THE GLOBAL CAMPAIGN FOR THE DECRIMINALIZATION OF SUICIDE
Alan WOODWARD
Suicide remains a crime in some 40 countries. These laws take - not save - lives.
When suicide is a crime, it isolates help seekers, makes help harder to access, and entrenches stigma and shame.
LifeLine International will campaign to change laws that prevent anyone, anywhere, in suicidal distress from accessing life saving help. In countries where we campaign for decriminalization, we will support establishing new crisis lines, (or enhancing existing ones) to get more help to more people in more places.
Suicide everywhere in the world can be prevented.
THE LISTENING SKILLS APP
Stefan SCHUMACHER
One of the aims of the MonaLisa project was to create opportunities for situational learning by engaging learners in a practical pathway that can be taken at different stages of life. In addition, the project aimed to connect professionals, and volunteers with the skills needed to create new emotional well-being-oriented skills.
The presentation is about the so-called "Learning Nuggets", examples of how to improve one's own listening skills. They are an innovative new component in the listening skills learning programme. Learning Nuggets are special online-based learning tasks for participants. These learning tasks can be provided to participants in the spirit of adaptive learning.
Helplines and emotional emergency services must constantly understand which media are most suitable to enable the greatest number of people, of all generations, to access the opportunity to be listened. It is a question of ensuring the continuity of the listening service, by periodically updating it.
In recent years, chat seems to be the most suitable tool for reaching young people, both as callers and as volunteers. Indeed, helplines need to recruit, train and mentor young volunteers, who are most proficient in using the new devices and current communication tools. Furthermore, by increasing the presence of young volunteers and the availability of emotional support via chat, helplines can meet the needs of young callers, who usually prefer contacts via chat and text-message.
This speech presents the results of the European project “Chat Your Value - Crisis helplines assisted by Trained Young Volunteers” managed by IFOTES Europe and 6 helpline partners, which produced a good practice manual on the recruitment of young volunteers.
The Human Touch is a kind and friendly way of treating people that makes them feel good.
Individuals and society need, now more than ever, to experience this human characteristic, rediscovering trust in social relationships.
Creative expressiveness, even in its amateur forms, represents a vehicle of communication able to create valid conditions for collective well-being.
The encounter of the aforementioned dimensions is the basis of the project "The Human Touch": an exhibition of amateur works and artistic performances by young people and adults, with different backgrounds and skills. They propose the theme of dialogue and a healthy approach to relationships, in a perspective characterized by attention, respect and kindness and by the recognition of each person in their uniqueness and value as a human being.
The presentation illustrates the project to which the exhibition “The Human Touch” is connected, and that is open to visitors during the days of the congress at the school “Pietro Savorgnan di Brazzà” in Lignano.
Dr Alan Woodward has worked in mental health, crisis support and suicide prevention for 20 years as an executive leader, policy advisor, evaluator, and researcher. He is an expert on crisis lines and related online or digital support services. He led service improvement and quality assurance for Lifeline Australia and established the Lifeline Research Foundation. He has assisted crisis lines in several countries with their establishment or enhancement and now works as an advisor for Lifeline International. Dr Woodward undertook research on the experiences of those who call crisis lines for his PhD Thesis. He also holds a Masters Degree in Social Science and Policy, a Business Degree, and a Diploma in Arts/Communication.
Theologian, social scientist, communication psychologist and master of short strategic therapy, NLP teaching trainer, author, head of the TelefonSeelsorge Hagen-Mark, project manager of IFOTES Europe, vice president of the German Working Group for Youth and Marriage Counseling. Current publication: Medial Dialogue Competence.
Michael Grundhoff has been working in the telephone counseling service in Hamm since 2013. He has been the director there since 2021. Before that he managed a youth center. He first came in contact with IFOTES in 2016 at the congress in Aachen. From autumn 2016 he is one of the two delegates of the German TelefonSeelsorge e.V. in the international and the executive committee. He also worked in the steering committees for the congress in Udine and Lignano. In 2017 he became President of IFOTES Europe and since then has worked together with the Managing Director Dr. Stefan Schumacher in the application, implementation and accounting of various projects in the Erasmus program.
Mit Van Paesschen has been working at Tele-Onthaal, telephone assistance since 1987. Together with Télé-Accueil and Telefonhilfe, the French- and German-speaking helplines in Belgium, she is part of the Confederation of Telephone Helplines in Belgium. Since 2019, she has been a member of Ifotes' International Committee, collaborating on the 'Chat Your Value' project.
Trainer in social and communication skills, with a humanistic and psycho-social educational background.
Manager of European projects for the development of social skills.
Since 2022 Director of IFOTES – International Federation of Telephone Emergency Services.
Co-founder and President of ARTESS – Association for Research and Training on Emotional Support Skills.
Co-founder of QUIDD - Italian association for vocational development.