The amiable Karen Guilliland, previously CEO of New Zealand College of Midwives talks about her role in building the midwifery profession in the Asia-Pacific region. She describes it as political because there is need for activism if the needs of women and midwives are going to be met. In celebration of ICM's 100th?anniversary and our efforts to document the history of ICM and midwifery, Faridah Luyiga, ICM’s Advocacy Lead, spoke to Karen about her role.

Launched in 2022, the ICM eLearning platform hosts a set of interactive, online resources and eLearning modules for midwives, midwives’ associations, midwife educators, and regulatory authorities. ICM has developed this platform in response to needs identified by its Member Associations. 

From August 2021 to June 2022, the More Happy Birthdays project has improved the provision and experience of care for women and newborns in Rwanda by training more than 1500 maternal and newborn health providers in life-saving skills. The project was supported by Latter-day Saint Charities and implemented by ICM in collaboration with Rwanda Association of Midwives (RAM) and Maternity Foundation. The project built on successes and lessons learnt from the 50,000 Happy Birthdays project implemented in Rwanda, Ethiopia and Tanzania from 2018 to 2020 which trained more than 4000 providers to prevent and manage the major causes of maternal and newborn death which occur during childbirth.

On 21st and 22nd June the annual Council meeting took place. Council is the final authority on ICM governance. On both days, ICM welcomed around 190 participants form 104 member associations all over the globe.

At the first day of this year’s Council Meeting, we talked about the Annual and Financial Report 2021 and the Global Guideline for Midwifery Leadership. In line with ICM’s Governance Reform, where Governance Policies replaced the By-Laws, the Terms of reference for the Independent Election Committee was also discussed. At the second day the Head Office presented the feedback on the MA Needs and Expectation survey and ICM’s 100-year anniversary celebration.

We thank our MAs for their valuable contribution to ICM Council.

For those with personal experience related to being a midwife or advocating for midwives.

The Moth, the internationally acclaimed organization dedicated to the art and craft of personal stories told live, in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, are holding two storytelling workshops in September 2022 to develop the personal storytelling skill sets of midwives and midwife-advocates as a way of highlighting the life-saving, life-promoting impact of midwives around the world, as well as the challenges they face in providing quality care.  

Through its Global Community Program, The Moth works closely with individuals around the world - elevating stories that highlight world issues, dissolve stereotypes, and bridge social divides. Guided by Moth instructors, workshop participants shape selected life experiences into well-crafted stories, which may then be presented to peers and to the world at large.

This opportunity is ideal for people who want to be better public storytellers and who have a passion for the role that storytelling can play in creating social impact.