Governor’s letters

Dear Board and Commitee-Members of the D14,

Dear Presidents of the D14!

My Zonta Christmas Wishlist

If I could wish anything for Christmas, it would be: no more family and domestic violence, no more child marriages, better access to educational opportunities for women and girls, equal pay for women doing the same work as their male counterparts, respect for others in all relationships, and peace everywhere. But since I know this will not be possible, I ask you, dear Zontian, to support me in making the world a little better.
I thank you for all your commitment, your dedication to women and I look forward to seeing you all again.

A peaceful and reflective Christmas to you all in the circle of your loved ones!

Yours in hope, Heike

PS: Please read below all the useful and great information from and for our District 14 which I have prepared for you. Thank you.

The 16 Days of Activism campaign is successfully done and I know all of our clubs have participated. Thank you for all the great activities and I was deeply impressed of your commitment and power to this important issue. Please feel free to tag me on your Club’s Facebook page or other social media posts so I can get the latest news of your club activities- and don’t forget to use the hashtag #zonta14 every time!

Share your story for visibility

Please send your best practice examples and photos from your 16 days campaign work to our District Communication Committee for Greater Visibility ! And don’t forget to upload photos together with a short text to the “Share your story” section on the Zonta International website.

Your donation makes a difference

Thank you for your donation to the “Every Member – Every November” campaign – or “Giving Tuesday”, 29 November. Zonta International needs every cent to fund its international service projects and continue to advocate for women’s issues.

Awardees and scholarships

Now let me announce the name of the2022 District D 14 Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarshiprecipient: Ms. Rosanna Pottmann submitted by the ZC Vienna Parkring

Also a big congratulation to the Young Women in Public Affairs Awardee: Ms. Chiara Hoffman-Kuhnt from Zonta Club Munich I

And a big congratulation to the Amelia Earhart Fellowship winner Ms. Maren Hülsmann. Learning from the Bios of the winners can inspire us to find the right institutions for applicants.

Inspiring meetings

The first six months of the biennium are coming to an end, and we’ve seen some great work and progress. I am very honoured to be your Governor – it is a unique experience in my life.

Since July, I have held regular meetings with the District Board and Committee Chairs to work together on the goals and programs of Zonta International.

Last month, I attended the first Area Meetings of Area 01+02 online and Area 03 in Würzburg. What an inspiring experience for me to meet and talk to so many of you!

Founding a Golden Z Club

I am pleased to note that some clubs are interested in forming Z and Golden Z Clubs.
After the presentations by the chair Gundula Viering at the Area Meetings the following clubs have already expressed interest:

Area 02: ZC Brixen, ZC Bozen-Bressanone

Area 03: ZC Erlangen, ZC Erfurt, ZC Fränkisches Seenland

The Golden Z- and Z Team is looking forward to further interested parties, please contact them via mail: Gundula Viering

Thanks to the 4 Area Directors, Committee Chairs and Committee Members for all their great work!

A special thanks goes to the “Communication for Greater Visibility” committee. We can now regularly follow the activities across our district via social media on Facebook and Instagram and the website.

Please send regularly your club activities with photos and a short text to our District’s Communication for Greater Visibility committee!

Say NO to Non-State-Torture

A great exhibition was installed in the UNO City in Vienna, under the direction of DR.in Ingeborg Geyer (ZC Wien I, Past International Director and UN Representative Vienna.) “Say NO to Non-State-Torture”

I had the privilege to be present at the opening ceremony and realized once again that we still have a long way to go for human rights to become women’s rights.

International News

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN FOR NGO CSW 67FORUM!

The 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women will take place from 6-17 March 2023. NGO CSW 67 will be hybrid: 80% virtual and 20% in person. Over 1000 NGOs and ECOSOC-accredited organizations have been approved to attend. The civil society division of UN Women has received 200 written statements from NGOs that will be reviewed and published by UN editors at least six weeks before 6 March.

Join CSW67

Check out the information below to learn more about NGO CSW 67. I hope that many Zontians will register and attend! I look forward to seeing you there!

What is NGO CSW Forum and what is UN CSW?

What are this year’s themes?

Priority theme: Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls

Review theme: Challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls (agreed conclusions of the sixty-second session).

If interested, please fill out this form and you will be added to a contact list through which key conference information will be communicated by Zonta International Headquarters.

We are all committed working to
Build a Better World for Women and Girls.

Save the dates:

AMELIA EARHART MONTH

1-31 January 2023

Each January, Zonta International celebrates the spirit and impact of legendary pilot Amelia Earhart, one of our most famous former members.

AMELIA EARHART DAY – 11 January 2023

On this day, we commemorate the records Amelia Earhart broke 88 years ago when she embarked on a 2,408-mile trip from Honolulu, Hawaii to Oakland, California, making her the first person to fly solo to the United States mainland from Hawaii and the first person to fly across both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF WOMEN AND GIRLS IN SCIENCE

11 February 2023

The International Day of Women and Girls in Science was established in 2015 to help achieve full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls, and further achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

Area 01 & Area 02 Meeting

March 24-26, 2023 that will be held in Opatija, Croatia

Area 03 Meeting

March 10-11, 2023 the exact location will be announced. Organizer will be ZC Fünfseenland

Set in the finance metropole of Germany, this 9th European Inter-District Seminar in Frankfurt am Main aims to explore a wide variety of financial questions relevant to women, NGOs and society in tomorrow’s digital world. Frankfurt offers the unique combination of high-tech finance environment deeply embedded in one of Germany’s oldest cities with a rich history in architecture, art and trade.

Join District 28 as they host a weekend of inspiring panel discussions and workshops with female entrepreneurs and leaders at the edge of a new digital era. I will be there and I hope we will meet each other!

Registration

66th Zonta International Convention Brisbane 202411 February 2023

June 25, 2024 – June 28, 2024

President Ute Scholz, Executive Director Allison Summers, Convention Chair Judy Gorton and Convention Committee member Jane Adornetto have visited Brisbane City to prepare the Convention 2024. As I hear more from the Committee I’ll let you know.

Merry Christmas and
a happy New Year

Yours
Heike

Former Governor's letter Biennium 2022-24

The convention is already a few weeks behind us and many of you who were there came home with different feelings. On the one hand, with incredible motivation and indescribable passion for women’s advocacy, and some others also with Covid. I hope that those who have also fallen ill have recovered well and will stand up for Zonta stronger than ever. I am sure we are all ready for the great challenges that await us in the current biennium, and I am happy to be part of the team that is facing them.

To see a summary of what was approved at the convention in Hamburg: please click HERE .

Now, I would like to introduce you to my team, which will be happy to answer all your questions. Please contact them directly if you have any questions. Please find here all contacts.

The status of women worldwide

Further I would like to give you an overview of the current status of women worldwide. Let’s look back. 132 years. Why exactly this far? I will explain.

In 1890, the world was a different place. In many countries of the world, women were not allowed to study, marital rape was not punishable. Not in a single country, women were allowed to vote.

Much has happened since then. Governments in the Western world now recognise people as equal before the law, women hold offices and leadership positions, and have ways to defend themselves against harassment. Still, it could take another 132 years before they are fully equal to men. At least this is the conclusion of the Global Gender Gap Report of the World Economic Forum.

In this year’s, 2022, study on gender equality, the Forum is much more pessimistic about the future than it was two years ago. In 2020, the report predicted that it would take 99.5 years to achieve full gender equality.

One event set the project back a generation: the Corona pandemic. The lockdowns and the Corona measures have significantly worsened the already existing gender gaps. For example, a disproportionate number of women work in those specific sectors of the economy, which were affected most by the lockdowns. In addition, school closures meant that many women could not work because they had to take care of their children.

So, now one thing is clear. Our commitment is needed more than ever. Together with our new President Ute Scholz, we will take on these challenges. I thank all of you for your commitment and look forward to a fruitful biennium.

Just as a reminder: The 2022-2024 goals

Some dates are important for all of us:

18^th of August 2022 NEW MEMBER WEBINAR (monthly)

Are you new to Zonta? Join the Zonta Headquarters Membership Team on this webinar and let us welcome you. We will provide you with the history of Zonta, the programs we support, resources available to you, and an opportunity to meet with a member of the International Membership Committee.

November 2022 “Every Member Every November” to support the Zonta International Foundation for Women personally

“ZONTA Says NO to Violence Against Women” campaign.

Zontians will elevate awareness in their home cities during the 16 Days of Activism from 25^th of November through 10^th of December 2022. Our goal is that 100% of our clubs and individuals participate in an action to combat gender-based violence, which may include taking part in the Orange the World effort, over the 16 Days of Activism.

If it is not possible to light up buildings in orange this year due to the energy crisis, please give me ideas and suggestions on how we can still create visibility.

8th of March International Women’s Day 2023

Be visible and run for women’s equality. Use this day also to recruit new members.

28th-30th of April 9th EUROPEAN INTERDISTRICT ZONTA SEMINAR

„Women and Finances – between Challenges and Chances “
More information follows.

13th – 15th of October 2023 District Conference in Vienna

Every Zontian is welcome! Get involved in the world of Zonta and get inspired.

I hope to meet each of you in person one day this biennium, and I am very much looking forward to it. Together we can bring about change.

Yours,

Heike Schmidt

Governor of District 14 2022-2024