This week’s SoroptiVoice Blog comes from Sue Biggs, SIGBI’s new Federation Programme Director. For her first contribution (of many, we hope!) she reflects on the recent SIGBI Conference held in Brighton at the end of October –  her first as Federation Programme Director.

My first Soroptiblog and my first
SIGBI Federation Conference as Programme Director.  I would like to sub title this “burning the
candle at both ends” as I finally realised how much the average Soroptimist can
pack into a day without really trying.

At Conferences in the past I have
simply arrived, listened to the speakers, been inspiried by them and then gone home again thinking how wonderful an organisation
Soroptimist International is. But this time I was one of those speakers. It was
my job to explain how we were going to debate important programme issues at
future conferences. This is of course of the highest importance but after
listening to our Programme Director Reilly sock it to the audience and then
having been moved to tears during Ann Cotton’s speech about the beginning of
CamFed I was getting worried!

Ann MacDonald spoke about the
final total of £1,000,000 for Project Sierra and the auditorium exploded with
cheers and whoops of delight which turned into belly laughs when Sandi Toksvig
bounded on the stage and demanded to become an honorary member. By the time Friday
evening’s networking event kicked off I was not only worried but my nerves were
getting the better of me.

Finally Saturday dawned and it
was my turn and it went fine –  and you know why? Because all the women in the
audience are just like they me. They are Soroptimists belonging to the best
women’s organisation in the world. We care about our fellow women and that
audience cared about me. I felt I was amongst friends which meant once it was
over I could party and burn that candle at both ends. Bring on Belfast, that’s
what I say!!!!