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| Leena-Maija Laurén
Turku, Finland
Age: 50-59 |
Nominated as:
Nominated by: |
Member
Finnish Federation |
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| Professional
Field and/or present occupation |
Futures Research at the Finland Futures Research Centre,
University of Turku, Finland
Lecturing and Development |
| Skills and experience in membership recruitment and development that
qualify you for this position: |
TRANSFERABLE SKILLS and LEARNING FROM PROFESSIONAL
EXPERIENCES:
In my professional work as an expert in University Adult
Education and Degree Education I have learnt many practical
skills which are transferable to other organizations and
NGOs.
* Working daily in 3 languages - > ability to successfully
approach issues, to focus and find important messages in
the constant information flows and to use them wisely.
* Creating new and pioneering systems and managing them
at University challenges my creative thinking and holistic
overview - > this kind of capacity building is essential
for management skills in organizational issues as well as
staff management and they can be benefitted at IFUW drives
to increase membership and support from NFAs.
* Seeking and finding new problem solutions in today´s
ubiquitous ICT world situations based on the diversity of
needs of the NFAs and individual members -> drives the
decision-maker to state priorities and development aims
very focussed within the finances and frames of IFUW.
* Futures Research has rendered me open-mindedness and enforced
my creative capabilities into a special field of study ->
emerging crucial and tacit knowledge which can be utilized
for the long-term purposes to improve the Priorities and
Themes of IFUW as an organization.
* Development Studies and teaching in African countries
- > multi-tasking in a foreign setting challenges all
my cultural, linguistic and ICT communication competences
-> improving daily my understanding and appreciation
of the multicultural world - just like that of IFUW.
NGO voluntary work and transferable skills:
* Previous experiences in NGO voluntary work and particularly
networking (like manually managing via @mails the IFUW First
ever Members Network) -> ability to effectively deal
with constantly new situations when liaising with women
of different ages and backgrounds can be benefitted in the
IFUW committee work.
* Creating the Finnish Womens´ organizations joint
venture seminar series - International Helvi Sipilä
Seminars - to be held annually as parallel events on topical
issues at the UN Commission on Status of Women meetings
in New York. Chairing the seminars and co-working on planning
and arrangements with representatives of the four other
Finnish Womens´ organisations as equal partners ->
how to make a dream come true and at the same time appreciate
the work of the pioneering women who have paved our path! |
| Other skills and experience (volunteer and professional) from the last 10 years which qualify you for this position |
SISU (= Endurance in English translation) and CREATIVE
FUTURISTICAL THINKING
As a full time working married Mother having raised 4 children
in our family, life has generously given me effectivity
training, many flexible and holistic understanding capacities,
plus people and process management everyday skills.
Professional working career at the Finnish University sector
since late 1970s has given me appreciation of the long-term
learning goals and the persistence needed to achieve the
goals.
The current Professional working position at the Finland
Futures Research Centre offers a national and international
challenge to manage and operate together in diversified
teams with a fantastic variety of colleagues, researchers
and students of multidisciplinary, multilingual and multinational
backgrounds in several countries. Therefore I work daily
with three languages.
WINDOWS OF OPPORTUNITY - TRANSFERING ACQUIRED SKILLS
Since the IFUW Conference in Helsinki 1989 I have been an
active networking and communicating Finnish member at the
local, national, Nordic, European and International levels.
Membership in the IFUW Status of Women Committee for 6 years,
Convener 2004-07.
Membership in the Finnish Federation of University Women
Executive Board 2004-2009 opened the Coordinator for International
and European Relations (CIR and CER) duties of liaison for
me.
The Local Turku Association of University Women has been
the long volunteer forum for all kinds of my volunteer responsibilities
including the Executive Board positions and that of President
and Vice President.
The esteemed Rotary Club of Turku Kupittaa has elected me
to act as the first female Vice President and future President.
These and my other volunteer leadership positions have trained
me for more understanding, endurance and flexibility which
are capacities easily transferable to the IFUW Committee
work.
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| Goals for this position and the contribution you believe you can personally make if elected or appointed |
If I am elected I shall team work in the Membership
Committee for the Triennium 2010-2012 on INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP
to establish indicators in the academic women´s competences
for the Membership to advance the IFUW status up towards
a Scientific international organization known for women
graduates globally and particularly in relations to the
UN, ECOSOC, UNESCO, ILO, WB, WTO and national Higher Education
Institutions in NFA countries. on NETWORKING to improve
all forms of networking between the Membership Committee
and the NFAs; to take a pioneering networking model for
example of the eClub of FFUW to be founded in 2010 and to
share with the Committee members and other NFAs the Finnish
process experience as the new members´ network eClub
is taking form and being established; to derive operational
contributions from the electronic surveys and interactions
between the NFAs and the Committee to be implemented and
integrated in the IFUW services for membership on BEST PRACTICES
to build a service typology for IFUW introducing NFAs the
newest learning opportunities from all the best global practices
found in the women´s NGO benchmarking and evaluations
on YOUNG MEMBERS; to promote a particular forward-looking-focus
with the Young Members Programme (Members under 40 years
of age) and to offer active engagement for YMs in creating
the futures issues of concern for IFUW (of all ages) on
its triennia 2012-2015, 2015-2018 and beyond. |
| What do you see as the main obstacles to membership recruitment and
retention and what can the Membership Committee do to help overcome these? |
FACE THE FACTS
The main obstacle is that IFUW is loosing memberships in
the established NFAs and even NFAs . There must be reasons
behind these statistical figures and we must find them.
IFUW needs urgently a study on this. IFUW structures of
20th Century do no longer met the new generation nor the
tight competition in the NGO field for new members. I see
that many other women´s organizations are proactive
and actively approach potential new members. IFUW should
during this 2010-2012 learn from the past and drive for
better membership numbers. We inside IFUW are now at the
tipping point and the crucial question to ask is: What can
IFUW offer them ?
BACK TO THE IFUW ORIGINAL PURPOSES
The second obstacle is that the unique and distinctive criteria
for Membership is not known: since the first Women Alumni
meeting in Manchester in 1919, it is the university graduate
degree. There is no other International Women´s Organization
having the very same standard and niche for NGO work.
To list up on the first page of any IFUW document and web-site
the fact that the original purpose of the IFUW in 1919 in
Article 1 was stated "to promote understanding and
friendship between the university women of the nations of
the world, and thereby to further development between their
countries sympathy and mutual helpfulness." (Edith
C. Batho A Lamp of Learning 1918-1968. A short History of
IFUW, page 5). The IFUW Programme and Priority Themes are
the basis of the recruitment in 2010. When they serve well
the functions IFUW will as an organization have positive
and measurable results in the Membership.
PROMOTE THE 21 CENTURY PROGRAMME
If the triennial programme is showing that IFUW has potential
to give to all new members interested in the improvement
of the situation of women in Higher Education in all countries
world over, its is seen important, relevant and attractive
by new recruitment.
Today researchers and women working in the university sector
are a large and potential pool for recruitment as IFUW is
advancing in its role and status towards more Scientific
levels. |
| What do you see as the target audiences for recruitment drives for IFUW at the national and local level and how can IFUW best diversify its membership? |
For the purpose of engaging new members for IFUW I aim at the following areas:
1. CURRENT NFAs and KEEPING THEIR MEMBERSHIP
We need to be creative and introduce a process of renewal in the IFUW Recruitment to redesign the administration procedures - and to equally engage the NFAs which currently are not well serviced today.
2. WOMEN WORKING in RESEARCH as POTENTIAL MEMBERS
We need to have an organizational scan and to locate the diversity of eligible women audiences at the universities, research centres and other institutions of Higher Education where NFAs do not yet have members or they do not have knowledge of IFUW advocacy work and its policies.
3. ENGAGING AND INTEGRATING YOUNG MEMBERS
We are to promote a profound transformation of the IFUW triennium programme generating process - it ought to be a more forward-looking approach based on the future needs of the membership and NFAs. As the commonly known and democratic 24/7 rule means today that the young university graduate women are extremely busy: they ask us - what can you offer?
As a professional futurist I do say this with personal engagement and concern: Membership is the most crucial and vital part of IFUW. WITH MEMBERS WE WOMEN CAN! |
| Education: |
Bachelor of Science (Econ. and Buss.Admn.), Turku School
of Economics, Turku, Finland, 1975
Master of Science (Econ. and Buss.Admn.), Turku School of
Economics, Turku, Finland, 1985
Management of Lifelong Education MLE, Harvard Institutes of
Higher Education, Boston, Mass, USA, 1999 |
| Mother
tongue: |
Finnish |
| Ability
to speak English: |
Excellent |
| Ability
to understand spoken English: |
Excellent |
| Ability
to read English: |
Excellent |
| Ability
to write English: |
Excellent |
| Other
languages: |
Swedish
- excellent; German - good; French - good; Spanish - basic |
| 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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