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- By Tina Huesing, USA, ICUUW President
Dear members and friends,
We are looking back on 2024, a year with lots of highlights for ICUUWomen.
Karen Kortsch, who had served on the board for six years and as our Board President for the last four years, stepped down from her post due to term limits. The Board elected me as the incoming President, and the first thing I did was ask Karen to continue to serve our organization as immediate past-president. Karen is now serving in this role and attending Board meetings. I hope to make this a permanent Bylaw change. It is so important to have continuity.
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- By Outreach Committee Co-Chairs Denise Tracy and Julie Steinbach
As the saying goes, ICUUW is “one of the best kept secrets” in the UUA. With the closing of the UU-UN Office and the dissolution of the UU Partner Church Council and International Council of Unitarians and Universalists (ICUU), ICUUW is currently the only international U/U organization engaging in international programs and working actively at the UN - and yet many UUs don't know we exist. We have maintained a consistent membership of about 100 members from 16 countries (Australia, Bolivia, Burundi, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Japan, Kenya, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Uganda, and the United States). Outreach is tasked with the responsibility of getting the word out about who we are and what we do.
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- By Vicki Roberts-Gassler
Many of our local congregations have women’s groups with social justice goals. All our members are invited to share ideas from their groups in our ICUUW newsletter. I’ll start…
Around 15 years ago, at EUUC in Edmonds, Washington, just north of Seattle, a group of members read and discussed the book Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. This journalist couple wrote about several major types of oppression of women and girls, particularly in Africa and Asia, for example sex trafficking, neglect of health, and exclusion from education. They outlined some effective solutions and suggested ways people could raise money to help.
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- By ICUUW Staff
International Human Rights Day
Women's Rights: Weaving a Tapestry of Peace
Reflect on how human rights, women’s rights, and peace are intertwined!
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- By Dr. Krisztina Sándor, Hungary
It’s certainly been at least 20 years since I met Zsófia Sztranyiczki. I can even faintly recall that we met in a church setting, in the company of American UUs. For me, her name has intertwined with Unitarian and Unitarian Universalist groups on pilgrimages to Transylvania, whom she accompanied as interpreter and organizer. Her private life was also shaped by this, since this is how she met her husband, Dean Dalton, with whom she has lived bi-continentally in the U.S. and Transylvania for many years now.
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- By ICUUW Board
The Annual Meeting of ICUUW Members will take place virtually via Zoom on Tuesday, June 25, 2024 at the time of our usual Tuesday gatherings. All ICUUW members are invited to participate and vote in this Zoom meeting.
Nominees to the ICUUW Board of Directors 2024, subject to election at the Annual Meeting of Members.
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- By ICUUW Staff
Love Unites, Stories Ignite
If you are attending the UUA General Assembly in June, do not forget to watch our on-demand video! The program titled "Uniting Women Worldwide Through Their Inspiring Stories" features 4th Convocation scholarship recipients from Canada and India as well as several Board members. They will share their inspiring stories about igniting change in their communities and connecting with other U/Us worldwide. Watch a preview video. We feature stories from Unitarian*Universalist women who live their faith and their desire for a more just world in different parts of the world. These women are connected to sisters in faith beyond their immediate community. They learn from each other and with each other, and their stories inspire others to local action.
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- By ICUUW Staff
Our esteemed executive director, Zsófia Sztranyiczki, has notified the Board of Directors that she will be stepping down from her position at the end of 2024. She has done a fabulous job serving as our Executive Director for the past 11 years and will be very difficult to replace. She promises to remain involved with ICUUWomen as a volunteer. We wish her well in the future with more time to focus on her personal life and projects, including her tour company.
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- By Melinda Simó, Júlia Andorkó
Women Building and Nurturing Resilience in Székelyudvarhely
The International Convocation of Unitarian Universalist Women, in partnership with the National Organization of Unitarian Women of Romania (UNOSZ), received a grant from the UU Funding Program for a program aimed at raising awareness and educating women about resilience. The second session of the three-session mental health training was hosted by the women's association members of the First Church of Székelyudvarhely on 9-10 February 2024. During the two-day training, coping skills and resilience were built through lectures and small group sessions.
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- By ICUUW Staff
Healing Mother Earth: How Sustainable Development Addresses Poverty for the World’s Women and Girls
A special celebration for International Mother Earth Day!
In honor of International Mother Earth Day, ICUUW hosted an online interactive event with life-long UU Erin Boeke Burke. Erin, Director and Lead Analyst in the sustainable finance practice at S&P Global Ratings, works with teams of people in different parts of the world to assess the environmental, social, and governance issues which drive investment considerations.
Erin spoke about the progress being made toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to energy, food, and water - and how this impacts women and girls.
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- By Sueños Sin Fronteras de Tejas
Addressing the Needs of Immigrant and Undocumented Communities in the U.S.
Report of SSFTX-ICUUW Collaborative Project
Sueños Sin Fronteras de Tejas (SSFTX), a women-of-color-led collective based in San Antonio, Texas, completed an impactful project titled "Building BIPOC power in San Antonio, TX: Justice, Healing, and Resistance," thanks to funding made possible by ICUUW via a UU Funding Program grant.
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- By Providence Charity Organization
March 2024 marked the delivery of the 8th aid shipment from the Hungarian Unitarian Church and its Providence Charity Organization to Southern Ukraine. The humanitarian consignment, worth $7,700, is Providence's 18th aid operation in Ukraine since the beginning of the war.