Sue Bentley
Trustee and Sub Committee Chairman
If you have an interest in the wide variety of topics with potential to or currently affecting society then Public Affairs is probably for you
If you have an interest in being involved in campaigns where the WI can use its considerable individual and collective campaigning power to raise public awareness and effect policy change then Public Affairs is probably for you
Since the first resolution on 24th October 1918 calling for the provision of convenient and sanitary housing, the past 106 years of resolutions and subsequent campaigns has covered a vast variety of social policy from education via litter, food and agriculture to the current campaigns on dental health, climate change and ADHD in women
To this end our CFWI Public Affairs Committee:
Arranges events (talks, meetings and visits) related to existing campaigns and any topic of interest ranging from science and modern slavery to climate change.
Please scroll down to access information about our next event (via zoom), ‘Exploring Nutrition’ and a news report of our most recent visit to Bluebell Cottage Gardens
Includes the Resolutions (and Campaigns) Adviser’s activities and
A team of Climate Ambassadors who provide training and ideas to help Cheshire WI members tackle climate change within their own meetings. The Ambassadors organise a special event each year, the Green Dot Day, where every WI can send a representative to obtain hints, tips and meeting ideas to involve all their members. The Ambassadors also represent CFWI at climate events to demonstrate to the public that Cheshire WIs care about climate.
For more information please see the dedicated website www.https://fightclimatechange.org.uk/
Resolutions and Campaigns Advisor
Jill Kitchen [email protected]
The 2023/2024 Resolution voted by the members at the Royal Albert Hall in June 2024 was
1. Dental Health Matters
There is a chronic shortage of NHS Dentists and people are suffering health issues as a result. The NFWI calls on the Government to increase investment in the training and retention of dentists and to review the current inadequate NHS contracts in order to ensure everyone can access an NHS dentist wherever they live.
Resources available on MYWI.
The 2023/2024 Resolution voted by the members at the Royal Albert Hall in June 2024 was
1. Dental Health Matters
There is a chronic shortage of NHS Dentists and people are suffering health issues as a result. The NFWI calls on the Government to increase investment in the training and retention of dentists and to review the current inadequate NHS contracts in order to ensure everyone can access an NHS dentist wherever they live.
The results of the 2022/3 Resolution was Clean Rivers
The wording of the resolution is as follows:
Clean rivers for people and wildlife
Water quality in our rivers is shameful. Legally, designated bathing waters must be regularly monitored for pollution. The NFWI urges its members, the wider public, local authorities and Government to make, support and promote applications for official designated bathing sites on appropriate stretches of rivers in their area. This will be as instrumental to the clean up of rivers as it has been for water quality improvement at coastal beaches.
The WI has a long history of campaigning and at the 2022 Annual Meeting in Liverpool members voted in favour of the following resolution:
Women and Girls with ASD & ADHD – under-identified, under-diagnosed, misdiagnosed, under-supported
Women and girls presenting with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are going undiagnosed. The NFWI calls on the government and funding bodies to fund research into the female presentation of ASD and ADHD, and for action to be taken to improve the diagnosis process for women and girls, to ensure that they are equipped to better manage these conditions and do not suffer in silence. The NFWI further calls on WI members to raise awareness within their WIs of the issues facing women and girls with ASD and ADHD.
Resources available on MYWI.
Events
News
Jigsaw Race – 18th November – Eastham Rake
Fantastic day for the Jigsaw Race at Eastham Rake organised by the Leisure For Pleasure Team. 1st Place – Hasbridge (a mixed team of Haslington WI and Handbridge WI finishing at 71 minutes, 2nd Place The Terrible Trio – another…
Autumn Meeting at the Storeyhouse, Chester – 13th November 2024
We really did have an amazing day in Chester with three brilliant speakers – *Mary Lamb and Sheldon about her Three Peak Challenge, *Paul Mealor Welsh Composer and *Nicki Chapman TV and Radio presenter (amongst other things) plus over 700…
Blue Bell Cottage Gardens – Public Affairs – September 2024
Following on from the Green Dot Day workshop on air source heat pumps in March by Sue Bentley, the people who attended on the day were invited to a private visit to Bluebell Cottage Gardens for a talk by the…