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Presidential Speech at Opening Ceremony I Your Majesty, Honourable Mr. Prime Minâ€" ister, Honoured Guests and Friends. At this 13th Triennial World Conference of the Associated Country Women of the World. I have the great privilege and honour to we], come the honoured guests. delegates and visi- tors. We feel greatly honoured that His Majes- ty, the King of Norway, is present among us. His presence at the opening ceremony has giv- en this Conference an added importance. We also greatly appreciate the presence of the Honourable Prime Minister of Norway, whose interest in social welfare is well known. Today is the opening of an Assembly of Women of many nations and many countries, from all the continents. We have come togeth- er to discuss our problems, our success, and our failures, and to learn from each other how to build bridges, to cross the voids created by different ideologies, political situations and economic conditions. It is an interesting char" acteristic of the present age that as we are coming closer through rapid communications. we become increasingly aware of the gaps be- tween people, between nations and between human beings and their environment. In this desert of conflicting ideologies. we who are working in the field of social service are like a lost caravan, always seeking the way to our ultimate goal of creating a life of har- mony. We, the 61/2 million members of the Assoâ€" ciated Country Women of the World, have pledged ourselves to work together, not recogâ€" nizing the artificial barriers of race, colour. creed or religion, but it is easier said than fol- lowed, in our own lives. We live under diverse political systems and observe different rules; we cannot live totally ignoring our environ- ment. The point is, how can we achieve our objective of creating a world of mutual under- standing and assistance in spite of our diverse environments? In recent times we have looked at the world from outer space, which the tremendous prog- ress of science has made a reality. through picâ€" tures and television. The world looks so beau« tiful, safe and serene in its orbit, as we look at it through the camera held by the astronauts. One wonders how true is that picture of earth. The people who have made earth beautiful and alive are also taking away that beauty and se- renity, not only through physical destruction and war, but also by widening the gaps. through political creeds and hatred. FALL 1971 Delegates from Brazil, Giovanna Bottorelli and louisn Bueno Gomrn. We are optimists. We are not willing to ac- cept life as it is today. we long to alleviate evil; we are not willing to admit that we have reached a point of no return, but believe that we can build the stairway to bridge the gaps, and we have come together to find out the method. Victor Hugo has said, “There is nothâ€" ing as powerful as an idea. whose time has come." It is we. the individuals, who can trans- late that idea into reality. We can usher in world peace before Atomic destruction overâ€" takes mankind. It is therefore necessary to get everyone involved in the creation of peace structure for the world. a structure strong enough to replace force as the controlling fac- tor in the fate of mankind. It will be only a mere play of words and a pious hope, if we do not try to build up this structure to meet the basic needs of human life. The path to create peace is a difficult one, and the only route through the maze of frustrated hopes and dead ends. is by the creation of an atmosphere of mutual trust and understanding.