This year's BPW Switzerland Assembly of Delegates took place in Winterthur from 7 to 8 June and was organized by the amazing women from the BPW Club Winterthur.

It was a weekend packed with important topics, meaningful conversations, and new developments. For example, members of the Central Executive Committee of BPW Switzerland were both newly elected and re-elected.

Claudine Esseiva resigned from the Central Executive Committee due to a term limit. We sincerely thank Claudine for her tireless and passionate commitment to BPW and the political and economic equality of women in Switzerland!

Myriam Heidelberger Kaufmann was newly elected as Co-President in her place. She will take over the co-presidency along with Sandra Jauslin, who has been confirmed in this position. Andrea Bläsi will continue to be responsible for the Finance department – her position will not be up for re-election until 2025.

Souad Hächler, Rosanna Bertuccio, Sandra Fröhlich, and Sheerah Kim resigned from the Central Executive Committee. The new members of the Central Executive Committee in their place include Vera Bender (BPW Club Luzern), Barbara Haller Rupf (BPW Club Chur), Jana Fehrensen (BPW Club Oberaargau), and Christine Megert (BPW Club Thun).

The newly assembled Central Executive Committee got together on 9 August, 2024, for a retreat in Bern, in order to make sure they were strategically aligned for the next few years and to position BPW Switzerland.

To this end, the respective departments were assigned as follows:
 

The regional support for BPW Switzerland is divided within the Central Executive Committee as follows:

Sandra Jauslin: Zurich region (contact person for the Baden, Schaffhausen, Winterthur, and Zürich clubs )
Myriam Heidelberger: Romandie (contact person for the Vaud, Fribourg, Jura, Genève, Lake Geneva, and Neuchâtel clubs )
Andrea Bläsi: Ticino and Eastern Switzerland (contact person for the Appenzell, St. Gallen, Frauenfeld, Kreuzlingen, Wil, Oberthurgau, and Ticino clubs)
Vera Bender: Central Switzerland (contact person for the Luzern, Uri, and Ob-Nidwalden clubs)
Jana Fehrensen: Northwestern Switzerland (contact person for the Aarau, Basel, Baselland, Lenzburg, Zofingen, and Olten clubs)
Barbara Haller: Southeast Switzerland (contact person for the Rapperswil, Chur, Davos-Klosters, Glarus, and Engiadina clubs)
Christine Megert: Mittelland (contact person for the Biel/Bienne, Solothurn, Bern, Oberaargau, Thun, and Interlaken-Oberhasli clubs)

Algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) should benefit all of us. To this end, we must ensure that the systems are used responsibly – and do not discriminate against anyone. Together with around 40 organizations and 70 leading figures, BPW Switzerland and the BPW Club Zürich have called on the Federal Council to make protection against discrimination by algorithms a priority of the upcoming regulations on AI. If you want to participate as well, you can find all the important information here.

BPW Europe's Green and Sustainable Working Group drafted a resolution in 2023 and is inviting all interested BPWs to jointly raise awareness of this issue and to actively participate in the "Together For A Green and Sustainable World" resolution. In this Europe-wide movement, BPW Europe’s Green and Sustainable Working Group is acting as an umbrella organization for the national BPW federations and affiliated clubs and offering a platform for regional clubs to share knowledge and jointly develop sustainable solutions for the political, economic, and social spheres.
 

The hosts from the BPW Club Ticino and BPW Switzerland are delighted to cordially invite all BPWs, prospective members, and guests to the Locarno / Lake Maggiore region for this year's autumn conference under the motto ‘Autumn visions: Women as protagonists of the future’. It will be taking place from 18-19 October, 2024. Further information will be available on our website nearer the time.

We were able to look back on a successful year at the 2024 Assembly of Delegates. The main goal of the Lena scholarship project remains to support women in Switzerland who are going through a crisis on their path to economic independence. The LENA Commission has been working on and strategically developing the project with great dedication for several years.

As BPW, companies, and prospective members, we are all called upon to help to cover the financial needs for the LENA scholarships - because we are all LENA. We will be actively disseminating information within the BPW Clubs in the next few months through a communication campaign. If you have any questions about this or would like to contribute financially to the LENA project, you can find more information here.

22 August, 2024                    
Online Empowerment Talk with collective member Sporti{f} (in German)

27 August, 2024                    
Gender Pension GPG 3.0, event by BPW Luzern

20 - 22 September, 2024      
DACH Conference, Ulm (Germany)

18 - 19 October, 2024                  
BPW Autumn Conference, Locarno

24 October, 2024                  
Online consultation for web and database managers in French

28 October, 2024                           
Training on the application of the new data protection regulations at the club level in German

29 October, 2024                           
Training on the application of the new data protection regulations at the club level in French

30 October, 2024                          
Online consultation for web and database managers in German

14 November, 2024               
National Future Day, Switzerland

17-21 November, 2024         
BPW International Congress, St. Kitts (Caribbean, UK)

15 January, 2025                  
7th Central Switzerland BPW event

23-25 May, 2025                   
BPW European Conference and Young Symposium, Malta

13 June, 2025                       
BPW Switzerland Assembly of Delegates, Basel

BPW International mission is to develop business, professional and leadership potential of women on all levels through advocacy, education, mentoring, networking, skill building. On 26 August BPW International will celebrate 94 years of dedicated work on women empowerment and advocacy.
The color of BPW International is yellow. On 26 August members of BPW International wear yellow. Please take photos with your Federation or Club members and post them on your social media.

Happy Anniversary!

Anu Viks, Chair Executive Council BPW Europe, Regional Coordinator BPW Europ

"AI will not replace us, but a person who uses it will." – The CAS in Digital Acceleration & AI from Rochester-Bern prepares you for the fifth industrial revolution, the age of artificial intelligence (AI). You'll learn about disruptive digital trends, apply the potential of AI to optimize your business, and engage with AI in relation to leadership and corporate culture. It is not about understanding the technical details, but about gaining the necessary contextual competence to grasp the relevant connections. The application-oriented training for managers and directors equips participants with practical tools for handling the digital transformation and the targeted use of AI professionally. At the same time, you will also get effective tools for leading your team in an increasingly digital world.

Find out more directly from Rochester.

Amélie Lustenberger, Communication Manager at Rochester-Bern Executive Programs

BPW Switzerland will be participating in the International Congress with 5 delegate votes and is currently preparing for this event. In addition to the general assembly with many important businesses, there will also be great workshops and networking events. So if you've always wanted to travel to the Caribbean - that's one reason to do it this November. Details can be found on the official congress website https://stkittscongress.bpw-international.org/.

IMPORTANT! A meeting with the delegates and all participating BPWs from Switzerland will be held in advance online on Monday, 26 August, at 7:00 pm. The zoom link to the meeting will be available for all Swiss participants after registration here.

And that's everything you need to know about what's going on at BPW in Switzerland in a nutshell. We hope to see you again soon... at the latest at the BPW DACH Conference in Ulm and / or the BPW Autumn Conference in Ticino?

Until then, we hope you have a great summer!

Warm regards,
The Central Executive Committee and the Central Office of BPW Switzerland

--> And don't forget:
From mid-September 2024, our BPW Courrier awaits you with amazing women and exciting topics related to finance.