NURSES OF NATIONS

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 15, 17 July 1937, Page 19

NURSES OF NATIONS

The quadrennial congress of the In- , ternational Council of Nurses, which is to be held, in London this year, will commence,its sittings in the Central Hall, Westminster, on Monday : next, July 19. It is probable that never before have the nurses of so many different nations gathered together at the periodical meetings of this, organisation as will assemble at the congress this year. They are attending for the most part not as individuals but as presidents and accredited delegates of associations of nurses. Their Majesties the King and Queen have given their patronage to the congress, which will be formally opened by the Princess Royal. On the following day her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and her Majesty Queen Mary will' receive and welcome to tea the members of the Grand Council at Buckingham Palace. The business of this important meeting of members of the nursing profession has been divided into four main sections, namely, nursing education, the nursing profession, public health, and some nursing problems Section meetings will be held separately. New Zealand will be represented at the gathering. An organ recital will precede the imposing opening ceremony, at which Dame Alicia Lloyd Still, president of the International Council, will preside. Mrs. Bedford Fenwick, president of the National Councilof Great Britain, will take the chair at one general session. Extensive plans have been made for the entertainment of the guests, including a reception at the Guildhall by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of London. A WORLD MOVEMENT. It was on July 1, 1899, that the foundation of an international council of nurses was proposed by Mrs. Bedford Fenwick, who; during her career t has rendered outstanding service to the nursing profession.' The late Mrs. Grace Neil, of New Zealand, was elected a member of the first pro-

CONGRESS IN LONDON

visional committee appointed to carry out the idea of establishing an international council' of nurses. .. The constitution-of the International Council of Nurses, which was adopted in 1900, contained these words:—"We, nurses of all nations, sincerely believing that the best good of our profession • will be advanced by greater unity of thought, sympathy, and purpose, dp hereby band ourselves in a confederation of workers to further the efficient care of the sick, and to secure the honour and the interests hi the nursing profession." The objects were set out to be the provision of means of communication between the nurses' of the nations, to afford facilities for the interchange of international hospitality, and to provide opportunities for the nurses to meet together from all parts of the world to confer upon questions relating to the welfare of their patients and their profession. Mrs. Bedford Fenwick .was elected first president. It is the custom of the president at international meetings to give a "watchword" for -the ensuing period. After her first election the president gave an address on "Work," in which she said that the work which lay before them in the organisation of an international council might well impress them with its magnitude, but they had to make that constitution live, and to do that they must inspire it with the vital force of a fine, purposeful spirit. Hence "Work" must be their watchword, for the second quinquennial period was "Courage," and the third was "Life." Conference and interim meetings of the Internationa] Council of Nurses have since been held in various European and other centres, at which important addresses relating to nursing have been given, followed by interesting discussions. The presence at these gatherings of leading nurses from so many parts, of the world is evidence of the close kinship between the' nurses of the nations, and their deliberations are worthy of close attention and study