STUDENTS JOIN THE WI TO GAIN LOST SKILLS
Are you keen to learn interesting skills or make some noise about issues that matter to you? A growing number of students across England are joining the WI in a bid to learn new, quirky skills and get involved in campaigning in their communities.
The opening of Goldsmiths WI, the first WI in a university, earlier this year has sparked a trend for student WIs, with at least three in the pipeline for the new term this September.
Over the past five years urban WIs have set up in cities such as Leeds, Manchester, and more recently in Liverpool. This has lead to a large interest from younger women who want to learn more practical and traditional skills they may not otherwise have access with the pressures of work, education, or unemployment.
India Volkers, president of Goldsmiths WI said: “Starting a WI has meant that my friends and I are able to learn useful practical skills that we may not otherwise have been taught - anything from more traditional crafts through to beginners Japanese. Since forming in March, we have had a Goldsmiths WI DJ set in Brixton, baked numerous delicious cupcakes, and tie-dyed sustainable shopping bags. This term we’re getting involved in poetry workshops and learning how to knit iPod cases – plus recruiting lots of new members!”
Ruth Bond, Chair of the NFWI said: “Students are under increasing pressure these days to have additional skills as well as their degree, and the WI offers women the chance to learn new skills that they wouldn’t normally have access to. By joining the WI students are finding that they can enhance their CV, and at the same time feel part of something that is making a difference to their own and to other people’s lives.”
If you and a group of friends would like the chance to make other new friends, learn interesting skills, and campaign on issues that you are passionate about get in touch with your local WI to discuss setting up your own at university. Visit www.theWI.org.uk or call 020 7371 9300 for more information.
The WI offers women of all ages and background the unique opportunity to learn new skills and get involved in campaigning on issues that matter to them and their communities. The National Federation of Women’s Institutes (NFWI) is currently campaigning on issues including climate change, saving the honey bees, and ending violence against women.