As the April 15th deadline for early bird registration draws closer, SI are posting a special series of blog posts introducing some of brilliant key note and plenary speakers who will be appearing at Convention. Remember, the early bird gets the worm – Register now! The advanced booking rate closes tomorrow!

We are delighted to hear that Maude Barlow will be addressing Soroptimists at the 19th International Convention in Montreal as a plenary speaker. Maude is the National Chairperson of The Council of Canadians,

Canada‘s largest public advocacy organization, and the co-founder of the Blue Planet Project, working internationally for the right to water. She is also a Director with the International Forum on Globalization, a

San Francisco based research and education institution opposed to economic globalization. She is also a Senior Advisor on Water to the President of the United Nations General Assembly.

Maude is therefore well placed to speak on environmental issues, particularly access to water, and we are excited to hear what she has to say on the theme: Women as Stewards of the Environment. 

Access to water is set to become one of the biggest challenges facing humankind. In many parts of the world, it already is a daily struggle.  In advance of the first UN General Assembly summit on the human right to water last July, Maude had this to say:

"When the 1948 universal declaration on human rights was written, no one could foresee a day when water would be a contested area. But… it is not an exaggeration to say that the lack of access to clean water is one of the greatest  human rights violation in the world. Nearly 2 billion people live in water-stressed areas of the world and 3 billion have no running water within a kilometer of their homes."

From all the on line reporting you do of your projects, we know that water issues are close to hearts of Soroptimists so for many of you, Maude’s talk is bound to be a highlight.

Maude is the recipient of eight honorary doctorates, the 2005 Right Livelihood Award (known as the "Alternative Nobel"), the Citation of Lifetime Achievement at the 2008 Canadian Environment Awards, and the 2009 Earth Day Canada Outstanding Environmental Achievement Award for her global water justice work.

She is the best-selling author or co-author of sixteen books, including Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop Corporate Theft of the World’s Water and the recently released Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Coming

Battle for the Right to Water.   

To register, visit: www.si-montreal2011.org.

To find out more about the workshops SI are planning, keep checking Twitter  (search #SIConv2011) as we post clues about the exciting workshop themes! Want to find out more about Montreal? Read the news story to read all about this fantastic city.

We look forward to seeing you!