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A showcase of FIGT Members' written work, focusing on the issues we study, the best practices we share, and the strategies we provide to support expatriates and cross cultural individuals and their families. Contributions are a privilege for Small Business and Corporate membership levels only and you can submit up to 3 posts per year. Please use our online form below to submit a blog for consideration or contact blogeditor@figt.org.
  • 10 Mar 2016 4:38 PM | FIGT Blog Editor (Administrator)


    By Kilian Kröll, FIGT Board President

    Opening Remarks March 10, 2016

    Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the 2016 Families In Global Transition annual conference. My name is Kilian Kröll, and on behalf of the board of directors and FIGT Netherlands, it is a distinct honor to welcome all 200 attendees, presenters, sponsors and FIGT members to what is promising to be a very special weekend. We have traveled from 6 continents and 36 countries to be here -- a feat that amazes me year after year. And whether you're a long-time FIGT friend struggling to fight off your jetlag, or you're a first-time attendee curious to see what the FIGT community might offer you in your hometown of Amsterdam -- welcome. 

    At last year's conference in Washington DC, we announced what I consider one of the organization's bravest decisions in its history: after 18 years of hosting meetings and conferences in the United States for globally mobile people and those working with them, we're getting out of our comfort zone. Thanks to the great work and enthusiasm created by our global affiliate groups, we're now holding our first conference not just outside of the United States, but in a country that has provided a safe harbor and pioneering services for expatriate families for decades. Coming to the Netherlands feels both exhilarating and like a home-coming. Thank you, FIGT Netherlands and all our local partners, for your gracious welcome to Amsterdam. 

    I am not going to lie -- moving a conference like ours, organized by volunteers spread across the globe, to a new location and culture has not come without its challenges. For some (Americans) it's learning to read the 24-hour clock; for others it's been programming speakers with different needs in a venue we'd never seen before. From my view, however, our biggest challenge has been not just to replicate a great conference program, but to transport the feeling attendees have become familiar with at FIGT -- feeling connected at a reunion of strangers; feeling expanded at a place for simultaneous professional and personal growth; feeling understood in a refuge for those who have trouble answering the question "Where is home?"

    The good news is that I alone cannot create this feeling -- it is up to each of us to take risks, move out of our comfort zones, strike up conversations and share and listen, make dinner plans with someone we just met, and connect with someone whose experience may seem quite different than our own. In our midst we have educators, artists, business owners, diplomats, parents, writers, academic researchers, accountants, missionaries, lawyers, coaches, counsellors, military and corporate employees, students and humanitarians -- all sharing in common: Empathy for, and Expertise about, crossing cultures and moving around the world. Two thirds of us are first-time attendees, half of us are FIGT members and 25% registered with an address in the Netherlands. As much as this conference is a reunion for some, it's a new beginning for all. 

    We chose this year's theme "Crossing Cultures: Bringing empathy and expertise to the evolving global family" to do several things:

    1. To explain who FIGT is and what we care about -- namely bringing together a group of experts with a PhD in Life, with a concentration in global mobility and crossing cultures. 

    2. To expand the conversation from conventional expat support, to include people in all walks of life transitioning globally, as well as those working with them. This includes all the types of families we serve at international schools as well as those who fall beyond that spectrum -- from involuntary migrants to global families of choice, with or without kids. 

    And 3. To set the tone for this conference -- we bring our best professional work to the table, in addition to an open heart, a calm ear and the willingness to let ourselves be changed by this three-day experience. 

    With that in mind, I encourage you to engage in rich conversations; ask "Where are you from?" and see where it leads; challenge the ideas you hear; share your own expertise; experience a new point of view; and help us transport the feeling of intellectual curiosity and a true welcome to our new home. 

    Thank you.

    Closing Remarks March 12, 2016

    Goedenmiddag, everyone! 

    As we wrap up FIGT16, I would like to share three lesser-known facts about me:

    1. As a native German and English speaker, raised by the sea, I subconsciously believe that I am automatically fluent in Dutch. Like, if someone asks me whether I understand Dutch, I say, of course! It’s just like German with English pronunciation and some “uis” and ggggs thrown in. However, the reality is that every time I am faced with Dutch people, I realize I don’t even know how to say, “Hello, how are you?” This makes me very sad. But right now there’s nothing I can do about it.

    Therefore I will not be holding my closing speech in Dutch.

    2. Even though I appear organized, I push every deadline. In some of my college courses I would have a 3-day grace period for the whole semester. The professors’ idea was that you could choose if you wanted to hand in one of your papers three days late, or three of your papers day late each -- but no more than 3 days in total for all papers that semester.

    Well, I decided to maximize that rule by parceling the 3 days into 72 hour-segments and essentially handed in every single paper 6-12 hours after the stated deadline. I was always meticulous about writing the exact delay on the top of the paper. And I always got away with it.

    What you may not know – and don’t tell anyone – is that in the fall of 2010, I submitted my very first FIGT proposal 6-12 hours late. By some technical fluke, the submission form was still active on the Monday after the Sunday deadline. I just thought, let’s see what happens! A few days later I got a phone call from Anne Copeland, the mastermind behind FIGT2011, who politely explained that really the only reason why she’s even looking at my proposal is because of the technical fluke, and she would have automatically dismissed it had I not proposed to speak on a topic that had never officially been on the FIGT program – namely how to support same-sex couples and LGBT families in global transition. She told me that she wasn’t sure how some people would react, but that she fully supported a discussion on this topic, as it was becoming increasingly relevant in the corporate, military and diplomatic sectors. 

    That year, Anne Copeland and I both took a chance. I had seven people at my Kitchen Table Conversation, all of whom knew way more than I did about this topic – but it was the start of a five-year relationship with this organization which has given me opportunities I would have never imagined at the time.

    3. The third lesser-known fact about me is that I love graduations. In North America they are referred to as commencements. In particular, I love commencement processions. This is when students receiving their diplomas from colleges and universities, walk in their caps and gowns down the college path, led by their professors dressed in colorful academic regalia, to take their seats for the bestowment of their degree. After the speeches that acknowledge the tremendous feat it took to get to this point, the ceremony ends with the professors and students receding back through the crowd of teary-eyed parents and family members, now ready to commence a new chapter in their lives.

    The dictionary definition of a “commencement” is literally

    1. the beginning of something.

    I get goose bumps when I think about what it took for everyone in this room to get to this final moment of the conference – and all the doors that are just about to open.

    At this moment, we are literally commencing new relationships, new projects, and refined visions for how we see the world and our place in it. I charge each of you to go forth and follow the path you are forging for yourself and those around you, to continue stepping outside the box of the familiar, to collaborate with people who share your passion, to ask for help when you know you don’t have the answer – Dutch lessons, anyone? – and to harness this powerful moment for a long time to come, and recall it every time you begin something, especially when you don’t know how.

    As Hermann Hesse wrote, “there is a magic in each beginning”

    -- thank you for letting me share this magical moment with you.

    Before I let you go, I want to remind you have time to linger until 4:30, and then we all have to exit the building for real. And as the last time standing up here in my representative capacity, I wish you all safe journeys home – wherever that may be and however you may define it – and see you again next year at FIGT17!

     

  • 05 Mar 2016 2:50 PM | FIGT Blog Editor (Administrator)

    by Karen Glerum*, Global Connection

    A Global Connection Needs Assessment is far from a standardised test, as expat partner Sylvain** discovered. “My consultant offered help that was based on what she learned about me, instead of scores and graphs.”

    Seeking advice
    Sylvain is a French professional living in Strasbourg (France). His wife, who hails from Italy, recently started working in Zürich (Switzerland) about 230 kilometres away. Sylvain is keen to join her there. He turned to Global Connection for advice on this international move. When he met with consultant Josien Berkenvelder*, he was pleasantly surprised: “We didn’t dive into the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or any other kind of psychometric questionnaire. Instead of putting me in a certain box, Josien took her time to get to know me. The conversation was really relaxed. It was based on trust.”

    Digging deep
    Like all Global Connection consultants, Josien has lived abroad herself. This helps set the tone for the Needs Assessments, which can be very intimate. There are smiles and occasionally tears. “As consultants, we don’t shy away from asking very personal, probing questions. We ‘respectfully dig deep’ to clarify your values, interests, objectives, and drivers. Why? Because the better we understand the expat partner, the better we are able to identify the support that is needed,” says Josien.

    Career options
    She put Sylvain in touch with career coach Anne Galloway*. Together, they explored both short and long term career perspectives. “It was very helpful,” says Sylvain. “It is always good to talk to people with experience to get a different point of view. I gained clarity about myself, and about what my wife and I are aiming for. It became apparent to me that Zürich will not be our last stop on the expat trail and that I have to find a way to shape a career that will accommodate for this.”

    Chance to be together
    Sylvain is staying put in France until a work opportunity arises that will allow him to follow his wife abroad. “My coach and I concluded that a job with a multinational company will be best for me. Not only because I enjoy working in an international environment and with people from different backgrounds, but also because such a company will offer the best chance for me and my wife to end up in the same place.”

    Outside the norm
    So for now, Sylvain and his wife are enjoying a long distance relationship. “We are not a typical couple,” he smiles. “We have an international outlook, we are both very career-oriented and we have had a long distance relationship before. But living apart should not be the norm for us. We should be together.”


    * Karen, Josien and Anne will visit the 2016 FIGT Annual Conference in Amsterdam on behalf of Global Connection (12 conference attendees).

    ** Name and some personal details changed at request of interviewee

    Adapted and edited from an original article, in Global Connection's media for spouses (B2B subscription).

    For more information: www.global-connection.info

  • 02 Mar 2016 11:05 AM | FIGT Blog Editor (Administrator)

    by Laia Colomer

     This is my first FIGT conference and I am hoping to explore the issue of the cultural heritage of global nomads together with all those attending the event. I am developing an academic post-doc research project on this issue, founded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 program. Because globalisation and mobility touches every corner of our lives, the topic is relevant and timely to the European Union, to community of heritage managers and researchers, and especially to any person embodying multiculturalism.

    My interest in this issue came from a more personal situation, and therefore I believe that the answer to that question may interest other global nomads and TCKs. I was raised in a bicultural and bilingual country (Catalonia). My passport does not account for this cultural diversity (Spanish). I lived in several countries during my academic and professional career: the UK, The Netherlands, Italy, and now Sweden. And my family is also touched by international mobility, either professionally or by adoption. When I moved to all these European destinations, my “neat” cultural roots changed thanks to encounters with other cultures and people. In this process, I had no doubts that my adult serial migration experience enriched my “original” cultural identity. But when I moved to Sweden with my internationally adopted child, I asked myself what cultural identity he would develop growing up with a restless mother. If we develop a cultural personality according to the inputs of our cultural environment and schooling process, what kind of cultural heritage will my son develop transiting in between, at least three cultures and languages? Then someone introduce me the TCKs, and my concerns move from being merely personal to being collective.

    Collective identity defines what we are socially and culturally, while cultural heritage provides (construct) the images of this cultural identity, either tangible (landscapes, monuments, objects) or intangible (skills, customs, traditions). The traditional role of cultural heritage is to evoke a common origin and a historical narrative in terms of national monuments and national histories. National heritage serves to define citizens’ cultural identity. But these items do not represent people affected by serial global mobility. This does not mean that neither tangible or intangible heritage has no meaning for them. Only that traditional forms of heritage that represent nation-state ideologies of collective memories are not applicable to their experience of living in between cultures and places. Instead, other forms of heritage need to be imagined. I invite TCKs and other global nomads who attend my Kitchen table session to imagine these other heritages.

     My cross-cultural heritage question began with my role as a mother and developed through my role as a heritage researcher. Though it begins as a personal story, I am aware that scholarly work also benefits the wellbeing of other people. Cultural heritage certainly offers people a potent way to connect to their collective past, as well as to build a collective identity. I hope cross-cultural heritage will empower the identity of the new community of global citizens: it provides a sense of belonging, and benefits TCK’s quality of life by representing their collective identities in materiality and place. 

    Dr. Laia Colomer is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Fellow at the Linnaeus University (Sweden). Her current research is focused on heritage as an identity experience for global nomad citizens in a cross-cultural context, and the use of heritage for the wellbeing of migrants and refugees. For more information see: http://laiacolomer.wix.com/cross-cultural

     


  • 28 Feb 2016 10:23 AM | FIGT Blog Editor (Administrator)

    By Dr Ute Limacher-Riebold 

    In two weeks, the FIGT conference will take place for the first time in Europe. Amsterdam is a truly international city, where 45 per cent oft he population are ethnic minorities coming from 180 different backgrounds.

    I found out about FIGT thanks to Ellen Mahoney, when she held a talk on TCKs in The Hague a few years ago. I had read about TCKs before and was very glad to find out (in my late thirties!) that there was a name for what I was my whole life. I am an ATCK or expat*-since-birth , raising my children outside of their parents' passport countries.

    The fact that I only lived in European countries so far will probably make me a European ATCK? – I usually don't like labels, but I find the discussion about TCKs, ATCKs, global nomads, expats, internationals etc. in the FIGT research group very interesting, and I appreciate the fact that the "box" is becoming more colourful and expansible. I am also intrigued by the recurrent number three that we can find in many kinds of definitions: Third Culture Kids, I am a Triangle, STARS (i.e Spouses Traveling And Relocating Successfully; the peaks are triangles), not to mention the three years itch many internationals have... – Aside from this more definitorial research at FIGT, it is the social and psychological aspect that fascinates me. Since a very young age I have seen families split, people getting divorced and children being shunted between two or more countries because the international life took a toll on them. The fact that some thrive in very difficult conditions, whereas others complain about the weather, the food etc. and struggle to accept diversity, brought me to study resilience and the mindset that leads people to fully embrace life even under difficult circumstances.  

    For more than 20 years I have helped internationals adjust and thrive abroad as a friend, a mentor, a teacher and a lecturer, in Switzerland, Italy and the Netherlands, before I turned my passion into my profession at Ute's Expat* Lounge. Like many other accompanying partners** I reinvented myself and decided to combine my expertise in linguistics, communication and the six languages I speak fluently to help internationals build bridges between the known and the unknown and find their very personal way to embrace and enjoy their international life.

    It will be my first FIGT conference and as a newbie I will do it the way "it all originated": with a kitchen table conversation. I am really looking forward to meeting like minded internationals and learn more about how we all contribute to help people understand that our international experience can be as normal and natural as any other if we realize that we are "united in diversity", quoting the EU motto. Because, like Pico Iyer (2013) (http://blog.ted.com/where-is-home-pico-iyer-at-tedglobal-2013/) said, if we all lived together, we would form "the fifth largest nation on earth".

    * I use the term expat in its strictest sense: ex "outside of" & patriam "father-country"/home country

    ** I prefer the term Accompanying Partner instead of Trailing Spouse, because I associate wheels with the term "trailing" and I don't think that one needs to be married to follow his or her partner abroad

     

    Dr. Ute Limacher-Riebold is German, and currently lives in The Hague. As an expat since birth, she has never lived in her passport-country. Her aim is to help internationals navigate their life abroad successfully. For more information see www.UtesExpatLounge.com


  • 19 Feb 2016 9:20 AM | FIGT Blog Editor (Administrator)

    by Karen Glerum*, Global Connection                 

    Whether you enjoy meeting strangers, depends as much on you as on them. Try to think positive about yourself and you may even come to relish the most dreaded question of all…

    To love or to loathe

    A British newspaper columnist asked successful professionals for advice on how to make it through a night of mingling with strangers at a festive party. She got a very mixed response: “Don’t go,” one actress simply said. “Take a good book and hide in the loo,” advised a celebrity chef. A playwright told her, “I used to be shy, but I’ve become more fearless about talking to people. I say: ‘I don’t know you, you don’t know me, that’s why we’re here.’”

    Your mindset

    “Whether you enjoy meeting new people has a lot to do with your mindset,” explains Global Connection consultant Karlijn de Broeck*. “If you go to an event and think: ‘Nobody will know me’, ‘Nobody will find me interesting’, then it is not going to work. If, on the other hand, you believe you are an interesting person and someone will enjoy your company, then you will have an entirely different experience. Luckily, people can improve their mindset. A life coach can help, by discussing the event in question, for example.”

    Feeling like a doormat

    Karlijn continues: “In my experience, the problem with meeting new people usually boils down to: ‘What will people think of me?’ Many expat partners particularly fear the question, ‘So, what do you do?’ They have often given up their job to move abroad, so what can they say? ‘I take my kids to school’ hardly seems a valid answer to them. It makes them feel like a doormat. I advise them to talk about what they do for fun, such as a sport, a hobby, volunteering. This steers the conversation into another direction, to a subject they can talk about with enthusiasm.”

    Changing perceptions

    The way you formulate your answer also influences people’s perceptions, says Karlijn. “A useful approach, for example, is to focus on who you help. Saying ‘I help at school with organising a fundraising event so they can extend the library’ or ‘I help my children to keep their native language skills on a par with their friends back home’ sounds much better than a plain ‘I look after my kids.’ Some people I work with find it hard to come up with a subject to talk about. But all of us have a passion that will help break the ice.”

    *Karen en Karlijn will visit the 2016 FIGT Annual Conference in Amsterdam on behalf of Global Connection (12 conference attendees).

    Adapted and edited from an original article, in Global Connection's media for spouses (B2B subscription).

    For more information: www.global-connection.info

    Image: Flickr - Benjamin Gonzales


  • 12 Feb 2016 3:40 PM | FIGT Blog Editor (Administrator)

    By Katarina Holm­-DiDio

    As we are getting closer to FIGT 2016, for the first time held outside of the US, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, we felt it would be of interest to share this interview with Christina Bertarelli, FIGT member and former Parfitt/Pascoe Writing Residency Scholarship winner.

    Cristinagrew up in a beautiful small town in Italy on Lake Como, in a family that rarely traveled abroad and preferred to vacation close to home. Then she met her partner in adventure, an Italian born in the U.S. but raised in Italy. His career with the United Nations would take them from Switzerland to France and then to New York City, where they have lived for almost seven years. They are raising two TCKs, a daughter now in college in the U.K. and a 13-year-old son. Cristina has moved with her family into 15 different houses in 20 years, and for the first time she feels she has found her home. She has come to embrace the life of an expat and carries her home with her.

    I met Cristina two years ago through the Local Expat Spouse Association of the United Nations in New York, at a meeting of coaches supporting expatriate U.N. spouses and partners. Her energy and passion about the work we do and the life and needs of a “U.N. Spouse/Partner” made a strong impression on me. That’s why I am so happy she was selected for the Parfitt Pascoe Writing Residency for FIGT2014 and returned to the 2015 Conference as a Kitchen Table presenter. I asked Cristina to describe her experience at her first conference last year.

    “It was a step out of my comfort zone,” she replies. “Until I attended FIGT2014, I had lived my expat life not thinking out of the box, with self-limiting beliefs and gremlins that worked hard to convince me that I was not good enough to continue my exploration of the expat world. Luckily, I started to meet like-minded people, initially socializing with other U.N. expatriate families and beyond. Attending FIGT2014 was a big step out of my bubble into a broader expat world. It was enlightening and I felt an immediate, strong connection with the other attendees at the Conference, which is why I also became an FIGT member.”

    Writing with Jo Parfitt’s support and guidance was a life-changing experience for Cristina. It gave her the confidence to continue developing her blog, and a group of like-minded expat writers to exchanges ideas with.

    Why is she back at FIGT?

    “Because you challenged me to it,” she answers jokingly, referring to my suggestion she submit a proposal as a presenter. The challenge did get her creative juices flowing and during a long walk the idea that became her proposal came to her – “Changing Home is More than a Theory” – where she explores moving with the help of our senses. “Change is an open door, sometimes we are not ready for it, and that is OK too, but we need to make the best of it.”

    So why is she really back, and why should you attend?

    “Because of all that I received last year was worth coming back for and to give back for. When you step out of your comfort zone, you find yourself. I also found a place where I felt understood, and with possibilities to share experiences with like-minded people.”

    This interview appeared in the FIGT Newsletter 17 February 2015 immediately before the FIGT 2015 Annual Conference in Washington, DC. 


  • 05 Feb 2016 3:16 AM | FIGT Blog Editor (Administrator)

    By Beth Hoban

    A Chinese proverb says, “A single conversation with a wise person is better than 10 years of study.” One of the largest draws of the Families in Global Transitions (FIGT) conference is the community and the conversations that take place, not only in the formal sessions but also in the hallways and across the table while sharing a good meal.

    On Saturday morning, I overheard a participant in the breakfast line say, “Going to the FIGT conference is like going to a high school reunion, except without all the awkwardness.” At the 2015 FIGT conference each morning provided an opportunity to enjoy a fantastic breakfast buffet and participate in a wide range of conversations with other participants in a casual and informal manner without any awkwardness.

    I credit Ruth Van Reken, co-founder of FIGT, for the success of these informal discussions. She has hardwired the casual, yet authentic, inspiring, and intimate communication style into the Kitchen Table Conversations and Early Bird sessions. This style of idea sharing and grassroots participation has a great richness to it. As I walked around the room each morning, I could feel the energy in the participants starting to build.

    A board was available in the hallway for anyone to sign up with a topic they wanted to discuss. Sessions were then listed on small placards and posted in the center of each table. Some of this year’s topics included:

    • What does Third Culture Kid (TCK) mean? What defines a TCK?
    • Where does hope live? New beginnings after losses. Losses after new beginnings
    • Young Adult TCK Transitions Needs and Opportunities
    • Mindfulness and the International Student
    • Expats and Retirement
    • Online Marketing
    • The Interchange Institute Overview
    • What’s your favorite city street?

    Each morning groups would gather at a table with a topic that suited them or participants could just sit and converse with others without a formal topic. I asked Lauren Owen, one of this year’s Parfitt/ Pascoe Writing scholars, to share her thoughts on the early bird session. “I chose to sit in on the TCK talk by Michael Pollock because I’ve found there is a fair amount of support for TCKs transitioning to college, but not very much for those transitioning from college to post-graduate life, and without the networks their mono-cultural counterparts have in their passport country, it’s hard for us to get the support we need. It was nice to know first, that I was not alone in this recognition, and second, that there are some people who are considering and discussing similar things.”

    Personally, I found myself lingering at the On Line Marketing discussion as participants were generously sharing ideas and personal experiences. One of the participants at the table noted, “In this day and age of social media it is important to have ‘googleability’. People are going to research you and it is important to make sure that your on-line profile aligns with your messaging.”

    I also recall dropping by the table where participants were discussing their favorite streets in cities where they have lived. One participant described in rich detail a cobblestone street, with small shops along both sides. They described the sensation of feeling the street under their feet, the sounds they could hear, and the smell of the air. At that moment in time, the speaker was deeply entrenched in a fond memory and magically transported the entire table along with her.

    As I meandered around the room and listened to the conversation two things were clear – wisdom and ideas were being shared, and seeds were being planted and nurtured. I look forward to next year’s conference to see what those seeds will sprout.


  • 29 Jan 2016 6:12 AM | FIGT Blog Editor (Administrator)

    I was first attracted to FIGT when I heard that the term STAR (Successfully Travelled and Relocated) had emerged from this forum. Since then, FIGT has been on my bucket list. I started working with ACCESS (a not-for-profit volunteer based organisation in the Netherlands which serves the international/expatriate community) and at the start of 2015 decided to aim to make it to the FIGT 2016 conference. My goal was made achievable when I learned that it was coming here, to the Netherlands. So, yes, I will be there, because seriously, how often does your bucket list come to you?!

    Going back to what drew me though, the term STAR, and where I am today.

    I am, myself, a STAR. I have relocated as a child, a student, a professional, a newlywed, a spouse, a parent and divorcee. That I have done so successfully is as much due to my character as it was to the foundation I was given by my parents who ‘started’ me on this journey. As I matured and travelled, I realised that this foundation was a privilege to have received, and not a given. I have come across many, many people who, despite being enthusiastic or determined to make the most of an expatriate assignment, struggle to make it a successful experience – for themselves and their families. I have learnt to ‘hear’ the silent calls for help from those struggling (yet perhaps not admitting it) and to listen and guide people to how they can flourish rather than just survive.

    It is, therefore, perhaps not surprising that my role at ACCESS also fell onto my lap – as if a lifetime of experience had prepared me just for this specific role: bridging the gap between arrival and successful settlement, not only for the anonymous public we serve, but perhaps more importantly for the volunteers we work with in order to help the others.

    In fact, I like to think that at ACCESS we take DARERS (Daring Adventurers Resolving to Explore Relocation Successfully) and give them the wings or roots to become STARS (Successfully Travelled and Relocated) – here or elsewhere.

    I will be at FIGT to learn more about all the wonderful and necessary things being said, done, researched, explored, exchanged and experienced so that I too can ‘shine’ a little brighter and learn a lot more. For one thing is clear in my mind: STARS may shine in isolation, but they can only burn brightly with support. Thank goodness for forums such as FIGT which encourage this.

    Deborah Valentine is Canadian by birth, expat by upbringing and for the last 6 years Director of ACCESS, which is dedicated to helping internationals settle in the Netherlands.


    To our readers: Deborah provided three alternatives for the DARERS acronym:

    Determined And Resolute Expatriate Relocation Survivors

    Determined Adventurers in Resolving and Enduring Relocation Stress

    Daring Adventurers Resolving to Explore Relocation Successfully

    Which do you prefer?

  • 22 Jan 2016 4:42 AM | FIGT Blog Editor (Administrator)

    Families in Global Transition (FIGT) originated as a kitchen table conversation in 1998. Ruth van Reken, a pioneer in research on what are now known as Third Culture Kids (TCK’s), brought together a group of like-minded expatriate women familiar with the realities of global transition and raising families abroad. Together they imagined a conference where globally mobile families and the people who worked with them could discuss issues facing their community, share resources, and discover best practices.

    Today, FIGT hosts three-day conferences that include thought-provoking keynote speeches, insightful concurrent sessions, and intimate “kitchen table” conversations to honor the legacy that started FIGT seventeen years ago.

    For those who are not familiar with the organisation, Families in Global Transition provides a welcoming forum for globally mobile individuals, families, and those working with them. They promote cross-sector connections for sharing research and developing best practices that support the growth, success and well-being of people crossing cultures around the world. This “welcoming forum” includes individuals from a variety of sectors including corporate, diplomatic, NGO, academic, the arts, mission, and military. FIGT is a membership organization and offers a variety of informational services throughout the year such as webinars, newsletters, and opportunities to develop networks and share research on themes critical to globally mobile families such as identity and belonging.

    This coming spring, it won’t be just the expatriates that are on the move! The FIGT Conference is stepping out of the US for the first time.

    Its new home? Amsterdam! This year, the conference will be held at the historical de Bazel building from March 10-12, 2016.

    "Moving the annual conference to the Netherlands after seventeen years in the United States was an intentional decision to help engage our community in a new way, and to bring additional awareness of FIGT to a country with a large expatriate population” said Kilian Kroell, FIGT Board President. “We are thrilled to bring the connection-building, cutting-edge research, and insightful discussions that attendees have come to expect at FIGT conferences to the Netherlands for #FIGT16."

    This conference is already shaping up to be a popular one - with record-breaking numbers of presenter applications and a wealth of registrants from across the globe. The theme Moving Across Cultures: Bringing Empathy and Expertise to the Evolving Global Family resonates across all sectors and promises to bring together perspectives from global corporations, military and diplomatic services, academia, missions, cross-cultural service providers and the expatriates themselves. This inclusivity and diversity of voices is part of what makes FIGT so unique, and leaves each attendee with a sense that they have found a group of people that truly understand them, regardless of whether they’ve lived in one country or 50.

    Registration for the 2016 Annual Conference is now open and can be found on FIGT’s website: http://www.figt.org/2016_Conference.

    This article first appeared in ACCESS magazine: http://www.access-nl.org/about-access/access-publications/magazine/winter-2015-e-zine.aspx


  • 16 Jan 2016 6:31 AM | FIGT Blog Editor (Administrator)

    by Sarah Bringhurst Familia

    Here at the Expatriate Archive Centre (EAC) in The Hague, we were thrilled to hear that the annual FIGT Conferenc e will be held just next door in Amsterdam. Besides being our neighbor and one of our favorite cities, Amsterdam has a wonderful international atmosphere, and has welcomed expat families from all over the world for many years.

    This year’s topic of “Bringing Empathy and Expertise to the Evolving Global Family” ties in perfectly with the many resources and support networks available to expats in the Amsterdam area. As an archive dedicated to preserving the social history of expats, we appreciate being located near Amsterdam, where there is such a rich and diverse international community. As well as allowing us all a chance to connect with that community, the FIGT conference is a wonderful opportunity for us here at the EAC to meet global families from around the world and hear your stories.

    Amsterdam in March is just beginning to bloom with a panapoly  of colourful spring flowers. The weather becomes milder, yet the city is still relatively uncrowded, making it an ideal time to visit its world famous museums, like the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum, as well as sights like the Anne Frank House. It is a very family-friendly city with many parks, cafés, and children’s activities, so feel free to bring along the kids for some sightseeing or a canal trip through Amsterdam’s picturesque centre.

    We look forward to seeing you at the FIGT conference, and if you have the inclination, we invite you to take a short train ride over to The Hague to visit us at the EAC and find out more about how we are preserving the stories of expats for research and future generations.

    Visit the Expatriate Archive Centre at: www.xpatarchive.com/


    Sarah Bringhurst Familia is originally from the United States, but has been an expat in several countries, including Italy, Chile, and Tunisia. She now makes her home in Amsterdam and is the PR and Marketing Manager for the Expatriate Archive Centre, a private archive that collects primary source materials documenting expat life and makes them available for academic research.



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