AGM at Bournemouth June 2019 by our delegate Anne van Vliet
There is always a
buzzing atmosphere at a national Annual Meeting. Don’t think for one moment it
is just a gathering of elderly women. There were all ages there.
I made the
occasion into a three day break, staying with a friend in an Air B&B close
to the beach. From the moment we walked out of our accommodation onto the sea
front we started WI spotting. And you can tell a WI member at a glance,
whatever their age. They have a special air of jollity about them that is quite
unmistakable. So at an event such as this, it’s very easy to fall into
conversations with complete strangers and be friends within seconds. However,
we were quite surprised to hear that Bournemouth, with a population of around
200,000, has no WIs.
The venue was
filled to capacity at 4,000. It certainly seemed like more, especially when
waiting in the queue for the loo.
Lynn Stubbings,
our Chairman, once more, was very relaxed and warm to her audience. At one
point she lost her way in her notes, and instead of rustling around and
flapping, as I would have done, she calmly gathered her thoughts for quite a
few seconds, then, completely unruffled, carried on from where she left off; I
was impressed!
She announced that
on June 26, WI members will be in London in force, targeting MPs to take action
on climate change.
September 14-21 is
Performing Arts week, with events being organised around the federations. I
look forward to hearing what Surrey has in store for us.
Lynn told us that
there were now 400 walking netball groups around the country, and a similar
bowls partnership with Sport UK is starting up; we will be hearing news about
this soon. She told us she has played walking netball just the once, managing
to score a goal, then fall over.
The Rt Hon. Lord
Bradley of Withington, the Chair of the “Care Not Custody” campaign, gave us an
update on this subject, a WI resolution in 2008, calling on the Government to
take action for people with mental health problems to get the right care and
safe alternatives to imprisonment. Just 15% of the NHS budget is being spent on
mental health, not nearly enough to tackle its enormous problems. Lord Bradley
was a most eloquent speaker, but his 45 minutes on the stage had the audience
blinking to keep their eyes open, and I noticed one or two around me had given
up trying.
The afternoon
speaker, Maggie Philbin, on the other hand, had the audience paying full
attention, with lots of humorous anecdotes about her career in broadcasting,
starting many years ago with Swap Shop and Tomorrow’s World. Her enthusiasm to
get girls studying the sciences led her to become CEO of TeenTech and she spoke
about her work to encourage women into careers in science and technology.
We were told that,
unfortunately, Denman is in deficit this year. The new Head of Denman, Anupreet
Jeetun, whom I had the chance to meet and have a chat with, is working hard to
operate the college on a viable basis. In fact, when I was there recently there
was a large party of ladies there for a private birthday function, and I heard
a party of American women had recently come over to do craft workshops, though
they were apparently disappointed there was no gym, sauna or pool. I guess
Denman has a bit of catching up to do if they want to appeal to this sort of
customer.
There is currently
an 8% discount on Denman bookings, if done on-line.
We heard that
there is now a CD version of WI Life for visually impaired members.
Now on to the
resolutions; both had enormous support.
The resolution to
protect bus services was passed by 96% with 5,729 votes for and 262 against,
and the “Don’t Fear the Smear” resolution passed by 97%, with 5,788 for and 194
against.
The way it works
is that the resolution is proposed by a member of the WI which submitted the
resolution, it is seconded by someone else, then usually there is a case put
against it. Paul Buchanan spoke against the resolution. He is an adviser on
Transport Economics, and is working to look at alternative forms of public
transport, such as shared taxis, and small buses with tailored pick-ups. I
didn’t think his case was against the resolution so much as tailoring public
transport to modern needs. He said that deregulation of bus services had been a
big failure, with concentration on cities and highly populated areas, and
ignoring rural areas. He said that communities and parish councils needed to
get together to provide transport by volunteers, in the way they have worked to
keep libraries open. We already have the “Care” charity in our area, to get
people to essential appointments in private cars, and also the Lingfield
Marathon bus for the elderly. Perhaps this is what he had in mind.
No-one could be
found to make a case against the argument for encouraging women to take up
cervical screening, so one of the trustees, Hilary Haworth, had been asked to
put a few (not very convincing) points to be considered.
After the cases
for and against the resolutions, delegates have the opportunity to have their
say. There were ladies who gave heart-felt accounts of how their rural areas
were cut off by the lack of public transport, some areas having one bus a week,
and some having none at all, with people on low incomes unable to get to shops,
hospitals and banks, and even to work, without paying for a taxi. It made us
appear very lucky in our area to have trains and a reasonable number of buses.
With regard to the
“Don’t fear the smear” campaign”, a lady in her seventies told us how three
women in her village had died from cervical cancer in their seventies, long
after the age at which screening finishes. She was keen to lobby the government
to allow older women to opt into screening, as they can for breast screening.
I strongly urge
members to get involved with WI at federation and national level. There is so
much on offer for members.
A brave lady gave a very moving account of her treatment for cervical cancer, and
implored members to support the resolution.
The National Federation's report
2019: Annual Meeting Resolution
At the NFWI Annual Meeting in Bournemouth on 5th June 2019 delegates voted to pass two resolutions, which will both now form the basis of new NFWI campaigns.
The
NFWI will be putting together campaign action packs for both of these
new campaigns that will include background to the campaign, as well as
ideas for how members can get involved. If you would like a copy of the
action pack, or would like more information about the campaign, please
contact the Public Affairs Department.
1. A call against the decline in local bus services
Over
the last decade there has been a massive decline in the number of bus
services, particularly of those in rural and semi-rural areas. In order
to alleviate loneliness, improve health and wellbeing, as well as
promoting sustainable development, the NFWI calls on the Government and
local authorities to increase subsidies and work in partnership with bus
companies and community transport operators to enable an adequate
provision of services.
Burniston and Cloughton WI, North Yorkshire East Federation
The resolution was passed with 96% of the vote.
Votes cast in favour: 5729 Votes cast against: 262
To find out more click here.
2. Don’t fear the smear
Cervical
screening saves around 5,000 lives a year, yet attendance is currently
at its lowest for a decade. The NFWI urges WI members to attend routine
screening, to take action to raise awareness of the importance of
cervical screening and address barriers to attendance to help eradicate
cervical cancer.
Disley WI, Cheshire Federation
The resolution was passed with 97% of the vote.
Votes cast in favour: 5788 Votes cast against: 194
To find out more click here.
The above is the result of the
2019 Annual Meeting Resolutions
No comments:
Post a Comment