How old is the womens institute

The story of how this historic organization came to be is one that resonates with women all over the world, and is engrained in the mission and vision Ontario WI Members still live by today. In the summer of , Adelaide Hunter Hoodless was faced with an unthinkable tragedy: the loss of her month-old son, John Harold Hoodless. His death was believed to be the result of drinking contaminated milk. Hoodless was staggered that her own education had not provided the knowledge needed to run a household without the occurrence of such a tragedy.

Maria Mercedes Lara Photo. FB Tweet More. You'll get the latest updates on this topic in your browser notifications. The Depression years brought a new interest in civic responsibility.

WIs became active in recommending legislative change to the Federal Government. Study circles were utilized as a method of education and socializing. In the early s, with the inclusion of the National Farm Radio Forum and Citizen's Forum content in the study circles, a deeper and richer exchange of ideas improved the educational experience.

In recent years, the WIs have adopted some of the emerging information technologies. Forty-six women from 24 countries, including Canada, attended the 4-day conference. This organization now operates in 70 countries and has a membership of nine million in member societies.

Nationally, the FWIC is concerned with issues of rural child care, farm safety, legal rights, fair pay, renewal and restructuring, literacy, health, stress on farm families, and financial planning.

A program entitled Water for All Fund helps by providing water tanks, bore wells, hand pumps, education and training. It also supports programs that help improve health and hygiene. Witter, S. Discover more about our history, from our origins through to the present day. Formed in , the Women's Institute was originally brought to life to revitalise rural communities and encourage women to become more involved in producing food during the First World War.

Since then the organisation's aims have broadened and the WI is now the largest voluntary women's organisation in the UK. The below timeline highlights the most important milestones of our longstanding history.

If you wish to receive further information on the history of the WI , please get in touch with the Communications Department using the contact form. And if you consider yourself a WI expert already, why don't you try your luck at our digital WI Quiz? Simply follow this link! Only two years later, the National Federation of WIs, a democratic, non-party political and voluntary organisation, is formed and mainly led by women who were involved in the suffrage movement. WI members pass the first resolution in , urging local authorities to take advantage of the government scheme for state-aided housing.

By then WIs have opened. It was specially composed for the WI and adopted because of its links with the suffrage movement. Little did the WI members know that their "performance" at the Annual Meeting in London would start a tradition that continues to this day. In , the British Government asks the Women's Institutes to help with preparations for the potential evacuation of children to the countryside in the event of war.

Additionally, the WI, now a force of over