In the context of its 100th anniversary, the Soroptimist International of Europe celebrated “The Soroptimist of the Centenary” and donated to rare childhood diseases at the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine.
Soroptimist International, brings together professional women who volunteer their time to serve other women and girls and has been doing so for 100 years. To mark this anniversary, Soroptimist International of Europe launched a competition to nominate 100 women who best represent the values of the movement. Out of these 100 women, 13 finalists were selected by the jury of the European Federation to choose one of them as “The Soroptimist of the Centenary”.
What an honour for the Union Luxembourgeoise du Soroptimist International a.s.b.l to learn that this prize, worth 5,000 euros, was awarded to Bettina Scholl-Sabbatini, sculptor-painter-ceramicist, passionate and dedicated artist, Fund Soroptimist Luxembourg a. s.b.l President and member of the SI Club Esch-sur-Alzette for more than 50 years, responsible for various functions within the Union and leader of various national and international projects in favour of women during this half century.
Bettina decided to donate this amount to a passionate scientist who leads a research group on rare childhood diseases at the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) of the University of Luxembourg: Dr Carole Linster, Assistant Professor and Head of the Enzymology & Metabolism Research Group.
On Monday 15 November, a ceremony was held at the LCSB to welcome a delegation of Soroptimists from the country’s ten clubs. The afternoon started with a welcome by Prof. Reinhard Schneider, Deputy Director of the LCSB, and Dr. Lisa Smits, Fundraiser, followed by some speeches by Christiane Sadler, Past President, and Marie-Louise Bissen, President of the Union Luxembourgeoise du SI, in the presence of Caroline Demey, President of the European Federation of Soroptimist International, and Gerda Rosiers, Chair of the 2021 Centenary of the same Federation, who also took the floor.
After these speeches, Centenary Awardee Bettina Scholl-Sabbatini presented a cheque to Assist. Prof. Carole Linster, who in turn presented her research work.
This programme was followed by a guided tour of the laboratories in small groups, led by Prof. Anne Grünewald, Assist. Prof. Carole Linster, Dr. Silvia Bolognin and Dr. Lorena Cordero Maldonado. The afternoon ended with an enriching and interesting exchange.
