‘Rural’ membership up after ‘rural’ is dropped from the title
AFTER one of the most turbulent periods in its history, the Scottish Women’s Institutes organisation ‘still has a role to play’ in its centenary year.
There was uproar and dissent across the country when it was announced that the word ‘rural’ was to be dropped from the SWRI, making it the SWI. Since the very institutes themselves were referred to as ‘the Rural’ all over the nation, this went down like a lead balloon with many members.
But the people leading the SWI announced this week that membership numbers are on the up as it targets a new generation of Scottish women.
Scottish Women’s Institutes boosted its membership by 300 in the past year, after decades of declining numbers and, according to national chairman Christine Hutton, this shows that the SWI is still as relevant now as it was when it was formed 100 years ago.
Christine said: ‘Back in 1917, our organisation was formed to bring women together, with a vision to welcome every woman in Scotland to join us.
‘We have remained a constant in Scottish life ever since and are here to educate, to share, to campaign, to learn, to socialise, to build a community and, of course, to have fun.
‘The centenary is a great chance for us to remind people who we are and what we have to offer modern women in Scotland.’
New-style meetings reflecting a wider range of interests and held at flexible times and in venues such as pubs and coffee shops have been introduced in the past two years, while the word ‘rural’ was dropped from the organisation’s title in a bid to become relevant to women living in towns and cities as well as country areas.
There are currently 16,001 members attending 716 institutes in 32 federation areas and, as well as cake decorating, embroidery techniques and floral art, meetings are just as likely to feature gin tasting, life drawing, upcycling and ukulele playing.
Throughout 2017, there will be a range of events and gatherings to mark the milestone year, including the SWI’s own version of T in The Park – tea parties which will take place in each federation area on the same date, Sunday July 2.
And, in a further sign of the times, all you need to do to find out more is visit the Scottish Women’s Institutes Facebook page.