On 30 July, I ran our Reunion and Beyond webinar, part 2 of this series in searching and reunion in intercountry adoption. I couldn’t be more proud of our 8 panelists who did an incredible job of sharing some of the nuances and complexities involved! Thank you to each of them!
Ae Ra (born in Sth Korea, raised in Belgium), Alex (born in Romania, raised in Germany and New Zealand), Jonas (born in Haiti, raised in Australia), Sam (born in the Philippines, raised in the Philippines and the USA), Maria (born in Greece, raised in the USA), Ben (born in Guatemala, raised in the USA), James (born in Colombia, raised in Australia), and Raya (born in Russia, raised in Canada).
For those who are time poor, I’ve provided a time code so you can flick to the relevant parts. For those who want a summary of our key messages, they are also included as a pdf.
Time code
00:00:00 Intro – Lynelle
00:01:32 Why this webinar
00:07:16 Introduction of panelists
00:07:22 Ae Ra
00:09:17 Jonas
00:10:33 Maria
00:11:25 Raya
00:13:10 Ben
00:15:42 Alex
00:16:52 Sam
00:20:40 James
00:23:05 Questions
00:23:15 What do you recommend in preparation for reunion?
00:23:30 Maria
00:28:33 Ben
00:32:20 Raya
00:35:25 What challenges have you faced in reunion?
00:35:42 James
00:40:22 Jonas
00:43:19 Raya
00:45:48 Ae Ra
00:49:35 Tips for a media facilitated reunion
00:50:05 Alex
00:51:34 How to deal with differences in language and culture?
00:51:51 Ben
00:55:38 James
01:01:04 What role do I want for adoptive family in / after reunion?
01:01:26 Alex
01:03:10 Jonas
01:06:34 Ae Ra
01:09:47 How do I support myself in reunion?
01:09:53 Jonas
1:11:14 Maria
1:16:12 Sam
1:21:19 How do we manage the financial requests?
1:21:42 Sam
1:23:58 Alex
1:26:12 Ben
1:29:30 What’s it been like to find answers to your questions?
1:29:41 James
1:31:58 Raya
1:34:39 Sam
1:36:52 What role should government and adoption agencies have in reunion?
1:37:12 Ben
1:39:18 Maria
1:42:49 Ae Ra
1:45:56 Closing remarks and thanks
Summary of Key Messages
Click here for the Summary of Key Messages
Resources
Part 1, Searching as adoptee experts in intercountry adoption
Summary of key themes from ICAVs 2016 Search and Reunion Perspective paper
Intercountry and transracial adoptee experiences of search and reunion
Roadmap to Reunion: a framework for a successful adoption reunion
International search and reunion: a conversation with Susan Cox
Complex family relationships in international adoption: Search, reunion and contact by Amanda Baden
Ten things adoptees want their birth families to know about reunion
Adoption reunion: 5 things I have learned as an adoptee by Angela Barra
An adoption reunion roadmap (written by birth mother)
Preparing for search and reunion by C.A.S.E
What every adoptive parent should know about search and reunion
ISS Australia’s Review of their Intercountry Adoption Tracing and Reunification Service (ICATRS) 2016 – 2018 (provides lessons learnt and what the data demonstrated after 2 years of the service)
Huge thanks to the Australian Federal Government, DSS for providing Small Grants through Relationships Australia ICAFSS which allowed compensation to the panelists for their time and expertise.
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