We Advocate and Educate from Lived Experience
ICAV is a global network that elevates the voices of intercountry adoptees from many birth and adoptive countries
We believe in supporting and advocating for our community
ICAV provides a comprehensive suite of resources to educate and support intercountry adoptees, our families, adoption professionals and allies
Peer Support
Find our comprehensive list of adoptee led groups around the world where intercountry adoptees can connect into peer support, face to face and online.
Post Adoption Supports
Check our lists of informal and formal supports around the world, mostly provided by lived experience as adoptees but also including other allied and professional supports.
Education
We provide a host of adoptee created resources over 25 years to educate the community about the complexities of our lived experience.
An array of resources
Our comprehensive collection of resources caters to a diverse range of people in our intercountry adoption community.
Advocating for Adoptee Rights
- Collaboration with fellow adoptees.
- Push for changes we need at government and international levels.
- Seeking truth and transparency about our origins.
Elevating Adoptee & Biological Family Voices
- A world of thought-provoking resources.
- Perspective Papers on specific themes.
- Access to lived experience insights.
“ I truly value and appreciate what adoptees in ICAV shared. I want you to know that it has made a difference to my thinking and practice, which has and will make a difference for children for whom their parents are considering adoption and people who have an adoption experience. From the bottom of my heart – Thank You!”
Adoption Professional
Oranga Tamariki, 2023
Watch, Read, Listen to ICAVs Blogs
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Monologue performances showcasing the complex lived experience of adoption from Colombia
Performances by José Montoya: one on Grief the other a biographic portrayal of his life, adopted from Colombia to the Netherlands and the complexities within. Read more
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Our separation bears down on both of us
Jillian shares her artwork expressing the shared grief and loss of the many years of separation between her South Korean mother and herself before reunion. Read more
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Adopted to Norway
Vår Benum is adopted from Sth Korea to Norway and shares artwork created for her poetry, describing the lifelong journey of being an intercountry adoptee. Read more
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Afrocentric
Ebony Hickey, a Haitian Australian intercountry adoptee performed in Afrocentric at the Victorian Gallery of Victoria. We share her voice performance and photos Read more
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Adoptees as experts and influencing international standards through advocacy
Lynelle shares about the journey from understanding her adoption to becoming an adoptee advocate, pushing for much needed change at international levels. Read more
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Vietnamese mother searching for her daughter
Vietnamese mother searching for her daughter adopted to either Belgium or France Read more
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