BPW International

Palermo, Italy: 11th -15th October, 2011

Over 200 members from the Sicilian District attended a meeting at the calling of Eugenia Bono, President, Foundation FIDAPA. I was pleased to address this impressive gathering in the main Palace and Parliament building of Palermo. Members heard from Cettina Oliveri, President FIDAPA - BPW Italy Sicily District; Livia Ricci, Past International President; Eufemia Ippolito, President BPW Italy & National FIDAPA and Arzu Ozyol, President BPW Turkey. Working meetings with members in Palermo were very effective and i think that we can expect to see some strong leadership emerge from Italy in relation to the WEPs. Business seems to be a major focus for Italy going forward.

Rome, Italy: 15th - 18th October, 2011

I then travelled to Rome to attend the Opening Session of the FAO's 60th Anniversary which was impressive and full of pizzazz! I spoke with Michelle Bachellet and enjoyed successful meetings with FAO Reps - Annarosa Colangelo and Cristina Visconte. Back to back meetings were also arranged with President Eufemia and BPW International’s 5 Chairs of Standing Committees. It was a wonderful opportunity to discuss the triennial focus and more importantly the relevance of our broader definition of business which is our differentiator.

Athens, Greece: 18th - 20th October, 2011

It was a great pleasure meeting the members of our newly formed Associate club, BPW Athens. The club is doing very well under the stewardship of President Niki Protopapa and it was a highlight to meet with members of her Executive. A strategic meeting was held with Ms Ketty Tzitzikostas, President of the Hellenic National Commission for UNESCO exploring further the possibility of establishing a Mediterranean Summit with the focus on growing the Balkan countries for BPW international. It was decided that with the support of the Hellenic National Commission for UNESCO, that a BPW meeting will be held in Athens next year prior to the Global Summit of Women (GSW) in May 2012. Historically, many of our members support the GSW and in the lead up to last year's event BPW Turkey took advantage of this opportunity and held it's inaugural WEPs event.  
Secretariat for BPW International
The Hellenic National Commission for UNESCO have agreed to support BPW in the organisation of a BPW event to be held just prior to the GSW. A secretariat will be established in Athens under BPW International guidelines and a registration fee will be determined shortly. Interpretation services in Greek/English/French are being considered. Members interested in attending next years GSW should plan to arrive 2 days earlier in order to participate in this BPW event. More details to follow.

Western Australia, Perth: 24-28th October, 2011

I was delighted to attend the Commonwealth Business Forum that is apart of the Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting - CHOGM. At the recommendation of Dr. Salima R. Ahmed, President, BPW Pakistan, BPW International was invited by the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) to reinvigorated the Commonwealth Business Women (CBW) initiative. This was successfully supported by the business leaders at the Forum and BPW International together with the British Association of Women Entrepreneurs (BAWE) and the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) are the founding initiators.  

Freda Miriklis
President BPW International 2011-2014