International Inner Wheel

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGES

Dear friends

I was looking for the best words which would describe a year of the Convention, and highlight our achievements:
Think Ahead-Aim High This theme should lead our thoughts and decisions while shaping our future and our way forward.

Catherine’s Third Message Download PDF Version

Dear Inner Wheel friends

This year is fundamentally important for the future of the IIW.
During our next Convention at Istanbul in April, we are going to have to vote on several very important proposals and motion for our future governance and administration If we want also to rediscover the good years of expansion during the 1990s ,when we developed harmoniously, it is absolutely imperative that every club casts its vote.
Our future is in your hands..........
Our future depends on your vote.
We all have to "think ahead and aim hign " with flexibility, tolerance, enthusiasm, and with a positive vision of our future, to find the ways to consolidate our leadership amongst women service organisations.

What are these key issues?
I would like to emphasize three votes ,critically important, for our future. One of the most important one is about the so called << CONSTITUTION COUNCIL >>

Members very often complained that too much time was spent at Conventions discussing all the Proposals and Amendments, leaving very little time for the things they enjoy, like seminars, workshops, speakers, open forum etc. It was therefore felt that the time was right for a type of Council on Legislation to be introduced, in order to administer all the changes to the Constitution every three years at Convention. The International Executive Committee suggested this should be called a ‘Constitution Council’ and could be introduced for Convention 2015

The duration of the Convention would remain the same, but it would be in two parts:- Business Sessions Part one - for two days - the Constitution Council, when delegates would gather to discuss and vote on all changes to the Constitution. The voting delegates, whose number will be considerably reduced and who will form our future Constitution Council, will vote on the new proposals relating to future , clear and simplified constitution. Each District will have one delegate, who will represent each of the clubs in the District, and will vote according to their instructions. The Constitution Council will also include: the International Executive Committee, the National Presidents, the Directors of the Board, the Past International Présidents……

The first two days of the convention devoted to the meeting of the Constitution Council will be followed by the Business Sessions Part two - attended by all who have registered for Convention - for three days –for all the reports, seminars, workshops, speakers, open forum etc All the social events would remain the same. There will be an opening and a closing ceremony , as well as all the usual events: exchange of banners, hospitality evening, the gala dinner, and , of course, the presentation and explanation of what has been voted by the Constitution Council during the previous two days. This will give all members in attendance the possibility of expressing themselves and discussing issues in debates, which should be simultaneously translated. The demand for such debates has been asked for for so many time ?

Another extremely important voting matter has already been communicated to you probably through your National Council or Association. It concerns proposal 17 which will be subject to your approval in Istanbul. May I remind you briefly that proposal 17 relates to the possiblity of allowing women, who have our sense of service and commitment but have no links with IW or Rotary, to join IW. I already hear your reaction....... for many of our members, mainly among the elderly, it will be understood as the end of our privileged relationship with Rotary, the end of THEIR Inner Wheel, but for all other, it will be the end of a kind of the status quo in recruitment.

The assertion that we can continue to develop without broadening the parameters of recruitment is totally unrealistic. It is an irresponsible attitude which will lead us straight into decline, whereas what we need is a significant leap into the future by changing our recruitment policy, winning back Inner Wheel and abandoning the old belief that outside Rotary we are unable to find the new members who are so lacking. In order for you to better understand the importance and necessity of this proposal, I would like to make clear the situation further by giving you a number of explanations.

Firstly, I would like to explain you the amendment from IW Germany, which I believe could become important. The amendment states that the majority of members in a club MUST have a link through blood or marriage with a Rotarian or a member of IW. This will allow us an important margin to find the new blood that we have been demanding for years.

We must commit ourselves to create new clubs and re-energize existing clubs, to return to an IW of growth and not stagnation, or regrettably, in the case of those clubs who have been unable to change in time, to disappearance.

In order to overcome this fundamental breakdown, we must put in place a new system of governance linking all Inner Wheel, and find ways of conveying our « savoir faire » of those thousands of little miracles which we carry out every day.

Do you know that Rotary, from whom we inherited the symbol of the wheel, the commitment to service and ethics, in many western countries and elsewhere, with the exception of the so-called emerging countries, is not expanding? Far from it, the average age of Rotarians is rising. In most of the countries of the northern hemisphere, it is still difficult to find new members for IW among the wives of Rotarians.

If we want to survive, we must have the possibility of recruiting into our clubs, those women who share our values and who often help us in the background. Their entry would be subject to the approval of club members, an essential requirement if we are to maintain cohesion and stability within our clubs.

For once, I ask you to vote, not according to your personal convictions, which may influence you to try to protect the Inner Wheel which you knew when it was expanding, as were the majority of 'service' clubs, but in thinking of the revival and public perception of our organization, of preserving the balance between the clubs of old Europe and those of developing countries where Inner Wheel is making great strides, in thinking of the universality of our organization which must remain present in a hundred or so countries where it has developed harmoniously. We must preserve this balance between the West and the East, because we are dedicated to being an INTERNATIONAL organization.

We cannot forget all those who need our help, this help which will become more and more important as the economic crisis deepens: to those children whose health and education depend on our donations, to those suffering women whom I met during my journeys in central Africa , to those children of Ethiopia, Somalia, Niger, the north of Mali or Burkina Fasso,who do not have enough food to eat properly. We cannot abandon them under the pretext that our clubs cannot find any more new members due to criteria which are no longer relevant at the dawn of the third millennium. Is it really reasonable in the 21st century to use criteria which describe us only as the wife of …............?

These are the reasons which caused numerous clubs to propose relevant solutions full of common sense, in order not to disappear, thanks to 10 proposals out of which the Proposal 17th is the most appropriate to assure a future for those clubs which for years were the bringers of hope and enthusiasm for those who were not lucky to be born like us in a privileged world. Don't think of your own personal comfort when you vote at the Convention. Be generous women, deserving successors of Margaret Golding, the visionary woman who founded the most important woman's club dedicated to service in the world. You have the responsibility in your hands to assure its survival and development.

Another proposal deserves your attention because it will set up the new governance which we need. It is the reduction of the number of directors of the Board from 16 to 8, they should be representing all the continents, by redefining better the notion, abandoned too soon, of 'zoning'. This will lead to greater efficiency and a real working together by all the directors. It will be necessary for them to meet up several times during the course of the year, of working through skype, video conferencing, each with a well-defined role as co-ordinators of the programmes of Inner Wheel, and in charge of essential committees, such as strategy, communication, recruitment, show-case events, training, public relations, the promotion of IIW, etc..

These initial changes will allow us , I am totally convinced of it, to develop and to be at the forefront to meet the challenges of the current world, to consolidate our leadership among womens' service clubs, to stimulate IIW, and to develop dynamically with a positive vision of our future.

Catherine’s New Year Message

Dear Inner Wheel friends
Happy New Year
Bonne année
Naye Varsha Ki Shubh Kamanayen
Gutes Neues Jahr
Felice Anno nuevo
Feliz Ano Nuevo
Godt Nyttar
Gott Nytt Ar
Onnellista Uutta Vuotta
Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun

This New year is full of promises
It is the time for new beginnings and new starts in IIW.
It is the year of our 15th convention in Istanbul, a year of outstanding importance
It is the year of extremely important resolutions, proposals and motions which will lay down the foundation of new updated and clarified constitution and hand book, as well as new vital possibilities to increase our membership , it is a question of survival in some parts of the IIW world.

The Inner Wheel of to morrow is here, very close, in our mind and hearts, it is on its way, and it cannot be stopped.
New is the year, new are the hopes and the aspirations,
New is the resolution, new are the spirits and….
Forever my warm wishes are for you
Have a promising and fulfilling New Year
Here is a wishing that the coming year is a glorious one that rewards all your future endeavors with success.. Wishing you heartfelt , prosperous and

Happy New Year

This New year is full of promises, it is the time for new beginnings and new starts in IIW, the year of our 15th convention

President's First Message

The challenges we face to day are our growth, the Istanbul Convention, and in 2015 a new modernized, clarified and simplified constitution.
One essential part of the challenge is to increase our membership, and get back to the magic period of growth we had in the last decades of the past century.
Membership is the greatest asset of our organisation. It is obvious that the most important element in IIW is its members. There would be nothing without them. Once we accept as a premiss, the importance of membership, we must, as a natural consequence, accept the importance of membership development to ensure IIW growth. It will be one of our aims at the Convention.

To attract new members, and particularly younger ones, improving our constitution is not enough; we definitely need to provide better information and explain what IIW is, what we do, and how much we achieve.
We do miracles all over the world, and sadly too many people don’t really know about it; so the other aspect of our challenge will be to communicate better, and greatly increase awareness of IIW in the public eye. We need to have a real communication strategy, internal and external, starting by a new modernized and up dated web site, which will also allow me to address all of you throughout the year.

I also would like you to bear in mind, when discussing the Convention Proposals in your clubs, that the general interest should prevail over the interests of any individual club, and that consequently we need to be adaptable to the very different traditions and cultures of the countries where IIW is present.

So this year I ask you to ‘Think Ahead and Aim High’ with flexibility, tolerance, enthusiasm, and a positive vision of the future Dreaming of what the future can hold must be our driving force for change. I always have in mind this exceptional quote of Joel Barker:
"Vision without action is a dream
Action without vision is simply passing the time
Action with vision is making a positive difference "

I hope this approach will become yours also, as a vision statement is crucial to moving forward in a positive direction. You cannot prepare for the future if you don’t know where you want to go. We will definitely discuss this during the coming IW year, during my visits, on our web site, our meetings, our Convention.
Everything is now in your hands.
The Inner Wheel of to morrow is here, very close, in our mind and hearts, it is on its way, and it cannot be stopped.

President's Second Message

For international Inner Wheel change is both necessary and inevitable.
To face the new century, to be ready to face 2020, IIW must change with the times, but change with the dignity that our organisation requires while always maintaining those principles that have made our organisation great.
The overriding challenge that we face today is to make IW meaningful at all levels of our organisation, and the most important level is the club with its members .
We must be ambitious and give meaning and life to the theme of the year :THINK AHEAD- AIM HIGH
How IIW is going to adapt throughout the 21st century is in fact in your hands.
2012 : the year of our 15th triennial convention is an event of outstanding importance where some extremely important resolutions and proposals will lay down the foundations of a new updated, clarified, simplified constitution , as well as new possibilities to increase our membership, which is a question of survival in some parts of our IIW world.
We are an international organization and we MUST stay international, increasing our membership is one of the most important challenges we have this year as well as the following years.
It is the duty of each IW club to vote at a convention.
If you don’t vote, you will compromise all our efforts of modernisation.
If you wish to remain a vibrant, healthy and efficient organization, you need to send your voting delegate to Istanbul and :
YOUR CLUBS MUST LET THEIR PROXY VOTE HOLDERS USE THEIR DISCRETION.THAT WAY, THEY CAN LISTEN TO THE DISCUSSIONS , FOR AND AGAINST, AND THEN MAKE A DECISION, THE RIGHT DECISION FOR OUR FUTURE. Once again, I would also like to remind you that when discussing the resolutions and proposals in your club, you must have in mind that the general interest should always prevail over the interest of any individual club as we need to be adaptable to the very different traditions and cultures of the countries where we are active.
But there is another way to try to increase immediately our membership:
IT IS TO PUT ALL YOUR EFFORTS TO HAVE IN EACH CLUB, STARTING THIS YEAR, A NET INCREASE OF ONE MEMBER I urge you to achieve it. ONE NET MEMBER
We could this way have a total increase of almost 4000 members, that means also that we could be back again over 1,OO,OOO members and probably higher than ever. It seems really something we can achieve, it is not just a dream, IT IS NOT IMPOSSIBLE ; it can, it MUST, and it will become REALITY.
Think about it, and ACT with enthusiasm, energy, efficiency, as acting with a vision is a positive attitude towards our Future, don’t be addicted to the status quo, be individually and collectively pro-active and make a wonderful success story of each Inner Wheel club around the world.

CATHERINE REFABERT BIOGRAPHY

I am the first generation born in France of a russian family who escape the revolution in 1920, coming from Saint Petersburg to Paris where I was born and did all my studies from primary school to the Sorbonne University where I met my husband Jacques. We have two children Marc and Carole ; Marc and his wife Catherine have 3 children all raised in Tours so we are extremely happy to live not far one from another. Carole is living in Bamako, Mali ,where she started her own humanitarian organisation. During my childhood, I was lucky to live near my maternal grandfather who became a famous miniature painter.He transmitted to me his love and some of his talents for drawing, painting and colors . This early artistic education was extremely useful when some years later I became CEO of the « COROLLE doll Company » set up with Jacques, ; I was the creator and designer of all these play dolls handcrafted in Langeais on the loire valley by almost 5OO women, sold in 63 countries and often awarded by american and european juries. In my company,I always gave a special attention to communication, and I wrote a book explaining this fabulous experience creating for children, trying to imagine what could be the best play doll according to the children’s ages

I join the international Inner Wheel of Tours D.72 , in 1993 just before selling our company to an american international toy company .

I became president of my club in 1997 and from this time until 2007, I was successively elected to all district and national french positions.

Painting is of course one of my hobbies but music to ,and a special love for opera; I also became president of the most important classical music festival created in the Loire valley region for and by the russian pianist Sviatoslav Richter.

I was rewarded 10 years ago by the french State, and became « chevalier of the Legion of Honour » and last year « commander of the National Merit Order » ; both of these famous orders are the highest distinction that can be conferred by the french State, and I received them for my business carreer and my IIW commitment.