Dear colleagues, dear participants of the 34 FICE Congress,
I would like to welcome all participants in the FICE International 34th World Congress in Tel Aviv, Israel. The Congress organizers are composed of the Israeli members of FICE International, The Israeli Public Forum for Youth Village & Boarding schools for Children at Risk, the Ono Academic College, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services, together with a large group of Israeli NGOs, all active in the field of education and care of children and young people who need out-of-Home care. We are very happy and honored to have the opportunity to host you in this Congress in Israel. Many Israeli professionals from a large variety of residential programs, policy makers, researchers, civil society organizations and care leavers will be represented here, together with participants coming from many different countries. I expect the mutual exchange of knowledge to benefit all of us who face the challenges of the field of education and care of children and young people who need specialized services, both in out-of-home care and in community-based programs.
The theme that was chosen for the congress is relevant to the many societies worldwide that are becoming more and more multicultural. The challenge of our era is to guarantee "Better Future Opportunities for Children and Young People in Multicultural Societies." On the Congress website, which will be operational in January 2019, you will find ongoing updates on the Congress and its contents. We are particularly happy that the European Union member states have selected "children without parental care" as the proposed theme for the 2019 resolution on the Rights of the Child. This would certainly be one of the focuses of our discussions and deliberations during the Congress. Other topics would be: residential care in various regions in the world, care leavers, refugee youth and unaccompanied minors, education and learning challenges of children and adolescents in care, staff training, just to name a few of them. The Congress program was developed by the scientific Committee chaired by Prof. Shalhevet Attar-Schwartz from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
During the congress we plan to attribute the FICE AWARD 2019 to a residential staff who was selected by the prize committee, for outstanding social initiatives aiming at empowering children and youth in alternative care. The criteria were elaborated by a committee chaired by Yoav Apelboim with Lia Meron, Dr. Alex Schneider and Yaron Braun from Israel. The FICE Award winner would be announced during next summer.
Hoping to see all of you in Tel Aviv in October 2019, in the Campus of the Ono Academic College.
On behalf of the Organizing Committee,
Prof. Emmanuel Grupper, Chairman
FICE International President and Professor at the Ono Academic College