Leisure and Crafts

The Leisure and Crafts Sub-Committee provides a variety of exciting and interesting events, trips, learning experiences and competitions relating to diverse topics.

Examples are in the areas of leisure, lifestyle, humanities and the combined arts.  Competitions include the Lady Denman Cup annual writing competition, a Jigsaw Challenge, the BFWI Silver Cup for crafts, the NFWI Elizabeth Bell Challenge competition, and an annual Inter-County Quiz.   There are also welcoming workshops ​for members with an interest in arts and crafts - wool, fabric, glass or paper, knitting, stitching, drawing or painting.  Cookery and gardening are also within the remit of this team.  

Member Support

The Member Support Sub Committee is here to help you with the running of your WI.  Comprised of WI Advisers, the Resolutions Adviser and WI Adviser helpers, this group is responsible for handling the promotion, formation, suspension, closure and enlargements of WIs in Buckinghamshire including work on member attraction.

The team recommends suitable members for training by NFWI, with Federation support, as WI Advisers.  It is responsible for organising meetings to discuss Resolutions and organises delegates for the NFWI Annual Meeting.  This committee also provides training to help officers and committee members run their WIs.

Communications and Press

The Communications Sub-Committee assists the trustees and all Federation working groups in promoting events, and the image of the WI, through this website and on social media.  In  conjunction with the Press/PR Officer, it is responsible for external and internal communications, including email, print and digital news media, and TV and radio.

Together with the Digital Team Leader, "Comms" are responsible for training members in the areas of communications technology and public speaking, and assist the Federation Secretary with internal publications, ​such as the Year Book and Sub-Committee handbook. 

Science and Society

The Science and Society Sub-Committee provides leadership and encouragement to members taking action on National and County Mandates and Campaigns.  We work closely with NFWI and other campaigning and public service organisations, and we are responsible for fostering and encouraging activities in connection with Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). 

Speakers

The Speakers Sub-Committee is dedicated to maintaining the quality and diversity of the BFWI Speakers Listing, the brochure for which is published every two years.
 
Speakers recommended to the Committee are selected to be invited for audition at venues around the County.  WI members’ written comments at these events are relied upon to determine whether a speaker is approved for entry to the Speakers Listing.   Speakers are subsequently invited to renew their place in the Listing, updating their details every two years.   Details of interim changes and newly approved speakers are published in BFWI News.  Speakers offering virtual presentations are now identified in the Listing.

Federation Staff

A valued resource is our small but perfectly formed team of staff located at our HQ in High Wycombe.
Our Federation Secretary, Office Assistant and Bookkeeper work part-time hours for all of us, but pack full-time productivity into those hours for which we are very grateful.
Contact details by clicking this link: https://tinyurl.com/y7yvm7hb

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Team

The EDI Panel have in their sights all things to do with equality, inclusion and diversity.  Fortunately our National EDI team are always bringing out new and useful information which the Panel selects for publication on our social media and in our Federation monthly magazine.  They keep an eye out for suitable speakers and arrange online events to keep our members bang up to date.

For more information about EDI, head over to our NFWI website via this link: www.thewi.org.uk/about-us/wi-key-messages/equality-diversity-inclusion-policy

Archiving Team

Led by our Hon.Archivist, we have a small team of people who help maintain our extensive Archives.  For example, documentation from every WI which used to operate in Buckinghamshire is safely stored.  We also have valuable (to us) textiles, Memorial Books and Scrapbooks.  You can contact us via bfwiarchives@gmail.com
Buckinghamshire Federation of Women's Institutes (Affiliated to the National Federation of Women's Institutes)   ​Charity No: 228057 ​
​External links disclaimer
Throughout our site you will find links to external websites. Although we make every effort to ensure these links are accurate, up to date and relevant, BFWI cannot take responsibility for pages maintained by external providers.  If you come across any external links that don't work, we would be grateful if you could report them to us.
Photo used under Creative Commons from Ben Taylor55