Cape Town in July?

How would you fancy a trip to South Africa in July 2005, taking in a child care conference on the way? From 5 to 7 July it will be the Fifteenth Biennial Conference of NACCW (National Association of Child Care Workers), the leading professional association in this field in South Africa. We’ve not managed to attend one ourselves, but all the reports that reach us say that these events are very friendly, well attended and full of good ideas.

In the wake of apartheid, South Africa has massive social problems. Not only does it have shanty town slums and a terrible tradition of violence, but HIV/AIDS has affected both children and adults horrendously. (See the report of the session at the Glasgow Congress where the Chairman of NACCW, Francisco Cornelius, spoke. Click through.)

Yet the country is dealing with things positively. There is the traditional tribal and family support system, and they have developed some excellent child care, including a system of training and registration for child care workers. So they are offering a lot for people from other countries to learn.

Among other things, NACCW is providing support for child care workers in other countries in the southern half of Africa, and a recent development is the creation of ZACCW – the Zambian Association of Child Care Workers.

NACCW also produces a good monthly journal, Child and Youth Care, under Merle Allsopp’s leadership at an annual subscription of R50. If you’re interested, contact headoffice@naccw.za . The same probably goes for the Conference too; application forms should be ready soon.

International Child Care Organisations : the Third Meeting

It was only a couple of years back that representatives of international professional associations first met together. That was in Copenhagen. Last year the second meeting took place in Glasgow during the FCE Congress.

This year, there is due to be a meeting on 10 May in the Netherlands. It is hoped that all the organisations which have taken part to date will be able to join in, and that the occasion can be used to plan some joint work.

Organisations involved to date and their websites are :

AIEJI International Association of Social Educators
Eurochild
FICE www.fice-inter.org Federation Internationale des Communautes Educatives
IDFCO www.ifdco.com International Day & Family Care Organisation
IFCO International Foster Care Organisation
IFSW www.ifsw.org International Federation of Social Workers
OMEP Organisation Mondiale pour l’Education Prescolaire

Sarajevo 2006

A Planning Group is now working hard to set up FICE’s next Congress, to be held in September 2006 in Sarajevo. It is hoped to keep the price modest, so that colleagues from countries with weak economies can afford to participate.