Conferences

The ISS network regularly contributes to relevant conferences and training programmes, offering workshops on international child protection, talks on intercountry social work and more.

Please find information about events ISS has contributed to below and will do in the future:

International Council Assembly and Conference 2012

May 2012

The ISS International Council (members of ISS) assembles somewhere in the world every two years. The last two ISS Council meetings were at Cape Town, South Africa and Hong Kong. In May 2012, the International Council will meet at the Banff Centre in Banff, Alberta, Canada. This will be the first ever assembly of the ISS International Council in the Americas. In conjunction with its regular meeting, this ISS event will include and Open Conference, inviting social service providers in the Americas to join their peers from around the world for a unique international experience. The Conference theme is: The Growing Wave - Global Human Migration For more information please click here

 

2010 Joint Word Conference on Social Work Development Hong Kong

CFAB CEO Andy Elvin recently presented at the first annual International Social Work conference in Hong Kong.

Social work practitioners, academics and government officials from around the world gathered to discuss current issues in social work. We were able to promote our view that international social work issues should become a set module on all pre and post qualifying social work courses worldwide.

Andy was joined by International Social Service network colleagues from China, Australia, USA and Switzerland in presenting a workshop on the issues faced by children moving across borders. The workshop focussed on placement with family members overseas, unaccompanied asylum seekers and successful returners programs, mediation in family breakdown and abduction cases and the work of the ISS network.

The workshop attracted a good deal of interest and we made excellent contacts with colleagues from the Philippines, India, Northern Iraq (Kurdistan) and Taiwan which should strengthen our work with these countries.

Whilst there Andy also had the opportunity to see the excellent work of ISS Hong Kong especially the work they undertake with asylum seekers from overseas and migrants from mainland China.  

Over 3500 professionals attended the conference and the second such conference will be in Stockholm in 2012. More information can be found at http://www.swsd2010.org/en/index.html

ISS participated in the First International Conference in Africa on Family Based Care for Children held in Nairobi, Kenya between 27-30 September 2009

The conference was organised by the African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN). This organisation is a pan African network founded in 1986 that promotes child rights and child protection in Africa. Its mission is to enhance, in partnership with others, the prevention and protection of children from all forms of maltreatment, thus, ensuring that the rights of children are realized.

ANPPCAN’s work on children is currently spread in 22 countries in Africa. The chapters respond to the specific needs of children in their countries by developing appropriate program interventions.

This international conference on Family based care for children was sponsored by UNICEF, USAID, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development Kenya, SOS Children’s Villages among others. This meeting brought together 420 participants from different international, regional and national organisation active in child protection in Africa.

For the ISS it was an extraordinary opportunity to contribute to the strengthening and expansion of the network in Africa. Christine Lambert from the General Secretariat made several contacts with local and international organisations based in Kenya and in some other African countries and will follow-up these contacts.

ISS participated at the twentieth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) organised by OHCHR in Geneva between 8-9 October 2009

ISS participated at the event organised by the Committee on the Rights of the Child to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the CRC. This event focused on the issue of “Development, Dignity and dialogue” that were addressed by general statements elucidated by the highest personalities of the human rights and children rights world and through working groups, including the statement of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Navanethem Pillay.

Mia Dambach and Cécile Maurin from the General Secretariat actively participated in the working group dedicated to “Children’s voices in the family: overcoming resistance”. At this occasion, ISS made suggestions for the final recommendations summarising the work of this group.

Particularly ISS insisted on the inclusion of the situation of children deprived of their family and unaccompanied and separated children, recalling the existence of the UN Guidelines on the Alternative care of children and the importance of states promoting tools such as family mediation to facilitate and improve the dialogue between children and their parents, specifically in family conflict situations.