C.I.F. World NewsAutumn 2013

The Council of International Fellowship MagazineThe Council of International Fellowship Magazine

CIF International Conference

by CIF Turkey

The tale of the

30th

I

C.I.F.Page 2 W o r l d N e w s

A message from the World News Editor

New CIF President's MessageNew CIF President's Message

Dear CIF friends,

As we begin another academic year

Doing Good in the World is doing good for one's self! Have a great time!

I'd like to offer my best wishes to

all CIF members internationally. This will be a year of momentous changes

for our organization with the economic crisis facing all of us! We need to

think out of the box and start managing our losses and our problems in a

constructive way which will lead to a new era of success and prosperity.

We need to develop a new vision plan, expand ourselves to more

countries and offer a helping hand to all the needy.

Europe has been challenged greatly the last years and every day more

and more countries enter the circle of this “economic crisis” which leads

to a complete change in the way we think, act, react and see things. We

need to see “beyond” the four walls of our own house and start acting

maturely, methodically, seriously and with a structured program in order to revitalize our “dead” systems,

and bring the smile back to our faces.

In order to achieve this we need to join forces and fight for our rights, for our families, for our lives and not

to sit back and let OTHERS decide for US. We are born 'fighters' and we will die 'fighters'!

This year will be a learning year; it will be a time for real reflection and action. We need to create a solid

basis on which we will reconstruct our lives and protect our children and our youth. We have the responsibility

to improve today's situation and bring new bright ideas to

help our young people start their lives and start new families

which will live in a safe world. We owe this to our children and

it is our responsibility to help achieve this. Joining forces will

make us stronger and give us strength and hope to fight for

our rights and a better life full of laughter, love and peace.

CIF needs to be known all over the world and CIF

members should all try to offer their expertise and

knowledge to help young professionals to develop and acquire the necessary skills to become good

professionals and practitioners who will then offer a helping hand to the needy. Any small step is better than

no step at all and this will lead us to Peace! Peace within, peace with others, peace to the entire world. Only

then will we feel completed human beings.

From Maria Christopoulou,

Vice President CIF International,

Editor World News

This year will be a learning

year; it will be a time for

real reflection and action.

Dear CIF Friends,

I have the great honor to reach out to all of you as

the new president of CIF International. I want to thank

for your confidence in me to work for CIF in this

important position.

Thank you to the previous Executive Committee

(EC) and the three members who are leaving the EC:

Edna Bar On, Lollie Bailey-Nilsson, and Maria

Hierlinger-Gudat for their exceptional service to CIF.

Also, thank you to the other past presidents and

members who have carried the work of our

international association. I think of Henry Ollendorff

who built CIP and CIF, and I want to continue the work

of CIF in the spirit of the founder. For CIF France, I say

all the best to Nicole De Caqueray, who is still present

and continues to support CIF.

Mireille Boucher,

President CIF International

Thanks to CIF Turkey for this

e x c e l l e n t a n d i n t e r e s t i n g

Conference. It was really well

organized. CIF Turkey and all the

team took good care of us during

the meetings and the Conference. For their first

conference and their 20th anniversary it was a real

success.

We shall have the pleasure to continue positive

actions with the new Executive Committee. We are full

of energy and we want to offer to you our best effort to

promote CIF.

CIF entered my life in 1991 when I participated in the

first program in Scotland. I have been the president of

CIF France since 1996. I have regularly attended the

CIF Turkey won the Challenge of Encounters in a

Global World!

C.I.F. W o r l d N e w s Page 3

C.I.F.

Board of Directors (BD) meetings as the president of

CIF France, and it has been a real pleasure to share our

experiences with the other branch presidents and

members.

I know that CIF will take a more important place in

my life,and I am ready to work

with the new team: Maria

Christopoulou as the vice

president, David Scheele as

secretary, Gabi Kronberger as

treasurer, Michael Cronin and

R a b i a Ö z b a s D u r a k a s

members-at-large. We shall

continue to share the values of

CIF, we shall respect the rights of everyone. Solidarity

will be the basis of our work and our team.

We will meet this autumn to organize our work and

we will have the pleasure to meet representives of all

CIF branches in Zurich, August 2014. Thank you to

Elisabeth Fischbacher and CIF Switzerland for hosting

the next BD meeting.

We hope that CIF Sweden will host the next CIF

Conference in 2015. Thanks for their proposal, we know

it is a big but really interesting challenge they will

undertake.

We shall work to help to

create new Branches and we

hope to welcome the next

Board of Directors meeting.

Now with the new EC team,

we are ready to work for you

and we hope we will share

many new, important moments

in CIF International.

All the best,

Mireille Boucher, President CIF International

mirboucher@aol.com

We shall work to help

to create new Branches

and we hope to welcome

the next Board

of Directors meeting.

his was my first time attending the CIF

International Conference. My first

impression of CIF was “a world like a warm

family.” Several months before the

conference, it was difficult for me to attend all

programs due to my workplace. However, as I was

able to cut out some parts of my work, I changed

flights and purchased a new air-ticket so that I

could attend all the programs. Overcoming some

difficulties in my circumstances, the conference at

Ankara appeared to me a significant and wonderful

experience.

I joined a

workshop and made two presentations. The titles

of both were the same as

– correct meaning:

(Finding Solutions to Difficult Behavior of Elderly

Dementia Case). I brought up one problem

occurring at the nursing home for the elderly, which

seemed to be relevant to the term “conflict,”

mentioned in the context of the main topic of the

conference, “Threats and Opportunities.” The

problem is that the medical co-workers at an

elderly facility are apt to be placed in a stressful

situation with the residents suffering dementia or

Presentation at the Conference:

“Finding Solutions to

Difficult Behavior in Dementia”

other disorders. I have

considered how we could

avoid such conflicts and

successfully interact in

such cases. This was the main topic of my

presentation. Despite my poor talk, some of the

people from the universities showed interests in my

presentation. So I promised to send them a list of

references by e-mail afterwards. In addition, I felt

so happy to be told by a few persons about my talks

during our sightseeing inAnkara.

¯A warm and wonderful feeling with CIF members¯

First Conference, First ImpressionsFirst Conference, First Impressions

JapanBy Masako Aoki,

CIF Japan

Masako Aoki with CIF friends at Ankara Conference

Encounters

in a Global WorldEncounters

in a Global World

C.I.F.Page 4 W o r l d N e w s

Reunion with my friend from the Scotland

Exchange Program (PEP):

Meeting the President of CIF Scotland:

An unexpected wonderful occasion:

I could meet her again

after two years since our program in Scotland. She

is a very kind and wonderful Turkish lady. Though

she was very busy as a hosting CIF member,

fortunately I was invited to her family and we could

spend a wonderful occasion despite the limited

time. Even though we could not express our

feelings so perfectly in words, we had a warm and

friendly feeling for each other during the visit.

During

my participation to the PEP in Scotland I learned

that people prioritize the idea of welfare and

respect it. I think it changed my attitude towards

my life entirely. Remembering this, I felt so happy

to meet president, Anne Robertson, and my host

family.

I

purchased a German folk cloth at the Market of

Nations. It was a light cyan colored handmade one-

piece dress. When I found a little rip in the sleeve of

my Japanese cloth, I wanted to repair it before the

closing ceremony. However as there was no time, I

made up my mind to wear that German folk style

cloth and go. After the ceremony, several German

CIF members came around me and were pleased to

see me wearing the folk one-piece dress. One lady

was very delighted and said “So you are the one who

bought this dress? My grandmother made this one-

piece dress! It fits you perfectly fit as if she was

sewing it for you.”

Our work for the welfare of the people always

asks us to behave from the standpoint of the

vulnerable. Although it was my first time to attend

the CIF Conference, many of the people whom I met

were so warm and supportive of each other like a

family. Observing those persons, I felt it was the CIF

members who might have shown their

towards many clients at

their own various welfare fields.

“family-like

kindness and warmth”

Last June the 30 CIF Conference took place inTurkey in the city of Ankara. It was a week with an intenseagenda, not only because of the planned presentations,workshops and visits institutional academic activities,but also by the rich encounters with the other membersof the Cif.

I had the pleasant opportunity of participating as anobserver in the meetings of the Board of Directors,where I could appreciate the applied mode of work toaddress the issues of interest, such as the regulation,development and challenges of the PEP in the variouscountries and the elections of new authorities in CIF

The various plenary sessions were very good, with aclear presentation of the issues and the possibility ofexchange with the participants.The Professor ofeconomics Ayse BUGRA made reference to the strongemphasis placed on philanthropy in the provision ofwelfare and social services in Turkey and how there arestill gender differences .

The professor Pinar UYANSEMERCI spoke about theprocess of migration in Turkey and the professor AyseGUNDUZ HOSGOR presented the question of ethnicencountering in modern Turkey. Each lecture was sopositive to think about the ethnic diversity and how thepossibility of strengthening the integration is possible.

A clear example of these possibilities was the peacepanel where members of the Parents Circle FamiliesForum, an Israeli and a Palestinian, showed us their work

thand project for ending violence and promoting peaceand reconciliation. With a preventive approach, therewas also a presentation of members of the BogaziciUniversity who have a project with Turkish, Greek andCypriot Youth, teaching them conflict resolution skills andhuman rights education.

There was also a very good offer of presentations andworkshops with a wide diversity of subjects, from Turkishcooking to social investigation issues.And so interestingwas the agency visits. I went with a group to the Bluehorse cafe where a NGO, carries on a cafe and a shop withpatients with mental disease in treatment.

And you will probably ask what has happened after 6pm?... There was the time for dinner and the social events...The CIF Turkeys 20 years celebration was great! And sowas the market of the nations and the farewell party!

It was my first CIF Conference and I enjoyed it somuch, it was extremely very well organized by the Turkishteam... congratulations for them! And I Feel the goodsensation that each ofus that are working for the CIF inour countries have the same goal of making encounterspossible in this global world.

S

Social Worker

CIF Argentina Vice President

usana García Peñaloza

Encounters in a Global WorldEncounters in a Global WorldArgentinaAnkara, Turkey June 2013

������

Conference

Taksim, Gezi and since then…

First of all, great compliments for all the members of CIF Turkey

who made it possible to have a wonderful conference-time this

year in Turkey, with high quality plenary sessions, interesting

workshops and excursions. And of course, with a very positive

attitude to CIF members from all over the world by the

members of CIF Turkey and all the students who were helping

them with such warm enthusiasm. In the evening we had the

possibility of encounter in a different way with good meals,

different festivities as the Market of the Nations and of course

the dancing-time, which is so characteristic for all the

Conferences of CIF International.

Many of us were emotionally touched by the Peace Project

2009/12/13, initiated by Mimmo Merola and represented by

two members from Israel and Palestine of the Bereaved

Families Forum. The movie and discussions later on impressed

us in different ways. It showed not only sadness but also

unexpected possibilities of how to continue your life in times of

great sadness and despair as a result of violence. And, how to

start a dialogue with people who seem at the other side of

experience and cultural values. In the context of learning the

conference showed us persuasively how to apply the

intervention in Israel/Palestine; how you have to and can

develop carefully, and again and again evaluating, a

professional method of intervention in extremely difficult

circumstances.

After the conference week we attended the post tour to

Istanbul. Normally a traditional excursion with visits to all the

historical highlights of this wonderful city where East meets

West since thousands of years. As we all know it was this time

another experience – Taksim Square and the Gezi Park were

words in the centre of the world news and our hotel was rather

close to both. So, first we visited the Gezi Park in a friendly

mood of protest and understanding, but in our last day in

Istanbul, the police came in action and the days after that, Gezi

Park was evacuated with violence.

������� ��������������Reflections on the CIF ConferenceReflections on the CIF Conference

S i n c e t h e c o n f e r e n c e

experience and our visit to

Istanbul, there were many

things happening in Turkey. We

saw a lot of it on TV and read

about it in newspapers and other magazines. At the same time

there are negative developments in the Arab world until today,

of course already during two years in Syria and also in other

countries, like Egypt. The 'Arab Spring' seems over, many people

are killed or in prison.

It makes me feel sad, concerned and modest. I reflected about it

and I tried to associate these developments with the theme of

the conference 'Encounters in a global world'. 'Encounter'

requires action from both sides. How do we manage that

process between people, between groups of people within and

between countries? Which values do we share?

I am looking for sources.

This year Stephane Hessel died at the age of 95. During the

Second World War he was active in the French resistance

movement, he was a prisoner in Buchenwald and as a young

diplomat he was engaged in the process when the United

Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in

1948. In Europe he was well known since he published his

booklet 'Time of outrage' (2010). I did read again the book of

Stephane Hessel 'Toutes comptes faits...ou presque' (in the

Dutch edition and free translation 'Believing in the unlikelyness',

2012).

In all his recently published books Stephane Hessel used and

repeated the text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

And I simply read again the Article 1 of the Universal

Declaration:

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act

towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood

Values

� Stephane Hessel

By Max de Coole

CIF Netherlands

Netherlands

C.I.F. W o r l d N e w s Page 5

Protest at Taksim Square – Istanbul June 2013 A look inside the Sophia – Istanbul

C.I.F.Page 6 W o r l d N e w s

�

�

Epilogue

In Turkey lived in the 13e century Celaleddin Rumi, a wonderful

poet and mystic. He is still very popular in Eastern and Western

countries. Some words of him (translated by Nicholson):

Karen Armstrong did a lot of research in the main religious

systems in East and West, from the Jewish tradition to

Buddhism, from the Hellenistic point of view to Confucianism

and Taoism, from Christianity to Islam. One of her key-words is

compassion and she started a movement towards a worldwide

Charter of Compassion, with The Golden Rule as its ethical core.

I am conscious of the fact that an important thing we have to do

is, that we share our values again and again and we share them

not only within the CIF family but we have to participate in

hopeful worldwide institutes and movements like the United

Nations

I am not of the East nor of the West, nor of the land, nor of the

sea

I am not of Nature's mint, nor of the circling heavens

I have put duality away, I have seen that the two worlds are one;

One I seek, One I know, One I see, One I call

One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself.

('they' and 'we' are not always successful, but let us

Rumi

Karen Armstrong

repeat with each other texts like mentioned above, and recite

them as mantras).

We must encounter each other, again and again –

There is a lot of work still to do.

Let us share and admire inspiring philosophers and poets, like

Rumi. And yes, we can participate in new hopeful initiatives like

the Charter of Compassion movement nowadays, as mentioned

before.

I realize again what happened during the conference with the

presentation of the hopeful Peace Project 2009/12/13 and

other examples of good interventions and the hopeful research

projects of Turkish social workers and Turkish scientists. At this

time we are preparing the CIF Exchange Program 2013 in many

countries, also in the Netherlands. Nine social workers from

eight countries (including Turkey) will be in the Netherlands in

November and will have a program with all aspects of human

and social problems in our country with examples of how to

handle it from the point of view of a social worker.

So I am still concerned and modest, and of course sometimes

very sad thinking of all the victims by force of arms in to many

countries and of all those persons who are in prison for political

reasons. But at the same time, reflecting about my state of mind,

I found a hopeful perspective.

Gezi Park Evacuated – Istanbul June 2013 Post-Conference Tour on the Bosphorus – Istanbul

efore the changes that took place at the 2013General Assembly in Turkey on Article 3 of the CIFStatutes, we presented ourselves as a “private,non-profit politically and religiously independentOrganization, which could work in collaboration

with other entities sharing the same philosophy,whose general goal was to promote internationalunderstanding and world peace through the exchange ofexperience for social workers, special educators, youthleaders and others in closely related fields.”

This, I think, is what we have essentially been doing forthe past 50 years. But the question was: is there space formore direct involvement? In my perspective, everything thatCIF stands for could and should possibly be extended to morecrucial issues that exist in our World – as did Henry Ollendorffwho started it all by initiating the process with the idea offacilitating the right post-war conditions, allowing the firstGerman group to enter the life of American families and

THE CIF PEACE PROJECT 2009 – 2013; JUST THE BEGINNING...?!THE CIF PEACE PROJECT 2009 – 2013; JUST THE BEGINNING...?!THE CIF PEACE PROJECT 2009 – 2013; JUST THE BEGINNING...?!

Italyindividuals in 1956, with resultsthat don't need any furtherc o m m e n t s … i f y o u h a v epositively experienced CIF in anyway!

At our 2009 Conference in Finland we were reminded ofour purpose and the need to take more direct action in thepursuit of our general goal, because of the presence of a one-sided story in the Israeli-Palestinian issue. The site of the2011 Conference in Cyprus offered the opportunity tosponsor the participation of three Palestinian delegates, withthe active role of CIF Israel in the recruitment and thegenerous donations from various CIF members and friends.

To continue this significant experience, CIF Italiasustained the participation of one person from Israel and onefrom the Palestinian Territories in their 2012 Exchange

By Mimmo Merola,

CIF Italy

Program. The 2011 and 2012 experiences favored a betterinsight on the sort of internal conflict and the strong feelingswe are dealing with; not everyone is at the same stage ofprocessing those feelings and our CIF ExchangePrograms may not be totally prepared norappropriately equipped to manage the situationsthat can arise in the most effective and productiveway.

In the CIF Italia 2012 Exchange Program, whichproved to be essential for further development, theIsraeli and Palestinian participants had already gonethrough different processes, allowing them to betterdiscover and appreciate each other as people. Wethink that the Program merely, but significantly,strengthened their relationship; and this is what wefeel and hope they have mostly taken back home tocontinue to build on. Consequently, we believe thatCIF cannot carry on successfully by itself a trulyeffective Peace Project Program, but needs toconnect with someone who is working in managingthe internal/psychological conflict, in our case, ofIsraeli and Palestinian individuals.

The “someone” surfaced within the 2012 ItalianProgram: The Parents Circle – Families Forum: Two SidedStory; thus, thanks again to the notorious generosity of CIFpeople we were able to invite the two co-managers from theabove Forum to present their Project at the 2013 CIFConference in Turkey, Nir and Mazen (see them in the photo)who truly showed all those of us present their realistic,dramatic and hopeful answer to work for stability and peacein the area.

Another pertinent contribution at

and promote sharing, friendship andunderstanding among young people.

CIF Turkey also sponsored the participation of anArmenian social worker with whom I had a brief butmeaningful exchange and from whom I was able to perceive apositive experience.

What could have been more in line with the theme of

the Conference wasmade by The Peace Education and Research Center atBoðazici University presenting a preventive approach forPeace work, illustrating their Youth Project between Turkish,Greek and Cypriot youngsters in the attempt to break downprejudice

…

the Conference: Encounters in a Global World Threats andOpportunities for Social Workers and Human ServiceProfessionals?

We could say that the encounter has truly happened; thefuture of the CIF Peace Project has come out of isolation. Thenext step is up to us, here and now, if we believe in theexperience and want to be part of the next phase. CIF Italiawill continue to do its part; planning to recruit participantsfor the 2014 Professional Exchange Program (PEP) throughthe organizations mentioned above…we hope that otherCIFs will want to follow! A Peace Project Fund has beeninitiated and I hope it can be nurtured and used for furtherdevelopment. As the Exchange Programs are our mainactivity, I would endorse the possibility to support andencourage Branches with PEPs to adhere to the Project.

Let the discussion continue… in the awareness that wecan only offer a very small contribution to the cause of WorldPeace, but as Mother Teresa of Culcutta said, “We ourselvesfeel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But theocean would be less because of that missing drop.”

Others are merely the part of ourselves that we still don'tknow, peace is the condition and love the tool that can helpus discover the beauty we are missing, possibly contributingto “ Heal the World” a bit. Domenico Antonio (Mimmo)Merola, CIF Peace Project 2009/12/13…

Nir and Mazen of The Parents Circle – Families Forum:

Two Sided Story with Mimmo Merola (CIF Italy)

he experience of participating in the CIF (Council of International Fellowship) International Exchange Program is special.

Living with different host families during the exchange program is an extraordinary way to get to know the country`s

culture and people.

There is a promise on CIF International`s website that during the CIF

exchange program – “ Living with host families provides participants with an unique cultural experience that enriches

the understanding and tolerance of diversities and develops lasting cross-cultural friendships.” Indeed, this statement is certainly

true and all who have gone through the CIF exchange program, can confirm it.

During the program, the candidates represent their own country and culture, but also their own country`s social welfare

http://www.cifinternational.com/programs

Host Family Living- a unique tradition which raises questions- a unique tradition which raises questions

EstoniaKati Saira, CIF-Estonia

C.I.F. W o r l d N e w s Page 7

Host

Family

Living

C.I.F.Page 8 W o r l d N e w s

agency/institution and, ultimately, themselves. CIF exchange

program`s candidacy is a long process. It requires a

commitment to the profession, motivation and willingness to

contribute time (quite often vacation time) to professional self-

development while abroad. Candidates must meet certain

criteria and have to be flexible. Candidates are interviewed and

their motivation letter must explain what the reasons are to be

nominated for the program. Tolerance, open mindeness and

flexibility should characterize a successful CIF exchange

program candidate.

Having participated in two CIF exchange programs (CIF-

Norway in 2009 and CIF-Finland in 2013) and having talked to

many professional social welfare people from different

countires who have participated in the CIF exchange programs

all over the world, I want to express and share

my and other`s participants comments and

thoughts, on living with CIF host families.

The concept of CIF Host Family living is a

unique and excellent opportunity to examine

the culture of another country. Many

professional social welfare workers are

satisfied with the CIF exchange program`s

Host Family living. However, from time to

time questions have arisen and the

candidates are not always fully satisfied with

the Host Family living system. Before entering

the exchange program the candidate has

sometimes no idea where and with whom he

or she is going to live during the program.

I described above the criteria a successful

CIF exchange program candidate must fulfill.

But are there any criteria for Host Families? If so, what are the

criteria? Does every CIF exchange program branch have a

neutral and at the same time a responsible person, who

provides actual help and who is able to solve the problems in

relationships with the Host Family during the program?Is a Host

Family selected based on interviews? Does the CIF branch know

the family`s motivational reasons? Or, does the Host Family`s

real motivation appear when a candidate feels the pressure and

the demand to provide for the Host Family full service of free

lodging, transportation and guided tours in her/his home

country after the exchange program?

Is the CIF exchange program`s participant also aware

before entering the program that the Host Family is not

responsible to provide meals three times per day and that the

candidate is partially responsible for his/her food? To avoid

misunderstandings, it is important that each participant knows

how much the particular Host Family is ready to nourish the

participant and how much should the participant contribute

himself/herself (including buying own food).

The problem can be solved if the Host Family explains to the

participant in advance (via e-mail and/or telephone) that

according to the local CIF organization`s agreement the Family

provides food only to a certain extent and a contribution is

expected from the participant.

CIF organization must not forget that the exchange

program`s participants are dependent on the Host Family`s

shelter, food, emotional well-being and security. The

participants are literally dependent, and this dependence

should not be misused by the Host Families according to their

own interests, position and situation.

I have compiled the following questions and suggestions

according to my own experiences and talking to and reading of

many other CIF Host Family living experiences from all over the

world.

Every CIF organization must develop a Host Family

motivational package to demonstrate value to the Host Family

for volunteering (For example: joint picnics after the exchange

p r o g r a m , j o i n t f i e l d t r i p s a n d / o r f r e e

SPA/theater/cinema/concert/festival tickets after the CIF

exchange program).

Prevent the misunderstanding that the Host Families

“do the participant a personal favor”

p r o v i d i n g f r e e a c c o m m o d a t i o n ,

transportation and food, and that the

participant “should provide” the same level

of services to the Hosts after the end of the

exchange program.

Clarify that the hosting is not a

personal favor, but a favor for the CIF

organization and this should be respected

and valued by every CIF branch.

Every CIF organization should create a

post for a Host Family`s neutral key-person

(possibly two persons) whose main job tasks

and responsibilities are:

K n o w t h e H o s t Fa m i l i e s

motivations and main reasons why the family wishes to be a

Host. (CIF exchange program`s participants should not know

these motivations).

Be familiar with the Host Families family situation

changes (divorce, unemployment, work, family and health

problems, problems with the children, etc.)

Be able to solve problems related to the exchange

program Host Families living. A responsible and neutral CIF key-

person should be able to listen the arguments of both parties

and solve the problems during the program.

Ask for the feedback from the participants (written

and/or oral) about the living conditions and emotional

environment in the Host Family at the beginning of the program,

during the program and after the program.

Give each participant the opportunity to communicate (via

e-mail and/or telephone) with the Host Families before the start

of the program.

1.

2.

3.

How well does the CIF know the CIF Host Families, the

coordinators and their motives?

Is CIF aware of the Host Family`s

readiness to provide the hosting?

Do CIF exchange program participants received

enough information and opportunity to honestly

communicate (via e-mail and/or telephone) with the Host

Families before the start of the program?

-

-

-

-

-

-

Host Family Living - Questions and Suggestions:

Regarding Kati Saira's article on host

family living;

As one of the most important component of a typical CIF

International Professional Exchange Program (PEP), Host Family

Manual (HFM) has been developed for National Branches (NB) to

provide a general guideline when hosting someone participating

in a CIF International PEP. It has been sent to NBs and also the

updated version takes place in the e-forum. The manual is for NBs

C.I.F. W o r l d N e w s Page 9

Thanks to CIF ITALIA, every year my family and I host

people from various areas – everything to learn and

deepen our English, and meet different cultures.

In September 2012 we hosted an Israeli woman, her

name is Ofra. She is a very nice person!

In the beginning I was shy, but with time I started

speaking more and later we had a true and deep

connection. We talked about work, family, free time

and also about the particular history of Israel.

Several days later, I went out with Ofra to show her the

city: especially the second largest ancient Roman

amphitheater, but only for a short time because she was

busy with the programme.

Despite her hard work she could always smile and bring

harmony with her beautiful personality.

In English I'm not very good, but we managed to

understand each other.

It wasn't easy to speak English, but she helped me a lot.

SPECIAL DAYS WITH CIF ITALIASPECIAL DAYS WITH CIF ITALIA

The following article is a synthesis of the reports on the CIF Hellas Professional

Exchange Program (PEP) 2013, written by Bendikte Lende, Social Worker from Norway

and Rosiane Pinheiro Palheta, Social Worker from Brazil edited by Catherine Psarouli,

member in charge of CIF Hellas PEP.

The experience of having participated in CIF Hellas PEP 12-29 of May 2013 was surprisingly enriching professional

and unforgettable. The organizing team, as all the Greeks, was an amazingly friendly group and they took care of the

participants from the beginning to the end of the program.

During the program we got to know social workers from around the world(Turkey, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Brazil

and of course Greece). When we hear the name of these countries we can't help but smile and think about the days we

spent together with the other participants in Greece.

We did a lot of field visits, and though the program was a little bit tiring, was extremely necessary to have an

understanding of the functioning of the social policy in Greece and one of the main reasons we were there. The visits

were enriched with the participation of all who contributed to issues shared among all.

We experienced Greece from the angle of social work, and we have to say that there is no doubt thatit widened our

horizons regarding social work. We have learned that wherever you are in the world, there is someone there trying to

make a difference. And even though Greece is going through a difficult time, the people are doing their best to help

An and Professional ExperienceEnriching Unforgettable

Hellas

I would like to relive those moments again in the future!

Hugs,

Giuseppina Longobardi

P.S. Ofra is the one embracing me, next to her there's

Mohammed, then my father Peppe, my mom Laura and my

sister Carolina.

to give to the host families before the program starts. It is also

acknowledged that each NB will have priorities and

preferences that pertain to their own country/culture. It is their

responsibility to clarify such issues relating specifically to their

own exchange programme and amend the manual

accordingly.

In the HFM, it is asserted that, before their arrival PEP

participants are informed by the programme coordinator

about the programme, accommodation and host families. Host

families are encouraged to contact the participant before their

arrival as well. During the participant's stay, actual family life

continues. Host families are asked to provide breakfast and

dinner, participant is responsible for her/his own lunch. An

awareness and respect for cultural behaviours is essential in

order to fully understand and respond appropriately to

participants' needs. Contact telephone numbers of

programme coordinators should be available both to host

families and to participants in case any issues arise during the

program, to provide actual help.

Besides updating NBs with the HFM before they carry out

their programs, issues regarding Host Family living could

further be discussed in the upcoming BD meeting in 2014, in

Zurich.

Rabia Özbas Durak

CIF International PEP Coordinator

C.I.F.Page 10 W o r l d N e w s

individualists.

This is also reflected in

how people spend free time.

Greeks enjoy the company of

friends, but the Estonians engage in individual

achievements. For example, while a Greek sits with

friends in a taverna and enjoying good food, an Estonian

will probably do sport or make gardening work. I think the

Greeks are better able to enjoy life. In Greece I learned to

be more easygoing, freer and happier.

Greeks seem to have an important sense of

belonging; they value the interaction and pleasant

feelings experienced by others, especially being together.

I experienced this in the Open Psychology Center. A visit

to this institution was for me the most interesting and

those in need. We never imagined that there would be

so many volunteers, and this was impressive. We had the

chance to learn about the problems and issues that mark

the lives of people in Greece.

We also did a lot of cultural events as sightseeing,

participated in Greek concerts, invited to private dinner,

parties, to taverns, to cafes, and we had the chance to see

different parts of their country.

At all times we felt embraced and well received in the

host country. Living with a host family was very

important because we felt welcome and at home with

wonderful people with whom certainly we will always

keep in touch.

We want to suggest that they should include among

agency visits, a visit to the school of social work and

perhaps some course hours in social work to understand

the operation and process of social work training in

Greece. We believe it would be very enriching for all the

participants.

To everyone involved in this program we say,

“Congratulations and always continue with this because

the exchange of experiences among participants and

institutions certainly enriches not only the profession,

but the expansion of knowledge between countries.”

C.I.F.

CIF Hellas PEP 2013 group photosI participated in the Greek CIF program because I

wanted to see how the welfare system works in a

different culture from Estonia. For me it is exciting to see

the differences, to better understand our place in the

world and expand my understanding of life.

I knew previously that the Greeks are open, friendly

and kind, but I was surprised at their great hospitality –

noticing the needs of others and willingness to share

their resources. I experienced the program organizers

commitment to the program participants feeling well.

I was very amazed by the fact that many institutions

we visited work with a lot of volunteers. At some

institutions there were more volunteers than the

workers. For example, one church organization has 160

employees and 4,000 volunteers. There are few

volunteers in Estonia. I think the Greeks are willing to be a

volunteer, because they are more oriented to the

collective well-being, and Estonians are more

Greece and EstoniaGreece and Estonia

– Comparing

Social Services

– Comparing

Social Services

By Jane Kants, CIF Estonia, Social Worker, Psychologist

Estonia

useful because I realized that people with mental health

problems are often associated with loneliness and a lack

of social skills. I was surprised that the main working

method was group work, regardless of the patients'

problems. Usually Estonian psychologists do individual

therapy and they use group work only for certain cases.

The Greek Open Psychology Center offers patients the

opportunity to belong somewhere; they create a

community where patients can learn to cope better with

others. The Center provides the opportunity to belong to

a community, when it is not possible in real life.

I noticed that in Greece the common people and

social workers take responsibility for solving the

problems of others. The Greeks are sensitive to others

problems; they live more by heart, compared to

Estonians. Social workers are dedicated and work long

hours, but that is not enough, because the leaders and

the politicians do not take responsibility. For example,

one local government pays every month big rent, but

they do not give any money for social programs. I noticed

that most of the welfare work is made by the NGO and

private institutions, but the state system is weak.

C.I.F. W o r l d N e w s Page 11

It seems to me that Greece has good laws, but no one

is responsible if the laws are enforced or how they work.

In Estonia the state officer takes more responsibility and

control; the laws are enforced. Estonia has a strong

welfare system. Social workers must follow certain rules

and guidelines. Sometimes the rules are too rigid, and it

interferes with people helping. It seemed to me that the

child protection worker in Greece tries to solve the

problem of the child as possible. In Estonia, the child

protection worker must solve the child`s problem. If this

is not possible, then the worker must collect a lot of

material, in order to prove to the court that is necessary,

to take away parental rights and put the child in a

children's home or foster family.

It seems to me that one of the reasons of the crisis in

Greece is that politicians and state officers are not

responsible for what they do. Ordinary people become

involved in problem solving, but it is not so effective if the

state does not have good system, strategy and plans. I

think that Estonians should be more flexible and Greece

more systematic, then both countries are more balanced.

n April 2013 two social workers from Scandinavia,

one from Finland and one from Norway, met in Israel.

The reason which brought these two women

together, who have never met before, was a CIF

exchange program. Here are some thoughts about that three

week period spend in beautiful Israel.

Because of the timing we were able to take part of

Holocaust Memorial Day, Remembrance Day, and the

Independence Day. All these events were really emotional

and gave us a deep experience about the history and culture

of Israel. The culture and the Jewish history and the religion is

seen everywhere you go, it is like the past and the present are

shaking hands all the time.

We were expecting to see and listen to the voices of

Israelis and Palestinians social workers and different agencies.

It was a pity that we only got to know the Israeli side. But

except from that we can say that all the visits we made and all

the people we met were totally overwhelming.

The plan was actually not to write about the Israel /

Palestine conflict, but it seems impossible not to touch this

subject. We where a bit surprised about the one sided victim

focus perspective from the Israeli people. It makes it

impossible to discus the subject, because most Israelis really

only focus on themselves as victims in the situation and

defenders of the state and not as subjects with actions in the

conflict. And it also seems that the further away from areas

with the bombings people live, the more anxiety they are. We

don´t have any good solutions for this, just observations that

C.I.F.Page 12 W o r l d N e w s

make us wonder…

We would like to point out few agencies / visits such

as the Glickman Center i.e. Violence Prevention Center &

Women's shelter in Tel Aviv, “On the Couch” group

treatment session in Jerusalem and the urban kibbutz in

Sderot, where we also heard about the “Other Voice.”

We will always remember that at the same time we were

in the Glickman Center the Ministry of Social Affairs

happened to pop in too. Nevertheless can't we forget

about a short, unexpected meeting with famous singer

David D'or in Jerusalem.

One of the reasons why CIF were founded in the first

place was to encourage social workers from different

countries to get together with the goal that the horrors

of the Second World War would never happen again. As

a social worker you have a moral and ethical duty to

explore the surrounding society, question its practices

but also reveal all the practices that have been shown

and proved to be good ones. By taking part of this

exchange program we managed to fulfil, maybe just a

little bit, CIF's original goal. We managed to increase our

professional knowledge and also expand the way of

thinking. Life is not just black and white; it also has some

shades of grey. Living with host families gives you much

better picture about the Israeli way of living than living in

hotels. Maybe the most valuable conversations we had

were in host families.

Overall those three weeks spent in Israel were an era

in our lives we will never forget. It is touching to realize

how much effort the voluntary members of CIF Israel are

putting on in this program. Being able to see many places

and meeting different people in Israel were the essence

of the program. It is difficult to put in words all that we

experienced so until we meet again: Shalom Y'all!

**Written by Kaisa, Finland and Linda, Norway

Contact Persons for Countries without a Branch OfficeAzerbaijan

Brazil

Luxemburg

Madagascar

Ms.Fatima Azizova

and

-

-

+ Marilda de Rezende,

Praça Benedito Calixto, 186 ap. 85

05406-040, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

Phone: +55-11-3088-8406

E-mail:

José Pereira de Souse

QI 27 Bloco 10, Apt 611

71060 270 Guará II, Brasilia DF Brazil

Phone: +055 61 3567 9295

E-mail:

- Ms. Anne Botzem; 33, rue Jean Bertels;

L-1230 Luxemburg

E-mail:

Mr. Theodoric Rajaonary, Block 15,

porte 5, 67 ha North West, 101 Antananarivo,

Madagascar

Phone: +261- 20-22 28799 (office); +261- 20-24 525

azizova.fatima@gmail.com

marilda.regende@uol.com.br

josw.angical@hotmail.com

anne.botzem@ltc.lu

86 (home); +261-3311-246 27 (mobile)

E-mail:

Mr. Abdel-Aziz El Boudiri, 390 Hay Kawtar,

Route Taza, Oujda 60040, Morocco

Email:

- Ms. Tajreen Midhat

Email:

Dr. Mohammed Alami, P.O. Box 19762,

East Jerusalem, Israel

Mobile: +972 52 72 555 20

Email: Skype: mdalami

Ms. Maria José Sánchez Tera, Spain

E-mail:

Ms. Ya-Chuan Hsu c/o Taiwan Association of

Social Workers, 6F., No 2, Sec. 1, Zhongshan N. Rd.

Zhongshan Dist., Taipei City 10441 Taiwan

Phone: +886-2-23711714*10 (work); Fax: +886-2-

23712881

E-mail:

-

-

-

-

theo.doric2525@yahoo.com

elboudiri@hotmail.com

tajreen.midhat@hotmail.com

mdalami@gmail.com

mjtera@gmail.com

eliza@tasw.org.tw

Morocco

Pakistan

Palestine

Spain

Taiwan

Status 31 October 2013/mc

30th CIF International Conference

by CIF Turkey

30th CIF International Conference

by CIF Turkey

The tale of the

30th CIF International Conference

by CIF Turkey

'Encounters in a Global World:Threats and Opportunities for Social Workers

and Human Service Professionals'3-8 June, 2013 Ankara, Turkey-

C.I.F. W o r l d N e w s Page 13

t has been 3 months since the 30th CIF

International Conference was organized by

CIF Turkey. As the organizing team, we would

like to have a short overview of the

conference process in general.

Actually, the journey of the 30th CIF

International Conference started in 2011 in

Cyprus Conference; as it was clear that CIF Turkey

would be the next organizer!

As an enthusiastic branch, who is willing to

organize a good conference, we started to think

about the organization of the teams and the

conference process soon after. In need of

brainstorming, lots of questions popped up at the

beginning. 'What would be the conference theme?', 'What

should be the first step?', 'How many subcommittees

needed?', 'How would we form the committees?', 'Do we

have enough people to organize this huge conference?'

and many more… Over time, besides finding answers to

above questions, we would discover that all together we

were through a journey, exploring ourselves as a team,

realizing our strengths and weaknesses, and learning from

each.

As there were only a few members of CIF Turkey who

attended previous CIF conferences, in need of an

enlightening source, we first translated the 'Conference

Guidelines' into Turkish to be able to comprehend better

and not to miss any specific details. Through the

organization process, it was the main source whenever we

were in need of clarification. Just after, the theme

'Encounters' emerged. The first grand meeting was held in

Ankara and we 'officially' started the organization process

in January 2012. After that, five more grand conference

organization meetings were held, either in Ankara or

Istanbul with all members across Turkey. Eight committees

were formed in total: Academic Planning Committee,

Social and Cultural Committee, Financial Committee, Youth

and Volunteers Committee, International Relations

Committee, Agency Visits Planning Committee, Logistics

Committee and Public Relations and Media Committee.

After the organization schema was clarified, local

meetings were held, lots of e-mails and workload followed.

C.I.F.Page 14 W o r l d N e w s

vulnerable groups are given service by the new Ministry

of Family and Social Policies, however depending on not

citizenship rights perspective but due to the

'religious/charity' logic.

Project. The

panel was enriched by the contribution of Bogaziçi

University Peace Education, Application and Research

Center. Members of the center, Fatos Erkman, Nur Bekata,

Maggie Pinar, Gamze Sart and Jennifer Sertel, presented

their annual workshop and

Professor Pýnar Uyan Semerci, in her speech entitled

'Turkey, A Country of Migration: Social Reflections and

Related Social Political Issues', gave us quite much

theoretical knowledge on different kinds of migrations,

then describing Turkish migration story in a historical

manner. After examining the current situation, she talked

about the ongoing processes of migration, different

socially disadvantaged groups that are affected by

migration, public policies against social problems arose

from poverty and other social exclusion issues.

The most con

and the importance

of primordial ties in Turkish society, in her speech entitled

'Encountering of Different Ethnic Groups in Turkey:

Reflection to Social Policy'. One of the most important

results she explored from her researches is that

intermarriages are very low between Turkish and Kurdish

citizens than it is supposed to be.

The 'Peace Panel' was one of the most important

components of the conference. As we all know, one of the

main results of encounters is conflict; unfortunately

besides the attempts for reconciliation also have the same

history. The project (and the process) started by CIF Italy

(mainly Mimmo Merola) was presented. Representatives

from Palestine and Israel, Nir Oren and Mazen Faraj shared

their experiences of Peace and Reconciliation

the interesting findings on

troversial issue resulted from encounters

is ethnicity problems. Professor Ayºe Gündüz Hoºgör, one

of the pioneer sociologists who carry out researches on

inter ethnicity marriages, firstly focused on the social and

cultural ties that keep society together

After online registration process started, direct contact

and one-to-one interaction with participants motivated

and stirred up the team much more! Each time new

questions arised, new solutions were tried to be found,

website updated, World News texts prepared! We got

support from previous CIF conference organizer friends

whenever we needed!

hen we were ready at the airport to welcome EC

members to the conference venue, Ankara Büyük Anadolu

Hotel. EC meeting was held on 30th and 31st May, 2013.

Followed by BD meeting on 1st, 2nd and 3rd June

afternoon, during which the agenda was quite busy an

afa Dernek, CIF Turkey

Honorary president Nüket Atalay and CIF president Edna

Bar-On, cheerful 'Sevda-Cenap and Music Foundation'

Women Chorus left their mark on the welcoming

ceremony! Thus, the 30th CIF International Conference

themed 'Encounters in a Gl

We are very glad to have so positive feedbacks by the

conference participants regarding the keynote speakers

and plenary sessions. Professor Ayse Bugra, in her speech

entitled 'Social Policy Change and the Current Problems of

Social Welfare Provision in Turkey', gave us a general

outlook of social security system in Turkey. She talked

about its beginning, main characteristics and changes of

the system in a historical perspective. Focusing on the

current functioning of the social policy institutions, she

pointed out people out of formal employment sector, that

is, people dependent on social assistance; special needy

groups like elderly and/or disabled and also all other

Time flied fast and it was already the end of May-2013

w

d

many critical topics were discussed and decisions were

taken.

The majority of conference participants had arrived

before the Opening Ceremony of the first day of the

conference, 3rd June, 2013. After the welcoming speeches

of CIF Turkey president Must

obal World: Threats and

Opportunities for Social Workers and Human Service

Professionals' officially started!

C.I.F. W o r l d N e w s Page 15

buses, the next stop was Ankara Castle. This part of the

tour was quite challenging for attendees due to some

organizational problems and we would like to thank all

participants for their patience and understanding!

We realized that time passed amazingly fast when it

was already 7th June, the last day of the conference! A

short BD meeting for new EC elections and conference

summary panel followed by the General Assembly, during

which the critical voting process for the amended statutes

was carried out. After the Old & New EC Meeting, Closing

Ceremony started and following 'The Joy of Life' Dance

Ensemble show, farewell speeches with very nice

feedbacks regarding the conference pursued.

8th June, Saturday morning was the farewell time.

Some participants headed either through Cappadocia,

Ephesus and Istanbul post-tours, or self-organized Turkey

trips, or directly back home.

For CIF Turkey team, it was such an enriching week of

togetherness full of sharing and exchanging, in every

activity. Either during Market of Nations evening or while

the group photo is taken, there was full of energy reflecting

CIF spirit which made us enjoy every moment despite the

workload. On the side, a very important component of the

Conflict Resolution Skills Building for

Turkish, Greek and Cypriot Youth.

Besides the keynotes and plenary sessions,

interesting workshops and oral presentations

were held on 'Diversities, Identities, Isolation,

Inclusion, Discrimination, Crisis Intervention,

Therapeutic Use of Farming Purposes,

Encounters with Disasters, Conflicts, Children

In Conflict Environment, Refugees, Dementia,

Disabilities, Schizophrenia, Sexual Behaviour

Issues, Conflict Resolution Skills, Interviewing

Techniques, Communication, Family Violence,

LGBTQA, Hate Crimes, Human Trafficking,

Adoption and Foster Care, Bilingualism and

Reminiscence. There were two workshops, not academic,

but cultural, which attracted much attention: Turkish

Cuisine and Marbling!

The special occasion of CIF Turkey was the 20th

Anniversary celebrated on 4th June, Tuesday evening.

One of the founding members of CIF Turkey, Seyma

Dogramaci had a short speech referring the year 1993, the

birth date of CIF Turkey. All together we sliced the

anniversary cake, sang birthday songs and besides

celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 1963 CIP group

with small presents. It was such a special time for CIF

Turkey to celebrate the 20th anniversary with the whole

CIF family! Ankara University Engineering Faculty Folk

Dance Group had a short show illustrating various regions'

dance practices of Turkey, after that, wine and music

followed.

On 6th June, Thursday morning, 17 different social

work related agencies were visited by the participants. In

general, we got positive feedback that the agency visits

were in congruent with the conference theme, diverse and

interesting. Following the lunch in Anitpark, Ankara

sightseeing tour started with a visit to Anitkabir. After a

glance to the new town and old town with sightseeing

C.I.F.Page 16 W o r l d N e w s

person to person respect and international

understanding for peace, CIF family was in the context of

discussing a simultaneously actualizing social process,

sharing with us their worries and excitement.

We all had chance to read each feedback provided and

would like to thank you all for genuinely asserting your

pleasure, satisfaction and warmly expressed criticisms.

CIF Turkey team is honored to be the hosting branch of

the 30th CIF International Conference, hosting around 180

CIF friends from 27 different countries. Thank you to the

whole CIF family for being our guests in Turkey. As the

whole team, we're looking forward to coming together with

you in future gatherings and conferences.

CIF Turkey Team

use of web and electronic communication was not yet born.

Nowadays and thanks to the new technology, the wholeworld has become a small village and people can chat and talkjust like they are sitting at home, ”Encounters in a global world”CIF conference theme in Ankara June 2013 reflects this.

Since my participation in the USA CIP Programs 87/88, I hadthe chance to attend the CIF international conference held inParis 1991 and got to know the objectives and the principles ofCIF International, and starting from 1992 Moroccan firstparticipants started joining annually CIF exchanges programmesin France. Since then 25 participants from different parts of thecountry have taken part in CIF France up to 2013. We are fullymotivated from now on to acquire more members and peopleworking in the social field and in educational institutions andencourage professionals to apply for the CIF/CIPExchangePrograms.

The language required in France is French and most-if notall- Moroccan social workers and youth leaders can only speakFrench beside the mother language Arabic. It had been verydifficult for the Moroccan CIF participants to be gatheredbecause of different reason BUT the idea to create a CIF branchin Morocco has always interested everybody but seemed to me

A REPORT ON CIF CONFERENCE

organization team, the young volunteers from

different universities and departments; most of whom are

future social workers, made the team much stronger and

eligible to share the workload and enjoy the whole process

more. We thanked them, also listened and got their

feedbacks and glad to hear they enjoyed the conference,

happy to join and be part of an international setting. After

all, besides they express their will to engage in

intercultural settings more in the future, they assert they

were highly professionally motivated, as well.

An important experience during the conference week,

was the accompanying Gezi protests and the police

intervention in whole Turkey. As a group of social workers

and related areas professionals, coming together to

contribute to bridging and appreciating differences,

Warm greetings to all of you and to all CIF-friends in

different countries

Having taken part in the CIP one year programme in twoaffiliate of the USA: Denver (DIP) Colorado and Philadelphia(IPX) Pennsylvania during 1987/88 when I was a young socialleader working for a non NGO having as objective, theeducation, coverage and the social integration of physicallyhandicapped children and teenagers in Morocco. Thisexperience in the US had changed my life completely and it wasa very interesting and fruitful training on the cultural,professional and also on the personal levels... Starting frommeeting hundreds of participants from all over the worldsharing the same hotel in New York city on arrival andWashington DC on departure I remember that all participantswere allowed to visiting UN building, famous universities andeven congress .In Philadelphia, I remember Goldarisa Ryce,former USA foreign human services administration, had made aspecial visit to CIP participants under the supervisor of WinnieLanoix (IPX Executive Director) and during the CIF conference inAnkara, I was very sorry to hear from CIP President Ms LisaPurdy that Winnie passed away.(God bless her soul). In Denverthere were 11 participants and 22 in Philadelphia.unfortunately in the years of the eighties of last century, the

CIF France friends in Ankara Market of nations (Moroccan items)

C.I.F. W o r l d N e w s Page 17

Aziz & Maria / dinner farewell party

Executive committee & Board

of Directors members Ankara

Voting at BD meetings in Ankara.. Photo of some CIF members Ankara

Turkish CIF Team conference entertainment

The 7 main themes were: Diversity and IdentityDiscrimination - Conflicts and Violence - Hate CrimesReconciliation - Internet Abuse - Human Trafficking andRefugees

One of the best presentations I was fascinated by was thepeace panel and the contribution of one Palestinian and oneIsraeli, both from different background, who work together ontheir peace project to end violence and promote peace andreconciliation.

As we were at Casablanca international airport and Ataturkairport in Istanbul, we found out that “Moroccan Royal Air” and“Turkish Airways” have the same weekly itinerary of taking offand landing both directions like bananas' which is a true feelingof friendship and trade vision and no visa needed between thetwo countries. Arriving in Ankara from Istanbul on Saturday 1stof June very early morning, we felt welcomed by CIF Turkey andgot transported to BUYUK ANADOLU HOTEL.

That the proposed next general meeting ofestablishing a CIF Moroccan branch is going to have thepresence of at least 5 members if not 25 former participants

That our exchange programmes can begin hostingfrom 2 to 4 candidates and gradually develop in the best way wecan within our own resources and culture.

That a partnership is concluded between CIF Franceand CIF Morocco according to CIF statutes

That CIF Morocco can organise its first internationalconference in Marrakech late twenties

And finally we hope that CIF Morocco will have a longand rich life with active members in the North of the Africancontinent.

My hopes for the near future are:

Kind regards from

Aziz ELBoudiri.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Palestinian statement Israeli statement

that nobody wanted to take to undertake this task and beresponsible and devoted to CIF duties; in this perspective Ihave been the coordinating contact person of CIF Internationaland continued to act as a CIF CP in Morocco till the foundationof CIF branch, with commitment.

It is my pleasure to say that it has been very encouraging tosee the CIF France cooperating in this level and we areexpecting the visit of Mireille Boucherin 2014, (a well knownwoman of CIF France in Morocco) hoping to start a countrybranch. My participation in the CIF conference in Turkey gaveme a great opportunity to see old and new friends from aroundthe world.... and Maria and I are very grateful to CIF ExecutiveCommittee members and above all the President of CIFInternational Edna Baron and the Treasurer of CIF InternationalMaria GUDAT who have become close friends, for inviting us tobe part of Board of Directors group meetings discussions onSaturday and Sunday before the conference opening ceremonyon Monday third of June; first as CIF members and second asobservers without having the right to vote at BD decisions butallowed to do so at the general assembly, according to the CIFInternational Statutes.

I would also deeply express my thanks for being granted to

attend the conference and its unforgettable event in Ankaraand Istanbul.

Talking about the CIF conference programmes in Ankara, Iwould say that all the Main topics of the conference had beenvery interesting and we had the opportunity to discover howsocial services run and how social workers carry out theirprofessional activities in Turkey which is more than a bridgebetween continents.

C.I.F.Page 18 W o r l d N e w s

300

National Branches and CIPUSANational Branches and CIPUSA September 2013September 2013

NETHERLANDS:

NORWAY:

RUSSIA:

SCOTLAND (UK) :

SLOVENIA:

SWEDEN:

SWITZERLAND:

TURKEY:

UNITED STATES:

CIP/USA:

President: Ms. Mieke Weeda; Email: mieke.weeda@gmail.com;

Jagersdreef 142, 3972 XH Driebergen-Rijsenburg, The Netherlands : Phone: +31

343 520986 : E-mail: Website:

President: Ms. Signe Skare; Address: P. B. 7015 St. Olavsplass, 0130

Oslo, Norway; Phone: +47 950-12874 ;E-mail: . E-mail:

website:

President: Ms. Galina Kurganova; 190008, Saint Petersburg, mailbox

177, Russia; Phone: +7 812 714 05 86; Mobile +7 911 919 99 70: Phone/Fax

+7 812 713 1425; E-mail:

President: Ms. Anne Robertson ; 3 Main Street Almondbank

Perth, PH1 3NJ, Scotland phone : +44 (0)1738 583073 E-mail :

President: Ms. Tatjana Prašnikar;Steletova cesta 9, 1241 Kamnik:

Phone: 051 330 167;

(President) Mr. Jan Igefjord) c/o CIF-Sweden, Karlbergsvägen 80 nb

Ög, SE-113 35 Stockholm, Sweden Home adresse : Odensjö 20, 555 92

Jönköping, Sweden ; Home Phone : + 46 36 66474: E-mail:

Website: :

President: Ms. Elisabeth Fischbacher Schrobiltgen: Kronengasse

11, 5400 Baden, Switzerland Phone: ++41 (0)56 210 30 35 (home);: E-mail:

President: Mr. Mustafa Dernek;Strazburg C. No. 43 Maltepe - Ankara,

Turkey: Phone: + 90 532 435 68 86; . Fax +90 312 229 63 14 E-mail:

: Website:

President;Ms. Carolyn Sutton; Address:1245 Sugar Creek

Lane, Paris IL, 61944, USA; Phone: + 217 251 1522; E-mail:

President & CEO: Ms. Lisa Purdy Council of International Programs

USA; Address:100 North Main St., Suite #309, Chagrin Falls, OH 44022, OH

44113, USA; Phone: +440 247 1088 Fax: +440 247 1490; E-mail:

:

info@cif-netherlands.org www.cif-

netherlands.org

si.ska@online.no

cifnorway@yahoo.no www.cifnorway.com

cifrussia@mail.ru

anne.robertson@cifscotland.org.uk

tatjana.prasnikar@gmail.com

info@cif-

sweden.org www.cif-sweden.org

fischbacher@cif-switzerland.ch

cifturkey@cifturkey.org www.cifturkey.org

csutton@joink.com

lisapurdy@cipusa.org www.cipusa.org

AOTEAROA/NEW ZEALAND:

ARGENTINA:

AUSTRALIA:

AUSTRIA:

CAMEROON:

CYPRUS:

CZECH REPUBLIC:

ESTONIA:

FINLAND:

FRANCE:

GERMANY:

GREECE:

ISRAEL:

ITALY:

JAPAN:

KENYA:

KYRGYZSTAN:

LATVIA:

LITHUANIA:

NEPAL:

INDIA:

President: Ms. Sue Ross Address: 12 Ridge Valley

Drive, Browns Bay, North Shore 0630, New Zealand:Home Phone: 0064-9-

4783269 Mobile: 0064 212167392. E-mail: ;

: Secretary Glenys Roper. Website:

President:Ms. Silvia Nutter: Address: Araoz 2091 5 A C.P. 1425;

Buenos Aires, Argentina; Phone: +54-11-49833 E-mail:

President: Ms. Denise Grieshaber:Address: PO Box 6305, Halifax

Street, SA 5000, Australia; Phone: +61 8 8440 6774 (work); E-mail:

Fax: +61 8 8440 6840 Website:

President:Ms. Judith Lamatsch: Address: Bennogasse 8/17; A-1080,

Vienna, Phone: +43 1 408 39 98 E-mail: Website:

President: Mr. Kalle Albert Masango: P.O Box 525, Kumba,

Cameroon Phone: +237-77-623217; E-mail:

President: Dr. Maria Christopoulou; 14 Megalou Alexandrou Street,

2121 Aglantzia, Nicosia, Cyprus tel: 0035722 879888 Mob: 0035799660809

fax: 0035722 871932 e-mail:

President: Ms. Marketa Skalicka: Address: Voskovcova

1130/34, 152 00 Praha 5. Czech Republic: Phone:+ 420 2 414 41364 (h-

Prague), +420 40 6262363 (h-Pardubice), +420 2 248 26860 (work); +420

603 354 796 (mobile) E-mail:

President: Mr. Raul Kivi Official e-mail: :

President's e-mail addresses: Mobile phone: +372 56 62

8865: Official mailing address: Ilvese 34-4, 80037 Pärnu, ESTONIA: Website:

,

President: Mr. Leo Heikkilä: Address: CIF Finland, PB 152, 00531

Helsinki, Finland: E-mail: :

Phone-Mobile: +358 50 5748351:E-mail: Website:

President: Ms. Mireille Boucher: Address: c/o Marie Thérèse Martin,

CIF France, 99, rue Germain Baujard, 18400 Saint Florent sur Cher, France:

Phone/Fax: + 33 248 55 66 45 E-mail: iffrance@orange.fr

Website:

President: Ms. Inge Bierbrauer: Address: Sommerbergstrasse 4A,

34123 Kassel, Germany;: Phone:+ 49 561 525 582 E-mail:

Website:

President: Ms.Elisavet Bakagianni,elisavetb@gmail.com: Address: 60

Saradaporou st, 15562 Athens, Greece; Phone: +30-210-6461665 E-mail:

Website:

President: Dr. Edna Bar-on; 4 Achimeir Str., Tel-Aviv 69126, Israel;

Phone/Fax: 972 3 642 1204 ; E-mail: ;

;

President: Mr. Mimmo Merola Via Latina n° 63, 81055 S. Maria C. V.

(Ce), Italy Website: Phone and Fax: +39(0)823-798631;

E-mail: ;

President :Mr. Kazutoshi Takeuchi;Karashidane House, 75 Higashide-cho

;Kanshuji ; Yamashina-ku ; Kyoto, Japan 607-8216 Phone : +81-075 574-2800

;Fax : =81-075-574-0025 E-mail : ; Website :

President: Mr. Ronald Miller Mbehelo); Peruman House, 2nd Floor

Mburu Gichua Road::P.O. Box 10450-20100, Nakuru, Kenya Phone:+ 254 051

2212595; Mobile : 254 0721 357 168 E-mail:

President: Ms. Gulasel Nogoibaeva ; 200 Ahunbaeva str., Apt.

30, Bishkek 720038, Kyrgyz Republic. Mobile Phone: +996 555 771 105 671 ;

E-mail:

President: Ms. Ieva Antonsone; Lâèplçða street 59-19, Riga LV -1011,

Latvia ; Phone: +371 6701 2269 (work) ; +371 2940 3885 (mobile); Fax :

+371 670 12341 ; E-mail:

President:Ms.Diana Stankaitiene; Taikos pr. 76, LT-93200 Klaipeda,

Lithuania. Phone: +370 6844 6127; E-Mail: :

Fax : +41 (0) 56 210 30 36

President: Mr. Krishna Acharya: Address: P.O.Box No 8975, EPC; 6004

Kathamandu, Nepal: E-mail :

Phone: + 977-1-4783666 or + 977-1-4782111

President:Ms. Iva Athavia: A/6, 1st floor, Daruwala Housing Society, Dr.

D.B. Marg. Bombay Central; Mumbai-400008, INDIA

E-mail: : Phone:Mobile +919323780047

E-mail:

miskross@hotmail.com

cifanz@yahoo.com.nz www.cifanz.org.nz

cif2010argentina@gmail.com;

info@cifaustralia.org cifaustralia.org

cifaustria@yahoo.com

www.cifaustria.at

cifcam@yahoo.com

kdg@cytanet.com.cy

skalicka.marketa@volny.cz

mail@cifestonia.info

raul.kivi@lv.parnu.ee

www.cifestonia.info

leo.heikkila@welho.com info@ciffinland.org

www.ciffinland.org

mirboucher@aol.com www.cif-france.org

Info@cif-

germany.de www.cif-germany.de

cifhellas@cifhellas.org www.cifhellas.org

baroned@013.net.il

andedna.baron@cifinternational.com www.cif.org.il

www.cifitalia.it

mimmo@thelanguagecentre.it cifitalia@cifitalia.it

cifjapan08@gmail.com

http://cif-japan.papnet.jp

kenyacif@ymail.com

gulasel2004@yandex.ru

ciflatvia@gmail.com

cif.lietuva@gmail.com

cif.nepal2010@gmail.comor;

kirshna533@hotmail.com;

www.

ivathavia_17@yahoo.co.in

cif_india@yahoo.co.in

C.I.F. W o r l d N e w s Page 19

CondolencesCIF leadership has been notified of the recent

sudden death of Mr Marthen Mponda and his

wife's death one week later. This news comes

from Ignus Kalongola. Our sympathy goes out

to our Tanzania colleagues.

��������Good News from CIF USAFrom Carolyn Sutton, president CIF USA

We the CIF-USA have developed a website and it is up and

running! Our address is simply cif-usa.com. You may log on

by using . Go online and see what you

think for starters. We plan to add a resource page for news

from our members.We want to share our news to

encourage others to discover great opportunities through

CIF and develop world-wide friendships as we all have done.

www.cif-usa.com

As we go to press, the newly elected Executive CommitteeMember at Large representatives have accepted the following

responsibilities:Michael Cronin Development of new branches and maintain

the contact persons list.Rabia Õzbas Durak Professional Exchange Program (PEP)

coordinator, with special focus getting young people involved

in exchanges.

C.I.F.Page 20 W o r l d N e w s

We're on the Web!

www.cifinternational.com

In this Issue:In this Issue: read

This issue of CIF NEWS was designed and printed in Cyprus

by Gregory Hadjimichalakis, e-mail: hadjimichalakis@yahoo.gr

Message from the Editor

Presidents Message

30th CIF Conference

Countries «Talk»

Exchange Programs 2013

National Branches

2

2

3

13

18

19

The energy and enthusiasm for CIF on the part of my

partners on the 2013 election committee Agneta Björklund

(CIF Sweden), Suzanne Schorro (CIF Switzerland) and all those

CIF members from the Board of Directors (BD) and Branches

who supported the process by identifying and encouraging

potential candidates, made for a successful election this year!

Once again we met our goal of identifying qualified candidates

for each position prior to the beginning of the 2013

Conference in Ankara. And as a bonus, there were multiple

candidates for the member-at-large positions.

We said goodbye to those leaving the EC Edna Bar On

(Israel), Lollie Bailey-Nilsson (Sweden) and Maria Hierlinger-

Gudat (Germany), with our gratitude for their years spent

leading and moving the organization forward through

sometimes tedious discussions, steps forward and backward

to meet stated

MEMBERS-AT-LARGE: Michael Cronin, CIF USA (continuing),

Already this new EC leadership team prepares to take

charge of their responsibilities. In October, they met in France

at the home of newly elected president, Mireille Boucher, to

implement the transition and plans to move CIF International

Rabia Özbas Durak, CIF Turkey (new)

goals, solving serious problems while

maintaining their belief in achieving the values and mission of

CIF.

Congratulations to your new Executive Committee,

elected at the June 2013 BD meetingin Ankara, Turkey a good

mixture of new and continuing leaders who will serve in their

positions until the 2015 election as follows:

Mireille Boucher, CIF France (new)

Maria Christopoulou, CIF Cyprus

(continuing)

David Scheele, CIF The Netherlands (new)

Maria Gabi Kronberger, CIF Austria (continuing in

new position)

PRESIDENT:

VICE PRESIDENT:

SECRETARY:

TREASURER:

New and ContinuingMembers Electedto Executive Committee Team

New and ContinuingMembers Electedto Executive Committee Team

By Jane Ollendorff, Election Committee

New and ContinuingMembers Electedto Executive Committee Team

New and ContinuingMembers Electedto Executive Committee Team

into the future.

Two years in the life of CIF passes quickly, so we must

begin the 2015 election process today to consider our leaders

of the future. Even now, two years before the next

election,we know that we will need to fill openings of those

who cannot continue their position or on the EC, according to

our statutes (no more than four years in one position, and no

more than eight consecutive years on the EC). Maria

Christopoulou, our current vice president will have served

eight years on the EC and Michael Cronin, will have served

four years as member-at-large by 2015. Michael will be

eligible to continue on the EC in a new position.

The newly appointed Election Committee Suzanne

Schorro (CIF Switzerland) schorros@gmail.com and

ValterParve (CIF Estonia) valter@pc.ut.ee join me, Jane

Ollendorff (CIF USA) jane.franko@charter.net, to welcome

your suggestions of qualified candidates for the future. Let us

know your interest, thoughts and preferences by confidential

e-mail at any time during the next two years.

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