Newsletter No 36  November 2003 Message from the President of  IFRWH

  Belfast Conference

I hope everyone who attended the conference in Belfast found it a worthwhile and stimulating experience.  It was very gratified to receive messages and cards from so many delegates to say how much they had enjoyed their time here.  We hope too that the contacts and friends made at the conference will continue and, perhaps, in some cases, develop into new research projects and papers. The format of mixing established scholars with newer researchers seemed to work well and we were very appreciative of the very welcoming atmosphere that delegates provided for the less experienced paper presenters.  A special word of thanks to the delegates who assisted with translation and facilitated the participation of delegates who otherwise would have had difficulties presenting their papers.  A conference is only as good as the delegates attending it.  So, many, many thanks to everyone for making it a very enjoyable and stimulating event. 

We were also delighted that the conference was genuinely international with over 400 delegates and almost 40 countries represented.  We hope too that we can build on the contacts made at the conference and encourage the establishment of more National Committees.  I should also note that we are grateful to our sponsors whose support enabled us to fund the travel and other expenses of delegates who had no access to institutional conference budgets.  

We are planning a publication of a selection of the papers in the Women’s History Review and will provide more details on our plans in the next bulletin.  We also have some spare copies of the book of abstracts so if anyone would like a copy please let me know.

 New Russian National Committee

At the meeting of the national committees at the Belfast conference, we were very pleased to welcome the new National Committee of Russia to the Federation.  Further information on the activities of the Russian National Committee, can be acquired from Olga V. Shnyrova (icgs@interline.ivanovo.ru). See also the report on women's history in Russia in the last issue of the bulletin (no 35).

 Sydney Conference 

The next conference of the Federation will be held during the International Congress of Historians in 2005.  The Vice-President of the IFRWH, Dr Pirjo Markkola is the main organiser and separate details of the themes are included in the bulletin.  We look forward to meeting everyone there.

Future Plans

The current board will complete its term of office in 2005.  At the Belfast conference we nominated a search committee to propose names for a new board and office holders for 2005-2010. The committee consists of Professor Alison Mackinnon (Alison.Mackinnon@unisa.edu.au);   Professor Linda Kealey (lkealey@unb.ca);  and Professor Noriyo Hayakawa (hayakawa-kn@est.hi-ho.ne.jp).  The committee welcomes suggestions for membership of the board from any member or national committee of the Federation. 

Contacts and Addresses

Our database of names and addresses of contact persons on National Committees is, in some cases, considerably out of date.  We need to update it in time for the Sydney conference.  The current information that we have can be found on the website (www.historians.ie/women).  Please let us know if the details for your National Committee is incorrect. 

Annual Dues

We were very pleased that we could provide sponsorship for so many delegates to attend the Belfast conference.  However, this did mean that we had to draw heavily on the funds of the IFRWH as well as receiving sponsorship from other sources.  We need now to raise money for the Sydney conference and for the 2007/8 conference.  Please, therefore, ensure that your national committee dues have been paid.  We would also welcome suggestions for ways and means of sponsoring delegates to travel to the IFRWH conferences.  I was very conscious of the difficulties facing young researchers from all countries as well as more established scholars based in institutions where there is no conference budget.  All suggestions and ideas welcome.

Best wishes from Belfast.

Mary O’Dowd