REMARKS BY PRESIDENT ON THE OCCASION OF THE OPENING OF THE 8TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE OPENING OF THE 8TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL FEDE
I am delighted to be with you this afternoon for the opening ceremony of your annual conference – and I want to say how grateful I am to Sheila Conroy from the National Association of Widows in Ireland, who are hosting this year’s Conference – for giving me this honour. I would also like to thank May Clancy, the Vice President of FIAV, for her warm words of welcome – and to congratulate her on organising the event. I know that May has put a tremendous amount of work into making it a success –she has worked so hard in fact, that she’s afraid she won’t be able to remember her own name when it’s all over!
- In ‘formally’ welcoming each of you to the Annual Conference - I would particularly like to extend a very warm Irish welcome to the overseas delegates who have come to Dublin for what promises to be an interesting and enjoyable conference. I have no doubt that some of you are visiting for the first time – and you will have probably realised by now that we don’t have much control over our weather!
- I know that you have a full programme of seminar sessions and plenary sessions over the next couple of days - covering the many topics and concerns that impinge on your lives and on your circumstances as widowed people. With sessions dealing with the young widow – bereavement following road traffic accidents – human rights – support groups – and many other topics of interest to widows and widowers – you will be covering a lot of the areas of concern in our modern society – a society that is changing rapidly as we approach the end of the twentieth century.
- Much has been done to recognise the hurdles and struggles that widowed people have to cope with in picking up their lives – dealing with the double difficulty of personal loss with a whole set of new burdens - in many cases having to provide for young and growing families – fulfilling the role of two parents, while at the same time dealing with the personal loss of a partner that represented a significant and vital part of their life – and helping other family members to come to terms with their own sense of bereavement and loss. While a lot has been achieved in the area of State and other support services, there is always scope for improvement – and there are always new challenges to be faced.
- Occasions like this usually mean a lot of hard work –for delegates, facilitators and presenters – as new information is shared and analysed – and views and ideas are explored. The plight of widowed people throughout the world differs from place to place in that there are varying degrees of help and support available. While the emotional and mental trauma of widowhood is universal in its nature – the quality of treatment – the level of backup available – and the recognition of the status of widows and widowers - is by no means universal in character. The importance of the FIAV Annual Conference is that it affords everybody attending the seminars an opportunity to learn from others – to hear of new developments and practices – of new thinking in the area of therapy and emotional support – and of current trends in the public policies that address the needs of widowed people. It is through conferences such as this that you can have your voice heard – and can listen to others who have something to contribute.
- In opening the conference – I want to wish all of you well in your deliberations. I hope you have an enjoyable and fruitful conference - discussing the new perspectives and possibilities that our changing society brings with it – and meeting others with whom you have something deep and profound in common. The opportunity at conferences such as this, to make new contacts on a personal level – to make new friends and renew acquaintances – gives it an added value that is impossible to quantify. But for many it is perhaps the most beneficial aspect of the conference.
- I see that May Clancy has very wisely factored in a social dimension to the conference – with a State Reception being hosted tonight by the Minister for Social, Community & Family Affairs - in the splendour of the State Apartments here in Dublin Castle – and an Irish night tomorrow evening just up the street at Trinity College. I strongly urge you to take May’s advice – and avail of the other side of Ireland while you are here. I promise that you will have a memorable experience!