b'closing remarks2020 was a year of concern and challenge for all Soroptimists. Our early concerns proved justified as we all witnessed the rapid global spreadviolence campaigners and we must all lobby of the pandemic, COVID-19. With our normalour governments to dedicate funds to support schedule of global meetings interrupted andvictims and survivors. eventually cancelled, and regions and clubs notFurthering our learning opportunities and ways able to meet in person, just as our Foundersto bring us together digitally, we launched SI embraced challenge in 1921, SoroptimistsVoices, a series of regular podcasts to commence everywhere during 2020 embraced the newour 100th Anniversary campaign. Content challenge of digital technology to continue ourhas varied from our history and pioneers, to vital work.interviews with SI Presidents and the rights of During 2020 our learning manifested inolder women. As we all took to our daily walks, technology, and we thrived. I would like tomany of us also listened to the podcasts as we thank all SIHQ staff for their dedication andwalked, learning on the go.delivery of high-quality work, and for seamlesslyAs 2020 drew to a close at SI we had to take the transferring to working from home. With thedifficult decision to cancel our 100th birthday support of SI President Sharon Fisher and the SIparty planned for San Francisco in October 2021. Board of Directors, we moved all our meetingsOnce again, we embraced the challenge and online. With the majority of UN meetings tooswitched to an online party, being held in two taking place online, we are extremely gratefulsessions, over two days, allowing thousands of to our permanent Representatives for positivelySoroptimists to join. Maybe not in person, but it embracing this way of working, and maintainingwill certainly be a much bigger party bringing an SIs influence amongst global policymakers.opportunity to motivate and re-energise us all to For the first time our Annual General Meetingcontinue our Soroptimist mission.was held online which allowed us to inviteGlobal Executive Director, Deborah ThomasSoroptimists to join the meeting. This was our first foray into digital meetings with a global audience, and it was very successful with our meetings licence full to capacity. Shortly after the AGM SI President Sharon Fisher launched a series of webinars as part of the work of her appeal, Road to Equality. With almost all of us unable to venture out, the webinars enabled us to be together but apart learning so much about the many forms of violence against women from the notable speakers and panellists. We learnt about triggers and symptoms, and what actions we need to implement, to combat in particular, the hidden pandemic of domestic violence, which sadly, but predictably increased during our enforced periods of lockdown. Our SI Appeal, Road to Equality continues to support domestic soroptimistinternational.org 18'