Osteogenesis Imperfecta Federation Europe’s Post

News from our sister project: The Flourish Study Team participated at the international conference: “Challenges of Contemporary Families”, organised by The Institute of Family Studies, University Ss. Cyril and Methodius, October 29-30, in Skopje, North Macedonia. 🇲🇰 The FLOURISH team presented 2 topics: • Contextualizing the Intervention: "Parenting for Lifelong Health for Adolescents and Their Families" - A Case Study from North Macedonia (Anita Burgund Isakov, Marija Raleva, Slavica Gaidazis, Nevena Čalovska). • The Effectiveness of PLH-children intervention programme in increasing parenting skills and positive parenting and reducing child behavioral problems: A community-based implementation in North Macedonia (Marija Raleva, Slavica Gaidazis Knezhevikj, Natka Pachoska, Roza Krstevska, Tina Damevska, Despina Stojanovska, Aleksandra Dimitrovska, Anastasija Gkaitatzi Sazdov). This event was a great opportunity for the FLOURISH Study to share insights, research findings, and innovative ideas. #FLOURISH #sisterproject #adolescents #EuropeanUnion #HaDEA

International Day of the Girl: about dreams, hope and the power to be yourself By drawing attention to the proper respect for the rights of girls at any age, we lay the foundation for overcoming gender disparities that affect half of humanity. In times of war, girls face numerous challenges: from constant fear of shelling and loss of homes to limited access to education, security, support and hygiene. Vira and Mariana are 12 years old, and despite all these difficulties, they continue to dream about the future. Mariana dreams of becoming a veterinarian and photographer, and Vira dreams of devoting herself to creativity and helping others. However, the girls' most cherished dream is to have their own family. Today their home is an orphanage in the Dnipro region, where every day begins and ends with the sound of sirens. The girls are used to running for cover even during the day, when shelling is heard over the city again. Despite the danger, they do not lose hope. Mobile psychosocial support groups, such as teams of CARE partners and Avalyst NGO, help children to distract, develop and play. Thanks to these specialists, children feel that there are adults who are ready to support them in the most difficult moments. The war has taken away the childhood of many children - more than 2,000 have been injured or killed since the beginning of the war. Many more are going through constant trauma and pressure. But we can help them keep their dreams and faith in the future alive. Today, on the International Day of the Girl Child, let us remember the power of dreams, support and hope. Every girl deserves a safe childhood and a happy future. #InternationalDayoftheGirlChild CARE Deutschland e.V.

A Global Advocacy Paper on ‘Equity in Permanency’ was recently developed by ISS members International Social Service Australia, International Social Service Canada (SSI Canada), Japan, Children and Families Across Borders (UK), and International Social Service, USA Branch, in collaboration with the ISS General Secretariat. https://lnkd.in/g_dwRuvw The paper presents 7 principles and recommended #childprotection practices that prioritise the exploration of #familyplacement, both locally and overseas, without discrimination of any kind. Exploring family placements is important given they are proven to achieve positive outcomes for #children, helping them avoid unnecessary and long-term institutional care, unrelated, and achieve better life outcomes. They also ensure children around the world are given the best opportunity to be raised with a strong sense of #identity, belonging, #roots, and culture. Yet, the child protection decision makers rarely explore international family placements.   Join us for this webinar, where we will share an overview of the principles, highlighting the importance of exploring #crossborder family connections for children in care. We will provide practical case examples of implementing the principles and invite participants to join us on a journey to embed the principles in policy and practice.   Link for the registration to the Europe/Americas/Middle East session on March 19th at 2:00 PM GMT+0:00. https://lnkd.in/gsKy9KYF Link for the registration to the Asia-Pacific session on March 21st at 10:00 AM GMT+8:00. https://lnkd.in/gW6f_rbN   If you have any questions regarding the event, please contact: jasmine.rai@cfab.org.uk

Let's see how many Canadians will register for this global webinar! Come and find out about the ISS Equity in Permanency Principles. See you there!

June is #AphasiaAwarenessMonth, and research has shown that there is a low level of public awareness about aphasia. 🧠 Did you know? More than 30,000 people are living in the community with stroke-related conditions, including aphasia. One in three people who have had a stroke will experience aphasia. 🗣️ Aphasia is an invisible communication disability that affects how you speak, understand, read, and write. Aphasia does not affect intelligence. 🤝 In support of Aphasia Awareness Month, Croí encourages anyone living with aphasia to connect with our services. Our team at Croí is trained to support those living with aphasia to not only feel heard but also seen. We look forward to you linking in with us. 📞 To learn more, visit croi.ie/aphasia, call us at 091 544310, or email healthteam@croi.ie. #Aphasia #AphasiaAwareness #StrokeSupport

📣 '𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞.' Ioana is the Co-founder and Director of ASA Association, an implementing partner of Dorcas. ASA Association aims to fight poverty and exclusion and to develop communities in Romania, especially Roma communities.  For many Roma, the cycle of becoming stigmatised and marginalised starts at an early age. Dorcas Aid România and ASA Association work together to address these issues and support the access of Roma children to education.  Ioana: ‘In partnership with Dorcas Romania, we implement a complex programme that meets the needs of children and their parents. First and foremost, we want to educate adults about the importance of education for their children because Roma children are more likely to attend school if their parents are supportive.’ ‘The children in our programmes don’t just go to school. We also involve them in after-school activities, summer camps, and special events where they learn life and social skills. Finally, we address the issue of social exclusion at a community level by involving mayors, school administrators, doctors, and social workers in our programme and by organising public events.’ Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/emWuZC-3 #RomaDay #InternationalRomaDay #Roma #HumanRights #Discrimination #Romania #ForThoseInNeed

Recap of our first day of at the #SummitoftheFuture #UNGA79 📢 • At a side-event we co-organized as part of the ImPACT Coalition on Children's Rights and Participation, together with the Portugal and Dominican Republic’s Permanent Missions to the UN, there were great discussions among civil society and youth, governments, and UN entities on needing to keep a child-rights lens when implementing the commitments of the Summit, such as the Pact for the Future, and to hold decision makers accountable to ensure words on paper turn to action. ◦ Jorge Aranda, Deputy Permanent Representative of Portugal’s Mission to the UN, said: “The Pact for the future is an opportunity to mainstream children’s rights. They have to be included in the planning, follow up, monitoring and review, in the outcomes of all processes and policies designed to address the challenges of today and tomorrow". • Sofía García García spoke on a panel organized by Global Care Alliance, United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and other partners to bring the perspective of children and caregivers to the care society conversation. We look forward to more discussions on comprehensive and rights based #caresystems. #OurCommonFuture

Azinaide is a 14-year-old girl who frequents the "Safe Space" in the municipality of Humpata, Huíla. And like many girls, at the beginning of her reproductive years Azinaide faced many challenges in accessing information, a reality commonly seen in many vulnerable communities, and talk of puberty or menstruation for girls is still considered taboo within families. Find out more by following the link below to our website, about how Azinaide has learnt to take better care of herself, especially on the days of her menstruation, and how this has transformed her life. https://lnkd.in/dBZXS--x

Our Stepping Stone Academy Since 2016 we have been helping our beneficiaries with challenges they face upon arriving in Greece. Many of them are lone refugee mothers with their children. Throughout the years, we have listened to and learned from these women. We often hear a desire for one comprehensive place where services are offered that focus not only on them, but also on their children. Only when these mothers know their child is also taken care of, can they truly focus on their own development. For us this was the reason to develop our Stepping Stone Academy. As our founder Nantina Tsekeri put it: "All we wish is to become the lighthouse where children and women can be reminded of their value, dignity and incredible potential. Experience has shown us that only through a trauma-informed approach founded on trust, consistency and high-level expertise the above can happen. In this direction, we aim to offer them the 'safe space' to place their trauma, needs and future dreams. We, as a team of experts, are there to hear and see them when they feel invisible, but also to take targeted actions towards the realization of their specific rights." Through the Stepping Stone Academy our amazing women can profit from educational and vocational training opportunities, in addition to our traditional services like legal aid and protection services. Simultaneously we offer age-appropriate psychosocial activities for their children, where they can form social connections in a supportive environment, fostering their overall well-being. Follow us to learn more about this program, hear personal stories of our beneficiaries and to support us in our other activities. #childrensrights #refugees #womensrights #personaldevelopment