Zonta Club of Ballarat
Our Organisation
Zonta International is a leading global organisation of individuals working together to build a better world for women and girls.
Zonta International Headquarters
1200 Harger Road,
Suite 330 Oak Brook
Illinois, 60523, USA
Tel:
+1 630-928-1400
Email:
zontaintl@zonta.org
Web:
www.zonta.org
Founded in 1919
Zonta was founded at the end of World War I, on the 8th November 1919, in Buffalo, New York, in the United States of America.
'ZONTA' is a Sioux Indian word meaning “Honest and Trustworthy”.
Latest figures show that there are over 26,000 members - both women and men - in 67 countries and geographic areas.
If you are interested in obtaining more information about our Club, please complete our membership application form and we will contact you.
Zonta’s Vision
Zonta International envisions a world in which women’s rights are recognised as human rights and every women is able to achieve her full potential.
In such a world, women have access to all resources and are represented in decision-making positions on an equal basis with men.
In such a world, no woman lives in fear of violence.
The objectives of Zonta International are:
- to improve the legal, political, economic, educational, health and professional status of women
- to work for the advancement of understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of executives in business and the professions
- to promote justice and universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms
- to be united internationally, to foster high ethical standards, to implement service programs, and to provide mutual support and fellowship for members who serve their communities, their nations, and the world.
Diversity of Membership
One of the most vital features of Zonta is that it attracts a diversity of members.
Zonta Foundation
Since 1923, Zonta International has provided more than US$50.9 million to build a better world for women and girls and expand their access to education, economic opportunities and safe living conditions. Through donations to the Zonta Foundation for Women, Zonta improves women's lives, their children's lives and the communities in which they live and work. Join us in making gender equality a reality for women and girls worldwide. 100 percent of all donations to the Zonta Foundation for Women go directly to program support.
How your donations are used to build a better World for Women and Girls
International Service Fund
This fund supports programs that have provided training, education, sanitation, agricultural and micro-credit assistance to women, primarily through projects implemented by agencies of the United Nations and other recognised non-governmental organisations. Since 1923, Zonta has provided nearly US$39 million to projects benefiting women in 76 countries.
Learn about Zonta International's 2024-2026 International Service Projects at zonta.org
Zonta Traditions
Zonta Symbols
The name Zonta is derived from the Lakhota (Teton Dakota) word of the Native American Sioux peoples, meaning "honest and trustworthy".
Zonta's emblem is a composite of several Sioux symbols.
Zonta Colours
Zonta was conceived in autumn, and its colours reflect that time of year - Mahogany and Gold.
Zonta Roses
1980s
A special yellow rose was created for Zonta International by English rose grower R Harkness & Co. Ltd. A Hartana Rose, it was first introduced at the 1984 Zonta International Convention in Sydney.
There is a Zonta Rose Garden at Parliament House in Canberra which was planted with 200 roses to mark the Bicentenary of Australia in 1988. The Zonta Club of Ballarat contributed roses to that garden, and to the Zonta Sensory Garden featured in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens.
1990s
In the spring of 1997, the Denmark Zonta Clubs undertook a rose project with the leading Danish rose grower Mr. Martin Jensen, who offered them another new breed of rose produced by the Harkness nursery, the Harflow. This was introduced at the 1998 Zonta International Convention in Paris.
2000s
In 2007 Dutch rosebreeder LEX+ developed a new Zonta Rose, the Zonta+, which was introduced at the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Convention in Rotterdam.
The Zonta Rose appears in civic, memorial and private gardens throughout Australia.
Zonta Thanks
Wherever your country of birth, whatever your faith or creed, give thanks for the meal we share today in Zonta fellowship.
But remember, too, those who have no food today; not with guilt that we have so much, but with hope that, through Zonta service, they too may come to share the same peace and harmony.
Tricia Summerfield
Zonta Club of Perth