| Conference
Theme
and Speakers
An important part of personal balance
is to have a feeling of home and family. These feelings
should be part of every child ’s rights, regardless of
where he or she lives. At the IFCO 2002 Conference we will
value these basic feelings. We will hear about, learn and
discuss what makes a foster child feel comfortable during
childhood, among the family and in his/her own life.
The main goal of the IFCO 2002
Conference is to assist you in helping children placed in
family care to feel comfortable with their lives.
Feeling at home during childhood
“Can I really love all my parents?
What does attachment mean?
Do adults really listen to me?
Do they know how I feel?
Do you want to know what we really think?”
The chance to be loved and heard
enables a better childhood. On our first conference day we
focus on that topic. In foster care we meet children whose
safe and normal development has been disturbed. We cannot
change their difficult pasts, but we can improve their
chances to have a better future and a better life with
fulfilled relationships. What factors in childhood are most
protective? How can we enable a normal, stable childhood for
a foster child? Do we really listen to our children so that
we know what they think? When does a child feel comfortable,
“at home ”, during childhood?
Feeling at home within a family
“What does family really mean?
Is my foster family a good family?
What can I do when things change in my family?
Do I have to feel close to my foster siblings?
How long does it take before I feel at home in my new
family?”
On the second day we focus on the
family. We ’ll figure out what kind of support system a
family is for a foster child. We will hear how changes
affect a family and its relationships. What does it mean to
be a married couple and at the same time parents of both
foster and biological children?
How does a foster child see his/her
role in he new family? What differences are there for
biological children and foster children? What is it like for
a sibling? We will also hear how men and women differ from
each other in their everyday family life. And is family some
thing that children in other forms of care miss most?
Feeling at home with your own life
“I would like to have a good job
and a family.
I want to be happy!
I want to learn to live my own life.
I want to be in my own home ”.
The last day of he conference we will
hear about how a foster child grows up to into an adult who
is able to build his/her own good, independent life-style.
What kind of roots and feelings must a child possess to be
able to successfully be an active member of society, form
his/her own family, to be a parent and feel secure within
his/her own live.
Amongst the keynote speakers are:
-
Mirjam Kalland PhD, Researcher,
Finland
-
Toril Havik Chief Psychologist of
Center of Child Welfare Research, University of Bergen,
Norway
-
Ingrid Höjer Researcher,
Department of Social Work, Gothenburg University, Sweden
-
Melina Voipio Dramaturgic, Finland
-
Malcolm Hill Professor, Director of
the Center for he Child &Society, University of
Glasgow, UK
-
Olga Svjagintseva Dean, State
Pedagogical University of Karelia Republic of Karelia,
Russia
Further
information:
IFCO 2002
Tampere Conference Service Ltd.
P.O.Box 630
FIN-33101 TAMPERE
FINLAND
tel. +358 3 3664400
fax +358 3 2226440
email ifco@tampereconference.fi
homepage www.tampereconference.fi
Hosted
by:
Perhehoitoliitto ry
Kauppakatu 26 A 2
FIN-40100 Jyväskylä
FINLAND
tel. +358 (0)14 3344900
fax +358 (0)14 3344910
email toimisto@perhehoitoliitto.fi
homepage www.perhehoitoliitto.fi/phengl.htm
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