If our founder Dr. Lena Madisin Phillips was here today, she would be very proud to see BPW grows and continues to advocate for gender equality as well as empower women at all platforms. It brings great pleasure to see BPW sisters celebrated our 88th anniversary with pride, embracing diversity and inclusion, uniting the world through our strength, committing to achieve a global agenda under our 2017-2020 triennium theme: "Empowering Women to realize the Sustainable Development Goals".

Since I was honored to be elected as International President in October 2017, I have visited my BPW sisters across the world in over 20 countries, such as Bahrain, Morocco, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Australia, UK, Jordon, Canada, Russia, USA, etc. I also had the privilege of visiting other countries and open channels of commutations to start BPW Clubs in Namibia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mauritania Djibouti and Zambia.

I had also attended and gave talks at several International Conferences to raise the visibility of BPW International and strengthening the ties with our partners, such as International Trade Center, UN Women, UNIDO and other Regional and International Institutions and Organizations.

In March 2018, we held a successful BPW Leaders’ Summit in New York focusing on our International Theme "Empowering Women to realize the Sustainable Development Goals " but with great emphasis on the Goal 18, which is Sustainability of BPW International. BPW affiliates’ projects presentation under the theme of 62nd Session of UN Commission on Status of Women, “Empowering Rural Women and Girls” gave a great image on how the great work of our BPW affiliates contributes to the realization of the SDGs and have a real impact on the daily life of women across the world. We have seen how this work is related to our BPW International advocacy pillars of Women Entrepreneurship, Women In Trade and access to markets, Women on Boards, Women Financial inclusion, Equal Pay , Women Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and Government and Corporate Procurement Policies. And how these advocacy pillars and the activities and projects of our BPW affiliates are interlinked with the SDGs as follows:

• To achieve SDG 1 on “Ending poverty”, BPW’s role is not to give charity, but to promote economic growth through entrepreneurship, training and capacity building so that women would gain financial independence . Financial inclusion of women and access to land and property for women are the keys to end poverty.
• To achieve SDG2 on “Zero Hunger”, BPW projects often empower women at all levels and to strengthen their capacity in agriculture and agribusiness for grassroots and rural women.
• It is amazing that so many BPW affiliates are working on the SDG3 on Health and wellbeing by organizing health awareness campaigns. Good health is a true wealth!
• SDG4 on “Quality Education” is embedded in the roots of BPW projects and enforced by our advocacy pillar of promoting women in STEM Education 
• SDG 5 on “Gender Equality” and Women Empowerment are the core of all our BPW activities and projects.
• Our BPW affiliates across the world are also work to eliminate any form of discrimination against women, to prevent violence against women, to empower women and girls with special needs, to combat child marriage, etc. Since these activities enable women to have better opportunities to work full time and to their full potentials, they also contribute towards SDG 8 on “Decent Work and Economic Growth”.

It is also great to know that BPW International affiliates are also working towards SDGs that are related to environment, realizing the sectorial advocacy pillars of empowering women in Agriculture and Agribusiness, Green Economy, Clean Energy, Climate Change and to have access to Water and Sanitation.

It is crucial for all the affiliates across the world to register their projects and send us information about their great work and how they link to the Global Agenda of SDGs

Our real goal is to work together in harmony to advance the agenda of women empowerment economically, socially, politically. It is time for all of us to unite our efforts to spread BPW International’s wings and embrace our diversity and richness across the world in collaboration with all our partners.

I want to thank all my executive team for all their great efforts, energy and enthusiasm to work as a team to realize our objectives for women empowerment and gender equality. And as I always end my messages with our African proverb " If you want to go fast go alone and if you want to go far we go together"

With all my very warm regards to all of you my great sisters across the world.

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