Dear INCCIP colleagues,
I can’t believe it’s been two months since we saw so many of you in Huddersfield! This newsletter contains stories of the many things INCCIP has been working on since then, including plans for the next conference. You will also learn a bit more about the Board and re-visit the incredible talk from Anye – one of many powerful and inspirational sessions we heard during our time together in August.
Since then we are delighted that Board member Luciano Cadoni (Argentina) has agreed to represent INCCIP on the Child Rights Connect Working Group for Children with Incarcerated Parents, which he co-convenes as part of his work with NNAPES (see link to biographies below). INCCIP has endorsed a statement from the Working Group regarding the UN Global Study on Children in Detention, which includes babies and infants living in prison with their mothers. Meanwhile INCCIP Vice-Chair Avon Hart-Johnson is leading the International Prisoners’ Families Conference in Texas this month, and INCCIP Ambassador Francis Ssuubi has launched the Global Centre for Children with Incarcerated Parents Studies at the Wells of Hope school in Uganda.
My own organisation, Families Outside, has started a #NoAddressInThePress campaign to prevent families’ addresses being published in the media when someone goes to prison http://chng.it/FWLG4V26 With Lorna Brookes’ support, the Youth Ambassadors have picked up on this as well and are working to publicise it in England.
One of the Board’s goals is to make sure you hear from us more regularly. This will include updating the INCCIP website to keep it current, complementing our relatively active Facebook and Twitter accounts. We’re building a Strategic Plan for the near future and developing mechanisms for organisations to join INCCIP alongside individual membership. This includes navigating our role with existing networks such as NNAPES and Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE), ensuring INCCIP complements rather than threatens their crucial work.
Thank you for your continued support and patience during INCCIP’s formative years. As the Board members are all taking this work forward on a voluntary basis alongside our ‘day jobs’, this can be a frustratingly slow process! We will strive to keep you informed along the way and look forward to hearing your thoughts as we progress.
Kindest regards,
Nancy Loucks
Chair, INCCIP
