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NEWS

   July 2007:         

 

SWEDEN MEETS COLOMBIA

ICDP Sweden invited Nicoletta Armstrong to hold an ICDP workshop in their country, and tell them about ICDP developments and ways of working  in South American countries. The event was held in the newly refurbished and beautiful ICDP centre in Vastervik, where participants gathered from different parts of Sweden. It proved to be an enriching experience; trying out some of  style exercises "Colombian style" brought an element of fun. The workshop was crowned by lovely food, great hospitality and wonderful scenery- photo below shows some participants during a walk:

 

 EVALUATION PROJECT IN NORWAY

A three year evaluation project, assessing the impact of the ICDP work in Norway on a national scale is in the process of being set up. The evaluation project will be led by Professor Lorraine Sherr, the Head of Health Psychology at Royal Free and University College Medical School in London.

                       

Photo: Lorraine (on the left) on her recent visit to Oslo where she worked with the ICDP team and ICDP treasurer Ylva Snekkvik (on the right) who will be also involved in the evaluation project.

 

PUBLIC PRESENTATION OF ICDP IN PORTUGAL

An ICDP presentation took place at ‘Tuatara Open Studio’, in Lisbon on the 22nd of June. This event sets the first step of the newly established Forum of Cultural Initiatives for Development and was attended by around 50 people, some from Portuguese institutions such as Casa Pia and Misericordia, universities and private social projects. There was great interest from the participants and possibilities of cooperation with ICDP were discussed aiming at establishing joint programmes.
 
The link between ICDP and Portugal is not a new one, as it started
almost 20 years ago, when ICDP future founders became involved with the development of the Alfragide community project that offered assistance to displaced families arriving from the Portuguese ex colonies. The problems arising from dealing with children at risk and the work developed to help them contributed as field experience to what would become the ICDP program.
 
           

          Photo left to right: Pedro Mendes and Karsten Hundeide

Karsten Hundeide, chair of ICDP gave an audio-visual presentation,
introducing the ICDP approach to training and the content of the ICDP
programme. The 3 dialogues of the ICDP programme were presented
with a moving film made with material from the ICDP projects in Africa.

Pedro Mendes, ICDP member, spoke after Karsten giving a more detailed account of the ICDP work carried out in Angola over a period of ten years as well as the more recent project developments in Mozambique and in the region. He also presented some results of a recent research study which revealed positive long term effects of the Alfragide project on the first group of children, after 20 years.

 

WORK WITH EX GUERRILLA FIGHTERS

In Bogota, Colombia, a pilot project which adapted the ICDP programme for use with 100 families of ex guerrilla fighters, has recently been evaluated as successful. As result ICDP Colombia is currently in process of signing a new contract with the Colombian government for a project which will reach 150 new families with children of young age. An interesting feature of this project is that the ICDP promoters will be persons selected from the families trained during 2006 and the task of ICDP will be to assist them and support their practical work with new groups of families.

An ex guerrilla thanked ICDP:  “It is only recently that I demobilised and I did it primarily because my daughter was suffering abuse by her step father. I was planning to kill him and that was all I could think of until I came to this programme, which changed the way I perceive the world. The mother gave me my daughter and now I look after her; my daughter means everything to me, she is the reason I live. I thank this programme because I did not know how to be a father and now I have received tools; and what I managed to put into practice has already given me results. I now know there is great love I can give.”

 

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