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. W W The Opening Ceremony After the haunting melodies ofthe sing- ers of the Maori Culture Club. a traditional welcome was performed by their warriors for the distinguished guests - the Governor General; the Mayor of Christ- church, the Minister for Maori Affairs and the ACWW World President - ending with the touching of noses. Both the President of the Women's Divi- sion Federated Farmers of New Zealand (WDFF). Jeanette McIntyre. and the Mayor of Christchurch, Vicki Buck, welcomed us to the garden city. After the Mayor's welcome. the Governor General of New Zealand. Dame Catherine Tizard, spoke with great aplomb after congratulating our World President, Valerie Fisher, OBE, on receiving Australia‘s highest award - the Order of Australia. The Minister for Maori Affairs, the Hon John Luxton, welcomed us to New Zealand on behalf of the Prime Minister, The opening ceremony ended with the anterbury Country Women‘s Choir whose using repertoire almost raised the roof ith the “Song of Peace” Triennial Conference Theme: Discussion Groups: The following morning heralded the start of the discussion groups: “How Can Agricultural Production Sustain the World’s Population by the Year 2000? Speaker Alexandra Stephens, Regional Sociologist and Women in Development Officer for the Food and Agriculture Or- ganization (FAO) in Bangkok, Thailand, stressed the need for women to take control of their own destiny and reach out for op» portunities to raise their status in society. She described how many countries were making efforts to curb urban development on good agricultural land, replanting trees and making economical use of water and other resources. It was agreed that research on food crops was required to help develop- ing countries and that global planning was needed to sustain the world’s population. The speaker also highlighted gender bias, which was often built into new structures, and the problems of rapid transition in booming economies in, for example, South East Asia with its increasing ruralâ€"urban gap. In Vietnam. the fast-growing economy ACWW Societies across Canada banded together to help pay the airfare for a Women's institute member from Zambia to travel to the New Zea/arid Conference. Matilda Mwanza is pictured above ith Donna Hussett (left), FWIO President, and Peggy Knapp (right), ACWW Area President for ‘anada. Challenges of a Changing World favoured the urban population who were benefiting far more than those remaining in the countryside where the negative Impact on rural women meant ever deepening pOV‘ erty. "Changing Weather Patterns and the Effect on Our Lives," “Changing weather patterns are both a local and an international problem," re- marked Helen R. Hughes, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment in New Zealand, in the opening to her address on “Changing Weather Patterns and the Effect on Our Lives," She summarized givrng the following conclusions: 0 changing weather patterns may require changing land use; O the priority forchange will begwhere the pattern of land use is unsustainable; - changing land use is economically dif- ficult for landholders; - government assistance is required to as- sist land use change to sustainable management: 0 government assistance must be planned to avoid distortions to an economy; 0 use of public moneys requires land- holders to be accountable and demonstrate changes to sustainable land use; - changing land use inevitably highlights local problems; 0 overcoming local problems requires coâ€" operative efforts between govemments and communities; 0 landcare groups can assist local comâ€" munities to liaise with govemment and the sctence community; and, ' maintenance of landcare groups should be assisted by all stakeholders - lande holders, financial institutions and governments, “Health Services for Women and Families" “In New Zealand. as in other pans of the world, women are the major users of health services,“ stated the Hon. Jenny Shipley. the Minister of Health and the Minister of Women‘s Affairs, She explained that New Zealand‘s Health Service Policy Gutdelines identified women's needs for: ' information about health services; 0 responsive services and choice of serv- ices; ' support for their role as family caregivers; Continued on page 6 Home 8‘ Country. Summer ’95 5