South West and Midland Region |
The regional committee meets four times a year in February, September and November for ordinary meetings and in June for our AGM. These meetings consider local, national and sometimes international matters and on occasion a speaker will give a presentation. We are well represented at the annual NCW conference when each year we propose a resolution. Some of our members attend the International Council of Women's conferences which are held in different parts of the world, the most recent having been in South Africa, Indonesia, Ukraine, and Morocco. Representatives also attend the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York and the Women's National Commission in London. A seminar is held each year on a variety of subjects. Recently we discussed the Severn Tidal Options with speakers from DECC, RSPB, the Friends of the Earth and an hydrological engineer. Following the seminar there were further discussions and after further studies on the Severn Tidal Options, the annual conference of the National Council of Women passed a resolution in October 2009 asking the Government to reconsider its decision to exclude the Tidal Reef proposed by Evans Engineering from the five options which merited further consideration. The main point is that the 'Reef Concept' can be applied to almost any location or barrage. It is a method of operation that results in less environmental damage, lower construction costs and easier use of the power produced. The last government felt that this option 'would not work', despite support from several agencies, and we have written to our new government in the hope that the Tidal Reef option will be reconsidered. This year we held a seminar to celebrate the UN International Women's Day, partly to draw attention to the contribution made by women farmers, but also to bring to the attention of our members, and others, a number of serious problems facing farmers in this country. Issues studied were the need to give greater support to our farmers as food supplies all over the world will become scarcer with the increasing global population. It will be necessary to feed ourselves, as we did during the last war, but in order for all facilities to be in place within a decade, measures need now to be taken to protect the farming community and ensure that in order to survive, farmers must receive a greater proportion of the profits from the sale of their produce than at present. Food security and food miles must be monitored and new biodiversity technologies investigated. Health aspects, such as Bovine TB, need to be carefully studied and problems arising from climate change monitored. This seminar was supported by the Stroud District Council, who gave us the use of their Council Chamber for the day, and the NFU who gave us considerable assistance and information. Lois Hainsworth, |