IFUW Candidate Biographical Data: Board of Officers
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| Sushil Bhardwaj
New Delhi,
India
Age: 70 or over |
Nominated as:
Nominated by: |
President
Indian Federation of University Women's Association |
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| Professional
Field and/or present occupation |
1. Retired From X-Ray and Ultrasound Clinic as Administrator
on 5th of September 2009 But my true professional field is
Teaching University level in Political Science and Public
Administration
2. Taught Pol. Sc. and Public administration in Indraprastha
College for Women, Delhi University 1960-1996
3. Taught Political Science in Western College for Women,
Oxford, Ohio and Asian Studies in Randolph Macon College for
Women, Lynchburg, Virginia, Under US-India Faculty Exchange
Programme 1965-1966
4. Taught Post Graduate Classes in University of Delhi Political
Science Department 1966-1996
5. All India Radio Indore, Delhi station & External Services
of All India Radio as Staff Artist and under casual Contracts
in Women and Childrens' programmes and Educational Programmes
1954-1990s.
6. Lecturer in Political Science DAV College Sholapur, Bombay
State, India !952-1954.
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| Skills
and experience (volunteer and professional) that have prepared you to be an IFUW Board Member |
My work experience as a teacher and as Administrator
in a clinic gives me experience of organizing and leading
seminars and workshops as well as experience of Public Relations
and handling people with problems, these problems might
be related to relationships, conflict, physical pain and
hurt or those of lack of self confidence.
My Social service has been related to hospital work, Slums,
and UWA Delhi, IFUWA and IFUW. In hospitals I have dealt
with elderly and children, in slums it has been cleanliness
derives and teaching women to open bank account and saving
for their children and their old age, something like financial
awareness at the poorest level. I have been involved with
environmental work helping keep greenery in a metropolitan
city like Delhi growing plants myself, giving plants as
presents and helping/advising small flat persons to grow
plants so that there is enough greenery for oxygen in the
environs.
In UWA Delhi I have held Managing Committee offices all
the way up from Joint secretary to President except for
General Secretary. That has given me experience of various
activities which are done at grass roots of IFUW. At NFA
level, I have been member and Convener of Constitution Advisory
Committee, prepared bid for IFUW Conference of IFUW 2001,
which Canada won, I have worked on creating IFUWA web site
from zero in 2006 and been Moderator of The Way Forward
Group from 2004 onwards apart from being a member of Central
Committee from Delhi off and on since 1992. This has again
given me insight of the problems faced by NFAs and capacity
to handle conflicts which come in volunteer groups. I have
been busy helping Delhi UWA face problems of conflict situation
since 2002 and hopefully we are out of woods / the lowest
level now and are on the way to recovery. I have fund raising
experience for UWA Delhi. I joined UWA Delhi as Life Member
in 1963.
In IFUW I have experience of having been member of Resolutions
Committee and Convener of that committee as well as ad hoc
member of SWC , I have attended Membership Committee meetings
as well as those of Finance Committee. In fact I stood for
Finance Committee member's post in 1995 and have been reading
the problems and work of that committee for a long Time.
I am Liaison for International Awards Committee, Resolutions
Committee and Working Group on Girlchild as Vice President
IFUW now, that has given me experience in most of the committees.
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| Experience or knowledge of the United Nations, its specialized agencies and their national commissions |
My Basic Knowledge of UN Comes from my teaching UN
course at BA Hons. (Major) level. We had to deal with the
organization, its agencies , the way of work, deficiencies
and need for reform in that course. In UWA Delhi we have
celebrated UN Day every year and listening to eminent speakers
year after year has added to my knowledge of UN. I have
been reading reports of our UN representatives also. My
direct involvement with IFUW since 1992 by attending celebrations,
council meetings and conferences also made me take note
of IFUW's role as a consultative body.
As member of Advocacy network and references given therein
I have been getting data and have had added interest in
UN from IFUW point of view. I have not been able to attend
CSW meetings at UN in New York so far and am going to attend
that this year in February and March, but I have kept up
with it again by reading and discussions with our member
who did attend.
IFUW Advocacy network also helps keep members abreast of
UN and what is happening there.
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| Other relevant skills and experience from the last 10 years relevant to this position |
Apart from my Voluntary work with UWA Delhi and
All India Women's Conference and involvement with Indraprastha
College for Women , Delhi University, all of which do give
varied skills and experience which would be useful in volunteer
work any where, it is what I have been doing in IFUW that
gives me specific skills and experience that are relevant
to the position that I hope to work at.
Experience - 1998- member of Resolutions Committee and 2004
Convener of Resolutions Committee,
2006 - 7 Ad hoc member of SWC,
2007 - 2010 Liaison with Resolutions Committee and International
Awards Committee as well as Working Group on Girl Child,
2000 - Attended 80th Anniversary celebration at Geneva,
2001, 2004, 2007 - attended Conferences in Ottawa, Perth
and Manchester, in Official capacity or as an Observer all
of the above have given me experience and exposure to many
aspects of the working ethos of IFUW.
Visiting Amsterdam in 2007 and attending IFUWA central Committee
meetings in all these years as well as UWAsia Conference
at Singapore in 2009 .
Attending Meetings of Membership Committee, Finance committee
sometimes and working with Hegg Hoffet Committee in Conferences
almost completes my experience with problems and ways of
work and needs of our different Committees.
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| Goals for this position and the contribution you believe you can personally make if elected or appointed |
IFUW is at a special juncture at present and needs
to revamp itself in order to handle regular loss of membership
and tight finances. We are not a trade union of women graduates
but women graduates working for empowerment of women worldwide.
Our strategic plans are prepared along these lines. Women
can be empowered by better educational facilities, equal
pay for equal work, jobs as per their qualifications not
paying attention to gender, financial literacy helping in
general empowerment, sharing of responsibilities of caring
for elderly and children as well as the sick in family,
improved mind set about roles of women in society, awareness
of needs of women's health care especially in maternity
and so on.
IFUW's objectives and strategic plans relate to education,
higher education, empowerment of women in social economic,
financial and political aspects. IFUW's programmes and projects
work at local and national levels through grass root UWAs,
clubs and associations, at national levels through NFAs
and at International level through IFUW Board and UN representatives
and all those who get involved with this work.
My goal would be to try to strengthen IFUW at all these
levels. In 90 years IFUW has travelled a long way and objectives
of education for women, empowerment of women for a better
society, peace for development and happiness of mankind
remain the main objectives. Environmental Crisis our mother
earth is facing is another facet which women can do a lot
about, our members are also involved in as we can see in
the revival of our environment network.
I believe in teamwork and feel that the IFUW Board working
with the conveners as well as national leaders can do a
great job in planning, encouraging, guiding our amalgam
of graduate women, to bring about the changes and improvements
that are needed to reach our objectives/goals. It will be
my endeavour to get younger members involved and lead the
team democratically, learning along with them and handling
whatever needs to be handled.
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| What do you see as the role of the Board? |
IFUW Board of Officers is administrative head and
policy decisions are taken with Conference and the Council,
therefore implementation of policy is its major role. During
the triennium the Board may find difficulties in implementation
of something in a policy decision, it would be duty of the
Board to find ways and means of working at it and suggest
amendments in case these are needs to fulfil that policy.
It has wonderful support of our permanent staff, who can
many a time dig out what was done in past when a similar
problem was faced. The Board can find new solutions by taking
help of a task force, which can look at problems from advanced
point of view. A balanced approach might be found and problems
handled. Apart from the permanent Staff the board has the
team of UN Representatives. International advocacy at all
levels is an important function.
Each Board member is liaison for one or more of our committees,
Board makes consensus or majority decisions, when someone
gives a different point of view it needs to be heard and
discussed, it may not be feasible just then but it is possible
that later in slightly different circumstances it would
be possible to look at it again and find it workable. It
might need changes in Bye Laws or in the Constitution, so
be it, growth is evolution and change, but should take precautions
and look at pros and cons carefully. Role of the Board in
addition to implementation is that of encouraging and leading
working as a team and each giving her best to the whole.
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Board members serve as committee liaisons or have special responsibilities in the following areas: international advocacy, programme, projects, membership, communications, finance, resolutions, fellowshis and assistance to displaced women graduates.
For which of these roles are you most suited and why? |
Over the years I have had exposure to practically
all the committees that we have. I am always learning and
I am sure I can learn much more as time goes on. I have
not worked with projects Committee of IFUW but I have some
experience of projects work at grass roots level. Delhi
UWA's project that was entered for international competition
did get commendation in Ottawa 2001. We need to make some
changes in our Projects Committee set up in FUW at present
to make it more effective and in control, making it able
to judge the working of projects in NFAs, maybe we need
independent persons to visit and assess the projects as
VGIF does. Status of Women Committee, I feel is overloaded
with work and needs to have dedicated members who can handle
work.
I could be the Liaison for any of the committees and learn
to do a good job of it.
There one very Important thing that is required to do a
good job in present day scenario, and that is good and dedicated
membership of that committee. Interaction and discussion
are essential if the committee is to get the work done and
done in required time. If some of the members do not interact,
the committee suffers. I have been able to cajole people
into reacting and trying to get them to work and also learnt
that some genuinely have internet problems and need to be
treated with patience. For finance committee one would need
very qualified persons as that is more technical work but
the basics of liaison work are the same and I am sure I
should be able to do that. I feel liaison work needs a special
kind of patience and helping attitude and I do have that.
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| Education: |
1. Summar School, Wisconsin University, Madison campus
1965 4 Pol. Sc courses Danforth Fellowship 2. Poona University
Bombay State India 1952 MA in Political Science and History
3. Poona University Bombay State 1950 Economics Hons with
Psychology as Minor subject 4. Punjab University 1946 Hindi
Prabhakar (Hindi Hons) 5. Punjab University 1945 High School
form Srinagar Kashmir |
| Mother
tongue: |
Hindi and Punjabi |
| Ability
to speak English: |
Excellent |
| Ability
to understand spoken English: |
Excellent |
| Ability
to read English: |
Excellent |
| Ability
to write English: |
Excellent |
| Other
languages: |
Smattering
of Marathi and Bengali |
| Computer
skills: |
Considerable experience sending e-mail and using
the Internet |
| Internet
Access: |
Regular access to e-mail at home or the office |
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