VIENNA 2006

CONFERENCE SUMMARY

AGENDA 

The Changing Role of the Spouse
Sweden

• Requirements before leaving for a posting:
• Safety and security
• Employment for the spouse
• Good schooling for the children.
• Proposal
• – Better Family Policy on the part of MFAs

Families in Difficult Situations (Finland)

• Security at post
• Evacuations
• General Accident Insurance for officers and dependants while on posting abroad:
• Proposals
• Briefing of spouses on security matters before going on difficult posts
• In case of evacuation, the policy of repatriation of families should be defined; interim schooling for children in the same school system guaranteed.
• MFAs should not only insure the officer, but also spouse and children on postings

Family Officer Models

• Dutch MFA Family Officer
• President of the UK Association

COADM/COPRO: an update
Austria

• COADM/COPRO is the EU working entity where the welfare of MFA Officers and dependants is discussed

WORKSHOPS

• MFA Family Officer – job description
• Association Achievements – Negotiation Strategies
• How to Keep an Association Alive
• Post Reports – Template created by Ireland
• Bilateral Agreements

Guest Speaker
Mary MacKinnon, spouse of the Canadian Ambassador in Cairo

• The Global Staircase: the issue of mobility for spouses and families