FICE-International

As my first term of office as President comes to a close, I would like to take a brief look back on the past two years.

With a view to the oncoming General Assembly, one of the agenda items of which will be the election of the president, I will also attempt to describe what - in the case of my re-election as President of FICE-lnternational - I will focus on and stand for, in the upcoming two years.

I look back on my first term of office with mixed feelings. Why? Before I made up my mind to run for the Office of President I had been doing a lot of thinking as to whether such a function would not interfere with my work as the director of a large youth care institution in Amsterdam, since I would only have limited time for international activities. The deciding factor in favour of my candidature finally was the fact that at that time there was also a new Secretary-General, and I thought he would be taking care of the bulk of the work. Everyone knows how things developed with the Secretary-General.

I'm personally very disappointed about this. This isn't as much about the person of the Secretary-General as about the consequences these events had for FICE. In other words: in the past two years FICE was not able to function on a level I consider essential for such an organization. Nevertheless, considering the circumstances, I am not totally unhappy. I believe I have the right to say that, thanks to the support of the Treasurer, the Secretariat and the Vice-Presidents, it was possible to carry out many necessary things.

FICE has grown, through new associated members (Bulgaria, Southeast Europe, Scotland). The Russian National Section has also been reawakened to new life.
In spite of problems which arose, among other things through the situation in Israel, all FC's took place. The FICE-Secretariat functioned to the full satisfaction of the members; all meetings were prepared in an excellent manner, and e-mail was introduced.
Partnerships developed between "experienced" and new members (Switzerland/Hungary - Southeast Europe/The Netherlands/Bulgaria).
A Task Force established guidelines for the coming years in Budapest.
Guidelines were developed, to improve the structure of Projects.
The decision was reached to establish a FICE-Website.
The situation regarding payment of membership dues has improved.
New contacts to international organizations (IFCO, AIEJI and ENSCW) were established or existing contacts renewed.
Job descriptions were developed for key positions in FICE.

Even more important than a review of the past is a look into the future. I would just like to state, in a few words, what I think deserves special attention in the upcoming two years (perhaps in some cases in the upcoming four years):
1. The development of FICE-Projects. A consensus exists throughout FICE that in the past it wasn't clear enough what FICE does. FICE-Members are of the opinion, that in the FC's (too) many good intentions are discussed, but that between FCs too little "action" occurs.

There is therefore much demand for concrete projects, that
show FICE what stands for;
contribute to strengthening the profile of FICE both for its members as well as to the outside world;
help in tapping new sources of funding; and
bring new Members.

Projects must be efficient; therefore we have decided on a project structure, thanks to
which
Responsibilities are transparently recognizable (Project management);
Projects are properly planned, supported, accompanied and evaluated.
In the coming two years work should take place on the following projects:

(A draft project overview: see enclosure)

2. Public Relations I "Media Policy"

FICE sees the Website as a significant PR-medium. It will be completed in September 2002;
It can only function if the Members bear their responsibility and provide required material;
On the basis of information received on the Website it will be possible to review additional documentation requirements.

3. Internal FICE Communications

In the coming two years e-mail should be used increasingly for internal communications;
A study should be undertaken on using electronic media for discussions (chats).

4. Structures

The structures defined in the statutes (GA, FC, EC) shall be retained in the coming two years;
This also means retaining the position of Secretary-General; but, to my opinion, it must be carried out professionally;
In the coming two years the Secretariat should continue to be attached to the President, but this doesn't mean that an arrangement which was actually considered an emergency measure must be retained;
As long as the position of Secretary-General is vacant, the functions of this position should be carried out by one or more of the Vice-Presidents;
The current approach regarding continental platforms (FICE-Africa, FICE-Asia
etc.) should be retained (see Project organization). With regard to the platform FICE-Europe I beheve the unclarity arising out of the existence of two FICEs within FICE, must be avoided. At present FICE-International is practically identical with FICE-Europe. Additionally, Robert Soisson has withdrawn his candidature as President of FICE-Europe for health reasons. From my perspective, both Secretariats should be merged into a single Secretariat with seat in Amsterdam. I believe it would also makes sense for the President of FICE-International to also serve as President of FICE-Europe. The agenda "Europe" could be handled, in cooperation with the Secretariat, by one of the Vice-Presidents and the President.

5. More Content, less Bureaucracy

I believe that in the FC we spend too much time on organizational/bureaucratic questions. Instead, we should turn increasingly to questions of content. I don't feel it is sufficient, when such questions of content are discussed only within the context of mini-symposia which take place during FCs. I would like to find a structure which will make it possible for us to undertake real discussions of particular topics or developments. In short: I would like to position our meetings more in the framework of questions of content than of organization.

6. Finances

At every FC we discussed the painful topic "finances". The reasons for this are:
Membership dues: individual Members indicate that they cannot pay (a part of) their dues. If every Member would fulfill its financial responsibilities, FICE would be in relatively good financial shape;
The dilemma "no money without good projects - no projects without money";
The willingness of individual countries to financially support partner sections;
The difficulty to acquire funds from the European Union;
I hear however from other international organizations; that they are confronted with identical problems.

I am therefore of the opinion that we need to establish a working group "Fund-raising" to look into what possibilities actually exist. A recommendation along these lines will be ready by the FC in Moscow (April 2003), to permit a binding decision. Earlier suggestions such as that of David Lane will receive full consideration. This working group will be led by Rolf Widmer.

7. Cooperation with International Organizations

It is the policy of F1CE to search for possibilities of cooperation while retaining autonomy. In line with the project structure it is the responsibility of the President to establish contacts. In the past two years I have undertaken initial steps in this regard and will enlarge on these activities (especially with regard to IFCO and AIEJI) during a subsequent period of office.
(Original: Dutch)