In last month’s issue we published information about FICE – the Federation Internationale des Communautes Educatives. It’s quite a mouthful , but put simply it is probably the biggest international professional association in the world for people working with children and young people.
It has National Sections in about thirty countries, but not in England. At present although the NCB has been acting as an Associate Member for some time, no organisation has taken up full membership on England’s behalf. What is more, there is virtually no one in England who is even an individual member of AIEJI – the International Association of Social Educators, which is the other large professional body working in the same field.
In short, England is fairly isolated from the networks of contacts which these organisations provide. However, a small group of people is meeting in March to act as the Shadow Board in refounding FICE-England. There is a longer list of people who are supportive and wanting to be kept in touch with developments.
Through its network FICE offers the opportunity to meet child care workers from other countries, to attend the biennial Congresses, to set up specialist conferences, to obtain publications, to make exchange visits, to set up transnational projects, and so on.
If you are interested in being kept informed of developments in FICE, email below. If you are interested in joining the Shadow Board, even better; there is still room for a couple of enthusiasts, so please get in touch.