Well the Christmas decorations have been taken down, the New Years celebrations forgotten and resolutions possibly abandoned altogether, so it must be time for the WI Resolutions!
"Oh no not already!" some of you may be thinking.
Is your group one that reads out a list of the proposed resolutions, (having hoped that your members have done their research as advised in your last newsletter!), and taken a vote on a show of hands? Or are you, like New Sarum WI, a group that tries to more actively involve its members in the whole process?
At NSWI we have found that the best approach is for each member of the committee to select a resolution that they feel resonates with them, do a little research on the subject, and then present it to the rest of the members at a selected meeting. At the meeting in question, the attendees are split up into smaller groups according to the number of resolutions, and remain in these groups whilst the committee member or willing volunteer visits each group in turn to do a short presentation on the subject and hopefully encourage members of the group to discuss the topic.
It is surprising what experiences from our members comes to light at these sessions. The small grouping also means that those ladies who don’t normally speak up are less self conscious in airing their views. We have found that the experience makes them feel more empowered. It also seems to reduce the apathy that sadly seems to be present not only in many WI groups these days, but in the community as a whole.
At the start of the Covid 19 outbreak, look at how it brought out the fighting spirit in us, working together wherever we could to help others. I hope we can all continue with this attitude. The last thing we should be doing now is burying our heads in the sand whilst counting our blessings and planning our next holiday! Once a resolution has been adopted nationally, there is always plenty of guidance on how we can get more involved with the issue in question. Even if there seems to be insufficient time to organise something as our programmes may already be finalised for the year, I am sure it would be possible to ‘tweak ‘ them a little to accommodate the resolution subject matter.
This pandemic, although dreadful for many, has given us the chance to reassess what is important to us and how we live our lives. These resolutions give us the starting point to make a difference. Let's use this opportunity wisely.
- Submitted by Sue Luther, President of New Sarum WI
Comentarios