ISS UK is an independent charity and part of an international network. We act to promote

and protect the rights and welfare of children, adults and families whose personal

circumstances require inter-country liaison.

Sunday 22nd June marked the

60th anniversary of the Empire

Windrush’s arrival in the UK,

carrying passengers from Jamaica

and Trinidad. Almost 500 men and

women alighted in Tilbury, amongst

them musicians, artists, labourers

and servicemen.

Although having to endure many

hardships in their new country, often

treated as second class citizens and

subject to violence and hositility, the

Caribbean community embraced

Britain. This Windrush generation of

immigrants went on to play a hugely

significant role in creating and

shaping modern Britain, not only

contributing to one of the most

successful post-war economies in

Europe, but also helping to establish

a vibrant, tolerant and progressive

multicultural society in the UK.

ISS UK works closely with many

people from Britain’s Caribbean

community, and would like to pay

tribute to this landmark event in

British history. The legacy of the

Windrush generation, their children

and their grandchildren, have helped

to define Britain and have come to

symbolise the beginning of modern

multicultural relations and inclusive

citizenship.

“Within the current immigration

debate, the Windrush generation

proves that migration makes a

positive difference to our society,”

says Nadine Schmitt, ISS UK project

manager.

An exhibition celebrating the Windrush, ‘From War to Windrush’ is being held at the Imperial War Museum until March 2009.

Summer 2008

Newsletter

In this issue:

World Market ‘08

Great British

Duck Race

Mediation

In Focus: FGM

Easy Fundraising

We’ve moved!

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Anniversary for Windrush Generation

ISS UK celebrates 60 years since the landmark voyage

Passengers on the Windrush reading a newspaper as they wait to disembark

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““““

““““ The Windrush

generation have

played a huge role

in shaping modern

Britain

Join the Great British Duck Race

and adopt a duck for ISS UK!

On Sunday 31st August ISS UK will

be among the 500 or more charities

taking part in the Great British Duck

Race. On ‘Duck Day’ 250,000

adopted yellow plastic ducks will be

dropped into the River Thames to

race their way to the finish line: the

winning duck going home with an

amazing £10,000!

To adopt a duck and be in with a

chance to win the race, please visit

ISS UK’s page on the Great British

Duck Race website (see below). It

costs just £2 to adopt a duck and

you can make an additional donation

to ISS UK as your charity of choice.

All of our little yellow buddies will be

trying to break the world record set

by last year’s race when 165,000

ducks raced their way down the

river, so come along and be part of

the fun! You

can cheer your

duck along the

course all the way to

the finish line where

there will be children’s

e n t e r t a i n m e n t a n d

refreshments.

Go Quackers for ISS UK!

Held on May 14th in Kensington,

our annual World Market was a

colourful and vibrant fair, with

products, food and entertainment

from all around the globe.

As usual, the Diplomatic Community

took the event to their hearts and

over 80 Missions produced a stand

to represent their country. Shoppers

took advantage of the many national

products rarely on sale in the UK

and were tempted by the delicious

global cuisine.

Visitors danced in the aisles to the

beat of the Angolan drums and were

serenaded by a melodic Bosnian

choir, before trying their luck on our

tombola and raffle. From hand

crafted hats and hand made

jewellery to margaritas and spicy

pupusas, there really was something

for everyone. Over 4000 visitors

came to experience our unique

charity market and over £108,000

was made for the charity.

The World Market is our longest

running event, and simply would not

be possible without the dedication of

the Diplomatic Missions involved.

Preparations for the 2009 50th

Anniversary event are already

underway, for what promises to be

an unmissable occasion!

Adopt a Duck...

www.thegreatbritishduckrace.co.uk/

charitypage.php?charity=384

Attend the Race...

12.30pm, 31st August 2008, Moseley Lock

near Hampton Court Palace

Around the World in 80 Stalls

2

The Potential of Mediation

face to face over the course of a

couple weeks or months. Thus, the

concept of international mediation

may seem foreign to UK family law.

How would one set up a mediation if

one party is in the UK and another

party is overseas?

Australia frequently uses a form of

distance mediation because it is

common to have situations where

face to face work is not viable.

Reunite, the specialist abduction

agency, is using a mediation model

which takes place over the course

of two days with families face to

face in one location. Observers of

this model have noted that the

time pressure to come to a

resolution can be very effective,

and it will be interesting to watch

how this area of mediation

develops.

A critical element of international

mediation entails considering what

mediation signifies in different

countries - with varying cultural

contexts languages and values -

and how this impacts upon the

role of the parties and mediators.

Mediation and ISS UK

An ongoing awareness of

mediation’s evolution in the UK

and internationally is pivotal for

ISS UK. In many of our cases,

mediation could provide the

needed tools to work towards a

resolution, and our Family

Reunion Project relies regularly on

mediation methods.

At a recent ISS conference Lisa

Parkinson, an expert UK mediator,

presented a mediation-based

model designed specifically for

ISS. Lisa demonstrated how the

tools of mediation could

be applied to ISS

cases in a manner to

reframe the parent’s

f ocus on to the

children, to remind

them that while their

marital partnership has

dissolved, their role as

parents will always be shared.

Lisa highlighted how our

current practice can translate

into this mediation based

approach and challenged us to

incorporate this in our work.

The informative conference has

prompted us to explore how we

can better support mediation

for our clients and how to

tap in to the

m e d i a t i o n

resources in

the UK.

““““

““““ The mediators

can only open doors;

it is up to the parties

to decide whether or

not to walk through

them

Mediation is a method of alternative

dispute resolution wherein two or

more parties attempt to resolve a

dispute with the assistance of a third

impartial party. It is a process used

in a variety of settings i.e. complex

multi party litigation, divorce,

employee/employer disputes, tribal

conflicts and even community work

with gangs. The process itself may

be highly structured or very fluid,

highly directive or very open. The

agreement - the goal of mediation -

may be formulated as a legal

document and filed in court, or

alternatively written in lay language.

In legal settings, mediation serves as

a timely and cost effective way to

reach an agreement and avoid

expensive and lengthy litigation.

Mediation in Family Law

In family law, mediation has gained

popularity because it provides a

forum in which the two people

divorcing or separating work towards

mutually agreeable arrangements.

The voluntary and solution focused

nature of mediation encourages

parents to work in a collaborative

manner as opposed to a contentious

and adversarial one. If both parents

can ‘own’ the decisions and

ar rangem ents es tab l ished

regarding their children, they

should be more likely to

comply with the agreement.

Mediation aims to de-

escalate conflict. If parents

can disentangle themselves

from the partnership in a

less tumultuous fashion,

they can avoid a high

conflict scenario which

could potentially harm

the children.

Mediation in the UK

and at an

international level

In the UK, mediation

frequently involves a

series of meetings held

face to face over the

Margaret Paton explores international dispute resolution

Bennett and Hermann, ‘The Art of Mediation’ (1999)

3

In Focus: Female Genital Mutilation

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM),

also called Female Circumcision or

Female Genital Cutting, is an

ancient tradition said to be practised

for more than 2000 years,

originating from certain communities

in Africa and the Middle East. FGM

has huge health implications for

women and girls, and is

internationally recognised as a

human rights violation.

The continuance of the tradition is

related to the belief that FGM

improves women’s health and birth

conditions, and also to community

pressures such as a pre-condition

for marriage. Women who have not

yet been circumcised might also be

pressurised by the husband’s family

to do so after the marriage.

The physical and psychological

implications caused by FGM vary

from extensive bleeding and

infections to severe trauma and

depression.

During an overseas placement, ISS

UK intercountry social worker

Dorothee Wockel had the

opportunity to work with a Tanzanian

NGO which fights against this

practice. According to the World

Health Organisation (WHO) 18% of

women living in Tanzania have been

circumcised, although this varies

significantly between tribal groups.

However, due to extensive work of

NGOs addressing FGM through

sensitisation seminars and other

activities, the number of girls and

Our new address is:

ISS UK, Unit 1.11

Canterbury Court

Kennington Park

1-3 Brixton Road

London

SW9 6DE

tel: 020 7735 8941

email: info@issuk.org.uk

www.issuk.org.uk

Reg. charity no. 1085541

““““ ““““ The number

of girls affected

in Tanzania is

declining

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women subject to FGM in Tanzania

is thought to be declining.

Within the UK, ISS is able to provide

information and advice about FGM

to social work practitioners, UK

courts and individuals. This is

particularly relevant for situations

where children are placed with

relatives abroad or when children

arrive unaccompanied into the UK

and little is known about their

background.

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