ASSOCIATED COUNTRY WOMEN OF THE WORLD WELCOMES OUR OWN Marie Kenney NEW WORLD PRESIDENT AND CANADA AREA CHAIR Anne Innes
Congratulations and welcome to Marie Kenney of PEI on her election as ACWW World President and to Anne Innes of Ontario as the newly installed ACWW Canada Area President!
Thank you to Magdie de Kock, ACWW Past World President for her work in supporting Country Women around the world.
Letter from the ACWW World President
My name is Marie Kenny, from Prince Edward Island, Canada. I live in the community of Brackley with my husband Cecil, where I am a lifetime member of the Brackley WI. We are proud parents of four grown children and 20 grandchildren. I have had the pleasure of meeting many of you over my time within ACWW as a member, Society President, then Board Member, Committee Chair, and Area President for Canada. I now have the honour to serve you for the three years leading to ACWW’s Centenary as your World President. I am so grateful for the support that has put me in this position, and I look forward to meeting many more of you in the months and years to come.
It is that connection with our members in every community that warms my heart, and which inspired our new Triennial Theme: Locally Grounded, Leading Globally. This is the time for ACWW to be recognised for what we have always done, remind those around us of just what we do achieve because of our members, and how we amplify their voices on the worldwide stage.
The 31st Triennial World Conference was a great success, held in Ottawa, Canada from 27 April to 1 May 2026. I am pleased to report that all policy resolutions proposed by members – from the the crucial need for addressing gaps in childcare provision in rural communities, collection of data on flood-prone river systems, equitable access to vaccines, to funding of sexual and reproductive health and rights in light of global policy and financing changes. We also passed a significant number of resolutions to update, clarify, and strengthen our constitution, better serving and protecting our members for the future.
What moved me most was the vision looking forward. The conversations we are having about food security, about women’s economic empowerment, about the role of rural women in shaping the future – these are not small conversations. They are the conversations the world needs to have, and they are being led by our members globally. Speakers such as Julia Kamau from Kenya, Sarah D’Angelo from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and Mayor Mark Sutcliffe of Ottawa reflected both the internal, local and expert knowledge of our membership, and the international esteem those members are held in.
Though this was the first Triennial World Conference in memory without a specific Hostess Society, we are so grateful to all the volunteers in Canada, and from around the world, who helped make our Conference dream come true. Our partners and sponsors in Ottawa Tourism, Air Canada, the Westin Hotel, and the Mayor’s Office were invaluable. Our staff worked tirelessly throughout the preparation, planning, and reality of the Conference. On behalf of all our membership, I extend our thanks to Tish, Nick, Uju, Casey and Nicoletta who were on site, supported by Jenny, Anna and Rebecca at the office in the UK.
The Conference always presents an opportunity to support local charities and also reflects the energy and compassion of our members. Eight cars’ worth of items were collected for the Ottawa Food Bank and local Women’s Shelter. I am so grateful for this generosity and the support it brings to the local community which hosted us for the Conference. Similarly, hundreds and hundreds of handmade items were donated to the sales tables, with all proceeds going to the Rural Women in Action Fund; we will announce the final totals raised soon!
In the near future we will be writing to introduce your new Board of Trustees, elected at the Triennial World Conference. Unfortunately, there are currently two vacancies and these will be filled by the Board using the appropriate constitutional processes, with full communication to the membership in due course.
I am looking forward to writing to you all again soon. For now though, take some time to reflect on the excitement and opportunities this Triennium presents. Your new Board of Trustees will settle into their roles, the staff will take some well-earned rest, and before you know it we’ll be together once again as we celebrate the work of rural women globally, grounded in the local achievements.
Sincerely,
Marie Kenny, ACWW World President
Meet the Canada Area President, Anne Innes
Welcome to our new Canada Area President, Anne Innes from Ontario. Anne is a long-standing member of FWIO, a Past SOS (ACWW Society) President and was recently on the Board of Directors for ACWW as Trustee and Board Lead on Knowledge Sharing & Local Activities.
Ontario sends Delegates to World Conference in Ottawa
Canadian Delegates at ACWW World Convention in April Ottawa 2026 Click the link below to see photo courtesy of FWIO Facebook page
Meet your District Executives 2025- 2026
| Name | Position | Branch |
|---|---|---|
| Margaret Byl | President | Virgil WI & Women Empowered WI |
| Doryene Levere | Past President | Bowen Road WI |
| Barbara Stones | Secretary | Beamsville WI |
| Sandra Edgeworth | Treasurer | Virgil WI |
I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
John Doe