COC26 - Plant a Mangrove

Plant a Mangrove Sapling” Campaign Gains Momentum — Join Us in Growing Impact!

Our Plant a Mangrove initiative is gaining wonderful traction, with 27 mangrove saplings already paid for or pledged. This growing support reflects our shared commitment to environmental stewardship as we move toward the Conference of Clubs (COC) and strengthen our collective ESG efforts across the Federation.

Mangroves are powerful symbols of resilience — protecting coastlines, restoring ecosystems, and supporting biodiversity. By planting one, you are not only contributing to a greener future but also aligning SISEAP with global sustainability actions.

As we build momentum leading up to the COC, we warmly encourage more members, clubs, and supporters to subscribe to this initiative. Every sapling planted is a step toward climate action, community empowerment, and environmental sustainability.

Let’s continue this positive wave. Register Now

Call for Directors

Here’s your chance to make a difference and further your professional experience. Soroptimist International South East Asia Pacific (SISEAP) is seeking applications from interested and qualified Soroptimists for vacancies for Directors.

To ensure we have a good breadth of skills across the Directors, we have skill deficits in the areas of Marketing, Grant Writing, Fundraising and publicity.

The successful applicants will take office at the end of the AGM on May 1, 2026 and in the first instance, serve for three years, renewable to a maximum of nine years.

SISEAP has nine Directors and one third must retire each year. According to the Corporations Act, at each annual general meeting, any Director appointed by the Directors to fill a casual vacancy or as an additional Director must retire, and at least one-third of the remaining Directors must retire. Under our Constitution, the Immediate Past President automatically retires after one year in that position and is replaced by the new President Elect. At the end of her biennium, the President remains for one year as Immediate Past President and a Director.

It is a legal requirement you have a Director Identification Number before you can be appointed, and we will only consider applicants that have already obtained their Director Identification Number. Refer to the Australian Business Registry website for further information here https://www.abrs.gov.au/director-identification-number

For further information please contact:
Company Secretary Theresa Lyford companysecretary@siseap.org

Applications close: Friday 20 March 2026 5:00 pm AEDT

Attendance at the Company and Federation Meetings

Dear Members,
The Board wishes to update you on the upcoming Company and Federation Meetings. These meetings are an important part of our governance responsibilities and ensure that Soroptimist International South East Asia Pacific continues to operate with transparency, accountability, and alignment with our shared mission.

We are pleased to inform you that all SISEAP members attending the Company and Federation Meetings will not be charged any meeting fees.

Members who have already registered and paid the A$75 fee will receive a full refund. Tea, coffee, and water will be served during the meetings for all attendees, and the meeting room can comfortably accommodate up to 100 members. Lunch will be at your own cost @ Cafe Boleh on the ground floor of the conference hotel, The Pacific Sutera, Sutera Harbour.

Full meeting details, including agendas and key documents, will be circulated shortly. We encourage all members to review the materials and participate actively, as your engagement strengthens our Federation.

Notice of SISEAP 15th Annual General Meeting & General Meeting

The 15th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Soroptimist International South East Asia Pacific will be held on Friday 1 May 2026 at 9:00am (Malaysian time), followed by a General Meeting of the Company.

Date:               Friday 1 May 2026
Time:               9:00am
Place:              Function Rooms 1-3, Level 1, The Pacific Sutera Hotel,
                        Sutera Harbour, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

Quorum
Required quorum for a general meeting to be held, at least thirty [30] members (a quorum) must be present (by representative or by proxy) for the whole meeting. When determining whether a quorum is present, a person may only be counted once (even if that person is a representative or proxy of more than one member). [Company Constitution 24.1]

Club Representatives Registration Form for AGM & General Meeting

An authorised representative must attend from each financial member (clubs) within the Federation. A proxy representative must be an individual Soroptimist from another member club.

Clubs will need to nominate a Club Representative for the AGM and Company General Meeting and you will need to show that the Club has voted on their Representative or Proxy Representative at a club business meeting and this will need to be recorded in your Club Minutes.

Registrations close on 26 April 2026 at 5pm AEST (Sydney time)

This link will take you to the Registration Form for the Club Representative or Proxy Representative and will used for both the AGM and the Company General Meeting.

Please note: Your club president, secretary or treasurer are required to use the link to register your club representative. This link will need to be utilized from your club email account, i.e. you will need to be logged into your club email account from www.google.com If you have your club email account forwarded to a personal email account such as outlook etc, the link will not work. The reason for this is that we need to register that the nomination was made from the club email account and that the president, secretary or treasurer have to acknowledge that they were authorised to complete this form on behalf of their club.

Silent Observers
This link will take you to the Registration Form for Silent Observers and will used for both the AGM and the Company General Meeting

Question to the Auditor and/or Directors
Clubs are invited to submit questions to the Directors and/or the Auditor. Please submit your questions from your club email address by Sunday 26 April 2026 5:00pm AEST to enable a comprehensive answer to be given.

Business Papers
Member (clubs) will be informed via their club official email address when business papers will be available for download from the website.  Notifications will commence to be circulated to club's official email addresses on or before the 10April 2026. You are also able to log in and check for updates for the AGM and Company Meeting via the Members area of our SISEAP Website.

We are looking forward to your attendance at the AGM and General Meeting.

Warm Regards,
Theresa Lyford
Company Secretary

Notice of Federation General Meeting

The Federation General Meeting of Soroptimist International South East Asia Pacific will be held on:

Date:              Friday 1 May 2026
Time:             1.00pm
Place:            Function Rooms 1-3, Level 1, The Pacific Sutera Hotel,
                      Sutera Harbour, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

Quorum
The required quorum for a General Meeting to be held is at least thirty [30] members who must be present (by representative or by proxy) for the whole meeting.

Club Representatives for Federation General Meeting

An authorised representative or a proxy representative from each financial member (club) within the Federation must attend this meeting.  A representative or proxy may only represent one member club. A proxy representative must be an individual Soroptimist from another member club. 

Clubs will need to nominate a Club Representative for the Federation General Meeting. You will need to show that the Club has voted on their Representative or Proxy Representative at a club business meeting and this will need to be recorded in your Club Minutes. 

Please note: Your club president, secretary or treasurer are required to use the link to register your club representative. This link will need to be utilized from your club email account, i.e. you will need to be logged into your club email account from www.google.com If you have your club email account forwarded to a personal email account such as outlook etc, the link will not work.

Registrations close on Monday 20 April 2026 at 12 Midnight AEST (Sydney time)

This link will take you to the Registration Form for the Club Representative or Proxy Representative and will be used for the General Meeting.

Silent Observers Registration Form
This link will take you to the Registration Form for Silent Observers and will be used for the Federation General Meeting. 

Questions to the Federation Team
Clubs are invited to submit questions to the Federation Team. Please submit your questions from your club email address by Wednesday 1 April 2026 5pm AEST to enable a comprehensive answer to be given.

SISEAP Honours & Remembrance
Soroptimists are invited to submit notices for Soroptimists who have received Honours throughout 2025, and to remember Soroptimists now passed.  Submissions close 15 April 2026 midnight AEST.

We are looking forward to your attendance at the Federation General Meeting. 

Nominations for 2026-2028 Position Holders

Our By-laws state the following -
15.16 Positions unfilled by 1 February in each even-numbered year
15.16.1 If there are positions for which no nominations have been received, nominations shall be called for at the beginning of the next Federation meeting. If more than one nomination per position is received, and the nominees meet the eligibility criteria, voting will be required.

As a number of Federation positions were not filled on 1 February, nominations are still being invited for the following Federation positions with the closing date now being 1pm MYT / 3pm AEST on Friday 1 May 2026.

We encourage you to consider standing for these positions for the 2026-2028 Biennium which will take office on 1 June 2026.  It is recommended that nominations be sent prior to the Federation Meeting, as long as the correct form and requirements are all received.
 
Nominations have already been received for the positions highlighted below. Roles and responsibilities are currently being reviewed and will take effect for the next biennium, but the current roles and responsibilities are valid for these nominations.

LIST OF FEDERATION POSITIONS TO BE FILLED AT FEDERATION MEETING

• Programme Convenor
• Zone Programme Coordinator (4 positions)
• Governance Convenor
• Communication Convenor
• Membership Convenor
• Assistant Membership Convenor (Asia)
• Assistant Membership Convenor (NZ & Pacific) – Jane Stent
• Assistant Membership Convenor (Australia)
• Programme Database Support
• Friendship Link Coordinator - Eileen Middleton

The completed nomination form, CV and photo must be received by the Federation Secretary/Returning Officer at federationsecretary@siseap.org with a copy to HQ hq@siseap.org by 1pm MYT / 3pm AEST on Friday 1 May 2026.

SI President Elect Nomination

SISEAP has supported and submitted Theresa Lyford 's nomination for the position of Soroptimist International President Elect.

We wish her every success in this process

SISEAP Federation Membership Convenor

We are pleased to announce that Kerry Beer has been appointed as the new Federation Membership Convenor, effective immediately.

She takes over from Kristeen Johnston, who has stepped down from the role due to family commitments.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to Kristeen for her dedication and service, and we offer our full support to Kerry as she assumes this important position.

Introducing the SISEAP Legacy Fund

President Joanne Yeoh is pleased to announce the establishment of the SISEAP Legacy Fund — a permanent, responsibly managed fund created to secure the long-term future of our work across South East Asia and the Pacific.

SISEAP is committed to advancing the status and well-being of women and girls through education, empowerment, and advocacy. Currently, SISEAP relies on member dues to fund its activities. However, administrative and operational costs remain a continual challenge especially with membership challenges we face. Establishing a dedicated fund sourced from donations and bequests will provide a stable, long-term revenue stream to offset these costs.

The Legacy Fund preserves capital and uses investment earnings to support strategic initiatives that empower women and girls for generations to come.

Members and clubs are warmly invited to consider contributing, either through a donation today or by including SISEAP in their Will.

A legacy gift is not about size — it is about ensuring that our mission continues well into the future.

For more information or to make a confidential enquiry, please visit the SISEAP website or contact SISEAP Director, Deborah Wood, director.deborah@siseap.org who is spearheading the SISEAP Legacy Fund.

Together, we are building a future that lasts.

Federation Fees

A reminder that Federation Capitation fees were due on 28 February. Clubs that have not yet made their payment are now overdue, please submit your Annual Return forms and payment to HQ as soon as possible.

To all Clubs who have submitted their Annual Returns, thank you for your patience in advance whilst we continue to process them over the coming weeks. Once processed, you will receive an invoice receipt along with any new membership numbers if applicable.

2026 Club Position Holders Changeover

Each year after the Club AGM, the newly elected Club Officers & Position Holders need to be added into our database. It is very important that each Club completes this task by 31 March 2026.  See Tipsheet (link below) on how to add club position holders to the SISEAP database.