Page 1 - BPW-UK - E-news - Edition 111 - April 2023 with added PDFs

E-news

Edition 111– April 2023

Dear Members,

Thank you for responding to the Conference evaluation forms which have been
looked at by the FEC and will be reviewed at the next Conference Task Force meeting.

By all accounts it has been a popular conference, with everyone wanting to pass on grate-
ful thanks to the local members in Belfast. Local knowledge is everything when planning
an event like this, and the team did not disappoint; thank you.

One point which did come up was the decision to use more than one venue for this
conference. This was agreed upon so that we could get to see the many beautiful local
buildings. Seeing a white coated Stormont was incredible, and almost made me forget
about the logistical issues the snow had caused! The Harbour Commissioner’s office was
wonderful and will be a building that we remember for a long time. After 175 years Dr
Theresa Donaldson told us how she had brought a differing style to business in the work-
ing harbour. Change can give positive results in so many ways.

Secondly the team managed to source funding from Visit Belfast
(www.visitbelfast.com), without which we could not have kept the registration fee so low.
By proving that we had been in multiple locations it secured an amount per head for those
travelling from outside of Northern Ireland.

We also made BPW UK history with our very first fully hybrid AGM and Conference.
Although we had a few teething issues on the day, the decision to have the events profes-
sionally filmed and aided by an audio specialist was the right one, and popular with those
that had joined this way. This is something we aim to build on for next year, and I have
asked the Constitutional Advisory Committee Chair PIP Sylvia Perry to look at how we can
enable online voting. However, this will need careful consideration and strong security
guarantees to make sure every vote counts.

But, as everyone who attended in person agreed, how wonderful was it to be togeth-
er again, to debate the motions, to hear the speakers, and to have a meal together.

However good Artificial Intelligence (https://www.ai-darobot.com) becomes, nothing
can replace being in the same room at the same time.

Our April Wednesday webinar built on the advocacy needed to put our motions to
work, and VP Advocacy Chris Nendick talked to us about how we can progress these in
each area of the UK. Useful discussions followed and we are grateful for the suggestions.

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