As the global pandemic cut off most avenues for socialization, our former Executive Director, Zsófia Sztranyiczki, had the wonderful idea of establishing a regular Zoom call, where women around the world associated with ICUUW could meet informally and – just chat. Initially we got together every week, but as restrictions eased we went to a schedule we’ve kept until now. Every second and fourth Tuesday of the month sees us looking at those little squares of happy faces for an hour or so of relaxed discussion.
Finding a time when every member and friend of ICUUW could meet is not possible on our round globe. The time we settled on early brings European members in during late afternoon, while participants on the US west coast are up at dawn. Faithful members in Northeast India often attend in their evening, and we even have one intrepid friend in Japan who joins us in the middle of the night.
Our format is simple. For most meetings we have a topic, sent out ahead of the meeting, with an introduction. A chalice lighting starts us out. After introducing ourselves “popcorn style” in random order from our little boxes on the screen, we are assigned to breakout rooms to share our ideas. We report back to the group, occasionally discuss briefly, hear any necessary announcements, and we return to our lives. Topics lately have included what we would like our legacy to be, our ideal vacation, and the significance of friendship, especially with women, in our lives.
The Tuesday gatherings have also proven useful as a time for the Annual Meeting and for presentations of interest. During the last year we’ve heard from some of our African members about projects they are pursuing, and we receive reports from our Advocacy Committee about their attendance at United Nations events.
We have long talked about trying different times that would be more convenient and bring in different people. There could be regional meetings, for example. Attendees in the western US could meet in the evening with our contingent on the other side of the world.
New ideas are always welcome! Send your ideas for times or suggestions for topics to