2020 has been a bumpy ride. With the Covid-19 pandemic, Gauteng Women in Insurance (GWII) has had to cancel many social and networking events, but that did not stop us.
Starting off the year on a bright and colorful note, Gauteng Women in Insurance (GWII) hosted its first Mix ‘n Mingle fun filled evening of wine bottle painting, on 29 January. With glassware, fairy lights and paints supplied, color was the order of the day!
The GWII 2020 Women in Leadership Development Programme (WiLD), presented by Leeann Naidoo from Concordia, also kicked off on 23 and 24 January at GIB’s offices in Houghton.
We then hosted our first networking event of the year, at The Venue, where guest speaker Penny Bird shared the lessons she has learned, while sharing stories that lifted spirits and inspired hearts.
GWII hosted its first Leaderwalk of 2020 on 13 March. Themed “The Future is Human” - guest speaker Brad Shorkend, a futurist and business agitator opened the platform for meaningful engagement and dialogue.
Virtual events
Following a national lockdown, GWII hosted a few virtual events for the ladies to attend, in the comfort of their own homes.
Amongst quiz evenings and an eight-week fitness challenge, on 11 June, GWII hosted a virtual session ‘Conquer Your fear’, where Mark Grobbelaar (Women INpowered (WIIP)) delved into various simple theoretical concepts which aid in avoiding dangerous situations.
Empowering one another with the skills and education needed to stay current and successful in the insurance industry, GWII hosted another successful Continuous Professional Development (CPD) session on 28 July. Boasting a jam packed session with just over 500 GWII members, guest speaker Thabile Nyaba, Chief Risk Officer at Old Mutual Insure touched upon the lessons learnt from Covid-19. Key take-away points were that collaboration and precision in decision making are things that are embedded in us.
With the theme ‘Love and Laughter during lockdown’, GWII, in collaboration with the Insurance Institute of Gauteng (IIG), hosted a Women’s Day webinar in August… because we have to have some LOVE & LAUGHTER during LOCKDOWN!
GWII then hosted an exclusive Makeup Masterclass, with Raeesah Shah on 30 September.
Our 2020 Finale Leaderwalk took place on 8 October, where Andy Golding - a leading Employee Experience specialist, spoke about how we can organise ourselves, our teams and our businesses.
Ending off the year, following a move back down to level 1 of lockdown, GWII hosted its annual golf day at the magnificent Steyn City Golf Club in Midrand. This was followed with our annual year end event themed ‘Retro in Lumo’, where the ladies got to buddy up together in a car for an outdoor drive in roadhouse experience.
Charities supported
These are some of the charities that GWII has supported:
- Pink Trees for Pauline
- You and Me versus MND
Throughout our other events, charities were supported e.g. golf day shirts, for example, were donated to charities.
A big THANK YOU to all our members for all the contributions we received towards the charities which we supported during 2020.
What to expect in 2021
What a year it has been!
“GWII is proceeding to plan our 2021 calendar, knowing that there are still several unknowns. Whilst we hope to offer our usual broad array of networking events, CPD seminars, Mix ‘n Mingles, and Leaderwalks, such events can only be offered circumstance-permitting, and in adherence with lockdown requirements,” said GWII President, Catherine Pienaar.
“Having hosted a Leaderwalk and CPD event under lockdown, it is apparent that these events are particularly suited to online platforms, and thus, we shall continue offering the same, online, during 2021. The balance of our face-to-face engagements are being planned, with the full knowledge that they may have to be postponed or delivered as online events, in adherence with lockdown requirements at that point in time,” she added.
We have been very fortunate to attract some major sponsorship this year. Fantastic companies have hosted us, and we have also received stunning gifts for the goodie bags and for raffle prizes. Thank you once again to all those who helped out in any way.
GWII membership
This leads us to remind you that your membership fee for 2021 is due on 1 January 2021. We are pleased to inform you that the membership fee for 2021 remains unchanged at R385.
Should you wish to pay your membership fee of R385, please do so. Our account details are as follows:
Account Name: G W I I Group NPC
Banker: FNB
Account No: 62436595691
Account Type: Current Account
Branch Name: Client Resolution Centre
Branch Code: 260231
Please use your name AND your cell number as a reference.
If your company is willing to pay for your membership, please contact admin@gwii.co.za for an invoice to be made out to your company.
We will need:
- Company name;
- PO Box address; and
- VAT no if there is one.
On a final note, we wish you have a wonderful and safe festive season, and a blessed 2021.