GENERAL SESSIONS

KEYNOTE SPEAKER President Michael D Higgins - Thursday 22 March, 10:00 in Pembroke & Lansdowne

Mr. Michael D Higgins, the ninth and current President of Ireland, is a passionate political voice, a poet and writer, academic and statesman, human rights advocate, promoter of inclusive citizenship and champion of creativity within Irish society, Michael D. Higgins has previously served at almost every level of public life in Ireland, including as Ireland's first Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht.  President Higgins has campaigned for human rights and written of conflict in many parts of the world, including such areas as Nicaragua, Chile, Cambodia, El Salvador, Iraq and Somalia. He spoke in the Dáil in defence of the 2010 Gaza Freedom Flotilla. In recognition of his work for peace with justice in many parts of the world, he became the first recipient of the Seán MacBride Peace Prize of the International Peace Bureau in Helsinki in 1992.                                                                                             

WELCOME BY Minister Jimmy Deenihan - Wednesday 21 March, 13:00 in Pembroke & Lansdowne

Following his re-election to the 31st Dáil, Mr. Jimmy Deenihan, T.D. was appointed Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht on the 9th March 2011. He was first elected as a TD for the Kerry North constituency in 1987 and has been re-elected at every General Election since. The constituency is now known as Kerry North West Limerick.A member of the Gaelic Athletic Association he won All-Ireland football medals with Kerry in 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980 and in 1981, the year he captained the team. He received a GAA All-Star Award in 1981. 

KEYNOTE SPEAKER Dr. Pat Wallace - Thursday 22 March, 19:30 at The Dublin Castle

Dr Pat Wallace has been Director of the National Museum of Ireland since 1988. Before his appointment he was the archaeologist in charge of the Museum’s excavations at Wood Quay – Fishamble Street in Dublin. These were the largest Viking age urban excavations ever undertaken in western or northern Europe. Dr Wallace’s work as an archaeologist of the Viking age and of urbanism has earned him an international reputation. He has been a member of both the Birka (Sweden) and Kaupang (Norway) reference committees.

PANEL DISCUSSION: STOP THE VIOLENCE - IRELAND

Friday 23 March, 10:20 - 12:00 in Pembroke & Lansdowne

Senator Ivana Bacik - Reid Professor of Criminal Law, Criminology and Penology at Trinity College Dublin, a Senior Lecturer and Fellow of Trinity College Dublin, and a practising barrister.

Senator Ivana Bacik, LLB, LLM (Lond), BL, FTCD, is Reid Professor of Criminal Law, Criminology and Penology at Trinity College Dublin, a Senior Lecturer and Fellow of Trinity College Dublin, and a practising barrister. She is a Labour Party Senator for Dublin University (elected 2007 and re-elected 2011), and became Deputy Leader of Seanad Eireann in May 2011. Ivana has written and published extensively on criminal law, criminology, human rights, constitutional law and related matters, and has a long track record of campaigning on civil liberties, penal reform and feminist issues. She is co-author of Abortion and the Law (1997) and co-editor of Crime and Poverty in Ireland (1998). She co-ordinated an EU-funded study on rape law in different European jurisdictions, The Legal Process and Victims of Rape (1998), was Editor of the Irish Criminal Law Journal from 1997-2003 and co-authored a major report on gender discrimination in the legal professions in Ireland (Gender InJustice, 2003). Her other publications include Kicking and Screaming: Dragging Ireland into the Twenty-First Century (O’Brien Press, 2004). 

Ms. Sarah Benson- Director, Ruhuma

Sarah Benson is currently the Chief Executive Officer with Ruhama, the Non Governmental Organisation working nationally with women affected by prostitution including victims of sex trafficking. Prior to her current role Sarah was for over seven years the manager of the National Domestic Violence Helpline with Women’s Aid Ireland. In addition, she has extensive experience of work in the community and voluntary sector both in Ireland and abroad, working particularly with marginalized ethnic minority women and youth.Sarah’s academic background is a Bachelor of Arts from University College Dublin and a Masters of Philosophy (Gender and Women’s Studies) from Trinity College Dublin. Throughout her career Sarah’s passion for human rights, social justice and equality - in particular for women and girls - has been a constant feature. She currently champions these issues with an organization supporting some of the most marginalized women and girls in Ireland today.Sarah is 37 years old, a Dublin native and married with two children.

Ms. Margaret Martin - Director of Women’s Aid

Margaret Martin - Director of Women’s Aid since 2004 where she is responsible for the long term development of the organisation, exploring new ideas, leading change and creating future possibilities.  She leads, supports and motivates a team of 5 managers, 33 staff and 40 volunteers. Women’s Aid is a key provider of services to women experiencing domestic violence primarily through its Freephone National Helpline and direct support services. In addition information on the Women’s Aid website  www.womensaid.ie is  translated into seven languages.

Paula Mayock - Lecturer and a Senior Researcher, Trinity College Dublin

Paula Mayock is a Lecturer at the School of Social Work and Social Policy, and a Senior Researcher at the Children's Research Centre, Trinity College Dublin. Her research focuses primarily on the lives and experiences of marginalised and 'at risk' youth, covering areas such as drug use and drug problems, homelessness, sexuality, risk behaviour, and mental health. Since 2004, she has worked to build a programme of research on homelessness. She has been the Principal Investigator of two studies of homeless youth, one of them a qualitative longitudinal study of homeless young people in Dublin, and the second, a cross-sectional study of 'out of home' young people in Cork. More recently, she has undertaken a biographical study of homeless women in Ireland. Paula is a NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) INVEST Post-doctoral Fellow (2006-07) and an IRCHSS (Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences) Research Fellow (2009-10). She is also the recipient of an IRCHSS 'New Ideas' Award (2011).

Ms. Susan McKay - award winning writer and journalist

Susan Mackay is an award winning writer and journalist whose books include the best selling "Sophia's Story", a biography of the child abuse survivor and inspiring young woman, Sophia McColgan; "Northern Protestants - An Unsettled People", one of the best respected books on the NI conflict; and "Bear in Mind These Dead", a critically acclaimed study of the legacy of the NI conflict on those bereaved.  She is a former Northern Ireland editor of the Sunday Tribune and has also written for the Irish Times and the Guardian among other publications, as well as contributing to many books and journals.  Her work has been widely anthologised.  She is a well known commentator on radio and television.  She was one of the founders of the Belfast Rape Crisis Centre in the 1980's and was CEO of the National Women's Council of Ireland from 2009 until January this year when she resigned in protest over government funding cuts.

Ms. Ellen O’Malley-Dunlop, N.T., H.Dip. Ir. Folk., M.Litt, Dip. IGA (Lon.) - CEO of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre

Ellen is a Psychotherapist, Group Analyst and Folklorist. She is CEO of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre.She was a founder member of the Irish Institute of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy and was Chair of the Irish Council for Psychotherapy from 1999-2001. Since taking up her role in the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, she has lobbied for changes in the law and supports the inclusion of the Rights of the Child in the Irish Constitution. She is a member of the Task Force for the Establishment of a Child and Family Support Agency in the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.She is founder of The Bard Summer School,  Clare Island and was Chieftain of the O’Malley Clan in 1994.

WORKSHOPS

Ms. Catriona Crowe - Wednesday 21 March, 16:00 - 17:30 in Leinster, 'Women in the 1911 Census'

Catriona Crowe is Head of Special Projects at the National Archives of Ireland. She is Manager of the Irish Census Online Project, which has placed the 1901 and 1911 censuses online free of charge. She is an Editor of Documents on Irish Foreign Policy, which published its seventh volume, covering the period 1941-45, in November 2010. She is editor of Dublin 1911, published by the Royal Irish Academy in late 2011. She is Vice-President of the Irish Labour History Society, and a former President of the Women’s History Association.  She is Chairperson of the Irish Theatre Institute, which promotes and supports Irish theatre and has created an award-winning website of Irish theatre productions.  She is Chairperson of the SAOL Project, a rehabilitation initiative for women with addiction problems, based in the North Inner City, and also Chairperson of the Inner City Renewal Group, which delivers employment and welfare rights advice and support to the community in the North Inner City.She contributes regularly to the broadcast and print media on cultural and historical matters.

Dr. Barbara Dawson - Thursday 22 March, 10:50 - 12:50 in Ulster, Ireland's Eye:  Contemporary Responses in the visual arts in Ireland

Dr.Barbara Dawson is Director of Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane. She is the author of several books and texts including Turner’s Watercolours at the National Gallery of Ireland 1999 and more recently Trace ElementsFrancis Bacon PalazzoReale, Milan; Barry Flanagan London; Hidden Islands Brian Maguire. She has curated several exhibitions including Barry Flanagan on O’Connell Street (2007); Julian Opie Walking on O’Connell Street(2008); Hugh Lane 100 Years (2008), Francis Bacon – A Terrible Beauty (2009), Passion and Politics (2010) and Civil Rights Etc by Rita Donagh and the late Richard Hamilton (2011)

Ms. Robin Goldsby (AIWC Cologne) - Friday 23 March, 14:00 - 15:15 in Ulster, A Suitcase Full of Words: Using Creative Writing to Chase Away Your Expat Blues

Robin Meloy Goldsby is the author of Piano Girl and Rhythm. Waltz of the Asparagus People: The Further Adventures of Piano Girl is Goldsby’s third book and first to be translated into German (Walzer der Spargelmenschen). Goldsby’s thirty-year career as a musician has taken her from roadside dives to posh New York City venues and exclusive resorts, and on to the European castles and concert stages where she now performs. Robin has three solo piano recordings to her name—Twilight, Somewhere in Time, and Songs from the Castle—and has appeared on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered and Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland. Robin is a Steinway Artist. She is also the author and composer of Hobo and the Forest Fairies, a musical for children recorded by WDR (Westdeutscher Rundfunk) in Germany. As a lyricist Goldsby has penned songs for Till Brönner, Curtis Stigers, Jessica Gall, Robert Matt, and Peter Fessler. In 2010 her collaboration with singer/composer Joyce Moreno, Slow Music, received a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Brazilian Album. Robin currently lives outside of Cologne, Germany, with her husband—jazz bassist John Goldsby—and their two teenage children. ≈

You can visit Robin Meloy Goldsby’s web page at www.goldsby.de. To hear Robin’s interviews on All Things Considered and Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland, please go to www.npr.org/artists.

Ms. Susan van Alsenoy (AWC Antwerp) - Friday 23 March, 14:00 - 15:15 in Munster, No Excuses! Breaking down barriers that surround the education of learning-differently for people at home and abroad.  

FAWCO is honored to host the launch of Susan van Alsenoy's first book Learning Without Boundaries, which exposes the reader to many of the conditions that confront individuals who learn differently as they attempt to acquire an education, not only in their home countries, but also when they are transplanted abroad. It is meant as a guide for parents, educational professionals, and students themselves as they attempt to navigate obstacles placed in their way by often well-intentioned people who don’t understand LD problems sufficiently to remove these often invisible barriers.  So join us on a journey not only through neurology, nutrition, and practical suggestions, but also into different lands.In addition, Susan has been FAWCO Secretary and 3^rd Vice President, chair of The FAWCO Foundation Awards Committee, and chair of Resolutions and Recommendations Committee.  Since 1974 she has been a member of AWC Antwerp where she served in most all capacities.Her other publications include Students Who Learn Differently Overseas, LD Support for Mainstream Teachers Worldwide (2003), Dual National Marriage Groups (1987) and  Preschooler’s Abroad (1985).

Ms. Elinor LeBaron - Friday 23 March, 14:00 - 15:15 in Leinster, Americana – American culture for children 

Elinor (Ellie) LeBaron, originally from the state of Oregon, has lived in eight different countries, primarily in the Middle East where her husband was posted as a career diplomat.  She now calls McLean, Virginia her home.  She’s a teacher by training (MA, Education) and taught English to Speakers of Other Languages for many years to adults and university students.  Today she spends her time volunteering, in developing and maintaining websites, in helping to raise awareness of breast cancer and the need for early detection, in promoting cross-cultural understanding, and in further developing Americana for Children. Americana for Children grew out of the nascent AWA in Dubai in 1991—at the very first meeting—when one woman expressed concern that expatriate children were missing out on some very important  aspects of American culture by virtue of growing up overseas, aspects that we who grew up in the US learned “by osmosis.”  Several ladies present decided to do something about it and the result was the exciting Americana for Children, which now has programs in Doha, Qatar and in Dubai, UAE.

Sarah Franklyn - Saturday, March 24, at 10:45 AM in, Leinster, Water: Ancient Culture, Sacred Rite and Women's Rights

Sarah Franklyn is a co-founder and director of Natural Capital Services, a consulting services provider to the environmental sector that focuses on the provision of innovative solutions for restoring ecosystems, conservation, the adaptation and mitigation of climate and capacity-building of communities in developing countries. A business catalyst and pioneer of the sustainable agricultural and natural foods trade sectors, Sarah has 30 years’ experience working in international environmental and sustainable development programmes in eighty countries including Europe, the Caribbean Islands, Mexico, South America, Africa and the United States. (www.naturalcapitalservices.com).

Conference Presenting Sponsor: US TAX & FINANCIAL SERVICES 

Saturday 24 March, 10:45 - 12:30 in Munster

US Tax Workshop: The Life of An American Abroad

Darlene Hart, Chairman, US Tax & Finance Services Group Ltd.

Darlene Hart is Chairman of US Tax & Financial Services Group Ltd. with offices in London, Zurich, Geneva and Tel Aviv.  She has over 30 years of tax, accounting, financial and retirement planning experience. Prior to establishing US Tax in 1986 she worked with major international Big 4 accounting/tax firms Touche Ross (now Deloitte), and Coopers & Lybrand (now PWC) where she was instrumental in creating a financial planning department for their Houston, Texas office.
She has worked with a number of Fortune 500 companies to develop remuneration and tax equalization packages as well as corporate expatriate policies which are being carried out around the world.  She also lectures on tax and financial matters to other tax professionals, banks, investors, accountants and the general public. Today much of her efforts are devoted to advising taxpayers how to become compliant through various options including Voluntary Disclosure and surface undeclared funds to the appropriate authorities; and to banks and financial institutions on the US government’s new FATCA legislation which directly affects their relationships with their US clients.  Darlene holds a BS in Accounting and a MS in Tax from the University of Houston and is an Enrolled Agent and member of the Association of International Accountants.

Andrew Aldridge, Director of International Tax Planning, US Tax and Financial Services Limited, Director Group board, US Tax & Financial Services Group Ltd

Andrew Aldridge has over 30 years domestic and international tax experience.  Prior to joining US Tax he served as Manager of the Tax Department of Commercial Financial Services, Inc., a major debt resolution company in the US, where he was responsible for the worldwide tax affairs of the company.  He also worked for over 18 years with Phillips Petroleum Company, a Fortune 50 energy company, where he served in both the tax and legal departments. During this time he spent over five years in the UK as Tax Counsel for Phillips, focusing primarily on international financing issues. Andrew's current focus is primarily on international income tax and estate planning for US Tax clients.  Andrew holds an LL.M from Southern Methodist University, a JD from the University of Oklahoma, and a BA from the University of Kansas.