Together we Thrive: Real Stories of Membership Success Webinar 

DATE: Sunday 13th April 2025
TIME: 3:30 pm AEST (Duration 1.5hr - 2hr)

Welcome to 2025. I hope you all had a relaxing time over the festive season and are now ready and energised to plan for the Soroptimist year ahead.

During April Membership Month, we are excited to invite you to an opportunity to attend a SISEAP webinar. You will hear from members and clubs about their insights on a successful member recruitment strategy. It will be an opportune time to pick up tips and enthuse our clubs into 2025.

Four speakers from across Australia, Asia, and New Zealand/Pacific will share a short presentation on the 'how', the outcomes and their experience of a thriving recruitment action plan.

Introducing the Speakers:

Kristeen Johnston QSM,

Grad.Dip Business Studies

2024-2026 SISEAP Membership Convenor

Kristeen Johnston has built a successful career in sales and training, notably as an award-winning employee of Johnson & Johnson Medical. She earned a Graduate Diploma in Business Studies in 2004 and transitioned to consulting in training and business development after her retirement in 2007.

A dedicated volunteer, Kristeen served as President of Dress for Success from 2012 to 2014 and became a Life Member in 2014. In 2022, she helped establish Dress for Success Aotearoa New Zealand's first permanent opportunity shop, 'Dressed in the Hutt.'

She joined Soroptimist International of Wellington in 2012, holding various leadership positions and serving as National President of SI Aotearoa New Zealand from 2020 to 2022. Kristeen is passionate about the economic empowerment of women and girls, emphasizing education and sustainable employment.

In recognition of her community service, she received a Queen’s Service Medal in 2024 and was named Wellingtonian of the Year. Outside of her professional work, Kristeen enjoys creative activities, cooking, yoga, photography, and staying active in politics.

Anthea H Penny

2024-2026 SISEAP President Elect
RGON, Adv. Dip. Nursing (Distinction); DHM, (Massey); MHealthMgt, (Hons); FCHSE

Currently semi- retired Company Director; member, member of SI North Canterbury, New Zealand and President Elect SISEAP, plus Chair of Governance and Board member Soroptimist International. Managing Director, R H Penny Ltd, Australasia; an experienced Company Director; skilled in the development/facilitation and presentation of strategic thinking, governance, leadership, teamwork and quality improvement programmes, in health and voluntary sectors internationally. An experienced Chief Executive in the New Zealand health industry, Anthea was a ministerial appointment to the New Zealand Health Quality and Safety Commission’s board (2010 to 2013); a Senior Associate, International Foundation for Integrated Care, UK (2011 to 2014) and the inaugural recipient of the 2004 New Zealand Institute of Health Management Silver Fern Award for Excellence in Health Service Management.

Sue Baskett

Immediate Past President SI Penang

Sue Baskett, with a background in Computer Science and as an Image Consultant, has over 30 years of experience in the NGO sector, with involvement in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia while living there. She served as the Honorary British Vice Consul in Medan, Indonesia for eight years and held leadership roles for 10 years, including President and Vice President of several NGOs, as well as Chairman of Medan International School (MIS). Sue was deeply engaged in humanitarian efforts, including facilitating relief after the 2004 Tsunami in Aceh Indonesia and contributing to various earthquake recovery efforts in Medan Indonesia. Her work, alongside her spouse, has been recognised by both the British and Belgian governments.

In 2008, Sue moved to Penang and joined SI Penang in February 2010, where she became an active member. She served as the Constitution Convenor, Membership Extension Convenor and ICT Convenor, playing a pivotal role in establishing SI Penang’s social media presence. Sue served as President of SI Penang from 2023 to 2024 and continues to contribute as the Immediate Past President. She currently serves on several other local NGO boards in Penang Malaysia

Ann Fang

2025-2026 President SI Penang

Soroptimist International Penang (SIP) proudly announces the appointment of Ann Fang as its new President, along with the induction of a dynamic Executive Committee and Convenors for the 2025-2026 term. This new leadership team is set to advance SIP's mission and drive impactful initiatives for the community.  

Ann has been an active member of SIP for 8 years, bringing with her a background in marketing and communications in NGOs and the private sector. She plays a pivotal role in establishing SIP's programs such as 'Girls in STEM', 'Period Poverty & Sustainability', 'School Shoes Project', 'My Vision, My Future' and 'Let's Talk - Glowing Up'. 

She aims to continue the legacy of her predecessors by creating more practical and impactful programs to help underprivileged women and girls in education and empowerment. 

Linna Khorn

2024-2026 Assistant Membership Convenor - Asia

Linna holds a master’s degree in development management from Norton University, Cambodia, a bachelor’s degree of Arts in Design from SETEC University, Cambodia, diploma of Advance Behavior Change Communication for Health Practitioners, Project Management and Digital Media for Health Outcome certificates.

Linna has over twenty-five years of experience with international non-government organizations: managing and leading Marketing and Communication (MarCom), Social Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) for public health, sub-grantee management, offline and online campaigns/events management, social media management, digital media, content development, graphic design, video production, media outlet and private sector engagement.

Linna has joined Soroptimist International Phnom Penh since 2028, involving server positions starting with President Elect position, Club President, Southeast Asia Pacific Federation Representative for SI International President Project in Cambodia and Assistant Membership Convenor for Asia.    

Linna is industrious and energetic. She ensures satisfactory performance and accomplishment by engaging my professional competency and behavior. She acts with integrity, holds accountability, builds good relationships, develops talent, continues improvement, innovate, and develops a strategic mindset. I have strong interpersonal communication, networking, coordinating, and organizing skills and she is co-operative; she listens to the team and prioritizes their needs.

The webinar concludes with a Q & A session and is free to members.

Kristeen Johnston

SISEAP Membership Convenor 2024-2026

membership.kristeen@siseap.org

SI Mongolia Friendship Tour 2025

SI Ulaanbaatar and SI Darkhan invite Soroptimists to visit with them for the for the twin Charter Celebrations of:

25th Charter Celebration of SI Ulaanbaatar

20th Charter Celebration of SI Darkhan

Soroptimist will enjoy the hospitality of our Soroptimist sisters whilst visiting a unique part of the world.   

The tour has the option of a extended trip to Khuvsgul. 

Trip dates are the 15-25 August 2025 or

19-25 August 2025

  document Read the full initerary here  (232 KB)

A action packed itinerary has been prepared by our Soroptimist sisters,  visiting Ulaanbaatar, Tereli Camp, Darkhan, Kharaa River, Selenge province, overnight in a Ger camp, Tujiin Nars National Park, Chinggis Khaan memorial and the two anniversay dinners.  Including an option to take a additional tour to Khuvsgul.

Call for Nominations - SISEAP Directors

Here’s your chance to make a difference and further your professional experience. Soroptimist International South East Asia Pacific (SISEAP) is seeking applications from interested and qualified Soroptimists for vacancies for Directors. The successful applicants will take office at the end of the AGM on May 10, 2025 and in the first instance, serve for three years, renewable to a maximum of eight years.

SISEAP has seven Directors and one third must retire each year. According to the Corporations Act, at each annual general meeting, any Director appointed by the Directors to fill a casual vacancy or as an additional Director must retire, and at least one-third of the remaining Directors must retire. Under our Constitution, the Immediate Past President automatically retires after one year in that position and is replaced by the new President Elect. At the end of her biennium, the President remains for one year as Immediate Past President and a Director.

It is a legal requirement you have a Director Identification Number before you can be appointed and we will only consider applicants that have already obtained their Director Identification Number. Refer to the Australian Business Registry website for further information. Here is the link to the site: https://www.abrs.gov.au/director-identification-number

Applications close at 5.00 pm on Friday 28 March 2025.

For further information please contact Company Secretary Theresa Lyford companysecretary@siseap.org

SISEAP President-Elect 2026-2028 Biennium

AGM & Company General Meeting

The Company General Meeting will follow the AGM. There is no cost to attend this meeting.

Draft Agenda for Company Annual General Meeting and Company General Meeting to be circulated to Members (Clubs) on 1 April 2025.

Representation
One authorised representative from each financial member (Club) within the Federation or a proxy representative should attend this meeting. A proxy representative must be an individual Soroptimist from another member club ie a club within SISEAP. Other Club members may also attend all meetings but will be Observers and not be able to speak.

Registration Forms
These will be sent on 1 April 2025.  There will be separate registration forms for Club Representatives and Silent Observers for the Annual General Meeting and Company Meeting.

Distribution of Business Papers
Business papers including the Final Agenda, Resolutions, Items for Discussion and Reports will be circulated to Clubs on 30 April 2025.

Federation General Meeting

The Virtual Federation General Meeting will be held on Sunday 18 May 2025.

Reports
Would all Federation Position Holders and National Presidents ensure that their reports are sent to the Federation Secretary and HQ before 22 March so that they can be sent out on 1 April.
 
Representation
One authorised representative from each financial member (Club) within the Federation or a proxy representative should attend this meeting. A proxy representative must be an individual Soroptimist from another member club i.e. a club within SISEAP. Other Club members may also attend all meetings but will be Observers and not be able to speak.
 
Registration Forms
These will be sent on 1 April 2025.  There will be separate registration forms for Club Representatives and Silent Observers for the Federation General Meeting.
 
Distribution of Business Papers
Business papers including the Agenda, Resolutions, Items for Discussion and Reports will be circulated to Clubs on 1 April 2025.
 
Question Form For the Federation General Meetings
Clubs will be invited to submit questions of the Federation Position Holders and National Presidents for the Federation General Meeting. This form will be distributed with the business papers on 1 April 2025.

SISEAP Honours & Remembrance Form
Please return the completed Honours and Remembrance form to the Federation Secretary by 15 April 2025.

Federation Fees 2025

A reminder that Federation Capitation fees were due on 28 February. For Clubs that have not yet made their payment they are now overdue, please submit your Annual Return forms and payment as soon as possible.

All Clubs who have submitted their Annual Return forms and made payment, thank you for your patience in advance, as there is a large volume and we hope to process them over the coming weeks. Once processed you will receive an invoice receipt along with any new membership numbers if applicable.

2025 Club Position Holders Changeovers

Each year after the Club AGM, the newly elected Club Officers & Position Holders need to be added into our database. It is very important that each Club completes this task by 31 March 2025.

Information regarding the 2025 SISEAP Company AGM and General Meeting being held on 10 May 2025 and the Federation Meeting being held on 18 May 2025.  

Call to clubs to submit any resolutions to the company constitution to Company Secretary Theresa Lyford companysecretary@siseap.org and resolutions for the Federation meeting sent to Federation Secretary Berice federationsecretary@siseap.org

Deadline for submission 15 February 2025.

The Company By-Laws state that Resolutions for the Company AGM and General Meeting require the following:
14.2.1 For general meetings of the company – by the directors or by members (clubs) with at least 5% of the votes

14.4 Any motion which requires a special resolution (e.g. to amend the company constitution, wind up the company and change classes of membership) must be voted on at a hybrid, virtual or physical (face to face) general meeting and shall require the agreement of at least seventy five percent (75%) of all members entitled to vote.

The Federation meeting will consist of general Federation business, Best Practice Awards for Programme and  Membership, and the National President reports.  

The Company By-Laws state that Resolutions for Federation Meetings require the following:
14.2.3 For Federation meetings – moved by one member (club) and seconded by another

All resolutions will need to be written on the  Resolutions form prior to 4pm Sydney time (AEDT) on 15 February 2025 to allow for internal processing and distribution to members (clubs).

Information

Announcement the Brilliant Futures Fund Round 8 applications are now open.  Clubs are invited to nominate a project for funding in Round 8.  Applications close on the 31st of March 2025   Read more about the applicattion process on the Programme Members Page.  

SISEAP PRESIDENT-ELECT 2026-2028 BIENNIUM
Nomination & Election Process

Tjandra Kerton                                                Dorjsuiyaa Yondonperenlei

Tasneem Ali from SI Nadi has advised she is willing to be nominated for this position.

All those eligible to stand for election for the position of Federation President-Elect for the 2026-2028 Biennium have been emailed by the Federation Secretary on 25 January.

Eligibility Criteria for President-Elect Position

• Have served as a President of her club or region
• Have served as a member on the Federation Board, Federation Officer, Committee Convenor, Assistant Convenor, National Representative/ President for two years within the past eight years
• Be an active member

Election Process Timeline

1 June 2025                            Result of election emailed to members

Federation Fees 2025

A reminder for Clubs who have not taken advantage of the Early Payment Discount that the final due date to pay full fees to HQ is 28 February 2025.

2025 Club Position Holders Changeovers

Each year after the Club AGM, the newly elected Club Officers & Position Holders need to be added into our database. It is very important that each Club completes this task by 31 March 2025.  See ICT Latest News for information on how to. 

Welcome Programme Zone Coordinator 4

Welcome to Elizabeth Harrison who has recently joined the Federation Programme Team as Programme Zone Coordinator 4. See link below for the full Federation Leadership team along with their email addresses

New Name Badge Design

We are thrilled to announce a fresh update to our SISEAP name badges.  The new design incorporates the new SI emblem, includes our Federation name and is consistent with our SISEAP branding colours. The new design is available now.

New Member Badges

We're also excited to announce that we have received our newly designed member badges, featuring the new SI emblem and our Federation name. These are now available for purchase. Our previous badges with the old SI emblem will continue to be sold until stocks run out at a discounted price.

Updated Membership Post Cards

We have just received updated stock of membership postcards featuring the new SI emblem. These postcards are a fantastic tool for promoting SISEAP and engaging prospective members.

Get yours today and help spread the word about SISEAP.

Stay informed! Below you will find the latest information from ICT. Don't miss out on important information for members and clubs.

Google Gemini AI

Announcing that Google has released Gemini to Not for Profits (NFP).  SISEAP's license with Google allows the use of the basic version of Google's Gemini AI.

• Access:

  1. Open your SISEAP email account.

  2. Click on the Google Apps grid. (This is usually represented by a grid of squares or dots.)

  3. Click on "Gemini."

• Features: The basic version of Gemini offers a range of helpful AI capabilities:

1. Ask questions: Get answers to a wide variety of inquiries.
2. Task assistance: Receive help with various tasks, such as scheduling, research, and more.
3. Text summarization: Condense lengthy articles or text into shorter summaries.
4. Image generation: Create basic graphic images based on your descriptions.
5. AI interaction: Explore and experiment with different AI interactions.

What we don't get is the more advanced features, such as the integration with Google Meet where you are able to keep a text recording of your meeting. These are all extras which are not provided under the NFP grant.

GoTo Webinar

Great news, it was recently announced that GoTo now integrate Interprefy on all their Goto Webinars. Now when you hold a Webinar using the GOTO platform, your audience can request to have the session translated. 

This will enable your webinars to be more inclusive and this provides opportunities to increase your audience participation and awareness.

• Chinese (Mandarin)
• Chinese (Cantonese)
• English
• Indonesian
• International Sign Language
• Thai

Notice for clubs which use Humanitix for event booking

Recently the NFP ticketing rate for SISEAP users for Humanitix had reverted to the general fee. They were contacted and they have reapplied the NFP booking fee to all SISEAP account holders. Next time you are creating an event, please check your ticket sales to ensure that you are being charged the NFP price for ticket sales.

The right-hand column is the NFP discount price per ticket:

Add Club Position Holders to the Members Database

The club secretary, president, treasurer or ICT (for the previous year) will have to log onto the website,  go to Members on the left-hand menu,  and scroll down to club positions link to update their current club position holders. 

ICT Liaison

Christine Johnstone

Updated Membership Post Card

We are excited to announce that we have just received updated stock of membership postcards featuring the SI emblem! These postcards are a fantastic tool for promoting SISEAP and engaging prospective members.

Simply fill out the Shop Order Form and send it back to HQ at hq@siseap.org to process!

Get yours today and help spread the word about SISEAP.

Membership Best Practice Awards 2025

SISEAP Friendship Links Award 2025

Noting activities undertaken with a Friendship Link Club in the past two years (social, training, programme, and/or other).

SISEAP Diversity of Membership Award 2025 

What is your understanding of the importance of diversity in a Soroptimist club, and how has your club taken steps to enhance inclusivity and diverse representation? Share examples of how your club has worked to create an inclusive environment within your Soroptimist club, ensuring diverse voices are heard and respected. Diversity can include a range of cultures, ages, skills, socio-economic backgrounds, geographical locations, abilities and disabilities, and membership categories, all showing the club's inclusive nature. Supply a photo/s showing the diversity of your club, if possible.

SISEAP Membership Innovation Award 2025

An open award that showcases a club’s creativity and/or originality, a positive impact, potential for sustainability or adaptability, and instances of collaboration or partnerships, with a membership outcome for training or recruitment or retention.

Kristeen Johnston

SISEAP Membership Convenor 2024-2026

membership.kristeen@siseap.org

Federation Fees 2025

All Clubs have been emailed notification of the Federation Fees and the Annual Return Packs for 2025.

All Soroptimists:
A reminder that the due date for Soroptimists to pay their membership fee to their Club is 31 December 2024.

All Clubs:
To be eligible for the Early Payment Discount. Federation Fees must be received at HQ by no later than 31 January 2025.  Otherwise, the final due date for Clubs to pay fees is 28 February 2025.

HQ Office Holiday Closure

The SISEAP HQ Office will be closed for the holiday period from Monday 23 December 2024 through to Monday 6 January 2025. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2025

SISEAP Shop - End of Year Orders

Orders with Name Badges – Order and payment must be received by 12pm Wed 4 December
Orders without Name Badges – Order and payment must be received by 5pm  Tues 10 December

16 Days of Activism Ribbon
We want to remind you that our 16 Days of Activism Ribbons are available for purchase! By wearing one of these ribbons, you can show your support for this crucial cause and help raise awareness about the need to end gender-based violence. Don’t miss your chance to make a difference—get yours today and join us in taking a stand during this important campaign!

New Name Badge Design

We are thrilled to announce a fresh update to our SISEAP name badges.  The new design incorporates the new SI emblem, includes our Federation name and is consistent with our SISEAP branding colours.
The new design is available now.

New Member Badges - Coming Soon
We’re excited to announce that a new design for our member badges is currently in progress, featuring the new SI emblem. In the meantime, we are offering our existing badges with the old emblem at discounted prices. This is a great opportunity to grab your badge at a fantastic price while we transition to the new design. Stay tuned for updates on the launch of our fresh look!