District 14 donates US$30,000 to the Zonta Foundation for Women at conference

On 13 October, District 14 commenced their conference with a traditional Heurigen evening in Vienna.

The district's business sessions on Saturday and Sunday were held in the beautiful RBIl Conference Center. They kicked off the event with a flag parade representing different countries of the district: Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Germany, Hungary, Italy and Lebanon. Afterward, they heard an opening statement from Doris Schmidauer, advisor, motivator and wife of Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen.

After the end of business sessions 1 and 2 and the welcoming of the newly elected board, the Zontians met for a Zonta Says No action. All participants tied orange ribbons with the Zonta logo and the national hotline number on fences in Vienna City Park. The square is heavily frequented by families and women with young children, as well as boys playing soccer and rugby on the playgrounds. Zonta partnered with a local organization that works to ban violence in the home through a successful neighborhood project called "StoP."

The district's dinner was served in the beautiful and historic salon of the MAK Museum, where Governor Heike Schmidt hosted an American-style auction to benefit the Zonta Foundation for Women with great pleasure and to the delight of all the guests. The success was incredible, but during the business meeting, there was also a motion - first requested by the District Board and then extended again by a Zonta member from Munich - for a donation of US$30,000 to the foundation. The motion was approved with 100%.