Giving a talk
Phil Shore, an Ambassador in Derbyshire, was invited to give a talk to a local branch of the Associate Country Women of the World (ACWW). He hopes to inspire you to seek opportunities with the ACWW in your local area.
"This opportunity arose following an earlier presentation I had made to a Women’s Institute (WI) meeting. ACWW has more than 9 million members in over 70 countries. Their members work to “empower women to exercise more power and change their lives for the better”. There is a particularly strong emphasis on empowerment of women in the developing world and – it is clear – a significant overlap with the work of Shared Interest.
"My talk was very enthusiastically received, and at times it was more like a debating society than a straightforward presentation. The audience was fascinated to hear about Shared Interest’s work with largely-female groups in Kenya (Namayiana) and Burkina Faso (UDN/CGF). The audience was well-versed in the difficulties facing women in these areas, and impressed with the impact made using Shared Interest loans. I also described the work of Fairtrade Pioneer, Ursula Brunner, and her legacy with Gebana, which also benefits from Shared Interest loans.
"Based upon my experience with the Derbyshire branch, I would strongly recommend Ambassadors look for opportunities to speak with their local ACWW branches. In the past I have given talks to WI groups, Rotary Clubs and Church groups; but I have never met such a large group of highly engaged people as the ACWW group – they share our concerns over the impact of unfair trade and in particular the difficulties for women in producer countries to access finance and gain empowerment."
Setting up a stall
Ambassador Kathryn Haigh held a Shared Interest stall at a local co-operative shop recently. Read more about setting up a stall here.
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