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As you will see elsewhere in the Newsletter, Pirjo Markkola has finalised the programme for the 2005 Conference in Sydney. She was very pleased with the response to the call for papers and we look forward to meeting many of you at the conference. There will, however, be some presenters of papers who will require financial sponsorship for the trip to Sydney. For the Belfast conference, we were able to raised sufficient funds to offer sponsorship to a large number of speakers. The Federation’s funds are as a consequence depleted and need to be built up again. The Federation’s main source of income is the annual fee paid by National Committees. Can I take the opportunity, therefore, to remind members of National Committees to ensure that their payments to the Federation are up to date? A form and contact address for sending the fee is enclosed later in the Newsletter.
The Swedish National Committee has gone one step further than simply paying its annual fee. It has offered additional funding towards the expenses of a speaker from a low-income country to attend the Sydney conference. This is a very welcome initiative that could serve as a model for other National Committees with funds to spare. I appreciate that many National Committees do not have access to financial support but some do. If only a small proportion of National Committees contributed an additional sum of £50 or £100 the Federation would be in a position to offer bursaries to a number of speakers. So, I would urge members of National Committees to investigate if their group is in a position to make this sort of donation. It would be very much appreciated and will help to ensure that the Federation’s conferences remain genuinely international.
For the Belfast conference some delegates generously provided sponsorship for individual speakers, paying, for example, the accommodation costs of another member of their panel. It has been suggested that we might develop this type of individual sponsorship into a more formal system. If any one has any suggests as to how we do this, or has any experience of a similar system operating in other organisations, please let me know.
In the meantime, please ensure that your National Committee the annual fee to the Federation!
Mary O’Dowd, Belfast