IFF Update 2007 #29 (2): News from the Members

       
Greetings Colleagues,

Last year we invited you to share with us the interests and concerns of your Associations. Here are the responses we've had so far.  If you would like to contribute news from your Board, please send it to iffadmin@felkdenkrais-method.org and include the full official names of all your members.

Once received, your response will be added to these for others to see.

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The Israeli BOD focuses its activities in three major subjects: further education, promotion of the Guild to practitioners and promotion of the FM to the public.
 
Education – almost all the advanced training's, workshops, seminars and congresses are being organized by the guild.

Every 6 to 8 weeks we have a one day seminar with an average of 60 participants.

A new subject was introduced recently to the community - a workshop that will help practitioners promote themselves.

Last June we held a one day congress with 250 participants divided to 14 different workshops covering the implementation of the FM in educational and medical fields, as well as in different arts.

For many years the Israeli Guild has had 180 – 225 members, while many practitioners graduated training programs.

The BOD learnt that while we had new comers we also had those who didn't renew their membership.

After a phone survey we held (30 members and 30 non members) we initiated a "thinking team" that worked with a consultant to redefine the vision and mission of the guild, both inwards and outwards. The vision, mission, targets and tasks (with priorities) were published to the community for feedback and discussion. Later on the thinking team was divided – one to deal with internal affairs and the other to deal with all external affairs.

Interesting is the fact that in highest priority was the need – "to have an explanation/description of the FM".

A marketing/PR consultant will start working with the teams soon.

Face lift up -

Another process the BOD initiated last year is the design of a new Logo and a new website – both to create an updated image of the FM and of the guild.

Code of ethics – a draft of the code was presented to the community for discussion and remarks. Those were collected and are being worked out.  Final version is to be presented for vote during the next GA. 

First success is already to be seen – practitioners start to show interest of what is being done, and some of them joined the teams and started contributing to the process. 

All different activities will merge into integrated actions in the near future.

Eitan Sarig  eitansar@bezeqint.net
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Hello and a happy new year from the Schweiz. Feldenkrais Verband.  The themes that are important to us haven't changed much:A big point of discussion is still the upcoming law about professions in Switzerland (shall we join? Is there another alternative? What would / could the effect on future training be? With whom could we join forces (Alexander, Shiatsu...)? What would be our conditions? What do we want?? Recognition or 'freedom'? This will certainly be a big chunk for the SFV in 2007.

 Another point is the discussion about membership criteria, even though the change of the IFF statutes and regulations helped us solve the problem about Eli Wadler's students from non accredited trainings. Yet there are two more groups who would like to join the SFV.
 
Then there is the fact that two planned trainings can't take place (Zurich 3 and Zurzach, not enough interest), while Biel 2 has just a minimum of students. The next training to start is planned for 2008 (Basel 4).   

Nadine Yasikoff n.yasikoff@bluewin.ch
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From the Swedish Guild -  This is what is taking our attention at the moment:

A new homepage is about to be opened. It will now include a part where members can discuss with each other. All our information to our members will then be found there, more or less nothing will be sent by post. That will be a very new experience for many members.

A working group is discussing how to document our work. Both FI and ATM. The practitioners in the medical system have to write, but is it possible to find a way for them to do it more in a “ feldenkrais way”? Those outside the medical system do not need to write anything. Is that good or bad? Can we find an easy computer program to be used by all members?

How can we promote the Feldenkrais Method better? Make the method more known?
How can it be made possible for all our members to be a Feldenkrais practitioner full time?

Our Guild has about 80% physiotherapists that in different ways can include the method in their work. How can our method become a profession for everybody?

A working group is preparing a Feldenkrais activities for three days built around our annual meeting in March. Experienced Swedish practitioner will teach in ATM and FI and talk about research. The Competency Profile will also be one of the topics.

The IWG must be discussed among the members. Provocative questions are to be sent out to create interest and to make the importance of the IWG-documents understood. It will also be discussed at our annual meeting.

Competency Project. We are sending two participants to Amsterdam in January.

IFF and EuroTab Council

Membership - issues

Lena Brannstrom (l.brannstrom@glocalnet.net)
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The board of the Norwegian guild have been organizing two advanced with Günter Bisge in 2006.
We have been working with the Competency Project and the IWG-report.
The guild gives out information-papers to the members.
We also work to write down the history of the Norwegian guild.

Ann Aase Kvalvaag (annkfbh@online.no)
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The German Guild also replied saying that their main focus at present is the IWG report and their response to it. They attached their position paper, which is a little long to include here please contact Dirk Steinkamp (D.Steinkamp@gmx.de) or Frank Höfer (f.hoefer@gmx.de), if you would like to know more. Or you can visit their paper via the attachments to this newsletter below.  
 
 

Attachment	Size
2006-11-15 IWG position paper A final (English).pdf	108.45 KB
2006-11-15 IWG Positionspapier A final (deutsch).pdf	111.19 KB