Profile of Clubs


International Women's Club of Hamburg

The Club was established in 1991 and it has over 200 members, representing 50 different countries. Not surprising, since we are in Germany, German citizens make up our largest population at 20% (the maximum any one nationality can have), followed by Americans.
The fifty countries currently represented are: Germany, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, USA, Denmark, Canada, Australia, Namibia, UK, Austria, Greece, Chile, Nicaragua, Finland, Switzerland, Norway, Columbia, Peru, Iran, China, El Salvador, Egypt, Poland, Indonesia, Ecuador, Singapore, Guatemala, Russia, India, Philippines, Spain, Hungary, Thailand, Japan, France, Syria, Ireland, Turkey, Sweden, Malaysia, Taiwan, Italy, Uganda, The Netherlands, Portugual, Venezuela, Jordan, Uruguay.

Our membership population is a mixture of:
“long termers”, many married to Germans; and short-termers, here because of temporary job postings for their own or husband’s work, students, new moms, newlyweds, professional women, stay-at-home moms, singles, homemakers, “empty nesters”, retirees, artists, entrepreneurs, employees, managers, freelancers, etc.
The working language of the club is English.

Excerpt from the Club's Newsletter

WELCOME CLUBS INTERNATIONAL


Welcome Clubs International, a grassroots organization, was born out of an idea conceived by one woman, Marian Adair, wife of a US Congressman from Indiana, and is now in its 26th year.  The achievements in the last couple of decades have been steady and progressive. The organization’s basic philosophy “Friendship & Understanding”  between women of all cultures, was viewed by some as simplistic and unattainable, but time has proven  its validity in the world we live in today.  Progress in the last couple of years has grown rapidly in management, services to members and size.

Board Meetings and Conferences are held at intermittent years where current issues are discussed and resolved.  These meetings serve as a venue to enact business and also provide a platform to cement old friendships and establish new ones.  

Welcome Clubs is not perfect but to paraphrase a notable speaker, “Do not let the perfect become the enemy of the essential”.  

Our goal of promoting friendship and understanding between women of all cultures is ESSENTIAL. We have succeeded where governments have failed.  We, as citizen diplomats within Welcome Clubs International, will continue to work hard to embrace all women and thereby help bring peace through understanding between nations.  

Eshrat Demougeot
WCI Founders Representative
 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________ 


WCI HISTORY

Welcome Clubs International (“WCI”) was the vision of, our Founder, Marian Adair. Founded in 1986, its purpose is to bring together International Women’s Clubs throughout the world, and to act as a forum for these clubs and their members to exchange ideas and develop relationships free from political, cultural and religious differences.

The genesis of WCI began with Marian’s first accomplishment, the Welcome to Washington International Club (WTW) founded in 1959. Marian, as the wife of a Congressman, attended many diplomatic functions. Marian realized that wives of the diplomats returned to their countries never having made an American friend nor had been in an American home. The International members of WTW not only enjoyed getting to know and befriend Americans, but above all found the concept of the Club very appealing. On returning to their own country they started clubs in the image of Welcome to Washington. As the number of clubs grew it instigated the need for an umbrella organization to promote closer ties and encourage communications between member clubs.

Since its creation WCI has grown both in the number of member clubs and the number of members worldwide.

As of 1990 WCI has been governed by 7 consecutive Committees. In 2000 WCI was incorporated in the State of Virginia. Each of the 7 administrations helped to move the organization one step forward. Communications improved, the Newsletter, “Worldwide Link” was expanded in content and structure, the Website was set up and Biennial Conferences and Board of Director Meetings were established. Conferences are hosted by a member club in their country once every two years. To date conferences have taken place in London, Brussels, Denver, Zurich, Naples Florida, Turkey, Taipei, Washington DC, San Diego Califonia and Porto Alegre, Brazil. Conferences have been a key component in bringing all our members under the umbrella of friendship and understanding and in meeting each other in person. Board of Directors Meetings are held every other year in different venues all around the world.

Marian had a vision and a dream 50 years ago. That dream lives on and now encompasses 25 clubs worldwide and WCI serves as a beacon of light bringing women of all cultures together in friendship and understanding. We consider ourselves a grassroots organization and our members serve as citizen diplomats by making it our mission to understand our differences and our way of life.