Adaptation of the Constitution
Dr. Catherine Bosshart, BPW International President 2021-2024
During the Helsinki Congress in 2011, the International Board accepted the registration of BPW International in Switzerland. As Switzerland is a federalist country, there exists a centralized file for all registered companies, but registration is carried out in the registry of commerce of every canton. The registration at CAGI – Geneva Welcoming Center – was done by Past International President Liz Benham and has been maintained by the yearly submission of the audited annual financial statement of BPW International and the Congress Proceedings whenever we had an International Congress.
To have projects financed by sponsors, foundations or international organizations, an official registration with the registry of commerceis required. Therefore, during this triennium we started the process to carry out the official registration at the Geneva Office of Registry of Commerce which had already been voted upon by the International Board at the Helsinki Congress. BPW International submitted the required documents in August. The process is not as easy as we thought. BPW International is an old NGO, which is why BPW International has also to provide the first Constitution of BPW International for 1930. This relates to intensive research of the archives at the Atria Archives in Amsterdam. There are also corrections to be made to our Constitution. The address has to be changed to the current office address in Geneva (the same as 2021 during the International Congress: 22, Rue Rothschild, CH - 1202 Geneva), the right of signatory has to be defined and the titles of the functions have to be adapted to the Swiss requirements. BPW International will therefore ask the International Board for a vote on these changes to the Constitution at the beginning of 2023.
