IFS Europe Seminar to be Held in St. Petersburg

The NGO Help for Youth and Families will be hosting an autumn IFS Europe seminar October 21st through the 24th in St. Petersburg, Russia! The seminar is being held in conjunction with the IFS Inc. board meeting and the meeting of national federations. The fee for the seminar will be 85 euros per person for the first 40 people who register and 90 euros for additional participants. This fee will cover the Wednesday evening reception (location will be announced at a later date, lunches on Thursday and Friday, and dinner and a program on Thursday.  To simplify the process you should plan to pay for the seminar once you arrive in St. Petersburg. Advance registration is required.  Click here to complete the registration process.

Our host, Nadezda Malysheva, is putting together a program for Thursday October 22nd which includes general information about social conditions in St. Petersburg; more about the organization Help for Youth and Families; a site visit; and an evening program.

For Friday, October 23rd, IFS Europe members are preparing three workshops and building in some intentional time for members to network, share knowledge and discuss new initiative ideas. Highlights of the day include Organizational Speed Dating which is an opportunity for people to visit briefly with another person by answering two or three questions then moving on to the next person. The purpose of this lively and interactive session is for individuals to learn a little about the organizations of their colleague to determine areas of common interest. The Youth Workshop will provide new information about the youth program and give people the opportunity to learn more about our goals and visions as well as share experiences in youth work. The session will also focus on how we can strengthen the youth staff in our organizations.

Workshop Roots or Business will address the question what happens when an organization grows, develops business and earn money by selling social or other services or products? What are the issues and implications for our organizations and the people we serve?

Saturday, October 24th will be a general planning/brainstorming session, followed by the IFS Board Meeting and a meeting of the national federations.

The hotel Nadezda is recommending is Hotel Russ at http://www.hotelruss.spb.ru/?lang=eng. It is centrally located within the city.

Russia requires a letter of invitation and Nadezda or Yvonne Olsen can provide an application form if you email Nadezda at nmalysheva@gmail.com or Yvonne at olseny@mcwmn.org Once completed please send the form directly to Nadezda. She is working with the hotel to send out the letters of invitation and the hotel will charge a fee of approximately $20 USD. The tourist visa will be good for one month from the time it is issued. You must have the letter of invitation in order to apply for your visa. The hotel had asked Nadezda to coordinate these requests and the collection of the fees (which would need to be transfered). The following website may be helpful to you as well.  http://www.russianconsulate.com/e/home.htm

We hope you can come tour and learn more about the beautiful and historic city of St. Petersburg and the important work of The NGO Help for Youth and FamiliesTo register please click here.

Registered to Attend

  • Henri Braakenburg - Stichting Educatieve Projekten - Netherlands
  • Yvonne Olsen - IFS - United States
  • Ursula Weber-Hejtmanek - Wiener Hilfswerk - Austria
  • Marko Iljic - Wiener Hilfswerk - Austria
  • Eva Bertalan - Wiener Hilfswerk-NZ17 - Austria
  • Maria Stephens - Toynbee Hall - United Kingdom
  • Paul Vlaar - Movisie - Netherlands
  • Renate Wilkening - Nachbarschaftszentrum ufafabrik, Verband für sozial-kulturelle ARbeit - Germany
  • Frank Modica - Hamilton-Madison House, Inc. - United States
  • Pentti Lemmetyinen - Finnish Federation of Settlements - Finland
  • Sami Uusi-Rauva - Finnish Federation of Settlements - Finland
  • Pirkko Ruuskanen-Parrukoski - Finnish Federation of Settlements - Finland
  • Olga Annala - Finnish Federation of Settlements - Finland
  • Christel Schultz - Mäster Olofsgården - Sweden
  • Jan Buijze - doenja dienstverlening - Netherlands
  • Mark Law - Barca-Leeds - United Kingdom
  • Herman Elllis - Scadding Court Community Centre - Canada
  • Kevin Lee - Scadding Court Community Centre - Canada
  • Kirsi Grönstrand - Finnish Federation of Settlements - Finland
  • Anthony Wagner - Pillsbury United Communities - United States
  • Peter Giczey - ÉLETFA Segíto Szolgálat Egyesület - Hungary
  • Anu Haapanen - Suomen Ässäkodit Oy - Finland
  • Soili Hakkarainen - Suomen Ässäkodit Oy - Finland
  • Niina Lyijynen - Suomen Ässäkodit Oy - Finland
  • Minna Kuntsi-Lehto - Suomen Ässäkodit Oy - Finland
  • Pirjo Peltosuo - Suomen Ässäkodit Oy - Finland
  • Keijo Ruuskanen - Suomen Ässäkodit Oy - Finland
  • Ben Hughes - bassac - United Kingdom
  • Kelly Essery - bassac - United Kingdom
  • Rosalind Goodrich - bassac - United Kingdom
  • Clare Gilhooly - bassac - United Kingdom
  • Seddik Rahaoui - Doenja Dienstverlening - Netherlands
  • Tiia Sammallahti - Finnish Federation of Settlements - Finland
  • Etti Isler - Israel Federation of Community Centers - Israel
  • Ibolya Peto - Csapókert Community House - Hungary
  • Melissa Aase - University Settlement - United States
  • Michael Zisser - University Settlement - United States
  • Wim Rodenburg - Just Do It foundation - Netherlands
  • Diane Law - Barca-Leeds - United Kingdom
  • Manfred Fiedler - Nachbarschafts- u. Selbsthilfezentrum i.d. ufafabrik e.V. - Germany
  • Marcus Duran - Toynbee Hall - United Kingdom
  • Carine Thesingh - Doenja Dienstverlening - Netherlands
  • Jelena Chotkiewicz - CAL Association - Poland
  • Bohdan Skrzypczak - CAL Association - Poland
  • Stefan Piesnack - S-Asunnot Oy - Finland
  • Michelle Mills - Saint Stephen's Community House - United States
  • Mamie Hutt Temoana - Association of Neighbourhood Houses of British Columbia - Canada
  • Jordan Pawel - BORIS Association - Poland
  • Anthony E. Hargrove - Ella Austin Community Center - United States
  • Staffan Lindqvist - Fritidsforum - Sweden
  • Sarang Samal - NYSASDRI - India
  • Shaul Shani - IFCC - Israel
  • Achikam Shoshan - IFCC - Israel
  • Arie Shnurmacher - IFCC - Israel
  • Einat Zinger-Bar - IFCC - Israel
  • Iris Cohen - IFCC - Israel
  • Olivier Gravrand - Youth Service Initiative - France
  • Tarunjeet Bhatia - Association of Neighbourhood Houses - Canada