After serving as the President of INWAT during nine years I really felt it as high time to step down this year as your President as any Organisation will need new blood to further develop its activities. But I am very confident that the new Board will continue to develop INWAT in line with our main missions. Our mission to improve the life of women and girls all around the World is as important as ever before. In Washington, in my farewell speech I quoted Hilary Clinton, who in 1997 at the Women Conference in Beijing highlighted silence as the enemy of a more equal world by saying: "Many women on this globe are speaking the same language, the language of silence." INWAT has broken this silence but still we have a long way to go!

My nine years as your President has been a fantastic time in my life and I really feel thankful of having your support during all these years. Without that support I wouldn’t have made it! Although I have now stepped down I can promise you that my passion for INWAT and our goals is as strong as ever before. During the coming three years I will in particular devote my time to fundraising to create a more sustainable platform for INWAT as our present ad hoc solution with board members devoting a lot of in-kind contribution can only be seen as a temporary solution.