AWARE’s 30th Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held on Saturday, 25 April. Forty seven members of AWARE, old and new, attended the AGM, discussing AWARE’s work in 2014 and helping us make plans for 2015. Though this was not an election year, 2015 marks 30 years since the founding of AWARE, making this a very special year for us!

We kicked off the AGM by watching two striking videos released by AWARE last year – one highlighting how the stigma around HIV, marriage and sex can put women’s health at risk, and another of survivors of sexual assault sharing how support services helped their recovery.

AWARE President Winifred Loh shared some of AWARE’s major successes of 2014, including the passing of the Protection from Harassment Act and the launch of the Sexual Assault Care Centre. She also introduced AWARE’s Strategic Plan, which will guide our work over the next four years. Details about the Strategic Plan are available in our annual report.

Attendees also received updates from each department head about the highlights of their work in 2014. Vivienne Wee, Research and Advocacy Director, told members about StopTraffickingSG, a collaborative campaign for the rights of human trafficking victims; AWARE’s long-standing work on UN CEDAW (the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women); and Gender Equality IS Our Culture, a UN-funded project promoting gender equitable interpretations of culture.

Corinna Lim, AWARE’s Executive Director, shared AWARE’s outstanding fundraising results in 2014 – we raised $1.8 million, and more than doubled the number of donors and supporters.

Jolene Tan, Programmes and Communications Senior Manager, discussed the workshops carried about by the AWARE Training Institute, and the success of the We Can! campaign in reaching more than 1900 people. Sheena Kanwar, Support Services Senior Manager, talked about the various services AWARE provides to women in need, including the AWARE helpline and SACC, and answered members’ questions about the kinds of cases that we handle.

Detailed department updates are available in the 2014 Annual Report, which, along with AWARE’s Financial Statements, was adopted at the AGM.

Staff and board members also shared AWARE’s plans for 2015. With the success of the first support groups AWARE offered in 2014, we will offer three more support groups to women in 2015. The AWARE Training Institute will be revamped to improve its programmes on diversity and inclusion and expand its reach. We are all excitedly looking forward to the annual fundraising ball, which will be bigger and better than ever to celebrate AWARE’s 30th birthday!

The AGM ended with a delicious tea, giving everyone a chance to catch up with old friends and meet new ones as we gear up for a productive and fun 2015.