MO * has a new business leader

Bernard Sintobin will be working as a business leader at Wereldmediahuis from January 2016, the publisher of MO * magazine and MO.be. His main task is to ensure a solid financial and economic foundation for the association, so that the valued media initiatives can be further expanded in a sustainable way.

Bernard Sintobin has been active in commercial and general management for 35 years. In addition, he had an important voluntary commitment as an international treasurer of Amnesty International until August 2015, a mandate that has now expired.

Bernard was born in 1952 and studied civil engineering at the KULeuven. He also holds a postgraduate degree in management from S.P.S.O. (now Vlerick Leuven Ghent).

Bernard worked as a commercial director or manager for Holvoet NV (textile), Brouwerij Haacht and Varia-Pack (packaging).

Video INTERVIEW - Ambassador Susan Jacobs: It would be reasonable

opening in Romania of international adoption for children with

special needs - PHOTO, VIDEO

It would be reasonable for Romania to reopen international adoption for children who do not find a home, those with special needs, older people

or with several siblings, says US Ambassador Susan Jacobs, a special adviser on child issues, in an interview with MEDIAFAX.

'Huge rise' in newborn babies subject to care proceedings

By Sanchia Berg

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Media captionNicky Morgan MP: "The right decision for every child has to be made"

There has been a "huge" rise in the number of newborns who are subject to care proceedings in England, according to figures compiled for the first time.

Hedge Fund Managers Busson, Platt Step Down as Directors of Ark

Will Wainewright

willwainewright

December 14, 2015 — 5:32 PM CET

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German woman meets biological mother in Gumla after 27 years

K A Gupta | Dec 13, 2015, 10.55 PM IST

Gumla: In a fairytale of sorts, a 27-year-old Indian-born German woman travelled 7,000 km to the tribal heartland of Gumla to meet her biological mother after 27 years. It was an emotional reunion for Sarika Kratz - a psychology student living in Dusseldorf - and her mother as the two met privately at an undisclosed location on Sunday.

"I am very happy to meet my mother. She is very nice. I have been impressed by her," she told TOI. The meeting point of Kratz and her mother, a tribal woman now in her fifties, was kept under wraps respecting the latter's wish.

The mother, who had given up Kratz to the Missionaries of Charity 27 winters ago identified her lost child from the latter's photographs. "She must continue her study with zeal and not think about me only," the mother said.

Adopties uit Ethiopië stilgelegd

Vandaag om 09:22 door Veerle Beel

Na problemen in Oeganda en Marokko, worden nu ook adopties uit Ethiopië stilgelegd. Daardoor staan 18 gezinnen in de kou.

De beslissing is vermoedelijk vanwege één dossier genomen, een dossier van een kind dat in augustus naar ons land kwam. Alleen de moeder had het kind afgestaan. Ze zei dat ze weduwe was, maar er zijn nu vermoedens dat de vader nog zou leven.

Kind en Gezin, de Vlaamse centrale autoriteit inzake adoptie, heeft daarop besloten een extern onderzoeker ter plaatse aan het werk te zetten. Die moet nagaan of er iets is misgegaan en moet ook alle lopende dossiers aan een extra controle onderwerpen. Tot dat gebeurd is, zal de federale autoriteit inzake adoptie, die onder Justitie valt, geen enkele adoptie uit Ethiopië goedkeuren. Het onderzoek zal weken zo niet maanden in beslag nemen.

It is within the power of a judge to sever all legal ties between a child in care and its birth family through an adoption order. Most adoption orders for children in care in England are made without parental consent, and are sometimes referred to as “forced” adoption. With political pressure mounting to speed up the adoption process, we are at risk of rushing through more of these adoptions, despite serious concerns on whether this is the best option for the children involved.

In the year to March 31 2014, 5,050 children in England were adopted from care and over 95% of these were without parental consent. This happens in circumstances where children are deemed to have suffered or are likely to suffer significant harm through neglect or abuse.

The UK is not the only country in Europe with non-consensual adoption. It is possible in most countries, but no other EU state exercises this power to the extent that England does. In Germany, 250 non-consensual adoptions of children took place in 2010. In contrast the average number of children a year adopted in the Netherlands is 28 and only if the parents don’t object.

These comparisons highlight the different ways countries meet the needs of children in care and the influence of social and political contexts on how policies develop. They also challenge the dominant political narrative in England that contrasts the “loving” adoptive family with the “tragedy” of a child remaining with its birth families or in foster care. While there are many loving adoptive families, the same can be said about parents, relatives and foster carers.

In many other EU countries, it is much easier for families to access support if they need help. Great emphasis is placed on helping families to care for children safely at home and maintaining family links if in care. But in “austerity” England, family support services are closing, thresholds are high, and social work is being defined as a narrow child protection service.

VS bieden Belgische homo's adoptiekans

Bijna overeenkomst met een Amerikaanse staat over samenwerking

08-12-15, 06.00u - (JBR)

LEES LATER

1 Lieven Vandendriessche (r.) is met zijn Amerikaanse man Jeff Tallyen sinds de zomer van 2009 de trotse vader van Maya en Ella, twee meisjes uit Amerika. ©© Delia Vermant

PRIA facilitated a five day training on Right(s) Way Forward – Communities for Sustainability for Open Learning Systems (OLS) from December 7-11, 2015 in Odisha. This learning programme was promoted by Forum Syd, a Swedish funding organization, and its Swedish partner, Adoptionscentrum.

The primary objective of the training was to capacitate OLS to work on environment and climate change issues in 2016. The training was organised in Nimapara block of Puri district. A total of 20 participants (five women and 15 men) attended the training. The group consisted of two ward members, one sarpanch, two SHG members, three community volunteers and 12 field staff (working on community based rehabilitation). In addition, one main field programme coordinator from OLS and an Adoptionscentrum representative also observed the training.

While setting the objectives at the start of the workshop, the participants listed down many issues such as building understanding and awareness on climate change and its effects, whether it is manmade or not, changing attitudes and utilisation of local resources, etc.

All these issues were addressed in their learning. The programme primarily focused on building understanding of communities on issues related to climate change, how it has contributed to degradation of the environment and has affected their livelihood options. It also helped build understanding on the linkages between environment–institutions–economy and the wellbeing of communities. It took into account how climate change impacts natural resource management and its repercussions on women and men within a given community. The training process helped participants understand the importance of inclusion, especially marginalized groups, when preparing Community Action Plans. At the end of the training-learning programme, the participants were able to prepare a Community Action Plan.

The participants appreciated the training and actively engaged in the group exercises facilitated by PRIA. The Adoptionscentrum representative opined that the active participation by all was a good indicator of the success of the programme. “In many trainings, people generally disappear during group exercises, and only one or two work on the task at hand,” she said. “This especially happens at the community level. In this training, everyone participated. ”

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