Recap by Mary Manning, Heidelberg IWC
Heidelberg IWC hosted the Region 5 meeting on November 7–9, 2025, welcoming 55 participants from 18 FAWCO Member Clubs. This included participants from ten Region 5 clubs: AIWC Cologne, AIWC Düsseldorf, AIWC Frankfurt, AWA Vienna, AWC Berlin, AWC Hamburg, IWC Leipzig, Munich IWC, IWC Moldova and of course Heidelberg IWC, with 15 participants!
The theme of the weekend was “Shaping a Better Future Together,” and included a keynote address from Heidelberg Deputy Mayor, Stefanie Jansen, who spoke about collaborative efforts for social change. A couple of important points that she made, which resonated strongly with the FAWCO community were:
- Local collaboration can drive global change,
- Social policy is the immune system of our society,
- More equality equals more resilient societies, and
- When women assume leadership roles, it is important that we do things differently, or things will never change; we don’t want to be just a pink spot in a blue sea.
This was followed by a presentation from Gigi Nemrod, Heidelberg IWC member and founder of Paintbrush Foundation, which empowers underprivileged children in Bangkok with music and arts education. She brought our theme to life through a hands-on workshop, in which participants drew Matisse-like shapes and colorful forms that were then collected into a collaborative mosaic, demonstrating how individual contributions come together to create something greater – a fitting metaphor for FAWCO's work. The mosaic will be printed on tote bags in support of her organization, and by the end of the conference 67 bags had been presold.
Mary Adams and Marelie Manders presented the FAWCO Living Stones Project, an effort to commemorate victims of the Holocaust. Stolpersteine are brass remembrance plates which connect communities to their past. Marelie and Mary explained how to clean the stones and how to find out more information about the victims.
Linus Klingshirn shared his experience in the 2024 Youth Cultural Volunteers Program in Scotland, reminding us of the importance of FAWCO’s commitment to the next generation of leaders.
Guest speaker Dr. Houda Hallay from Agilent Technologies shared her insights for using AI effectively in everyday life, including as a tool for work, learning and creativity.
Juliah Rais-Morres presented a case study of tools for simplifying operations for non-profits and the experience of Heidelberg IWC with ClubDesk.
Marelie Manders led Bonka von Bredow, Director of the Heidelberg International Cultural Center, in a conversation about future challenges for international women, encouraging all international women to be visible in their communities.
We had updates from FAWCO, The FAWCO Foundation and the Target Project, including a moment of silence for Georgia Regnault, a beloved FAWCO Counselor who recently passed.
We also had time to grow our connections with our FAWCO sisters, beginning with the Gala on Friday night, featuring live music by Xswingt. Sandra Stapela shared the story of Hasib Azizi, who fled Afghanistan at 16 years of age and is now thriving in Hamburg, selling handcrafted jewelry that supports Afghan women artisans and preserves traditions. Hasib joined us for the weekend and donated several pieces of jewelry for our charity marketplace. We also organized tours of the Old Town, a wine tasting event, a tour of Heidelberg Castle and a special tour focused on the history of women in Heidelberg. On Sunday afternoon a group toured Speyer, one of the few cities in Germany with two UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Saturday evening’s dinner was held at one of the oldest restaurants in Heidelberg, managed by the same family for six generations.
Over € 1,700 was raised for the upcoming Target Project and Paintbrush Foundation through a silent auction, marketplace and the sale of the collaborative tote bags.
Special thanks to the local organizing team of Juliah Rais-Morres, Ginny Trowman, Rebekka Klingshirn, Marelie Manders, Razieh Alizadeh, Yewande Olusore, Sandra Stapela, Ulrike Naeumann and Gigi Nemrod; and to FAWCO Region 5 Coordinator Angelika McLarren.