Thank you to the club for allowing me to be your delegate at the recent Soroptimist International of the Americas (SIA) bi-annual federation convention held in Taipei, Taiwan.  This is only the second federation level convention held outside of North America. It was a great experience and I highly recommend all club members start planning to attend the next SIA convention that will be held in 2010 in San Francisco-July 7 to 10.

For me just travelling that far was a new experience since I’d never been outside North America. There were about 1,700 in attendance including about 300 from the US, over 800 from Japan and over 400 from Taiwan. The convention started with the “Friendship Dinner”-an incredible 11 course Chinese Dinner plus local colorfully dressed dancers entertaining us.

Although there was no official business to be discussed or voted on (which is quite unusual) we got to hear reports from Soroptimist International President Margaret Lobo and various Past Presidents of SIA.  Federation level awards were presented including 3 Women’s Opportunity Awards of $10,000 each, the Violet Richardson award and Making a Difference Award. Various regional and club awards were also given.  There was a panel on Trafficking, information on a new SIA program related to Violence in Teen Dating and various breakout sessions.

In addition to the Soroptimist events, optional tours were available of Taipei and the surrounding area.  I was able to visit the Palace Museum, some beautiful temples and shrines, Taipei 101 (the tallest building in the world), the coastal areas and the night markets. I also got to experience a “mini” typhoon that passed by the island.

Attending a federation level convention is a wonderful reminder of the internationality of our organization. It’s a great way to meet other Soroptimists and gratifying to know that there are women around the world who share our mission and values.