Young BPW Chair travels to Sydney

In my recent trip to Sydney (I'm based in Perth), I was able to connect with members from BPW Parramatta and BPW Sydney. I attended BPW Parramatta's Christmas dinner and reconnected with members that I met last year at the BPW Australia conference. I was able to share with members some of the projects that the Young BPW board are working on including international volunteer opportunities, online career development resources and a Young BPW mentoring register (to name a few). The club made me feel very welcome and I was to specially mention their club president Margaret Tipper for making me feel really included in the evenings activities!

I've included a photo of me and past BPW Woman of the Year, Faye Helou.

The next night, I caught up with members from BPW Sydney club. It was great to meet new member, Zoe Freeman. I heard about the preparations for BPW Sydney's 70th birthday event, happening next February.

International Resolution about Young BPW

A resolution was put to the International BPW Congress to increase the official age of Young BPW from 18 - 35 to 18 - 40. This resolution was put by BPW New Zealand.

I have just received word that the resolution was defeated. Therefore the official age of Young BPW members will continue to be 18 to 35.

National Policy Summit

BPW has the power to make a difference

On the 16 and 17th August, BPW Australia held it's first Policy Summit in Geelong, Victoria.  BPW members and guests from all over Australia attended to hear what BPW is doing nationally and internationally to work for women's rights in the workplace. 

We heard a variety of guest speakers on the first day including Dr Meredith Burgmann, Judith Van Unen, Freda Miriklis and Pat Harrison.  Then National Policy Director, Sandra Cook led an interactive discussion about the hottest issues for working women including representation, education and workplace conditions. 

The second day was an action day.  We heard about the Fertility Project that was spearheaded by BPW South Australia and when Mary Louise Clifford was interviewed by the Productivity Commission and then subsequently nearly every media outlet!  

I got to meet some of the Young BPW members from Geelong and Mid City.  It would be great to see more Young BPW's there next time!!

Here are some of the photos.

Alicia Curtis

Young BPW Chair

Young BPW Joondalup Night WA

I recently attended the Young BPW night at BPW Joondalup in Western Australia and what a wonderful night is was.  There was about 50 people in attendence and there was an amazing young guest speaker, Sian White talking about her travels to India to help build a school.

Well done to Bianca Chantry and Kerry Anne Stevens (BPW Joondalup's new Young BPW Award winner) for organising and MC'ing a great night. 

Alicia Curtis

Young BPW Chair

Video Interviews from my travels

I've developed these two videos from my recent trip to the BPW New Zealand Conference. I hope you enjoy them.

You can view all the Young BPW videos at: http://www.bpw.com.au/youngbpw/ybpwaudio.htm

International Young BPW Opportunity

At the International Congress in Mexico in October, there will be a changeover in the International Young BPW Representative role as well as the Young BPW regional coordinators. Currently, Young BPW Australia member, Anna Rasalingam is the Asia Pacific Young BPW regional coordinator. This position is open to any Australian Young BPW members to nominate.

If you would like to find out more about this position, please email Alicia on alicia@aliciacurtis.com and I can put you in touch with Anna for more information about the role.

Alicia Curtis - Chair of the Young BPW Board

Financial Assistance to attend International Congress

Young BPW (BPW members age 35 or younger) and members of BPW Affiliates from low income countries can apply for funding assistance to attend Congress.

Young BPW Fund: Each grant is total 500 Euro. Total approved grants shall not exceed the balance of the fund. Grants will be restricted to members under the age of 35 years on the Opening Day of the Congress.

Application form for Young BPW fund:
International Aid Fund: Each grant is 1,000 Euro. Five grants is available, one for each region.

Application form for International Aid Fund:

Preference will be given to applications from affiliates / applicants most in need. Grants will be made on the basis of not more than one recipient per country. Consideration will only be given to applications from those Federations and Associate Clubs whose dues for the current and the previous years have been paid in full.

The President’s office will notify all applicants in writing of the success or otherwise of their application within seven days of the Executive Board’s decision. At the same time, successful applicants will be notified of the terms and conditions under which the grant will be paid. Members who receive the grant will also get 50% discount from standard registration fee for members.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICANTS: 24 May 2008

For more information, please visit: http://www.bpw-international.org/XXVI-congress/financial.htm

Young BPW Leadership Academy in Cyprus

Young BPW Cyprus Reports Back...
LEADERSHIP ACADEMY: “WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP – DEFINING OUR STRENGTHS”
APRIL 12-13, 2008, LARNACA, CYPRUS


In the beautiful setting of a 5* hotel, right on the beach, 22 vibrant ladies enjoyed a weekend of learning, activities, and fun! Heleni Argyrou gave a drum inspired creative and emotional opening to the event. The trainers, Trish Knight and Carolyn Grady traveled all the way from the United States, and managed to impress all the participants! Despite, the jetlag, they did a fantastic job presenting various topics, ranging from identifying the different behavioral styles and applying more effective communication techniques, to learning how to listen and ask the right questions, to improving presentation skills, to practicing positive thinking and positive self talk. Miranda Ioannou presented very useful techniques of investing in oneself and to safeguard a career. Miranda Tringis gave an enlightening presentation on women and wellness. At night, traditional Cypriot food and wine was savored at a village taverna. The weekend ended up with excellent reviews and promises for the organization of a similar event in the future. And of course, with many new good friends!

National Young BPW Board Positions Available – Nominations Open

There are two positions on the Young BPW Board open for nominations – Membership Director and Communications and PR Director. The Young BPW Board is a vibrant group of Young BPW members who are passionate about growing the Young BPW program. We meet via teleconference every two months and communicate regularly over email. A board member gives approximately 10 hours a month to attend to their portfolio duties. If you are a Young BPW that is interested in fulfilling the positions available, then please email me (ybpw@bpw.com.au) for the nomination form ASAP.

Alicia Curtis - National Young BPW Chair

Attending the BPW New Zealand Conference

Travelling across the Tasman Sea

Thanks to the generous funds presented by BPW Australia and BPW New Zealand, I was given the opportunity to travel to New Zealand for their National BPW Conference in April 2008. As on the second day of the conference, I launched the Keys to Achievement program in New Zealand after launching it across Australia in November 2007. On a personal level, it was amazing for me to see a program that I wrote was being shared internationally now. Many New Zealand club members embraced the program with enthusiasm and commented how useful the program will be in their club. BPW Australia was able to provide not only the KTA Booklet but also all the support resources such as the press release, member progress spreadsheet, powerpoint presentation, Club President’s guide and personal KTA action plan.

Meeting Young BPW Convener, Rachael Clarke

Rachael Clarke has only recently taken on the position of Young BPW Convener in New Zealand. Some of the struggles Young BPW have encountered are difficulty in accessing accurate data about the Young BPW membership as well as retaining young members in clubs. Rachael put forward an interesting resolution at the NZ conference for NZ to put forward a resolution at the International Congress to increase the age of Young BPW to under 40 years old. I will be consulting with the Board and Young BPW’s across Australia to advise the National BPW Board as to how we should vote at International Congress about this resolution. Rachael and I brainstormed a number of ways to work together in the future. These include:

• Promote contact between Young BPW’s from particular clubs, especially those that are travelling between the countries.
• Share information about Young BPW over a Wikispace.
• Invite New Zealand Young BPW’s onto the teleseminars that Australia are looking at implementing.
• New Zealand would support an Asia Pacific Young BPW meeting.
• Invite Rachael Clarke to join our Young BPW Board Meeting Teleconferences.

Meeting Delegates

At every BPW conference that I attend, I always get to meet such interesting people, and this was the case at the BPW New Zealand Conference this was no different.

BPW International President Dr. Chonchanok Viravan and BPW International Officer, Deon Naphaphen Wejjijiva from Thailand – I have been fortunate enough to meet with Nok and Deon a couple of times in the past year.

International Vice President Liz Benham from New York – Liz has nominated for the International President’s role, so it was great to have the opportunity to show off the Keys to Achievement program and share with her some of my ideas for BPW.

Picture: L – R: Alicia Curtis, Freda Miriklis, Antoinette Ruegg

International Executive Secretary Freda Miriklis from Australia – Freda is such an inspiration. As a past Young BPW Award winner for Australia, she has now gone on and taken on the role of Executive Secretary for the past three years. Freda has also nominated for the International Vice President role.

Immediate Past International President Dr. Antoinette Ruegg from Switzerland – an expert of leadership differences between men and women. Pauline Gabbar – another former President of the NZ Federation, Pauline has travelled countless times to BPW Nepal to bring funds for the literacy program for women.

International Projects Chair Susan Jones from Australia - Susan is a passionate BPW member promoting the diverse projects from around the world. Susan has nominated for the Asia Pacific Regional Coordinator.

Picture: L – R: Freda Miriklis, Alicia Curtis, Susan Jones, Marilyn Forsythe, Glenys Jones

Joan Bielby – a former President of the NZ Federation, Joan is a trailblazer for women’s rights. She was recently awarded Queen’s Service Order.

NZ Program & Mentoring Convenor, Gwendolyn Needham – Gwen is coordinating the Keys To Achievement program in New Zealand. She gave the challenge to all club presidents including 1. Use the ‘3-person team approach’ to lead the KTA programme. 2. Achieve your own accredited Bronze Key status by August 08. 3. Inspire and lead all members to achieve Bronze Key status by Conference in May, 2009.

There were many interesting speakers during the conference too including the Hon. Steve Chadwick, Minister of Women’s Affairs speaking about the new challenges for women to create equal opportunities. Their Keynote Speaker, Hannah Samuels, a Reputations expert, spoke about the role of reputation in building a strong brand. Dr. Antoinette Ruegg who presented her research on the gender differences between the leadership styles of men and women.

There was a panel on “Challenges and Actions for the Future” chaired by Young BPW Rachael Clarke. The topics and panellists were; Gender Equity by Shenagh Gleisner, CEO of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs; Eliminating Violence Against Women by Anne Todd-Lambie, Family Lawyer; Protecting our Environment by Linda Shaw, Mecologist; Empowering Young Women by Judit Klein, student delegate to the Global Young Leaders Conference in New York in June; Lowering Barriers to Leadership by Jackie Blue MP; Enhancing the BPW Profile by Hannah Samuel.

Conclusion

The opportunity to meet Young BPW and BPW members from New Zealand and share with them the Keys to Achievement program was very exciting.

Alicia Curtis - National Young BPW Chair

Invitation to attend the XXVI BPW International Congress, Mexico City, Mexico - 24-28 October 2008

Invitation to attend the XXVI BPW International Congress, Mexico City, Mexico - 24-28 October 2008

Dear BPW members,

You are invite to attend the XXVI BPW International Congress, Mexico City, Mexico - 24-28 October 2008, which will be held at a five star hotel - Gran Melia Mexico Reform hotel. The theme is "Power to Make a Difference".

PROGRAM: To find out the exciting program we have in store for you, you can view the tentative program at http://www.bpw-international.org/XXVI-congress/about-congress-program.htm.

MEMBER REGISTRATION, please visit URL: http://www.bpw-international.org/XXVI-congress/registration-form.htm
Early Registration fee: 460 USD from now - 24 June 2008
Standard Registration: 560 USD from 25 June - 16 Sept 2008
Late Registration: 660 USD from 17 Sept - 16 October 2008
You can choose to register online by clicking Online Registration (http://bpw.zwizz.com/registration.php) OR download registration forms in English / Spanish / French / Italian and submit it to bpw-congress-26@googlegroups.com or send it via fax to +66-2-3912120. These forms are also attached.

If you have friends / family members who want to attend workshops, they can register for 3 days workshops (25-27 October 2008). If they want to attend only social function, they can register as "Accompanying persons". Each must submit a separate
registration form, however.

ACCOMMODATION: We have negotiate a very special hotel rate for you! The rate for a standard deluxe single / double room at Gran Melia Mexico Reforma hotel is 110 USD per night (including free wireless internet & 15% off on all SPA treatments. Group rate applied 3 days before or after congress). This is a reasonable for a five star hotel and member of Leading hotel of the world. The hotel is reasonably close to the airport and just a few blocks away from the UNESCO World Heritage site in Mexico City and other key sight seeing places.

BPW members who register for Congress and make reservation at Gran Melia hotel by 24 June 2008 will be eligible for drawing of the following prizes:

#1 Prize: free 5 nights stay in a standard deluxe single / double room (double occupants) - 1 award
#2 Prize: free upgrade to Junior Suite - 1 award
#3 Prize: A free night stay for a stand deluxe single / double room - 3 awards

(The result will be announced 30 June 2008).

VISA: If you want to know whether you need to get visa to Mexico, please visit http://www.bpw-international.org/XXVI-congress/VISA.htm. About 30 of our 84 BPW member countries are not require to get visa into Mexico. Please also check your flight route. If your flight transit in USA, you will need to get visa to the United States as well.

ABOUT Mexico section at http://www.bpw-international.org/XXVI-congress/about-mexico.htm would give you some basic information about Mexico such as currency, electricity, travel and transport, telephone, etc.

More information will continue to be added to this Congress web section. We will keep you inform for new information- especial new benefits - are post on the web site. Coming soon is the Airfare Discount.

I would appreciate very much if you could also help distribute this to BPW members in your clubs / federations / friends / family.

COUNTING ON YOU FOR THE FUTURE OF BPW.

See you in Mexico City!

Chonchanok Viravan
BPW International President

We want to know what you think!

Policy Issues affecting Young Women

Young BPW in partnership with UNIFEM is asking young women, aged 16 - 35 years old, what policy issues affect them the most?

Policy issues could include anything. For example: infertility support, paid maternity leave, pay gap in the workplace or work/life balance.

Click through to http://fsplugins.com/quicksurvey/bpw/1 to answer the question "What policy issues are you most passionate about and why?"

Alicia Curtis
Chair, National Young BPW Board

Meeting a Young BPW member in Hong Kong

During a visit to China last week I had the opportunity to meet with a BPW member in Hong Kong. I contacted Claire by e-mail before leaving Australia and she emailed back her cell phone number for me to contact her when we reached Hong Kong. We called late Friday night and she agreed to meet with us on Saturday afternoon. There is something about BPW women – they are just so interesting! Claire is an inspiring woman who has lived and worked in the Philippines, China and Hong Kong and is now embarking on a study year in France to complete an MBA!! I don’t think we stopped talking for the whole afternoon and we hope to stay in touch in the future.

It was fantastic to explore the city with someone who knew it so well and we saw a lot more than we would have even attempted on our own. Just being able to dispense with the anxieties of deciphering maps and the transport system, gave us the opportunity to experience the city like a local - and in complete safety. We ended up spending the evening with Claire and her boyfriend Joe, and again, it was a real bonus to be directed to great local food which is always difficult to find in an unfamiliar city. My experience in Hong Kong has truly brought home to me how great it is to be a part of an international network of women and, although we are from different countries and cultures, it is amazing how much we have in common with BPW members worldwide - it is also comforting to know there are so many of us in the world working toward the same goal of empowering women.

Genevieve Cother
National Sponsorship Director, Young BPW Board

Melbourne Trip

Last weekend I visited Melbourne for a work related conference, while I was there I enjoyed the hospitality of the Melbourne BPW members. Here is a recount of my travels!

Thursday - 27th March - During the Day

I was picked up from the airport by Tracey Maney, President of BPW Doutta Galla and we taken out to lunch! It was great to hear about the club's very successful Bodywise workshops for young girls. Tracey is such a dynamic woman, it's no wonder that Doutta Galla is on the up and up!

Thursday - 27th March - Evening

Later that day, I attended BPW Mid City's Young BPW Cocktail Evening. It's a sign of a great gathering when no-one wants to leave at the end of the evening!!

I also got to meet with Marilyn and Sharon from BPW Geelong, who drove a long way to attend this event - Thankyou! It was great to hear their plans for the Keys to Achievement program that I launched nationally at the conference in November.

Then a couple of us girls went on to dinner - we had much to talk about! We spoke about developing more regular events for young women and what would work best in Melbourne.

Friday - 28th March - Morning

I had the lovely pleasure of having breakfast with the members of BPW Doutta Galla. They are a vibrant and caring group of women. They were most interested in hearing about what the Young BPW Board were doing and were very supportive of our endeavours. During the breakfast I met Janine, a young women looking to join BPW - it was great to put a face to the emails!!

Sunday - 30th March - Evening

I was able to catch up with Anna Rasalingam, Asia Pacific Young BPW Regional Coordinator and former Young BPW Board member, Jenny Goulopoulos. They are such great young women - such exciting and innovative ideas about BPW!! I look forward to working with them both on Young BPW activities in the future.

Monday - 31st March - Evening

I was fortunate to connect with Frida Miriklis (and her lovely husband Andrew) from BPW Mid City before I flew back to Perth. Freda is currently the Executive Secretary on the International BPW Board. She is also a former Young BPW Australia Award winner and an absolute dynamo!! Freda has met and worked with many BPW women from around the women. She spoke to me about the many skills she has learnt since being on the International Board and is looking forward to the Mexico International Congress. Freda is a shining example of the excellent work that Australian members are doing for our organisation around the world!

Thank you to all the Victorian BPW members that made me feel so welcome in Melbourne. I look forward to returning soon! :)

Alicia Curtis

National Young BPW Chair

Young BPW Videos

Just letting you know that four videos have been uploaded to the Young BPW Broadcasts section on the BPW website. You can watch the videos at:

http://www.bpw.com.au/youngbpw/ybpwaudio.htm

Young BPW Board Chair - Alicia Curtis

Young BPW Teleseminars

The Young BPW Board is looking into the opportunity of holding Young BPW Teleseminars to:

• Connect Young BPW's from around Australia
• To gain knowledge and skills that is helpful for our careers
• To keep Young BPW's up to date with what is happening in BPW for them

It's an exciting new development that is being spearheaded by our Business Development Director, Mio Seamder.

If you have any suggestions or comments about the proposal, please send me an email at ybpw@bpw.com.au and I will pass it on to Mio or add a comment to this blog.

Alicia Curtis - National Young BPW Board Chair

Young BPW is not the future of BPW

Most members look at me strangely when I tell them this, however I think it’s an important paradigm shift we need to change in our thinking in BPW. Young BPW is not the future of BPW or the future leaders of BPW because they are a strong and vibrant part of BPW today. As I listened to the current Young BPW Board members introduce themselves recently, I felt lucky to have Young BPW members that have been part of BPW for up to 10 years, served as state and club executive members and attended International BPW events. These are not leaders of the future, these are leaders of the now!

So how do you attract these types of women to your club? Well how young woman-friendly is your club? Do you actively seek speakers that would be of interest to young women? Do you personally invite young women leaders to your meetings? Do you have leadership opportunities and events for young women in your community? Do you support your young members to be involved in BPW in any way they like – club, state, national or international?

The trick is that young women attract young women so the more speakers, events, guests that are young women or are geared towards young women, the more you will attract them to become members of your club.

So what support can the Young BPW Board offer you? We have just appointed two Young BPWs to be National Coordinators for Young BPW club meetings across Australia. We hope to encourage every club to hold a Young BPW night as one of their normal club meetings in 2008. These National Coordinators will develop simple resources to help you develop your Young BPW club meeting and will be happy to answer any questions over the email. They are Anita Cheetham and Sarah Flatters from BPW Joondalup in WA. They have run successful Young BPW club meetings that have attracted up to 70 guests. I hope every club will utilise the resources that they develop and contact them for any further support your club needs to run your Young BPW evening.

Alicia Curtis - National Young BPW Board Chair

Meet some Young BPW members

Here is a video of some of the Young BPW members from around Australia who attended the 34th National BPW Conference in Parramatta, November 2007.

-Alicia Curtis, Chair, National Young BPW Board

Young BPW Cyprus - Invitation to "Leadership Academy" - April 12-13, 2008

Would you like to attend a Young BPW Leadership Academy event happening in Cyprus in April? Read the invitation below from the Young BPW President from Cyprus. It would be great to have representation from Australia.

-Alicia Curtis, Chair, National Young BPW Board

Dear Young BPW Members,
It is my great pleasure to invite you to our "Leadership Academy" that will take place on April 12-13, 2008 in Larnaca, Cyprus.
We're delighted to have Trish Knight and Carolyn Grady with us, coming from the US to be the brilliant instructors for our event!
We promise a weekend filled with fun, learning, and surprises!
For all the relevant program and registration information, kindly see the attached document.
Please help us spread word about this exciting event by forwarding the information to all the smart and energetic women that you know and might be interested!
And of course, if you have any inquiries, feel free to contact me.
Looking forward to welcoming you at our Academy!
Best regards,
Athena Theodorou
Young BPW President - Cyprus