History

The first club opened in the United States in 1921, followed by clubs in Great Britain and Europe. Initially projects tended to be with local issues and emergencies. In 1945 the United Nations (UN) was emerging and ‘Service’ efforts were concentrated on UN specialised agencies such as UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

On September 15th 1951 the Barnstaple Club received its Charter.

In 1952 came the establishment of a formal structure at an international level. The Constitution was amended to provide international officers. Soroptimist International (SI) was accredited to the UN Economic & Social Council (ECOSOC) as a non-governmental organisation.

From 1967 to 1969 Mrs Marion Stallard, a member of the Barnstaple Club, was President of the International Board.

In the mid-1980s SI achieved ‘General Consultative Status’ with ECOSOC. It also achieved accreditation to the High Commission for Refugees, the International Labour Organisation and UNICEF, and ‘Liaison Status’ with the Food & Agriculture Organisation. The UN system has programmes for all facets of human existence and SI has representatives to the UN in New York, Geneva, Vienna, Paris and Rome (UNESCO). Through the organisation’s Consultative Status (Article 17) the representatives have a lobbying role to influence the decision-making of governments on ‘Programme’ matters. It also gives SI the accreditation to ECOSOC, non-specialist agencies and Commissions on request.

In 1993 official relations were forged with the WHO when SI was assigned to work within the division of Family Health. In 1995 SI began working with the UN Industrial Development Organisation.

The organisation currently has over 3000 clubs arranged in 4 geographical Federations and is expanding, particularly in the developing world. It is proud to provide a global voice for women and of its status as a non-governmental organisation granted Category 1 status at the United Nations