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IN THIS LESSON WE LOOK AT THE LEVELS OF W.I. IN CANADA:

Locally in Chilliwack, British Columbia

Provincially in British Columbia

Nationally as the Federation of Women’s Institutes in Canada (F.W.I.C.)

Internationally as the Associate Country Women of the World (A.C.W.W.)

CHILLIWACK, B.C.

There were close to 20 clubs in the Hope Line District, of which Chilliwack was part: originally this district covered the area from Hope west to Vancouver.

CHILLIWACK, B.C.

R Y D E R L A K E W . I .

• Incorporated in 1939/1940 and had twenty members

• Currently has 30 members

• Known for its historians

• Records are archived in Chilliwack’s museum

• Fundraise for 4H club members to enable them to compete in local fairs.

A T C H E L I T Z W . I .

• Atchelitz Women’s Institute (A.W.I.) was formed 1914

• Currently has 16 members

• ‘Atchelitz’ is commonly understood to mean ‘area with many rivers’

• Will celebrate Centennial with Summer BBQ event in July 2014

BRITISH COLUMBIA

B.C.W.I. website proclaims, it is keeping ‘Women interested, informed and involved in building a better tomorrow!’ (www.bcwi.ca, 2013)

BRITISH COLUMBIA

• In 1909, Laura Rose (who was the ‘appointed by Ontario government to be the first W.I. organiser in 1899, and one of the 33 women employed as lecturers for the W.I.’ (Crowley, 1970, p5 ) came to B.C., where she organized 16 Women's Institutes.

• "Wherever there is a home with a woman in it, there is work for the Institute." (pembertonmuseum.org (n.d.))

• As the ‘government began to give attention to the living conditions on farms,’ it sponsored the Farmer’s Institutes to educate farmers so their ‘labours would be easier and more productive’ (Dennison, 1970 p55).

• In the same vein, ‘by organising the W.I.’s it promote (d) its agricultural policy; educating ‘women in ways of making the farm more inviting’ and enlist the women’s aid in making agriculture more appealing to their children’ (Dennison,1970, p55).

• Dennison quotes an extract of a government article in which it is stated that, ‘Agriculture is the basic industry of our country; the child is the greatest asset and the status of womanhood is the standard of civilisation’ (Dennison 1970, p55).

BRITISH COLUMBIA

• ‘Despite the great value of their contributions, The Women’s Institutes received very little recognition for them.’ ‘T(t)heir activities seldom attracted comment. Yet their accomplishments were as vital to community well-being as the housewife`s accomplishments were vital to the well-being of her husband and children’ (Dennison, 1970, p65)

• During World War I, the W.I.’s were busy conserving food and occupied in ‘practical sewing including remaking of old clothes.’ In 1922, the government provided Esquimalt WI/Institute School ‘to provide practical training in the rules of order and instruction on various lines of institute activities.’ Subsequently, ‘10 lessons were filed with the office of the province’s organiser of technical education’ (Dennison, 1970, p57). When World War II broke out, the interest in the preservation of food was renewed. Instead of canning, this was achieved by drying food stuffs: canning was limited by the sugar rationing.

• The first seeds of the British Columbia Children’s Hospital were sown in 1922 when Edith Scott, stepmother of Othoa “Polly” Scott wrote to Mrs. V. S. MacLachlan, Superintendent of the BC Women’s Institutes.

F.W.I.C.

• In February 1919, representatives of the provinces met in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to form the Federated Women's Institutes of Canada.

• The Homestead, which is also the location of the National Office, is owned and operated as a museum. It was the birthplace of Adelaide Hunter Hoodless, founder of the Women’s Institute.

• The objectives of the F.W.I.C. are: To provide a united national voice for all Women’s Institutes of

Canada To initiate national programs and provide resource material To provide a medium of inter-communication among the units of the

federation To provide leadership in the promotion of Canadian agriculture and

community living To develop responsible citizens through the study of issues of

national and international importance

F.W.I.C.The F.W.I.C. has thirteen committees, broken down into three categories: Educational, Administrative and Other:

Organization Issues include:

Currently, the F.W.I.C. has 13,000 members across 1000 branches nationally and has ‘charitable status’ (Federated Women’s Institutes of Canada Fact Sheet, (n.d.))

Educational• Agriculture• Canadian Industries

(Environment)• Citizenship & Legislation• Education & Cultural

Activities• Home Economics &

Health• International Affairs

Administrative Constitution & By-laws Finance Resolutions Editorial & Publicity

Other Recruitment & Extension Canadian Unity Projects

Food Safety & Nutrition Agriculture Awareness Environment Health Education

Rural Child Care Legal Rights Literacy Rural Renewal Farm Safety

Financial Planning Violence against women Support services for the elderly

ASSOCIATED COUNTRY WOMEN OF THE WORLD (A.C.W.W.)• In the ‘late 19th Century, rural women's

groups were set-up independently.

• The‘first International Conference of Rural Women at which 46 women from 24 countries attended a four-day conference, was held in London, England in April 1929.’

• In Vienna in 1930, a decision was made by the International Council of Women to form a 'Liaison Committee' of rural women's organisations. That committee, in ‘Stockholm 1933,’ became ‘the Associated Country Women of the World.’ (ACWW History, (n.d.))

• The organisation represents nine million women through its 450 Member Societies in over 70 countries’ (ACWW Welcome, (n.d.)).

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A.C.W.W. ACTIVE MEMBER SOCIETIESEAST, WEST & CENTRAL AFRICACameroon, Gambia, Ghana, Mali, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda

CENTRAL & SOUTH ASIABangladesh, India, Kyrgyz Republic, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka

EUROPEBelarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Wales

SOUTHERN AFRICABotswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Republic of South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe

SOUTH EAST ASIA & FAR EASTBrunei, China, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines 

SOUTH PACIFICAustralia, Christmas Island, East Timor, Fiji, Kiribati, New Zealand, Niue Island, Papua New Guinea, Tonga

CANADA 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

CARRIBBEAN, CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICABrazil, Colombia, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Vincent & Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago

REFERENCES:Art on the Farm (n.d.) Notes on Chilliwack’s Atchelitz WI Retrieved from: http://members.shaw.ca/artonthefarm/artist_bio_artist_22.html

BC Laws, Farmers’ and Women’s Institute Act 1996, Notes re membership age. Retrievedfrom: http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bclaws_new/document/ID/freeside/00_96133_01

British Columbia’s Women’s Institutes, Notes on BCWI’s motto (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.bcwi.ca/

Dennison, C. 1970, Houskeepers of the Community – The BC Women’s Institutes 1909 – 1946. In Welton, M. R., Knowledge for the People: The Struggle for Adult Learning in English Speaking Canada 1828-1973

Out there 4U Community Online, Chilliwack, Notes on Atchelitz W.I. (n.d.) Retrieved from: http://www.outthere4u.com/listing.php?listingID=3838 ()

REFERENCES:Pemberton Museum: Special Exhibit - Pemberton Women's Institute. Note on Laura (Rose) Stephen (n.d.) Retrieved from: http://www.pembertonmuseum.org/blog/2009/6/13/pemberton-womens-institute/

Stamper, Anne, Voluntary action History Society Seminar – Voluntary action of a membership organisation – countrywomen organise their own education, 2000 (Hon. Archivist, National Federation of Women’s Institutes (NFWI) UK) Retrieved from: http://www.thewi.org.uk/__documents/about-the-wi/for-archivists/voluntary-action-of-a-membership-organisation-countrywomen-organise-their-own-education.pdf

The Associated Country Women of the World, About ACWW (n.d.); ACWW’s Aims and Objectives (n.d.) and Active Member Societies (Jan 2012). Retrieved from: http://www.acww.org.uk/

The Federated Women’s Institute’s of Canada, Fact Sheet (n.d.) Retrieved from: http://www.fwic.ca/FactSheet.php