NATIONAL FEDERATION OF WOMEN’S INSTITUTES

ANNUAL CONFERENCE- JUNE 7TH 2014

Chairman’ Address

Rebranding has made the organisation more modern and it is hoping to appeal to younger

prospective members. The WI Guide which has lots of useful information about how to run

the Institute and various roles is being reprinted and available to order from Federation.

Each WI is an independent and unique charity working as part of a whole. It is up to us to

give our members what they want and not what NFWI or WFWI necessarily tell us what we

want.

They are looking for a good Resolution for next year’s centenary which will stand the test of

time. We were reminded that the 1954 Resolution was Keep Britain Tidy which became a

national government backed campaign.

We were encouraged to get on the Moodle to gather information about the Centenary

Committee and events being planned, Crafts, Floral Arts & Leisure.

Denman reported an increase in bookings and takings this year and will break even and may

even have a small surplus. A new business plan is being actioned and with over 600 courses

available as well as the cookery school we are to encourage our members to take a look at

what is on offer.

There has been a production problem with some of the branded goods which is being

rectified so there has been a delay if goods have been ordered.

The message from the Chairman was that we are an inspiring organisation and that we must

continue to motivate to keep the momentum going.

Treasurer’s Report

Total income increased by 9% on last year to £6.4M and total expenditure was down 2% so

finances are healthy. Membership is now exempt from VAT and HMRC have refunded dating

back to 1973 and the money was used for the Inspiring Women Conferences and will be

used for the Centenary Year events.

It I hoped that any future increase in membership subscriptions will go to WFWI and not

NFWI to improve the financial support for local Federations. A pro rata quarterly

subscription will be available now for new members.

Resolution

There are 20 million people on the organ donation register but only 5,000 deaths last year

were eligible for donation under the right circumstances ( ie they died in hospital and had

family consent ) . This compares with the 7,000 people currently awaiting transplants.

If you do not let your relatives know your wishes and talk about it with them they can veto

the donation even if you are on the transplant register.

Other ways of dealing with this were discussed such as opting out as currently they do in

Wales, legislate against the family veto, having a consent form which is signed by the family

or mandated donation. This would mean that when applying for a driving licence, passport

or doing a tax return you have to opt in or out to complete the application.

The conference heard from the floor several examples of members or their families who had

either donated or received organ donations and the positive impact it had had on their lives.

Some felt the resolution was too woolly and did not go far enough but it was carried by

5,981 in favour and 133 against .

Speaker- Sir Andrew Motion

He talked about his two passions, poetry and the countryside. Having originally wanted to

join the Forestry Commission or the RSPB he was inspired by his English teacher to look at

poetry after having read Thomas Hardy’s “I look into my glass”. Other poets which have

influenced him were Gerard Manley Hopkins and William Wordsworth. Having been Poet

Laureate for 10 years and establishing the Poetry Archive where poets read their own works

he has now moved on to become the President of the Campaign for the Preservation of

Rural England and encouraged us all to sign the CPRE charter to voice our concerns over the

current regimes’ plans to build on Green Belt.

Prizewinners

Prizes were awarded for the Lady Denman Cup, The Huxley Cup and for the Centenary Fruit

Cake Competition.

Speaker – Dr George McGavin

The academic turned TV presenter talked about his transition from university professor to

heading up expeditions into remote regions to handle all sorts of creepy crawlies so we

don’t have to. He showed clips from his programmes, The Lost Land of the Jaguar and his

latest, Monkey Planet talking movingly about Dora, an orphaned orangutan who has to be

taught how to fend for herself before she can be released into the wild. He is passionate

about preserving the rain forest which historically made up 14% of the earth’s surface and

through deforestation is now reduced to 6% and still being destroyed. He pointed out that

75% of all species on earth live in the rain forest.

His tip on scorpions may come in useful- big claws, little tails are harmless whereas small

claws, big tail – run like hell !!!

Centenary Events

Spring 2015 will see a TV programme on the history of the WI presented by Lucy Worsley.

March 2015 – a special book is being produced tracing 10 decade of the WI with a social

history of the decade , recipes and photos.

The Centenary Baton continues to make progress around the country and will be in

Warwickshire in September.

Mikron Theatre Co which tour by narrowboat are writing a new play about the WI and are

wanting WI /Federation to host a show.

The 2015 National Conference will be streamed live via the internet from the Albert Hall on

June 4th and there will be a link back to WI’s who are planning an original or unusual event

on that day. The cost of the link back will be paid for by NFWI. Cine world are offering a

discounted rate if Federations want to hire out the cinema to watch the live conference.

Where usually 1 out of 4 link group WI’s get to attend the conference, next year this will

increase to 2 out of 4.

Centenary products for sale include mugs, tea towels, scarves, brooches, diary and of course

the Centenary Rose.

An exhibition is planned in Harrogate for next September on the WI since it started.

Encourage your members to make something for the Tomorrow’s Heirloom Competition

Plan a celebration for WI Day next September.

The NFWI Centenary Raffle will have a first prize of £10,000.

Speaker – Bill Turnbull , Breakfast Television

Bill gave a very entertaining speech about his daily routine getting up at 3.30am to present

BBC Breakfast , his time on Strictly Come Dancing and his passion for beekeeping. His

amusing anecdotes on autocue failures and how to be a good interviewee kept the audience

captivated.

The conference closed at 4.10pm

Carolyn Marshall , President of Leek Wootton WI – June 2014