Scottish Women's Institutes (SWI) is a Scottish member-led organisation which is informally called ''"the Rural"'', after its original name Scottish Women's Rural Institutes.
It was launched in June 1917 by Catherine Blair, a suffragette and advocate for rural women, to enable women in rural areas of the country to socialise, learn new crafting skills, and make money from items they made rather than rely on their men bringing home a wage.
Education and friendship remain at the heart of the organisation today. The National body offers members volunteering opportunities at outreach events such as the Royal Highland Show, the chance to compete in National sporting and crafting competitions, and a range of online Skill Share Sessions and Expert Talks which are available on the YouTube channel ScottishWomen'sInstitutesTV.
The SWI is now a SCIO
registered charity
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good).
The legal definitio ...
which promotes the preservation of
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
's traditions and rural heritage, particularly in the sphere of household activities such as crafts, cooking and baking. Each group has its own programme of events, learning opportunities and talks, so no two Institutes are the same and activities are as varied as belly dancing, gin tasting and segway riding.
The National body of the SWI has Federations in most Scottish council areas and each Federation has Institutes which offer meeting points for local groups of women which meet regularly throughout the country. There are around 10,000 members, making it one of Scotland's leading membership organisations and members decide on all aspects of the organisation with an all-female Board of Trustees having the final say.
It was formed on 26 June 1917 as the Scottish Women's Rural Institutes,
part of the movement of
rural women's institutes started in
Stoney Creek, Ontario
Stoney Creek is a community in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton in the Canadian province of Ontario located 10 km east of Downtown Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton and 57 km south-west of Toronto. It was a municipality until 2001, ...
in 1897. The first meeting in Scotland took place at
Longniddry
Longniddry (, )
in
East Lothian
East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921.
In ...
.
Catherine Hogg Blair
Catherine Hogg Blair (''née'' Shields; 8 January 1872 – 18 November 1946) was a Scottish suffragette, magistrate, founder of the Scottish Women's Rural Institute (SWRI), and member of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). Blair was ...
had identified the need for a Scottish example of the emerging
Women's Institutes
The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organization for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being the ...
movement and she organised the meeting at Longniddry to avoid a measles outbreak in her own village. 37 women became members
[ and campaigner Nannie Brown was the area organiser. The SWRI created the chance for rural women to network and share their skills with one another.]
See also
* Socialist Women's Network
The Socialist Women's Network is the women's wing of the Scottish Socialist Party and campaigns on issues particularly affecting women. Although primarily made up of party members, the SWN is open to all women who are interested in women's issues ...
References
External links
*
1917 establishments in Scotland
Charities based in Scotland
Women's organisations based in Scotland
Organizations established in 1917
Scottish traditions
Rural Scotland
Family economics
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