The month of July was dominated by the Medical Women’s International Association (MWIA) Centennial Conference in Brooklyn, New York. I attended along with 42 other Australians. This was the largest contingent of Australian Federation of Medical Women (AFMW) members to attend an MWIA conference. Several of our members participated as session chairs, contributed to MWIA resolution panels, and gave oral or poster presentations.
Following the conference, the AFMW group had an online debrief, where each attendee discussed their conference highlights. High on the list was Gloria Steinem’s keynote presentation. With wisdom and compassion, Gloria spoke of the ongoing struggle we face for true gender equality. She also shared her story about the male champions that supported her and our cause along the way. She emphasised that, until women can control their own wombs, we will never achieve full gender equality, and that we need to have full control of our sexual and reproductive rights. When asked to give key take-home messages to the twelve-hundred medical women in the room, Gloria listed the following:
- Plunge into adventure
- Adapt and stay young
- Mentor wholeheartedly
- Live the life you love or love the life you live
- Be a great friend
- Dance to the break of dawn
The new MWIA executive committee for the 2019-2022 triennium has now been installed and Dr Clarissa Fabris is our new lead. Professor Padmini Murthy, director of Global Health at New York University, also our UN representative, is secretary general. Our own Dr Desiree Yap is the Vice-president of Western Pacific, which is now the largest of the seven regions. The Western Pacific region includes Mongolia, China, South Korea, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan, and Thailand. I am the new AFMW National Coordinator, becoming the conduit of communication between MWIA and our members nationally. The regular updates will be presented at our committee meetings and at AFMW meetings, with key dates and reminders in our newsletters, so I encourage those interested in becoming active at the MWIA level to attend the meetings.
When asked what the conference was like, I would respond with, ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’. Various nations contributed a fabric square to the MWIA Centennial quilt (pictured below). This embodies the unity and friendship we all share, while pursuing better health for women and children around the world. The opportunities for work abroad and mentorship from medical women who are leaders globally are boundless.
To cap off an incredibly busy two months, we hosted the annual VMWS Literary Event at the charming upstairs area of the East Melbourne Library on the 17th August. The detailed event report is included in this newsletter issue.
Finally, please join us at the Queen Victoria Memorial Service at the Welsh Church on 8th September 2019 and please remember to save the date for our AGM on 19th October 2019.
