News From Our Members

This must be the perfect way to decompress and consolidate after the FIGT Conference. Do you love to write and long to find your tribe and discover your unique writer's voice? If so, then this is an event you cannot afford to miss. 

Jo Parfitt, author, author's mentor, publisher and founder of FIGT's Parfitt Pascoe Writing Residency has designed a Writers' Retreat to run for four nights starting the day after FIGT closes. 

Stay in a charming boutique hotel in the heritage heart of The Hague, be inspired by art, architecture and the city's multi-cultural vibe as you learn how to write in different genres and expand your writing comfort zone. Visit art galleries, historic Delft and discover the stories of little-known locals.

Only five places remain on this blissful, indulgent Writing Me-Treat. Costs include all food, trips, accommodation and excursions.

Come along and find yourself and your soulmates in this safe and nurturing environment. 

Share a room and save up to £200!

Jo Parfitt has dreamed of running writing retreats for many years. Now, her dream is coming true as she creates the perfect culmination to her 30-year and 30+ books career as a writer, author, publisher, author's mentor and teacher. Her company, Summertime Publishing, specialises in books by and for people in transition.

Calling all International School Educators, Counsellors and Leadership

Does your school resemble a revolving door – students, families and staff constantly leaving and arriving?

Do you have:

• students from culturally diverse backgrounds struggling to integrate into your school community or engage effectively in learning?
  
• teachers searching for strategies to equip and support their Cross Cultural (CCK) and Third Culture (TCK) students?
  
• parents from culturally diverse backgrounds struggling with transition or worried about their child’s emotional, social and intellectual wellbeing?
  

Would you like to do more to support your students, parents and colleagues as they navigate the triumphs and trials associated with global transition? This webinar series is for you!

Transitions 101: Tips and tools for transforming your school’s transition program

Description:

International schools are the most popular educational platform for families in global transition yet they are often ill-equipped to address the challenges associated with mobility. As places with high turnover, transitions affect everyone, whether you are the one leaving, arriving or staying, whether you are local or international and whether you are a student, family member or staff member.

Managing mobility is the responsibility of every international school but knowing where to start can be overwhelming.

In this live two-part webinar series you will:

• Cultivate awareness around mobility’s impact upon yourself, staff, parents and students and how that experience shapes how you and they relate to others
  
• Develop a common language to enhance communication and understanding of these issues
  
• Further your knowledge of international mobility research well-being and learning
  
• Be equipped with practical tools and strategies to build or enhance transitions programming at your school
  

BONUS:

You will receive a Research Bibliography and Recommended Resources to continue your knowledge transformation.

Presenters:

Ellen Mahoney is the founder of Sea Change Mentoring and an alumna of International schools. Sea Change Mentoring delivers transitions-informed consulting services, program audits, and social-emotional learning curriculum designed just for international schools. She is the only person in the international school community who is certified in youth mentoring supervision which she earned at Fordham University’s School of Social Work. Clients include schools like Singapore American School and the American School of the Hague and organizations like Pearson and the IMF. She was a co-founding member of Safe Passage Across Networks (SPAN) and a 2013 David Pollock Scholar.

Jane Barron (BA Dip Ed, MEd) - Founder of Globally Grounded, youth intercultural transition specialist and culturally responsive educator, writer, speaker and consultant to local and international schools. Driven to improve emotional, social and educational outcomes for cross-cultural learners, Jane equips schools to support and empower culturally diverse learners, their parents and those who educate them. A Safe Passage Across Networks (SPAN) steering committee member and 2017 Parfitt Pascoe Writing Residency Scholar, Jane’s writing has been published in International Teacher Magazine, International School Magazine and The International Educator.

Each session will be 1 hour.

Date & Time:
PART ONE - Monday Nov 20, 2017 13:00 CET 
Laying the Foundations for an Effective School-Based Transition Program

PART TWO – Thursday Nov 30, 2017 07:00 CET
Building an Effective School-Based Transition Program at Your School

Cost:
USD 149 for two sessions

We are big believers in collaboration. If you are unable to attend one session, a colleague from your school may take your place for the other session.

Registration closes November 17 so book now as places are limited.

Are you thinking about creating a portable career or business which you can take with you wherever you want to live?

Are you an expat/expat partner looking to build a portable career so you don't have to reinvent yourself every time you move?

Or are you secretly dreaming about quitting your 9 to 5 job, become a digital nomad and enjoy your location independent lifestyle?

Dominika Miernik, Career and Business Coach, has a very special invitation for you. She will be hosting a 2 Weeks Free Online Summit called Take Your Career With You and you are invited.

This event, Take Your Career With You is bringing together a panel of over 20 experts, including coaches, online entrepreneurs, psychologists, expats, TEDx speakers, business mentors, expat entrepreneurs, digital nomads and best-selling authors.

Together they offer their knowledge and expertise in the areas of building a portable business and career, transformation, remote and location independent job opportunities.

And the best part is that this global online event is absolutely free!

Our interviews will reveal:

• How to find your own Portable Career or Business idea based on your skills, interests and talents
  
• How to Reinvent your career and figure out what you really want to be doing
  
• How to find a Remote Job, succeed in a Skype job interview so you can work from anywhere you want to live
  
• How to Narrow Down your Many Ideas and know on which one to focus
  
• Success Strategies to get you market your portable career and attract your ideal clients
  
• Actionable Steps and daily routines to get you started and clear on your goals and help you move your portable career idea to a new level
  
• And much more

Dominika Miernik is Career Coach and Business Idea Generator for women. She specializes in helping expat women seeking to make an international career change to navigate the challenges and opportunities associated with discovering their dream career. Visit her website. 

The Virtual Midwife is an online platform supporting pregnant expats and travellers. The program is packed with essential tools, tips and techniques that address the specific needs and challenges of giving birth far from the comfort and safety of home. The Virtual Midwife has been supporting families around the globe for over a decade, providing support and a comprehensive guide to help you navigate a foreign health care system. Whether you choose to stay in your host country, or return home, you will be faced with many choices and decisions about your care during pregnancy and birth. Powerful in its simplicity, this multimedia course and thriving online community is is packed with high-quality video, audio downloads and eBooks to make your pregnancy journey abroad safe and enjoyable. The Virtual Midwife was established by an expat midwife who understands the unique challenges of life outside of your comfort zone. 

FIGT member, Karen Wilmot, is a midwife on a mission to address the Internet as part of the larger health communication system, and restore normality to childbirth through effective online education. An adventurer, traveller and entrepreneur, she is based in the Middle East where she continues to find new and challenging ways to improve health care for women during pregnancy and birth. 

In this 3rd edition of the ground-breaking, global classic, Ruth E. Van Reken and Michael V. Pollock, son of the late original coauthor, David C. Pollock, have significantly updated what is widely recognized as “The TCK bible.” Emphasis is placed on the modern TCK and addressing the impact of technology, cultural complexity, diversity, inclusion, and transitions. 

Third Culture Kids, 3e, includes new advice for parents and others for how to support TCKs as they navigate work, relationships, social settings, and their own personal development. 

Specific updates include: 

• A second PolVan Cultural Identity diagram to support understanding of cultural identity
  
• New models for identity formation
  
• Updated explanation of unresolved grief
  
• New material on 'highly mobile communities' addressing the needs of people who stay put while a community around them moves rapidly
  
• Revamped Section III so readers can more easily find what is relevant to them as Adult TCKs, parents, counselors, employers, spouses, administrators, etc.
  
• New "stages and needs" tool that will help families and organizations identify and meet needs
  
• Greater emphasis on tools for educators as they grapple with demographic shifts in the classroom 
  

About the Authors:

Ruth E. Van Reken, herself an adult TCK and a parent and grandparent of TCKs, is co-founder of Families in Global Transition, a forum for globally mobile individuals, families, and those working with them, and the author of one of the first books written about the TCK experience, Letters Never Sent.

Michael V. Pollock is an adult TCK, parent of TCKs, and international school educator. He is also the founder of Daraja, an organization which helps TCKs/CCKs make successful reentries to passport countries and a past Board Member of FIGT.

David C. Pollock worked with TCKs and adult TCKs for more than twenty years and logged thousands of miles conducting seminars and conferences (including FIGT) for TCKs, their parents, and sponsoring organizations. 

Buy this book through the FIGT Online Bookstore to support our David C Pollock Scholarship program, at no cost to you!

Young and old benefit from outdoor activities done with cooperation and intent. Team building provides the groundwork where individuals come to know themselves as part of a bigger picture, a 'greater good'.

Sometimes, the family may need a break from each other to work on their own to understand better themselves and where they are headed in life, their relationships, their addictions. Other times, the school needs a break from the student perhaps, to allow the student to gather his or her thoughts, gain better perspective and focus, increase self confidence and balance temperament. 

I have spent a great part of my career as an international psychologist helping guide expats in life changing circumstances. As an ATCK myself, I can tell you that there are fantastic resources available out there for expat families who are looking for answers, who are open to solutions such as outdoor or wilderness treatment. 

I was a 'guest' last week (July 31, 2017) to speak on this particular topic of Wilderness treatment on LA's Talk Radio. Care to listen to the conversation? 

Here's the magic link: http://answersforthefamily.com/july-31-2017-10-steps-to-wilderness-therapy-dr-mark-burdick-steve-demille/

You can now download my ibook for FREE from Apple iBooks “10 Steps to Wilderness Therapy” by Dr Mark Burdick. https://itun.es/us/0D7Agb.l

There has been a remarkable explosion in the numbers of international students coming to the U.S. for educational purposes. While the U.S. has been a popular destination for foreign nationals to come for their university experience, the most notable increase has been students coming for one or all of their high school years in preparation for getting into the university of their choice.

"Survive and Thrive: The International Student's Guide to Succeeding in the U.S." by Tina Quick is a guide book that helps international students understand what they can expect to feel and experience in the transition and how to negotiate academic, social, and cultural differences. Quick addresses the most common challenges international students face in their transition to the U.S. for high school and/or university and gives them tools and strategies they can use not only to survive but to thrive in the adjustment.

Grounded in sound research and best practice, "Survive and Thrive" fills the gap in existing literature and gives a realistic depiction of what to expect when transitioning to a new culture. Until now there has been no comprehensive work that covered everything international students needed to know to help them transition well and thrive in their new setting, and nothing about the unavoidable social-emotional issues involved in such an enormous adjustment. 

"Much of the explosion in global interest in attending schools and colleges in the States results from successful recruitment and applications. Yet, until now, few have focused on the more critical part of the equation: how to ensure that these international students grow, engage, and thrive academically, socially, and culturally once they arrive on campus. 'Survive and Thrive: The International Student's Guide to Succeeding in the U.S.' takes that need head-on with advice that melds theoretical, philosophical, and practical in a way that will help every student seeking exposure to the American educational system." Mark H. Sklarow, Chief Executive Officer, Independent Educational Consultants Association.

Submitted by FIGT Member, Tina Quick, a cross-cultural trainer and international speaker. Tina is the founder of International Family Transitions. Her latest book is available on Amazon.com.

Badly thought - through relocation decisions, unrealistic expectations, poor preparation, inadequate organizational support, cultural adjustment challenges plus political and economic changes can all lead to disappointing outcomes not only for employees, but also for their families and organizations.

Thriving Abroad provides a framework, together with insight and advice from those who’ve been there, to help assignees and their families make the most of the opportunity for international relocation to create positive professional and personal outcomes. And that in turn ensures the organization maximizes its return on investment.

You can read more about the book HERE

You can buy the book through the FIGT Bookstore HERE on Amazon (US) 

Submitted by FIGT member Louise Wiles, Director of Thriving Abroad.com, a website based online community designed to support companies /organisations accompanying/expat partners as they move abroad.

I had a great pleasure to meet Claudia Landini at FIGT conference last month in the Hague. Impressed by her international experience and multiple projects I interviewed her for my The Expat Career and Lifestyle podcast. 

We spoke about How to craft your expat professional identity by creating a portable career.

In this episode you will learn:

- the first step to start and create a successful portable career
- how to find your own identity when you lived for many years abroad
- how not lose your professional identity as an expat woman
- simple strategies to find your passion
- get Claudia’s free gift

Guest: Claudia Landini, a Cross-Cultural Trainer and Mobile Career Coach. Over 27 years of her international life she lived between Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Europe and now she is based in Jakarta. Claudia is the founder of Expatclic.com, a non-profit organisation that helps expat women all over the world before, during and after their relocations.

Host: Dominika Miernik is a Career Coach & Business Idea Generator for women. She has lived in Manchester, London, Milan and Rome, and she now helps expat women to pursue their true passions as they adapt to the living in a new country. In 2015 she was named the best International Coach by The Coaching Academy.

Tandem Nomads, the podcast show and platform designed to empower and help expat spouses build a portable business, is organizing a conference in Seoul on April 28th.

Click below to register for FREE: 

If you live in South Korea and gave up your career to move from a country to another, come join us for an interactive presentation on the challenges for expat spouses to build a portable career and the solutions to turn these challenges into great opportunities!

Amel Derragui, the founder of the podcast show Tandem Nomads, will share with you some great tips to build your portable business and inspiring examples of expat spouses from around the world . 

She has indeed interviewed over 70 expat spouses, analysed their sources of frustrations and challenges and the actions they implemented to make the best of their experience abroad while building their own source of success and financial independence.

Amel Derragui is a business and marketing coach, she helps expat spouses turn their talents into successful businesses and global entrepreneurs take their business to the next level. 

Click here fore more info on this event and to register to this conference for FREE: www.tandemnomads.com/events