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For over 10 years, Families in Global Transition, Incorporated (FIGT) has been the global leader in cross cultural education and training to support the entire expat family. FIGT offers information-packed conferences and year-round benefits through its Associates Program and expanding educational web site.

As the leader of a global network, FIGT promotes the positive value of the international experience, and empowers the family unit and those who serve it before, during and after international transitions.

FIGT values the international experience. We believe in the capacity of the expatriate and repatriate family to transition successfully, and to leverage the international experience for all of its human and global potential.





The 12th Annual FIGT Conference: An Overwhelming Success

FIGT wants to thank all our sponsors, exhibitors, speakers, committee members and volunteers for what was a wonderful conference.

Here are just some of the comments from participants:

"I have never learned so much readily applicable information at a conference, nor met so many people I liked in one room. Indeed, I can't think of a single person I did not like at FIGT! I thoroughly enjoyed the conference and had to laugh when I felt like I experienced a bit of re-entry shock in coming 'home' to Boston." - Laura Saylor, Boston College
"I absolutely LOVED the conference...the cracker barrels were a lot of fun...the teen/parent panel was excellent."
"The FIGT conference gave all of us the impetus or reinforcement we need to support our expats and help them to rise above a life interrupted." - Marie Brice, Zen Compass
"what a great conference! I loved the small size, the warm welcome, the relevant topics and interesting people. It was inspiring to be surrounded by people who value and respect what I do. - Jennifer Recklet, MIT
"Enjoyed the conference and networking."

Speakers and attendees traveled from: Brazil, Switzerland, France, Japan, Germany, Thailand, Spain, Norway, Canada, Korea, China, England, The Netherlands, Argentina, and the United States

And included speakers and participants from all sectors who support families globally transitioning: Conoco Philips, Prudential, Coca Cola, The World Bank, U.S. Department of State, various U.S. American Universities, U.S. Embassy Paris, University of Switzerland, Shell Outpost, missionary workers, New International School of Thailand, writers, University of London, Schlumberger, coaches, U.S. Department of Defense, publishers, corporations, MIT, Crown Relocations, international schools, freelance journalists and many more who empower individuals living abroad.

2011 Annual FIGT Conference: Washington DC Metro Area

STAY TUNED for the exact dates and location of the 13th Annual FIGT conference to be held in March in the Washington DC USA metro area.

FIGT Trailblazers

   

"Robin Pascoe and Jo Parfitt receiving FIGT Trailblazer awards at the 2010 Annual Conference in Houston, TX. Video taken by Danielle Barkhouse (http://globalgirl.ning.com/)"

  • Expat life, expat death

    By Apple Gidley (2010 Conference Plenary Speaker and Long Time FIGT Friend)
    Published In Telegraph: 9:33AM BST 19 May 2010

    The list of where I've been is long, from Papua New Guinea to Equatorial Guinea with many countries in between. It's been a nomadic life that started with my first posting - at one month old - to Kano in Northern Nigeria: a life of expat living. An exciting and privileged life full of different cultures and peoples, a roaming life.
    But for the expat, dying is different.
    Distance precluded the drama of my grandparents dying. Forty years ago there was never any question of flying back from the depths of Africa. Flowers were sent, quivering lips stilled and life in a foreign land continued stoically.
    But with the jet age has come the need to attempt to get "home" in time for death. Assuming, of course, it is anticipated. When it is not the guilt of living la vida loca is palpable.
    And death sometimes occurs the other way around. When the expat is doing the dying, the agony is often deeper and angrier, for those at "home".
    Along with the ease of travel has come an expectation that we can get wherever we need to be with the swipe of a credit card and a hastily packed carry-on. But life and death don't always play fair.
    For the past few years, I have been part of what the experts call "the sandwich generation". My children became young adults based in England along with their five grandparents, and we were across the Atlantic.

    Read More

  • Advice for families on the move

    By Jo Parfitt (Telegraph, 26 May 2009)
    img1 (125K) At a Families in Global Transition conference, a 17-year-old is an inspiring example of what can become of the children who grow up overseas.

    I recently attended the 11th annual Families in Global Transition (FIGT) conference - an idea which was first planned at a kitchen table in Indianapolis. That kitchen table belonged to author and Cross-Culture Kid (CCK) expert, Ruth van Reken. The first conference attracted 80 delegates but this year's boasted over 200. Almost half were first-timers, drawn from a mix of military, corporate, missionary, education and diplomatic backgrounds. Many were in the business of providing relocation services and support to transitioning families. Many were part of those families.

    FIGT is always an uplifting experience and this year, though the conference was in Houston, Texas, it was testament to the global reach of the organisation that each of the plenary sessions included one person living in Europe. The three-day conference also offered more than 40 break-out sessions to choose from.

  • Lost In Space And Global Transition: Is There A Difference?

    img1 (125K)By Kevin McNulty I remember that when I was a young boy watching the TV series 'Lost In Space,' I would get this empty feeling in my stomach as I contemplated how lonely it must be out in space. No contact with the real world, stuck in a strange place among alien creatures and in need of being rescued. How prophetic those feelings turned out to be as now many years later, I've actually 'been there, done that.' Well, it wasn't while living in space, but while living in foreign countries and among different cultures. Each time I moved to a different country, I experienced the same empty and lost feeling inside.

  • Traveler's Wife Shares Own Story With Those Like Her

    img1 (125K)By VALERIE SWEETEN, Houston Chronicle Correspondent Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Linda Mello loves being in America where insects and food are easily identifiable. Mello's life lessons were challenging when they lived in Brazil and rural Mexico. Difficulties in shipping, food identification, electricity, languages and traveling locally were unexpected by Mello, a Clinton, Ohio native. Her trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1998 was complicated because of the simple things most Americans take for granted. "Life is very different there. You live in a high rise with no yards. I was on my own with my daughter, who was 2. The really hard part was waiting for your things to arrive by boat from the United States," said Mello, who lived in Brazil for one year.