Coffee World
At the 2006 Winning Women Worldwide Annual Conference Jackie Bowler, Director, launched COFFEE WORLD. These are coffee mornings for WWW with a world focus. The following is an extract from Jackie's challenge to the women attending, as she ended her final session of the Conference.:
"As you meet at Coffee World, maybe one, or maybe all of the following ideas will help your discussion together. Keep it informal. Remember we want you to enjoy your coffee! Those who lead Coffee World groups must chose the topic that most interests them.
When we get rid of our apathy, there are lots of ideas to take on the world "AT YOUR FINGERTIPS".
Become more aware of hunger in the world. Visit the web on http://www.thehungersite.com/. 24,000 people die every day from hunger. Three-quarters of the deaths are children under the age of five.
Become more aware of quality of life. Quality of life isn't just about national and personal wealth. There are lots of other things to take into account. But how can you compare one country with another? The Economist Intelligence Unit has devised a Quality of Life Index, which tries to measure how good a country is to live in. In 2005, 111 country's performances were surveyed. The survey scored each country's performance in 9 different areas: Material wellbeing; health; including life expectancy; political stability; family life; community life; climate; job security; political freedom; gender equality. Guess which country comes out top? ....... Ireland. And bottom - Zimbabwe. It has the world's highest HIV/AIDS infection rates; 800% inflation (this is now double that figure); 70% or more now unemployed, and a complete erosion of political freedom. IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE YOUR OWN QUALITY OF LIFE? IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE'S LIVES HERE, OR IN OTHER LANDS?
So, you want to change the world. Of course you do, but where do you begin? How can you make a differen
ce?
Well, the smallest actions can impact your local community and the wider world, but we need ideas, facts and opportunities to discuss these issues. I have with me 9 packs of 6 mugs with coffee sachets. I would like to launch what I've called COFFEE WORLD at this Conference. We just want 9 ladies initially to commit themselves to holding coffee mornings, evenings, afternoons, whenever - when you will meet and discuss where to begin to change the world. When women get together over a cup of coffee, they put the world to rights. Chatting informally with others is a great way to generate ideas, solve problems and get to know others better. I will give you ideas, facts from leading campaign organisations to get you started - one day at a time.