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IGN History
 

The International Guardianship Network (IGN) was founded in Berlin in December 2001 by international adult guardians and judges. Now we have more than 345 members from 39 nations and 4 continents. Most of our members come from Europe, Asia or from English speaking countries like the U.S., Canada and Australia.

The International Guardianship Network is a non-profit and non-government organisation.
The missions of IGN are to provide support, information and networking opportunities and to put the legal proceedings of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities into practice. We initiate international projects and conferences. IGN is independent of political and religious ideologies.

 

International Conferences

Our first IGN Conference was in Berlin, April 6 to April 9, 2003, with 35 guardianship professionals from 7 nations (Australia, Israel, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Canada, USA). The conference reader "International Adult Guardianships - Presentations from the International Guardianship Network Conference in Berlin" (9 presentations from 6 nations, 190 pages) was published in April 2003.

The second IGN Conference „Adult guardianships in Central Europe“ was held in St. Pölten, Austria, September 21st to 23rd, 2005, with more than 50 guardianship professionals from 11 nations (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Luxembourg, Hungary, Slovenia, Netherlands, England and Scotland, USA, Australia). This conference was organised by IGN in cooperation with the Austrian organisation NÖ Landesverein für Sachwalterschaft und Bewohnervertretung Niederösterreich, and sponsored by the Austrian Ministry of Justice.

The third IGN Conference (only for German speakers) „Adult guardianships in Europe – chances and borders“ was held in Olten, Switzerland, May 10 to 12, 2007 with 25 guardianship professionals from 7 nations (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Netherlands, Slovenia, Denmark). The conference was organised by IGN and supported and sponsored by the Swiss Guardianship Association.

The fourth IGN Conference was held in Bergen an Zee, The Nertherlands, September 11 to 13, 2007 with more than 60 participants from 14 nations (Canada, USA, Australia, Japan, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, England and Scotland). The conference was organised by the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Faculty of Law, and by the organisations MEE Noordwest-Holland and Stichting Mentorschap Alkmaar in cooperation with IGN. Further, the conference was supported and sponsored by Mentorschap Netwerk Nederland.

The fifth IGN/CCELS Conference was held in Vancouver, Canada, November 13 to 15, 2008 with 128 participants from 10 nations (Canada, USA, Netherlands, Sweden, Bermuda, Israel, Australia, UK, Japan and Afghanistan). The conference was organised by The Canadian Centre on Elder Law Studies (CCELS) in cooperation with IGN.

 

EU Projects

We initiated the following EU projects as coordinator or project partner:

- The Grundtvig Learning Partnership „Education of volunteer guardians in Europe” together with Betreuungsverein Treptow-Köpenick e.V., Mentorschap Netwerk Nederland and NÖ Landesverein für Sachwalterschaft und Bewohnervertretung (2007 – 2009).

- The Grundtvig Learning Partnership “Integration of adults with disabilities in Europe” together with Betreuungsverein Treptow-Köpenick, MEE Nordwest Holland and Info-Handicap Luxembourg (2009–11).

- The Grundtvig workshop “European minorities – the history and the culture of the Sorbs in Germany” in Berlin, May 1 – 7, 2011.

- The Grundtvig workshop “Inclusion – working and learning with disabilities in Europe” in Berlin, May 29 – June 4, 2011.

- The Grundtvig workshop “Art without barriers for seniors and adults with disabilities in Europe” in Berlin, May 13 – 19, 2012.

- The Grundtvig workshop “Creative ways to handle the European identity crisis” in Berlin, May 5 – 11, 2013.

- The Grundtvig workshop “Methods for improving the literacy of disaffected young men in Europe”in Berlin, June 15 – 21, 2014.

- The Erasmus + transnational project “ AD-CHOISIR – from guardianship to supported decision-making of persons with disabilities” together with Union Regionale des Associations Familiales (France), Agentura podporovaneho zamestnavania n.o. (Slovakia), Service d'Accompagnement Tutelaire asbl (Luxembourg), UNAFOR (FRANCE), Fundacio Campus Arnau d'Escala (Spain) and Fundacio Tutelar de les Comarques Gironines (Spain) from Oktober 2018 till September 2020.

 

World Congresses on Adult Guardianship

IGN was one of the co-organisers of the World Congress on Adult Guardianship Law in Yokohama, October 1-4, 2010. The conference was organised by the Japan Adult Guardianship Law Association (JAGA). This was the biggest conference in the international adult guardianship history with more than 450 participants from 15 nations (Japan, Singapore, China, Taiwan, Korea, Samoa, Australia, USA, Canada, Germany, Italy, Austria, UK, Finland, The Netherlands).

The 2nd World Congress on Adult Guardianship „Guardianship and the United Nations Disabilities Convention: Australian and International Perspectives“ was held in Melbourne, October 15 to 17, 2012 with 410 participants from 14 nations (Australia, USA, Japan, Ireland, South Korea, The Netherlands, China, Germany, Canada, Singapore, Hungary, UK, Finland, Thailand). The congress was hosted by the Australian Guardianship and Administration Council (AGAC) in association with IGN.

The 3rd World Congress on Adult Guardianship “Promising Practices to Ensure Excellence in Guardianship Around the World” was held in Washington D.C., May 28 to 30, 2014 with more than 350 participants from 22 nations and all continents (USA, Canada, Argentina, Nigeria, Australia, Japan, Tawain, Korea, Singapore, China, Ireland, UK, Belgium, The Netherlands, France, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Israel). The congress was hosted by the National Guardianship Network (NGN) in affiliation with IGN.

The 4th World Congress on Adult Guardianship was held in Erkner near Berlin, September 14 to 17, 2016 with more than 500 participants from 33 nations and all continents (Germany, Switzerland, South Korea, Austria, Netherlands, Singapore, Australia, USA, Spain, France, Poland, Malta, Canada, Argentina, UK/England, Japan, Norway, Luxembourg, Italy, Taiwan, Denmark, China, UK/Scotland, UK/Northern Ireland, Slovenia, Israel, Principality of Liechtenstein, Sweden, Hongkong/China, Uganda, Andorra, Latvia, Turkey). The congress was hosted by the German Betreuung Association (Betreuungsgerichtstag e.V.) in collaboration with IGN.

The 5th World Congress on Adult Guardianship was held in Seoul Dragon City Convention Center and in Hanyang University HIT in Seoul, Korea, October 23 to 26, 2018 with more than 500 participants from 22 nations and all continents (Algeria, Luxembourg, Japan, Korea, Argentina, UK/England, Germany, UK/Scotland, USA, Australia, Singapore, Canada, Netherlands, Taiwan, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, China, Italy, Norway, France, Hong Kong/China). The congress was organized by the Korean Guardianship Association and the Seoul Family Court and hosted by the Korean Guardianship Association, the Supreme Court of Korea, the Ministry of Justice and the International Guardianship Network.

The 7th World Congress on Adult Capacity was held in Edinburgh, UK, June 7 to 9, 2022 with more than 270 participants from 30 nations (UK/England, UK/Scotland, UK/Northern Ireland, Sierra Leone, Netherlands, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Australia, Germany, Austria, Spain, France, Ireland, USA, Singapore, Hong Kong/China, Luxembourg, Argentina, Israel, Norway, Italy, Latvia, Finland, Sweden, Jersey, Switzerland, Portugal, Liechtenstein, Taiwan. The congress was organized by the Scottish World Congress Committee and supported by the UK Government, Alzheimer Scotland, the Law Society of Scotland, the US National Guardianship Association and the International Guardianship Network.

 

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