Foreign Service Community Association Bulletin
December, 2004
Volume 31, #4
Welcome to the new FSCA Bulletin, delivered straight to your email. We are always looking for new, better ways to communicate with you, and our E-Bulletin is just the beginning. Look out for our new website, coming soon! Please enjoy reading this issue of the Bulletin, you'll find all blurbs on all the articles and reports in this email, if you'd like to continue reading one particular piece, just click on the "more..." at the end. Enjoy!
We would also like to ask you to interact a little more with us. Forward this Bulletin to your spouse and to any other FSCA member you know who might not have gotten it. If you received the Bulletin from a friend, or you know somebody who didn't receive it, send us a quick email so we can add the missing email address to our list and you can receive the Bulletin next time. Remember, the more people receive the Bulletin electronically, the more paper we save, Mother Nature thanks you.
List of wines at the Christmas Gala click here
FSCA Social Calendar
Click HERE to see pictures from our past two social events
A Word from the President
By: Vivek Sharma
On behalf of the FSCA executive, I want to wish all of you a wonderful holiday season and best wishes for 2005.
2004 has been a year of significant growth and tremendous change at the FSCA. Our executive team was completely changed due to posting orders and the hiring of a new coordinator. It was tough in the beginning, but we proudly delivered excellent events like the Wine and Cheese and the Annual FSCA Christmas Gala. more...
What does the future hold?: Pensions and the rotational spouse
By: Hala El-Saadany
Greetings All!
Welcome to our new Bulletin, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed putting it together for you. I write to you today as both the Editor of the Bulletin and the First Vice President of the FSCA. I accepted the position of First Vice President after Susan Desbiens announced that she could not carry out the remainder of her term for personal reasons. Susan will be missed by the Executive Committee, although everyone is very happy that she remains in contact and involved with the FSCA.
As a rookie VP, I was pretty excited with my new job, and very interested in the files I will be taking over. Generally the First VP is tasked with ensuring that all the committees have what they need to perform their jobs and that all projects are on track. Besides that, I’ve been handed the file on spousal pensions, an issue that concerns all of us. Read on to learn more about this issue: more...
A Word from the Second Vice President
By: Danielle Fortin
The holidays are fast approaching and all our members and close friends are getting ready to celebrate. To keep the tradition going the FSCA organised its annual Christmas Gala that took place in the Panorama room of the National Art Centre on Thursday December 9, 2004. During that event, our guest of honour was the Minister of Trade, Mr. Peterson. Our evening began with a reception, followed by a brief allocution of our guest and then a beautiful dinner. Our dinner ended with a short acknowledgment from a representative of the charity that we chose this year and a short allocution of a representative from the Canadian Vintners Association. We also had a brief speach from Mrs. Marie-Lucie Morin, Associate Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. In the spirit of Christmas sharing, our guests brought a gift for the younger and older children. A draw for door prizes from our sponsors followed and at least we succeeded in making a few people happy . To conclude the evening, everyone brought their dancing shoes, so the evening ended in the joy of a great celebration with the music of a great D.J. .
Happy Holidays everyone
Word from the Coordinator
By: Anne Bourgault
I have been the Office Coordinator for two and a half months and have not had much free time. Good! It means that things are moving! I have familiarized myself with the Association and now know our team better. They are all so great! It is a good mix of younger and older members with such good energy and flow of ideas, each idea better than the last. The announcement that the Bulletin will no longer by financed by the Department disappointed us, but also gave us a new purpose. As we do not have the financial capacity to publish the Bulletin as previously, we decided to modernize and publish an electronic Bulletin. Those who do not have an e-mail address will continue to receive the Bulletin by mail. That will cut down a lot of our costs and paper use. With this transition to the electronic bulletin, we will be improving our website as well, we will soon have new colours; we’ll keep you posted. more...
Education Committee
By: Jennifer McCrae-Logie
The Education Committee exists to act as a resource for spouses and children as they pursue their education and advance their careers in changing and often challenging circumstances. When the FSCA asked me to be serve as Education Coordinator, I accepted enthusiastically because education is my passion. Are you familiar with your child’s educational rights and privileges abroad? Are you wondering what the educational opportunities will be for your children on your next post? We can put you in touch with people who have been in a similar situation and have some knowledge in this area. Are you a spouse who needs to upgrade your language skills or improve you computer skills? Are you interested in learning about professional training programs? more...
Alumni Group
Up comming events more...
“Afghanistan, What Role Will Canada Play in its Future”: a Talk by Major General Andrew Leslie
By: Arthur Menzies
On September 30, 2004 the Foreign Service Alumni Group met in the home of Tudy McLaine to hear a talk by Major General Andrew Leslie. Major General Leslie served as Deputy Commander of the NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and senior officer of the Canadian contingent of 2000 in Kabul, Afghanistan from August 2003 to February 2004. more...
Canada's Policy Towards the Americas: The Good News that Didn't Make the Press
On Wednesday, March 24, we were given a very positive insight into Canada's work within the Americas by Renata Wielgosz, Director of the Inter-American Affairs Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs. Renata reviewed the steady engagement of Canada in the Americas since 1990 when Canada joined the Organization of American States (OAS), highlighting the contribution Canada had made to the creation of its Unit for the Promotion of Democracy (UPD) and the role of the UPD in ensuring democratic elections. more...
The Market Finders Investment Club (MFIC) - Are you interested in learning more about investing in the stock market in a friendly, social environment? The MFIC has about a dozen members - both Ottawa-based members and members abroad - all women with a foreign service connection. The MFIC has been in existence for six years and now has limited space to welcome new members in Ottawa. For information, please e-mail us at the following address: market_finders@yahoo.ca.