CommuNIqué - Newsletter of the Bahá'í Community in Northern Ireland
Issue 101 - 2 Sharaf 161 BE - 1 January 2005 CE

 

ASSOCIATION OF BAHÁ’Í WOMEN

“Equal Wings” - ABW-NI Conference

The one day conference on 20 November and AGM of the Association of Bahá'í Women – Northern Ireland was a resounding success, not least for the moment when in a special event to de-stress the participants there were 24 drums of various sizes being played in perfect harmony and rhythm. Thanks to musician John Giffin for that event. There was a full day of activities including arts, music and workshops. Mrs. Hazel Holmlund, secretary of UNIFEM in Northern Ireland gave a talk on ‘Trafficking of Women’ that was both informative and shocking to many of the participants. Hazel also showed a documentary introduced by Robbie Williams that moved people to tears.

In the afternoon the conference was privileged to have as its Keynote speaker, Cllr. Kate Lagan, recently Chairman of the Magherafelt District Council, who has wide interests in peace making and the policies that affect the local community. Kate spoke enthusiastically on a subject close to every woman’s heart ‘The Juggle – Balancing Work and Family Life.” Kate really brought the subject to life and was able to draw on a rich fund of anecdotes illustrating the kinds of problems women have to cope with and mechanisms for coping. A quarter of the conference participants were not Bahá'ís.

The next seminar organized by the ABW has a provisional theme of ‘Drops of One Ocean’ to be held on Saturday 2nd April 2005. This will be an all day event in the plush surroundings of the rural college Draperstown, packed with lectures, talks, art, drama, music and workshops. Put this one in your diary as one not to be missed. The seminar is open to all and should cost no more than £10 for the day excluding lunch which can be purchased in the college restaurant.

MG

 

book presentation

 

Councillor Kate Lagan receives a Bahá'í book, presented by Mahin Gornall on behalf of the ABW-NI.

 

New Website for ABW

The Association for Bahá'í Women—Northern Ireland is now reaching an even wider audience thanks to its new site on the World-Wide Web at www.bahai.org.uk/abw_ni

 

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