Song is WHY? > click > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mihCAYMiB0g 
A great song & video from Norway about growing up in Foster Care –
originally from the 2005 International Foster Care Organisation World
Conference in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.  This new video clip was shown at the
Eurochild CWPC Conference in Prague on 23 June 2009 – thanks Kurt & Martin! 

PLEASE SHARE THIS VIDEO CLIP WITH OTHERS!  IFCO on Facebook
www.power4youth.eu   www.quality4children.info  www.eurochild.org   

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# YOU MAY STILL REGISTER ONLINE > conference web site: www.ifco2009.ie

# DAY RATES ARE NOW AVAILABLE - see web site above. 

# FUNDRAISING - please bring gifts for the SILENT AUCTION + old MOBILE / CELL PHONES (working or not) for recycling:  http://www.recyclingappeal.com/  -please remove SIM cards! It makes sense to recycle them & IFCO gets paid for each one € $ £

# ANY DUBLIN QUESTIONS? > please contact the people in Dublin > see "CONTACT US" on the conference web site >>> email Therese Dolan at therese@conferencepartners.ie or phone + 353 1 296 9393 / 8688

# FAQs > There are several FREE WIFI areas on campus # Electric plugs are like UK's http://users.telenet.be/worldstandards/electricity.htm < see "type G" # Ireland uses € > currency converter  http://www.xe.com/ucc/ # Weather in Dublin / 5 day forecast:  http://www.ireland.com/travelnow/weather/Dublin

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CLICK ON THE HEADLINE ABOVE TO READ A LONGER NEWS ITEM 

The draft UN Guidelines are available in 6 languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and Arabic

It is with great pleasure that we can tell you that on June 17 the Human Rights Council adopted resolution A/HRC/11/L.13 formally submitting the guidelines on alternative care for children for consideration by the UN General Assembly with a view to their adoption on the occasion of the 20th anniversaryof the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in September.

IFCO wishes to express its regret on hearing of the recent death of the President of the National Foster Parent Association of Japan, Mr. Atsumi, aged 87.

Sadao Atsumi has regularly attended IFCO Conferences since the 1980s. Perhaps a fitting tribute to his valuable work for Foster Care and children in Japan is that 25 Japanese adults and young people will be attending the IFCO Conference in Dublin.

IFCO sent official condolences to Mr. Atsumi's widow, Mrs Sumiko. Other messages may be sent via the IFCO Board member from Japan Nabe Mamoru Watanabe @ holybethel@hotmail.com

The deadline has been extended to July 5 for organisations wishing to sign up (free) for the World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse.

Last year, 933 organizations from 135 countries joined the international coalition marking the World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse, organizing activities and events on 19 NOVEMBER or supporting the Day in general.

"No violence against children is justifiable, all violence against children is preventable" - Prof. Paulo S. Pinheiro

http://www.woman.ch/children/1-introduction.php < with sound 

Eurochild & Euronet have jointly developed a Manifesto for Children “Make Children’s Rights a Priority” for the European Parliament Elections (June 4-7)

The Manifesto is targeted at candidates standing for election to the European Parliament and demands from them a commitment to represent the rights and interests of children in Europe. You can download it here.

Following the huge success of last year's event the second National Foster Care Conference will be held at Csilleberc, Hungary from 4-6 June.  The event will be held at a a former youth pioneer camp in the Buda Hills and will be attended by all groups involved with Hungarian foster care including hundreds of families and children. http://www.csilleberciszabadido.hu/

In 1998 there was a memorable IFCO European Conference in Hungary attended by more than 900 people.  This conference helped to inspire reforms to the child care systems of many former Communist countries in the region.  

Former IFCO President, Chris Gardiner, will speak on behalf of IFCO.  More information > http://www.szmi.hu/ < both web sites are in Hungarian but you can use the "Google Translate" tool to get a basic translation into 34 other languages

The FCOI / IFCO Annual General Meeting will be held in the Newman Building,
University College Dublin, Belfield, Co Dublin, Ireland, @ 16.45pm on Thursday
July 16th 2009.

All IFCO members are invited to attend whether or not they are
attending the Dublin Conference.  Please send items for the agenda to
IFCO's volunteer Administrative Secretary Gaylene Lawrence at wglawrence@xtra.co.nz by June 18.

If you are unable to attend you may also request a Proxy
Voting Form which must be returned by 9 July. Further details plus the
agenda will be sent to all members by email in a special Enewsletter.  ~~~ UPDATE 22 JUNE - AGENDA + PROFILES OF NEW BOARD MEMBERS + PROXY VOTING FORM SENT IN SPECIAL Enewsletter TO ALL MEMBERS - GOT YOURS ??? IF NOT & YOU ARE AN IFCO MEMBER DO WE HAVE YOUR CORRECT / LATEST EMAIL ADDRESS? >>> No email? Please ask for a copy to be sent to you by post > please write, phone or ifco@ifco.info

International Children's Day had its origin in the `World Conference for the Well Being of Children', held in Geneva, Switzerland in 1925. After the conference, governments around the world designated a day as Children's Day to draw attention to children's issues. There are events and celebrations in many countries on 1 June - what is happening in your country?

Strengthening Families and Communities: View document   

Strengthening Families and Communities, produced by the Child Welfare Information Gateway, is a resource guide developed to support service providers in their work with parents, caregivers, and children to prevent child abuse and neglect. The guide includes information about protective factors that help reduce the risk of child maltreatment, strategies for changing how communities support families, and evidence-informed practices. It also offers suggestions for enhancing protective factors in families and tools to build awareness and develop community partnerships.  While developed for use in the United States, the guide addresses a global concern on how abuse and neglect severely threaten family viability, frequently leading to family separation. The guidance and support mechanisms proposed here can be adapted to mitigate risks and strengthen families in other country contexts.