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Diverse voices celebrating the past, present, and future of globally mobile lives

In commemoration of its 20th Anniversary, the FIGT2018 program set out to capture the story of the past 20 years of growth in the understanding of globally mobile lives. FIGT continues, as in the past, to encourage tolerance and especially aims to celebrate the increased diversity of our growing community. We invited globally mobile individuals, as well as those who sponsor, support, and study them, to share their perspectives on challenges and solutions related to a globally mobile lifestyle.

The titles of the discussions which took place, the Sponsors which made it possible, as well as the Pollock Scholars who were chosen to attend and the Parfitt-Pascoe Writing Residents (PPWR) who will capture all that was said at the conference - for publication in 2019 - are listed below. Want to read beyond the titles? Visit the FIGT2018 Conference page for presentation extracts and presenter bios. Want to know even more? Become a member? Members have access to the past conference material as well as the community which contributed, and continues to contribute to this unique organization. Find out how you can also be a part of the FIGT community.


The Keynotes

Presentations which opened each day of the conference, and one which honored our past

What could make FIGT more diverse and inclusive? - Robin Pascoe

Celebrating Twenty Years! Where we’ve Been, Where We Are, Where We Want to Go – Ruth van Renken

Fifty years of change in expatriation - Sir Mark Moody-Stuart

Who am I? - Sean Ghazi

Presentations, or powerpoints available to Members Only.

Plenary Panel

Hour-long expert Panels are an effective way to consolidate knowledge and lead a conversation across sectors and areas of experience/expertise.

From TCK to ATCK: Millennial ATCKs Answer Their Take on Commitment, Choices, and Culture - Megan Norton, Loubelle Butalid, Kira Miller-Fabregat, Jenna Strahm, Mikaela Newbanks, Bryce Newbanks

The Early Bird Forums

Targeting specific audiences within the FIGT Community Early Bird Forums are a unique session type that encourages the building of professional networks. The longer 90-minute format allows for multiple presenters and plenty of discussion.

Early Bird Research Forum - Ann Baker Cottrel

Connecting storytelling and writing - Carolyn Vines, Caroline Allen

Hearing Student Voices: A twenty year discussion on the benefits and challenges of a globally mobile life -Alice Wu

Panel Discussion - Ann Baker Cottrell, Sarah Gonzles, Kyoung Mi Choi

Entrepreneurs Forum - Amel Derragui, Gina Dunn, Lisa Ferland, Stephanie Ward

Writers Forum: Power of Letter Writing - Jo Parfitt, Terry Anne Wilson

Coaching and Counseling Forum - Tami Nelson, Kelli Sanness, Shellee Burroughs, Dana Nelson

Research on Education Forum - Kim Hunt, Susan Kelly, Stephen Toole

Writers Forum - Tell, sell, and publish your expat stories Olga Mecking, Alaine Handa

The Concurrent Sessions

Hour-long sessions focused on a single topic with one or several presenters, who speak and then engage the audience in an active discussion of the topic. Selected presentations available to FIGT Members Only. 

Preparing TCKs to Step Out of the Third Culture: The Four Pearls - Tina Quick

The Power of One: How to LEAD the change you wish to see -Naomi Hattaway, Emmy McCarthy

Long Way Home: Asian Adult TCK’s Transition To the Homeland - Isabelle Min

A Global Family Finds Helps in Wilderness Treatment model: Research and narrative on outdoor behavioral health option for troubled youth - Mark Burdick

Secure Planks in the Re-Entry Bridge: a look back and build forward workshop - Michael Pollock

When the music stops for a transnational family: which court and which laws apply? - Lucy Greenwood, David Hodson

Adult TCK Coping, Skills and Identity: Current Research - Emma Dodwell-Groves, Amy Jung

A Family Just Like Mine Barbara - Anne Puren

Counseling the Globally Mobile - Lois Bushong

Misunderstandings, Misperceptions, Missed opportunities - the Challenges of Cross-Cultural Communication - Trisha Carter

The Triad for Financial (and life) Success While Abroad - Jennifer Patterson

Constructing a coherent cultural identity across postings, roles and routines - Elisabeth Weingraber-Pircher

Find YOUR purpose abroad: How to find meaning and direction no matter where you are - Sundae Schneider-Bean

Are You Airbrushing Your Crosscultural Life? Consider these ABCs for Enhancing Resilience in a Globally Mobile World - Linda Janssen

Diverse Experiences Among Expats - Jeniece Lusk

The ‘Other’ Expats: Diverse Voices from Dubai and How Race, Class and Privilege Affect our Mobility Experience - Mariam Ottimofiore

The Lightning Sessions

Lightning Sessions are engaging, informative, and based on a powerful question or idea. With 20 image-based slides, advancing automatically 18 seconds to accompany, these short presentations, presented in rapid succession, are both fun and inspiring. Click on the titles to listen.

Strategies to Support Adoptive Families in Global Transition - Laura Anderson

The Adventurous Journey of Leadership - Sue Aspinall

How Much Does Race Matter to You? - Meghan Fenn

How to Teach a Brain to Achieve a Happy Global Life with Neuroplasticity - Birgit Kuschel, Annebet van Mameren

The Role of Faith in Transition - Warren MacLeod

Is This My Problem To Fix? (Expat Guilt and Responsibility in the Developing World) - Adam Mosley

Why "Differently Wired" is the New Normal - Debbie Reber

The Kitchen Table Discussions

Kitchen Table Conversations are informal 45-minute small group discussions around a table, reminiscent of the original discussions around Ruth Van Reken’s kitchen table that led to the founding of FIGT. These are lively, interactive conversations around a focused, practical topic.

Embrace Diversity - Thrive Abroad: Navigating fearless, curious and courageous your global nomadic life - Cornelia Asanger-Lexa

Therapy Dogs: Working their magic - George Berger

Seven Tips Every non-native-English speaking expat should know: What it takes to adapt and thrive, anywhere - Sandra Bissell

Stories Connect Us: How parents and volunteers can use story-telling, art and play to help children navigate transition - Jeanne Riether

The Art of a ‘Good’ Good-bye – and What Constitutes a Meaningful and Effective Farewell to Family, Friends, and Places - Emma Vijayaratnam

The Art of Globally Mobile Lives: exploring identity and belonging - Catherine Brew

Ten Strategies to Create a Thriving Cross-Cultural Relationship - Kyoung Mi Choi

Coping As A Trailing Spouse and New Mother When No One Around You Speaks Your Language: A unique perspective - Shweta Ganesh Kumar

Creating a Global Mindset and Raising Diversity Awareness in Children While Still Living in Their Home Country - Flor Garcia

Learning to Speak Military: The deciphering lexicon of an Air Force Brat - Clifford Gardner

Engaging Ambiguity: How learning to Not-Know brings us closer to understanding others (and ourselves) in a diverse world - Jodi Harris

Breaking a Living Silence: Hazara women experience in workplace - Zainab Hussaini

The Transition That Never Ends: Exploring starting, staying and leaving well - Jerry Jones

Keeping the Love Alive and Communication Positive in an International Mixed Relationship/Marriage - Ar'nie Rozah Krogh

How to Keep your Languages Alive while Living Abroad - Ute Limacher-Riebold

Disability and Culture - Uwe Maurer

From Expat To Flexpat: A new way of living and working globally - Dominika Miernik

"The Caterpillar Club" A social story and club for children transitioning - Victoria Ford

Safe Passage Across Networks (SPAN): How to help your school community thrive through transitions - Ryan Haynes, Claudine Hakim

The Uninvited Guest Abroad: When illness comes to visit - Carolyn Parse Rizo, Vivian Chiona

That Time I Was Frozen - Ximena Reyes

What About the Stayers? - Sharon Ronan

Cultural Diversity: A key ingredient for the new global identity - Dania Santana

The Bittersweet Comfort of the Past – Dealing with a CCK’s Nostalgia - Katharina von Dessien

Birthing TCK's with love (not fear) - Karen Wilmot

Returning to work after a baby? Challenges, expectations, knowledge, and growth all around today’s mums - Angela Fusaro

Making You the Glue: Building resilience in the global community - Patti McCarthy

History in the Making - Sarah Bringhurst Familia, Meghann Ormond, Lucille Abendanon

The Poster Sessions

New in 2018 and designed to display ideas worth spreading. The posters were displayed during all three days, with time set aside for the presenter to be in attendance for questions and discussion. Or seek them out during the conference for a one-on-one conversation.

Where Do I Fit? – Examining cultural paradox - Donnyale Ambrosine

A Qualitative Study of Repatriate Adjustment in Corporate Assignees, and Their Use of HR Support Practices and Individual Coping Strategies - Janet Botcherby

The Anatomy of A Well-Executed Transition or Repatriation - Doreen Cumberford

Objects of Reflection: Symbols and self-integration of the highly mobile - Rebecca Grace Hill

Dual Career Couples: Double moves, double opportunities? - Elisabetta Iberni

An Ethnographic Study of Kikokushijo (returnee) Students in a Freshman English Language Class in a Japanese University - Aiko Minematsu

The Pollock Scholars

The David C. Pollock Scholarship Fund pays tribute to international educator, minister, sociologist, and co-author of Third Culture Kids: Growing up Among Worlds, David C. Pollock, whose tireless support, vision and dedication to families in global transition impacted countless people in every corner of the globe. Building on Pollock’s legacy, this Scholarship provides highly motivated individuals working or studying in the intercultural and transnational mobility field the opportunity to attend the FIGT conference.

* Zainab Hussaini * Jeniece Lusk * Uwe Maurer * Aiko Minematsu * Jeanne Riether *

The Parfitt-Pascoe Writing Residents
The Parfitt Pascoe Writing Residency began in 2014. It is now wholly supported and funded by Jo Parfitt and Robin Pascoe, themselves regulars at FIGT since the outset and both writers dedicated to creating and promoting content about global families in transition. Jo and Robin want expat writers engaged in the PPWR Program to strive to be agents for social change by writing about issues outside of their own experience concerning the world of serious global dislocation. The results of their writings will be available at FIGT19, and following the conference. 

* Maryam Afnan Ahmad * Nikki Cornfield * Claire Hauxwell * Annabelle Humanes * Lillian Small * Zita Stern *

The Sponsors

Our speakers, presenters, panel members provide us the content; the FIGT Board and Committee members work tirelessly behind the scenes in the year preceding the conference to make it happen. But, without the support and contribution of our Sponsors, the conference itself would not be possible. In 2018 we welcomed, and thank the following for their support.

City of The Hague  *  International Family Law  *  ACCESS  *  ACS International Schools  *  Expat Journals  *  RelocateGuru Ltd  *  Worldwide Speech  *  Parfitt Pascoe Writing Residents  *  WTC The Hague  *  NH Hotels  *  DeWitt Move Worldwide  *  Berghahn Books Ltd  *  Globally Grounded  *  I Am a Triangle  *  Insurance Consultants International  *  International Therapists Directory  *  Resilient Global Transitions  *  RNG International  *  Sundae Schneider-Bean  *  The Black Expat  *  Ute's International Lounge  * 

Want to know more?

What is in store for FIGT19 – how you can contribute, sponsor, support or be a part of? Be sure to subscribe to the Newsletter, and be the first to hear. Want to view past presentations, connect with like-minded people? Become a Member. You are also welcome to discover resources for yourself by viewing our Public Directory and Resources pages.


Families in Global Transition
C/O Campbell Rappold & Yurasits LLP
1033 S Cedar Crest Blvd
Allentown, PA 18103, USA

Phone: +1 (703) 634-7400
Email: admin@figt.org

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