Dear all.

In Mexico during the Congress of BPW International your new Coordinator was elected!

Amélie Leclercq, Member of BPW France!

Congragulations and a very warm welcome to her.

A new ECC Member was also elected during Congress and this is Arzu Ozyol, BPW Ankara.

I am convinced, that this new team will lead BPW Europe on his best and reach many common goals for the benefit of all, Europe and International.

I say "good by" to you as your Coordinator and thank you so much for the confidene you gave me in these last three years.

My closing words of my 3year task will be posted under "one of us".

My news for you: I have been elected as 1st Vice President of BPW International and am the Chair of Membership. In the future I can stay in contact with you all thanks to my new task. I am looking forward to keep in contact with you and thank again for your great support.

Best regards
Gabriella Canonica
Immediate Past Regional Coordinator BPW Europe

1st Vice President BPW International 2008 - 2011

Dear all,

In some days I will leave for Bangkok where the last Execuive Board Meeting for this trinneium will take place.

I will represent you all. The European Presidents, the European Members! Thank you for the trust you give me and the courrage to go on with my work as your Representative to BPW International.

I will let you have the results of this Meeting early february 2008.

Keep well and best regards
Gabriella Canonica
Regional Coordinator BPW Europe
Executive Board Member BPW International

Midnight 24 / 25 December 2007

Dear all!

While in some countries it still 23/24 and in others it is already 25/26… it is “Christmas time”. The time we do celebrate with our families, with our best friends and with our memories and souvenirs of childhood.

Remembering how it was for me as a child at Christmas time, fills me with warm feelings. Surprises and magic moments!

Growing up, we learn that the magic moment is in ourselves, in fulfilment of projects, in the realisation of wishes and most of them happen through our will and determination.

But… if we could have written a letter to Santa… just as we did when we were kids.. what would have been our strongest wish?

For me it is clear, of course not a new doll or a new bicycle... the wishes become “grown up”, like: seeking for harmony, love, understanding, health, justice, equality, sharing precious moments with the beloved.

And as all has two faces, “polarity”: sun - shadow, cold - hot, love - hate, poor - rich, big – small …. Christmas also has two faces.
Never in the whole year time runs so quickly as just before Christmas and we hear us saying: “What! Christmas again! It comes so suddenly.. We are not ready, so much to do… so much to prepare”

We had 365 days to prepare for Christmas and still we are astonished when 24 / 25 December is here!


Christmas is also the time to say “thank you”, to speak out words of forgiveness, or to hold on and listen.

For me it is the time to say “Thank you” to you.

You as BPW Member all over the world, you are the most important Women for me, you believe in BPW, you work for BPW, you life the spirit of BPW. And without you, BPW would not be what is is.

Thank you! I wrap my “Thank You” in golden paper and put silver ribbon around it. It will be a parcel under your Christmas tree.

Thank you for giving me your trust, for encouraging me to go on with my work, for believing in me.

Please accept my Christmas thoughts, rather long.. I know… But it comes from my heart.

Wishing you wonderful days, with your families, your BPW Members, your friends I add the best wishes for the new Year 2008!

And… Suddenly it will be time for Mexico!

Let’s be prepared! See you soon, in Mexico City in October 2008. BPW International Congress. Remember, this will be before the next Christmas…

Love to you

Gabriella Canonica
Regional Coordinator BPW Europe

_____________________________________________________________________ Basel, 10. November 2007



Liebe BPW Basel, liebe Gäste

Als langjähriges Mitglied vom BPW Club Basel freue ich mich sehr, dass Sie heute am
60. Geburtstag meines Home - Clubs Basel an der Geburtstags Feier teilnehmen.

Leider kann ich nicht persönlich die Gratulationen überbringen, deshalb wird die
Präsidentin, Frau Katja Kretz, dies kurze Botschaft vorlesen.

Im Namen von BPW Europe, dem ECC, allen Präsidentinnen von BPW Europa und
BPW International, gratuliere ich dem Club Basel aus ganzem Herzen zu diesem
grossen, wichtigen Geburtstag.

60 Jahre! Viele aktive Members haben den Club in Basel geprägt, mit tatkräftiger
Unterstützung wachsen lassen und wichtige Spuren in der Geschichte von
BPW Switzerland hinterlassen.

Basel hat immer schon eine Vorreiterrolle im BPW Switzerland gehabt, dafür
sind wir alle sehr dankbar und vor allem sehr stolz.

Vor 10 Jahren als ich Vizepräsidentin im Basler Club war, durfte ich an den
Vorbereitungen
zum damaligen 10jährigenJubiläum aktiv mitarbeiten.
Die fantastische Zusammenarbeit hat das damalige Organisation - Team fest zusammen geschweisst und ich bin überzeugt, dass es auch nach 10 Jahren diesen Effekt hat.

Euch allen herzlichen Dank für das riesige Engagement für den BPW Basel, für
BPW Switzerland, Europe und International.

Ich hebe in Gedanken das Glas und proste auf eine spannende Zukunft für die
nächsten 60 Jahre BPW Basel an! Es lebe der BPW Club Basel!

Ich verbleibe dem BPW Basel treu und danke für die Unterstützung in meinem
Amt als Europäische Koordinatorin und Executive Board Member von BPW International.






Gabriella Canonica
Regional Coordinator BPW Europe
Member of the International Executive Board

7th November 2007



Ms Doris Lessing


Dear Ms Lessing

It is with the utmost pleasure that we congratulate you on winning the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature.

We are delighted to see that your achievements and commitment to illustrating women’s condition and participation in contemporary society have been recognised by the Nobel Committee.

Our organisation, BPW-Europe is the European Region of BPW International, represented in 27 countries with about 23 000 members in all parts of Europe. We are the largest organised network of business and professional women in the world and we see your victory as an important step towards acknowledging the impact of the women's movement on 20th-century literature.

Our Ambition is to work towards equal participation of women and men in power and decision-making roles and believe that your pioneering work belongs to the handful of books that informed the 20th-century view of the male-female relationship and we thank you for being passionate about social and political issues, which has inspired a generation of women.


On behalf of BPW-Europe, i would like to congratulate you on this well deserved honour and acknowledge that for women and for literature, you are an inspiration to us all.


Yours sincerely



Gabriella Canonica
Regional Coordinator BPW Europe

Dear Members, dear Presidents of BPW Europe

The last week-end in April the ECC had a meeting in France, in the little Town of Le Thillot.

We had the honour that the Mayor of the City, Mr. Yves Ceresa invited us to the City Hall and we had the possiblity to inform him about the activities and projects of BPW Europe / BPW International.

Of course one of the topics was also the planned opening of a new Club in Le Thillot. The Mayor Yves Ceresa assured us his support in organizing this event and we are looking forward to the next meeting in November in Le Thillot.

You can read the Newspaper article and see the pictures under: "News & Pictures, News from you.



Best regards

Gabriella Canonica and the ECC Members

“It is not by chance or through the efforts of its leaders alone that a club continues to be worthy of its heritage and of its mission. Every member is of fundamental importance.”
Dr. Lena Madesin Phillips, Founder Business and Professional Women International
___________________________________________________________


Dear Presidents of BPW Europe
Dear Members of BPW Europe
Dear Friends

Now that the new year 2007 is just one day “young” I take the opportunity to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your marvellous greetings, wishes, letters, mails and phone calls.
Besides being happy to read all your messages and to be full of emotion with grateful thoughts, at the same time it stimulates me to go on working for this fantastic organisation, our BPW Europe in BPW International. Thank you for your confidence!

As I keep on repeating, YOU are the Leaders in Europe, and without your great work, nothing would have been achieved. So my thanks go to you.

But…
I have chosen a sentence out of the Book of Lena Madesin Phillips, our founder, which in my eyes, says exactly what “we have to do” and “where we have to go” and “where our goal” is.

Without our members, there is obviously no Club, if there is no Club, there will never be a Federation and so on.

You as the Leaders, hold the future of your Federation / your Club in your hands. It is a challenge; it is a never ending engagement.
You said yes to this task, we know and are aware, that it is not always an easy “yes” to carry on your shoulder.

We demand a lot. BPW needs you!
Your Federation and your Club.
BPW Europe and BPW International.

Your personal engagement and daily struggling to keep all under
“one hat”…
your family,
your work life, your private life,
your BPW engagement
is not an easy way you have chosen,
but you did choose!

I wish you the strength, the courage to go on with this “yes” and to be strong in demanding your members to be at your side, to help you carry this BPW commitment and to fulfil the wonderful task to make our Organization VISIBLE to the world.

Women are extremely creative.


They can “out of a nothing” make an incredible fashion hat, a wonderful salad, or a scene.
I wish you a wonderful hat, where you can put your entire tasks under a safe shelter!

Happy New Year 2007
Gabriella Canonica - Regional Coordinator BPW Europe 2005 - 2008

Dear members of BPW Europe
It is a great pleasure for me, to inform you officially, that we have a new Club in a new Country!

BPW Club Ankara, in Turkey.

The official opening took place in Ankara February the 11th. The first Candle Lighting Ceremony and a Reception in the Hilton Hotel of Ankara where the Highlights of this Event. More than 100 Persons attended the Ceremony.

The elected President, Mrs Arzu Özyol opened the evening and I had the honour to hold the opening speech.
Here my congratulation letter to BPW Ankara:

Dear Madame President of BPW Club Ankara,
Dear Arzu

On behalf of BPW Europe / BPW International I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your great hospitality during the Event of the official opening of BPW Ankara in the Hilton Hotel on Saturday, the 11th of February 2006.

Furthermore, I congratulate you warmly for the success of the evening; I was very impressed by the attendance of these "Power-Women" at the reception. And as I said in my opening speech, I am sure and feel, that BPW Ankara will play a very important role in the future of BPW Europe, touching the diversity of culture, history and women stories. Therefore I thank you, for your enormous effort, your energy and your persistence.

The result is overwhelming!

Thank you for your commitment to BPW.

Glad, that you will assist the Leadership Seminar, the IDP Training and the CWS next week in New York at the UN.

This will give you the unique possibility to meet over 100 BPW Members from the entire world.

They are looking forward to meet YOU!

With my respect and warmest regards to you and your team

Gabriella Canonica
Regional Coordinator BPW Europe

Frau Bundeskanzlerin
Angela Merkel
Klingelhöferstrasse 8
10785 Berlin


Basel, 22. November 2005



Sehr geehrte Frau Bundeskanzlerin,
liebe Frau Angela Merkel


BPW Europe, Mitglied der International Federation of Business and Professional Women, hat mit grosser Spannung seit dem 22. Mai 2005 die politischen Geschehnisse in Deutschland beobachtet und wir haben für Sie mitgefiebert.
In Deutschland ist der BPW eine der grössten Frauen-Organisationen, in welcher sich berufstätige Frauen in leitender Stellung vereint haben. (www.bpw-germany.de)

Wir bewundern Ihre klare Worte, wir bewundern Ihre Kraft, mit welcher Sie auch die schwierigen Situationen in den letzen Wochen und Monate gemeistert haben. Dazu gratulieren wir Ihnen herzlich. - Sie sind für uns ein Vorbild. Frauen fühlen sich durch Sie bestärkt, um in ihrem jeweiligen Umfeld mitzudenken und mitzuwirken.

Der Meilenstein ist gelegt! Mögen viele Frauen in Europa und weltweit durch Ihre Arbeit als Bundeskanzlerin motiviert werden, die Verantwortung in der eigenen Familie, in der Gesellschaft, am Arbeitsplatz und in der Welt wahrzunehmen. Frauenstimmen können gemeinsam das Weltbild verändern.

Unser Internationales Thema von BPW International ist für die drei nächsten Jahre
„New Dimensions of Leadership“. Was hätten wir uns besseres wünschen können, als Sie als Bundeskanzlerin zu wissen?

Unsere Unterstützung ist Ihnen gewiss.

Im Namen von BPW Europe, deren Regionale Koordinatorin ich seit 2005 bin, gratuliere ich Ihnen
von Herzen und wünsche Ihnen Erfolg und Kraft für Ihre grosse Aufgabe.

Seien Sie herzlichst gegrüsst

Gabriella Canonica

Regional Coordinator BPW Europe

Thank you!!!

First of all I would like to thank you all for electing me as your new Coordinator for BPW Europe 2005 - 2008.

I am very happy to work in this new position for BPW Europe and with your help, we will be able, to reach our goals.

The ECC has also a new Member elected at the Presidents' Meeting in Luzern: Ewa Papla, BPW Poland. Congratulations to her and a warm welcome in the ECC.

Our team, with Finance Officer Dagmar Bischof, BPW Germany, Ewa and myself is preparing the plan of action 2005 - 2006.

As I wrote to all Presidents, Faye Northan has left the ECC and so there was a vacancy. We are happy to have now Viktoria Balensiefen who is "taking over" till Stockholm the Young BPW representation for BPW Europe.

In Luzern, at the International Congress, the Presidents accepted quite a lot of innovative new ideas, and we can be proud, that many of these proposals came from our two Task Forces from BPW Europe.

Soon we will have the official papers from BPW International with all amendments and resolutions and I will post them to you.

One of the top-sentences we decided at the first Executive Board Meeting just after Congress, "Development of the professional potential of women" fits perfect into the actual spirit of BPW Europe.

My first official visit as Regional Coordinator was in July the 2nd to Salzburg / Austria.
I had the pleasure to take part at the National Meeting of BPW Austria and to present the topics of BPW Europe. I met all the presidents of BPW Austria and had the great pleasure to feel the very active spirit of this Federation.

One of my next trips will be to Stockholm, preparing the European Congress in June 2006. I will meet with National President BPW Sweden Ulla-Liza Blom and Lena Hokfelt. I am looking forward to see how the preparations are going...

Then I will attend the European Womans'Lobby annual meeting in London, october 15/16. Our Representative, Eufemia Ippolito, BPW Italy and myself, with the collaboration of Lesha Witmer, will be well prepared for this meeting.

The day after I will try to visit BPW UK and the Member Office in UK and have a meeting with Ann Swain. I am looking forward to this , also because I will have my first vistit to the so well known OFFICE...

So far for today!

Warm regards and enjoy SUMMER!
Gabriella Canonica
Regional Coordinator