker biographies are available at www dot fawco dot org dot
FAWCO has partnered with an outstanding group of sponsors to present this year's conference, including Emmi Group, Vontobel Swiss Wealth Advisors, Highmount, US Tax and Financial Services Group, Victorinox, Vonage, International Herald Tribune, Presence Switzerland, Gerda Spillmann Swiss Cosmetics, The Hess Collection and Clements Worldwide. Other conference sponsors include Crown Relocations, Swatch, Traser Watch, Loeb Department Store, International Herald Tribune, Bern Tourism and ABC Art and Greeting Cards.
Founded in 1931, FAWCO is a global network of independent volunteer clubs and associations. There are more than 75 member clubs in 40 countries, with a total membership in excess of 15,000. FAWCO serves as a resource and channel of information for its members, promotes the rights of U.S. citizens living overseas and contributes to the global community through philanthropy and global issues task forces. A not-for-profit New York-based corporation, we are also a UN-accredited NGO with Special Consultative Status to the UN Economic and Social Council. The philanthropic arm of FAWCO - The FAWCO Foundation - is an independent entity, which has donated more than $1,000,000 in education awards and development grants since its inception in 1967.
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