Awards
Sylvia Perry receives inaugural Lena Madesin Phillips Award

BPW UK member, Sylvia Perry was very honoured to be presented with a prestigious new award named after the founder president of BPW International, the Lena Madesin Phillips Award in Mexico City on Friday 24 October 2008.

The aim of this award, set up this year, is: to recognise an individual BPW member who makes a significant contribution to the development of BPW at international level and/or to improve the status of women with the leadership and dedication inspired by Dr Lena Madesin Phillips, the founder of the International Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPW International)

Sylvia, a former UK national president (989 – 91) and international president (1996 –1999) was nominated by BPW UK and was selected from among the eight nominees to be one of the first three awardees, together with her colleagues, Dr Yvette Swan of Hamilton, Bermuda and Dr Livia Ricci of Verona, Italy.

Sylvia started working in the international arena in 1980, when she attended her first international congress in Montreux, the Golden Jubilee of the International Federation, which by coincidence by chaired by the last UK woman before Sylvia to be the international president, Ms Mildred Head. Taking on her first responsibility internationally, she became the chair of the public relations standing committee and organised the extensive range of workshops held at international events in Nagoya, Japan, Venice, Italy and Southampton, UK.

She went on to be the regional coordinator for Europe (1993 – 1996) liasing with and leading 28 European country affiliates and was elected international president at the congress in Venice in July 1996. In her three years of her presidency, she visited over 40 countries, taking part in their activities and meeting heads of state, government officials, high profile business and institutional leaders and being interviewed by various media, making them aware of the advocacy and project work of BPW International.

Sylvia also worked extensively in the United Nations field, participating for a number of years in the Commission of Status of Women and representing BPW International at the Fourth World Conference of Women in Beijing in 1995. Also at various times, she participated in many conferences /summits of UN agencies such as UNESCO, FAO, UNCTAD and UNIFEM and was the representative on the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE). She continued her work for UNIFEM, running the UK NGO supporting that organisation for 6 years. In her own part of the world, she was involved with the European Women’s Lobby.

During her presidency, she worked on a plan for modernising BPW International which, was presented at the 1999 international congress that she chaired in Vancouver; launched a campaign for the BPW members internationally to work on the elimination of violence against women and co –wrote a book with her predecessor as international president, Dr Livia Ricci, on the life and work of a BPW International icon and UN activitist, Esther Wanner Hymer which was entitled ‘Bus to 42nd Street’

Cooperation with a number of international organisations was also a major interest, particularly with the four other major women’s international organisations involved with BPW International in the ‘Project Five 0’ group. Sylvia cemented that relationship by writing ‘Empowering Women Worldwide’ the 25 years history of the work of Project Five 0, and their shared fundraising and management of projects in developing countries.

Sylvia followed up her international presidency by chairing the organisation’s Twinning and UNIFEM task forces and for the last three years has been a Trustee of BPW International.

Her international experience was built on the development she gained within BPW UK where she took on a wide range of responsibilities over the years and is still a great supporter and active worker in her local club BPW Bristol. But it has also been a motivation for her international work in other organisations and for the last eight years she has taken the role as a Founder Board Member and the Finance Director of Arab International Women’s Forum, with major involvement in conferences in London, Cairo, Brussels, Dubai and Washington DC.

The citation was made and the award presented by Dr Chonchanok Viravan, the 2005 – 2008 international president who had initiated the award and whom Sylvia had appointed in her presidency to her first UN representative’s post. In accepting the award, Sylvia recalled the joy of being a BPW member, being part of its leadership, what it had meant to her and the friendships it had brought and she said “ there is a very strong connection with Lena Madesin Phillips who was on her way to present the first ever report on Arab women, in which Arab women had participated, when she died in Marseilles and the fact that I now work extensively in helping Arab women achieve their potential is a special link. This is a very special moment and one I will treasure for ever”