Hello

Activities to Enhance International Understanding

• In the course of arranging for our Area Conference which took place in Bandar Aceh, Indonesia, I made contact with Dr Noelene Heyzer the Head of ESCAP (The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) based in Bangkok. Her involvement in activities of ACWW in my region will definitely be useful in the economic and social development of member societies. I have got replies from her office but I am still unable to get a suitable date for an appointment.

• Contact was also made with the United Nations Development Programme in Kuala Lumpur to ascertain avenues for collaboration. However their inclination on work of NGOs is only supportive in nature in view of the strong governmental institutional and infrastructure programmes in the country.

• I gave a talk on Volunteer Initiatives for a Sustainable Global Community at the 13th International Association of Volunteer Efforts Asia Pacific Conference in Busan South Korea. More than 800 participants from countries around the world attended the four day conference held from 28th to 31st October 2011. It provided a great platform for me to talk about ACWW.

• I gave another talk at the International Workshop on Resource Mobilisation (IWRM) Asia 20112 at Eastin Hotel Kuala Lumpur, held from the 3rd to 6th July 2012. Since the conference focused on providing comprehensive training in all aspects of resource mobilisation and sustainable fund raising techniques in NGOs, it was truly beneficial opportunity to talk among others, my work in ACWW.

• We were also represented at the 13th to 16th May 2012 ‘Third International Congress on Technical and Vocational Education and Training’ in Shanghai, China. Field visits to places where companies train members from NGOs in vocational training in China was indeed an eye opener for the 800 participants from around the world.


Activities/ Fund Raising for ACWW

• Member societies from the region joined ACWW Women Walk the World event in April 2012. Some money was raised by member societies.

• The campaign to get more individual members of ACWW is ongoing and hopefully by the time we organise the 10th Area Conference for the region, we should be able to get some individual members.

• WI Pahang’s initial efforts at fund raising to build our own premises were not very encouraging and we will therefore embark on another ‘Roofathon’ in 2013. The Sarawak Foundation of WIs has been more successful with fund raising with the Office Buildings.

• Throughout the year member societies continuously undertake programmes to raise funds for activities and the running of their organisations. Programmes like ‘Bake and Sell’, ‘Catering’ and ‘Fund Raising Dinners’. Charity Shops are undertaken as an integral part of the society activities.

HRH Princess Azizah Iskandar, Area President South East Asia & the Far East