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This was the first international event that I could participate in since I am a Soroptimist, as our club was chartered in 2019 and then the pandemic hit with no possibility to travel and meetings only online. For that reason, I was very excited to be given the opportunity to know more about the SIE world, and I can say it was a great experience!

 

 

I had the chance to better understand how the SIE actually works at the Governors’ Meeting. As a Single Club member I could only attend as a silent observer, and it gave a great insight to the Constitution that I will look into in more detail for sure in the future. It was a nice experience to see how Governors represent the Unions and that there is valuable and effective conversation about SIE matters. The speech of the Belgian Minister of Justice (Vincent Van Quickenborne) was also very edifying and showed how a government together with civil organizations like SIE can make real change and improve women’s lives. I could listen to the Finance Report, different Funds and possibilities these give, the Women in War Zones actions and the SIE SDG-s. The Single Club Constitution directly affects us therefore the changes accepted now in the By-Laws will hopefully bring single clubs closer to SIE and help motivate them (us) to form unions. It was touching to hear the Kyiv club president, Maria Bilodid, speak about current situation and what SIE can provide in a hard time like now. As we in Hungary are directly affected and initiated projects on this topic, it was nice to hear how helpful the community is.

 

Also, we made nice connections with Soroptimists from all over Europe. The Federation dinner was very nice and fun, the dancing together remains a joyful experience!

 

Zsófia Fazekas-Kertész

Secretary of SI Budapest Corvinus