Years of Unity, Impact & Celebration
Small World
OUR HISTORY
The Journey So Far
For almost three decades, our story has been one of unity, compassion, and collective impact, proof that when women come together with purpose, they create a lasting change.
Small World began as a heartfelt initiative to unite women from diverse nationalities under one purpose: to give back. What started as a modest gathering has grown into a celebrated annual event that showcases cultural richness while raising funds for local charities across Nigeria. For almost three decades, our story has been one of unity, compassion, and collective impact, proof that when women come together with purpose, they create a lasting change.
1996 “IT’S A SMALL WORLD”
Date: 8 March
Venue: MUSON Centre
Amount raised: N300,000
Charities supported: 3
1997 “PEACE AND HARMONY”
Date: 2 May
Venue: MUSON Centre
Amount raised: N700,000
Charities supported: 8
1998 “COMMON THREADS”
Date: 7 March
Venue: Federal Palace Hotel’s Atlantic Gardens, Victoria Island.
Amount raised: N2,550,000
Charities supported: 15
This year we formalized our organisation and were renamed “Lagos Joint Women’s Groups”, and we also started selling advertising space in the program book.
1999 “PATTERNS OF FRIENDSHIP”
Date: 20 March
Venue: Federal Palace Hotel’s Atlantic Gardens, Victoria Island
Amount raised: N3,780,000
Charities supported: 18
2000 “CELEBRATIONS”
Date: 25 March
Venue: Federal Palace Hotel’s Atlantic Gardens, Victoria Island.
Amount raised: N5,000,000
Charities supported: 24
We changed the name from “It’s a Small World” to just “Small World”, its increasingly popular calling name.
2001 “STARRY STARRY NIGHT”
Date: 17 February
Venue: Federal Palace Hotel’s Atlantic Gardens, Victoria Island.
Amount raised: N7,500,000
Charities supported: 25
2002 “RHYTHMS OF NATURE”
Date: 16 February
Venue: Federal Palace Hotel’s Atlantic Gardens, Victoria Island.
Amount raised: N12,400,000
Charities supported: 31
2003 “TAPESTRY OF TALES”
Date: 8 February
Venue: Federal Palace Hotel’s Atlantic Gardens, Victoria Island.
Amount raised: N14,000,000
Charities supported: 30
2004 “KALEIDOSCOPE”
Date: 21 February
Venue: Federal Palace Hotel’s Atlantic Gardens, Victoria Island.
Amount raised: N13,000,000
Charities supported: 27
2005 “MOMENTS IN TIME”
Date: 12 February
Venue: Federal Palace Hotel’s Atlantic Gardens, Victoria Island.
Amount raised: N16,000,000
Charities supported: 29
This year we celebrated our 10th Small World event. The past chairpersons and founders were flown in, courtesy of two airlines to attend this auspicious occasion.
2006 “SPICE OF LIFE”
Date: 18 February
Venue: British International School, Oniru Estate, Victoria Island.
Amount raised: N18,000,000
Charities supported: 30
This event was dubbed ‘THE BIG WET‘ by the chairperson as it rained heavily on the night of the event and the stage show had to be cancelled.
2007 “THE MAGIC OF MUSIC”
Date: 11 February
Venue: British International School, Oniru Estate, Victoria Island.
Amount raised: N10,500,000
Charities supported: 32
For the first time in our history, we held the event on a Sunday for logistical reasons, and we moved to the BIS football field. We also planted 30 royal palms on the field at BIS. This year, we were also in the final stages of registering our organisation as an NGO under the name of “International Women’s Organisation For Charity”.
2008 “CULTURAL TREASURES”
Date: 9 February
Venue: British International School, Oniru Estate, Victoria Island.
Amount raised: N30,500,000
Charities supported: 37
2009 “SMALL WORLD, BIG PARTY”
Date: 21 February
Venue: British International School, Oniru Estate, Victoria Island.
Amount raised: N13,000,000
Charities supported: 30
2010 “SPARKLING FUTURE”
Date: 20 February
Venue: British International School, Oniru Estate, Victoria Island.
Amount raised: N32,000,000
Charities supported: 35
2011 “GO GREEN”
Date: 19 February
Venue: British International School, Oniru Estate, Victoria Island.
Amount raised: N32,000,000
Charities supported: 32
This theme was designed to get people thinking about the environment and what can be done to improve it. We also launched our new Small World website, www.smallworldnigeria.org
2012 “CIRCUS SPECTACULAR”
Date: 18 February
Venue: British International School, Oniru Estate, Victoria Island.
Amount raised: N37,000,000
Charities supported: 34
2013 “SUPERSTARZ”
Date: 23 February
Venue: Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island
Amount raised: N37,000,000
Charities supported: 29
2014 “JUNGLE FEVER”
Date: 15 February
Venue: Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island
Amount raised: N37,500,000
Charities supported: 33
2015 “CARNIVAL”
Date: 14 March
Venue: Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island
Amount raised: N37,100,000
Charities supported: 31
This year marked the 20th anniversary of Small World. We celebrated with a special gift for our guests: a cotton tote bag and a music CD with the past six years of original Small World songs. In addition, we were honored to host 12 of our 18 past chairladies and founders, along with Mutari Wada, the widower of the late past Chairlady Annelie Wada. The event was not without its challenges: An Ebola outbreak threatened Nigeria, and the federal and state elections originally scheduled to take place in February were later rescheduled to March and April. In spite of this, the event was a great success.
2016 “WORLD OF COLOURS”
Date: 13 February
Venue: Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island
Amount raised: N37,500,000
Charities supported: 30
2017 “ONCE UPON A TIME”
Date: 10 February
Venue: Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island
Amount raised: N35,000,000
Charities supported: 30
2018 “YESTERDAY, TODAY, TOMORROW”
Date: 10 February
Venue: Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island
Amount raised: N38,100,000
Charities supported: 30
2019 “TRIP AROUND THE WORLD”
Date: 9 February
Venue: Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island
Amount raised: N34,800,000
Charities supported: 29
2020 “SILVER ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS”
Date: 8 February
Venue: Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island
Amount raised: N39,000,000
Charities supported: 30
2021 and 2022
Due to the Corona crisis, we were not able to host any events, but thanks to our faithful sponsors and donors and our careful foresight, we were able to support 20 different charities (10 each year), with a sum of N1 million each.
In 2021, we lost Lee-Ann Grindrod, Chairlady Small World 2016. She will be fondly remembered for her vivacious personality and will always be in our hearts.
2023 “A BRIGHTER TOMORROW”
Date: 28 January
Venue: Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island
Amount raised: N42,000,000
Charities supported: 24
2024 “BETTER TOGETHER”
Date: 2 March
Venue: Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island
Amount raised: N47,000,000
Charities supported: 27
