3*4tv* (Y^'orW CViJ-/oAe . . — "flb'Ttjj £5- International catholic child bureau 31, rue de Fleurus, Paris-6* PURPOSE HISTORY STRUCTURE MEDIA OF ACTION ACHIEVEMENTS WHAT IS THE INTEHNATIONAL CATHOLIC CHILD BUREAU? THE International Catholic Child Bureau (I.C.C.B.) is a technical organization. It was established for the purpose of studying all aspects of child problems, with the excep- tion, however, of specifically academic ques- tions. The I.C.C.B. is governed by statutes which were approved by the Holy See by letter bearing number 350.326 and dated May 14, 1955 - The purpose of the I.C.C.B. is defined as follows in Article 3 of the Statutes : « In a spirit of complete submission to the Holy See and the Hierarchy, the International Catholic Child Bureau aims at being : 1 - A bureau for study, research, information and documentation on all questions concerning child- hood, with the exception, how- ever, of specifically academic questions in so far as they are distinctly school problems. 2 - A center for the benefit of Catho- lic Organizations throughout the world which take an active interest in children. 3 - A representative organ, on a technical level, for the protection of children’s interests, particu- larly moral and spiritual. The I.C.C.B. being a technical organization, it is made up of various bodies which are quite different in nature but which all have the same common interest, that is, problems concerning children. Research programmes undertaken by the I.C.C.B. cover all aspects of child welfare : education of children in the family, kinder- garten, summer camps, resident and non-resid- ent child centers, and boys' towns, etc., the press, cinema and radio for children, physically, socially and morally maladjusted children, etc. We must stress, in particular, that the I.C.C.B. is not concerned with providing assist- 1 ance but is, first and foremost, an organization established for the purpose ofstudy and research. However, it cannot carry out its study program- me apart from welfare organizations with which it co-operates closely. HISTOKY The International Catholic Child Bureau was founded in 1947 by an international unit sponsored by Abbe Gaston Courtois, Director-General of the Union des (Euvres Catholiques de France, Chaplain General of the I.C.C.B. At the first meeting which was held in Paris on January 17, 1948 and which brought together delegates from Canada, Italy, France, Belgium, Portugal, Holland and Czechoslo- vakia, Mr. Raoul DELGRANGE, President of the Federation Nationale des Patronages de Belgique (National Federation of Church Let it be understood and medi- tated on that children are the hope and strength of the future and that it is absolutely essential that they grow up wholesome in body and mind so that we may not some day witness a generation bearing the diseases and blemishes of vice. H.H. Pius XII - Ency- clical Letter « Quemad- modum». clubs in Belgium), was elected President, and Mr. Rene FINKELSTEIN, Secretary General. From the very outset, the I.C.C.B. has received the steady support of important International Institutes, such as the Ponti- fical Association of the Holy Childhood, the Society of Jesus, St. John Bosco’s St. Francis of Sales Institute, Brothers of the Christian Schools Institute, which have become members and have ever since collaborated closely with the Bureau. 2 Since its first Congress, the I.C.C.B. has extended its activities by grouping the various national Organizations concerned with child problems in the different countries. Four Congresses have already been held since the first organization meeting in Paris : at Hilversum (December 1949), Madrid (April 1951), Constance (May 1953) and Venice (May 1955). The I.C.C.B. has obtained consultative status with U.N.E.S.C.O., with the United Nations Economic and Social Council and with U.N.I.C.E.F. The I.C.C.B. is a member of the Conference of International Catholic Organizations. In 1953 it was elected as one of the members of the Standing Committee of the Conference of International Catholic Organizations, and at the ordinary Meeting of the Conference of ICOs held in the Hague during the month of March 1955, it was entrusted with the Presidency of the Conference. The I.C.C.B. is governed by statutes which were approved by the Holy See by letter N° 350.326 dated May 14, 1955. On various occasions, in the exercise of its activities and at the different Congresses, the I.C.C.B. has received the approval and encouragement of some of the most eminent members of the Hierarchy, as well as numerous tokens of esteem and trust from the Apostolic Holy See. WHO MAY BECOME A MEMBER Of THE I.C.C.B. ? THE International Catholic Child Bureau includes three categories of members : i° Associate members. As stated in article 5 of the Statutes of the I.C.C.B., the following are associate mem- bers : « 1 - Councils, Committees or National Commissions coordinating in any 3 one country their Catholic acti- vities in behalf of children. 2 - When in any given country there are neither Councils, nor a Committee, nor a National Com- mission, associate members are : Associations, Federations, Ins- titutes, Child Movements or any National Organization which, in some way or other, have a direct action on children or on behalf of children. » One of the aims of the I.C.C.B. is to promote the setting up of Catholic Child Committees in every country for the purpose of grouping the various child welfare activities in each country. These Committees would constitute the national members of the I.C.C.B. It is mainly through the efficient organization of such national commissions that any real results can be achieved on behalf of children. 2° Corresponding members. As stated in article 6 of the statutes, the following are corresponding members : « wel- fare organizations and international federations or institutes, the activities of which are exclu- sively devoted to children, as well as Religious Congregations directly concerned with chil- dren ». 3° Members in the capacity of experts. As stated in article 7 of the Statutes, the following are members in the capacity of experts : « persons specialized in problems concerning childhood and who may request or are requested by the Board of Directors to assume such capacity for permanent collabo- ration in the activities of the International Catholic Child Bureau ». In order to become a member of the Inter- national Catholic Child Bureau : i° A written request must be sent to the President of the I.C.C.B. 20 To the request must be attached a docu- ment giving full information concerning the organization requesting membership. 3 0 Proof of approval by the Ecclesiastical Authorities must be supplied. 4 0 The applicant must agree to pay the mem- bership fees. 4 STRUCTURE OF THE I.C.C.B. THE International Catholic Child Bureau is governed by three organs : i° The General Council. The General Council of the I.C.C.B. is made up of the various categories of members. It meets every two years for the purpose of outlining the activities programme of the Bureau and electing members of the Board of Directors. 2° The Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is the administrative organ of the International Catholic Child Bureau. It is composed of a President subject For several years now, your Bureau has given proof of the fine quality of its work, and the confidence it has inspired has resulted in its having been elected recently as President of the Confe- rence of ICOs for the year 1955-56 by the other International Catholic Organizations. Letter from the Secreta- riat of State of His Holi- ness on the occasion of the Vth Congress of the I.C.C.B. (Venice, May 1955 ). to approval by the Holy See, four Vice-Pre- sidents, a Treasurer, a Secretary and of a staff comprising 8 to 15 members. It is assisted by an Advisory Chaplain General appointed by the Holy See. The Board of Directors of the I.C.C.B. elects the President and Vice-Presidents of the Board. At the present time, the Bureau consists of : President : Mr. Raoul DELGRANGE (Belgium). Vice-Presidents : Mgr BOURGEOIS (Canada), Mr. de HAAS (Holland), Mr. VOLPI (Italy), Mr. GARCIA-HOZ (Spain). 5 Chaplain General : Abbe COURTOIS. Secretary General : Mr. FINKELSTEIN (France). 3° Administrative Secretariat General. The Administrative Secretariat General is the organ responsible for carrying out all decisions made by the General Council and the Board of Directors. Its purpose is to ensure the continuity of the work undertaken by the Board of Direct- ors in collaboration with its members, repre- sentation of the I.C.C.B. with official or private Organizations, coordination of the work of the various commissions, and the coordination in general of all of the activities of the I.C.C.B. Administrative Secretary General : Mr. Michel NORMAND. 4° Regional Secretariats. In order to ensure effective organization of I.C.C.B. activities locally, the Board of Directors has established permanent local delegations. At the present time there are two such delegations : — Permanent Delegation for North America (3, Place Jean-Talon - Quebec - Canada). Permanent Delegate : Reverend Father GAGNON. — Permanent Delegation for the East and Near East (Child Welfare Bureau : 14, Sh. El Birgas - Zaidan Building - Cairo City - Egypt). Permanent Delegate : Reve- rend Father GOHARGUI. MFOIA OF ACTION The following are the principal media of action of the I.C.C.B. : a) Information Service. Gathering and dissemination on a large scale of information on the various problems concerning childhood is one of the main functions of the International Catholic Child Bureau, 6 which, let us remember, is first and foremost an organ for research and study. The documentation collected by the I.G.C.B. deals with the different problems it has under- j taken to study : educational, judicial, econo- mical, social and medical-social. At its Headquarters, 31, rue de Fleurus, PARIS, the I.C.C.B. maintains an important Information Service where various documents, reviews, inquiries, congress reports, and reports on study commissions and meetings of experts are analyzed and kept on file, the whole cons- tituting a considerable number of documents. A list of the research abstracts and various documents analyzed is published in the monthly review of the I.C.C.B. « L’Enfance dans le Monde ». The Information Service can also supply any one of the documents on file for distribution to any part of the world through its photocopy and microfilm service. b) « L’Enfance dans le Monde « (Children throughout the World). The I.C.C.B. publishes a monthly review « L’Enfance dans le Monde » which is one of its media for communicating results of its study and research activities. Each issue comprises a general survey of international and national activities concerning child pro- blems (Informations), selected newspaper and magazine articles and books reviewed by the I.C.C.B. Information Service (Documentation Analytique), as well as one or several documen- tary articles on questions of present interest. c) The Commissions. The structure of the I.C.C.B. also includes a number of specialized commissions, each commission devoting itself to the study of some particular aspect of child problems. Each commission is administered by a Bureau composed of a President and a Secretary. In order to avoid concentrating the central administration locally, the Board of Directors of the I.C.C.B. has made a point of placing the headquarters of the secretariats of the various commissions in different countries. The commissions organize study sessions and publish documents. The Commissions are composed of members who participate in the work of the Commissions, 7 not as representatives of any particular country or organization, but solely in the capacity of experts. At the present time, there are five such Commissions : — Medical-Social and Psycho-Pedagogical Commission. SECRETARIAT : 31, rue de Fleurus - Paris. — « The Press for Children » Commission. SECRETARIAT : Deutscher Caritas- verband-Werthmannhaus - Freiburg in Breisgau (Germany). — The Commission on « Institutions and Foster- Homes for children deprived of a normal family life ». SECRETARIAT : Piazza Pia 4 - Rome. — « Outdoor Activities » Commission . SECRETARIAT : 5, rue Guimard - Brussels. The Church has at all times shown the greatest anxiety and concern for youth. It has right- fully felt that the young were more especially entrusted to the loving spirit and care of the Church. H.H. Pius XII - Ency- clical Letter « Quemad- modum». d) Congresses. The purpose of the Congresses of the I.C.C.B. is the study on an international level of the main problems concerning children. They are not restricted to I.C.C.B. members alone, but are open to any person or body corporate interested in the problem under study. Besides the Organization Congress which met in Paris in January 1948, the I.C.C.B. has held four other Congresses : at Hilversum (Holland) on the subject : « Children and the principal media of information : Press, Radio, Cinema », December 1949 - Madrid, April 1951, on the subject ; « The Training of Edu- cators)) - Constance (Germany), May 1953, on the subject : ((Children and the Family » - Venice (Italy, May 2-8, 1955, on the subject « The development of an international sense in children)). 8 RELATIONS WITH INTERNATIONAL ORCANIIATIONS W ITHIN the fields of activity covered by the Conference of International Catholic Organizations, together with its commissions and permanent organs, the I.C.C.B. collaborates closely with most of the ICOs. Owing to the fact that the I.C.C.B. has consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of U.N.E.S.C.O. and with U.N.I.C.E.F., it also carries out functions of representation and protection of the spiritual and moral interests of children with official International Organizations. It also maintains close relations with the principal non-governmental international Orga- nizations concerned with childhood problems and, especially, with the International Union for Child Welfare of which it is an « associate member on an international level ». SOME Of THE WORN ACCOMPLISHED SO EAR The I.C.C.B. carries out its functions principally through its Congresses and Com- missions, the publication of the review « L’En- fance dans le Monde » and through its Documen- tation Service. However, it is fitting to point out some of the work it has accomplished in various fields : — Campaign launched in favor of the Greek children deported to U.R.S.S. satellite countries (1951). — ((Children’s Prayer for Peace » Day (1954). The « Children’s Prayer for Peace » Day was organized by the International Catholic Child Bureau and « Pax Christi », an Interna- tional Peace Movement. On May 23, millions of children throughout the world recited a prayer which His Holiness Pope Pius XII had composed personally for this special occasion. — A Commission with a restricted number of members for the purpose of studying child problems in Tropical and Equatorial Africa (Dakar, March 1954). Organization in the form of an enquiry which is being conducted at present, of an International Conference to be held in 1956. — Research and study on the training and status of specialized educators (work under- taken by the Medical-Social and Psycho- Pedagogical Commission of the I.C.C.B. during the experts’ Conferences which were held in Rome, 1953 and Freiburg (Switzerland) 1955, based on two interna- tional enquiries concerned with the training and status of specialized educators for maladjusted children). — Study of the training of extra school educators (contribution on a contract basis with U.N.E.S.C.O., for the Regional Conference on mental health and education of children in Europe, Paris 1952). — Report on discrimination in education (report intended for the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities of the United Nations - 1954).