QCWA Annual Report 2018-2019

Annual Report 2018–2019 • The Queensland Country Women’s Association

STATE INTERNATIONAL OFFICER REPORT Sara Faddy (July–October 2018)

STATE INTERNATIONAL OFFICER REPORT Maria Keys

The first part of this Annual Report covers the short time from July to the State Conference in October 2018 after which I ceased being State International Officer. It was very rewarding to receive the competition entries for the study of Germany, our Country of the Year. The Commonwealth Bank once again sponsored the children and some divisions, and committees sponsored the members’ categories; thank-you all very much. The quality of workmanship was excellent, and I hope many QCWA members and the public were able to see the display of winning entries at Conference. The display also featured our relationship with Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW), United Nations and the South Pacific Area. Being able to visit Region Conferences was especially important to me to share the diverse nature of International Study and giving members the opportunity to chat and share ideas. This was particularly relevant when talking about the United Nations Development Goals and how QCWA is promoting many of them through our Country Kitchens program, school supplies, birthing kits, and so on. A particular highlight of my term in office was to have members at Conference hold up 186 paper hearts to represent the many lives saved since joining the Australian Red Cross Red25 program, another tick for the UN Goal on Health and Wellbeing. This came from a resolution at the 2017 Conference. I hope you will enjoy the Lithuanian recipes and tea towels as you learn more of this fascinating country in 2019–20! Please continue to promote and enjoy our International Study . My best wishes to you all and to Maria who has taken on this wonderful part of QCWA.

After accepting nomination to the position of State International Officer at 2018 State Conference, it has been a rather hectic eight months! The first official event in my diary took place in mid-February. Of course, I refer to the International Study Conference . A write-up of this weekend appears in the committees section of this report. As the State President was unable to attend the Country Women’s Association of Australia (CWAA) meeting held at the CWA of NSW State Office in Mascot, Sydney on 23–25 February, I attended as a Proxy Delegate. Unfortunately, the new CWAA Constitution prohibits the voting rights of Proxy Delegates, and I was afforded only Observer status during the meeting. However, it was an opportunity to meet the National President, Mrs Tanya Cameron, and other CWAA Executive members from the Northern Territory, New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania. We discussed issues such as the drought, fundraising initiatives, donations received and the Federal Government response, as well as The Farmer’s Cookbook and the CWAA Country Classics Cookbook , sales of which support the CWAA Nurses and Midwifery Gran t. The National President reported on CWAA’s relationships with other organisations, including the National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA), Therapeutic Goods Advertising Consultative Committee (TGACC), and an RFDS initiative – ‘A Darn Good Yarn’. The CWAA Strategic Plan was updated and legal advice will be sought on a range of matters, such as constitutional amendments, charitable status, board structure, general versus board meetings and proxy representation. As noted earlier in these pages, in early April, a delegation of 33 QCWA Members attended the 29th Triennial World Conference of Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW) , held during 5–9 April at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. The QCWA Voting Delegation was led by State President Christine King, and included myself, State Vice-President Central Region Marina Taylor, Robyn McFarlane oam and Meg Trimble.

STATEWIDE

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