50th Anniversary

On Thursday, February 24th 2022 at 9:00am we had our 50th anniversary kick off - if you missed it, no problem, please see the recording here

As we kick off our 50th Anniversary celebrations, we invite you to join us for the very first of our special virtual events ‘WBGFN – Past, Present and Future’. 

Come be a part of this very interesting session where a panel of representatives from each decade will engage in stimulating discussions on WBGFN – Past, Present and Future. 

Listen to them share their perspectives on how the acuity of vision of the Founding Mothers of supporting families has remained constant and yet evolving over 50 years.

On Thursday, March 24, 2022 we held our second 50th Anniversary special virtual event, ‘WBGFN – Welcome and Support at HQ Part - 1’.

Those who joined us learnt about the first point of contact at the Family Network for new families and members, the first smile that greets you when you arrive – the Welcoming Team. Meet our past and current Welcoming Chairs and listen to members share interesting stories on how the ever-evolving Welcoming program has supported and impacted their lives while transitioning to a new country and to a cohesive WBGFN community. The recording of the session can be found here

On Thursday, April 28, 2022 we held our second 50th Anniversary special virtual event,  ‘WBGFN – Welcome and Support Part -2, Welcoming Worldwide’.

Join us and discover the activities and communities offered by WBGFN around the world. Hear how we welcome new families in WBG office locations, before and after they move, and offer ongoing support in cohesive WBGFN communities.

Meet the WBGFN Worldwide Program Team, Regional Champions, Local Champions and Connectors. Travel the world, as members from different regions share their experiences. Learn how WBGFN is constantly changing to meet the global situation.  Please click here to view this session

  On Thursday, June 2, 2022 we held our fourth 50th Anniversary special virtual event,‘Welcome & Support Part – 3, Career’​

What shape is your network? Did you know that the shape of our networks can influence our wellbeing, relationships and community?

Facilitated by expert speaker Erica Young, this session will help you discover and learn about the shape of your network and what you can do to make it more resilient for today. Erica will lead us in our thought provoking exploration of the shape of our networks and how different shapes are better for transitions, times of challenge and career opportunities. The recording of the session can be found here

On Thursday, September 29, 2022 we held our fifth 50th Anniversary special virtual event - Cultivating a Flourishing Family Abroad

Most World Bank families experience high mobility, and relocation impacts the lives of our children.  What determines whether expat children (Third Culture Kids) thrive amid their globally mobile experience? The Family Network invites you to our next 50th Anniversary special virtual event ‘Cultivating a Flourishing Family Abroad’.

In this session, Lauren Wells, will unpack research related to the impact of multiple moves on children and how parents can mitigate risk and promote their children's wellbeing. We will look at practical ways that parents can be intentional about raising resilient TCKs so the whole family can flourish abroad.

We hope you rnjoyed this  very interesting session and learn how to help our children flourish despite living highly mobile lives. The session recording can be found by clicking here.

Cultivating a Flourishing Family Abroad: The Research Behind Thriving Expatriate Children. A take away handout can be found here

 About Our Speaker: Lauren Wells, CEO and author

Lauren Wells is the founder and CEO of TCK Training(link is external) and author of Raising Up a Generation of Healthy Third Culture Kids, The Grief Tower, and Unstacking Your Grief Tower. She is an Adult TCK who spent her teenage years in Tanzania, East Africa. She sits on the board of the TCK Care Accreditation(link is external) as Vice Chair and is part of the TCK Training Research Team focusing on preventive care research in the TCK population.

As part of our 50^th Anniversary celebrations, WBGFN and the Staff Association are partnering to offer staff and spouses a series of 3 webinars, ‘Nourishing Global Families’ to support the decentralization agenda of the World Bank. We will kick off the series with Part 1 - Demystifying Raising Global Teens on October 20.

Change whether chosen or imposed brings both, opportunities and challenges.  Most parents find themselves unprepared for parenting teens and adolescents in today’s world. Learn from Anisha Abraham who is a practicing physician, researcher, teen health expert and mother of globally mobile teens to expand your repertoire of tools and strategies to become more loving and effective parents.

We hope you enjoyed this  interesting session and learned how to help our teens flourish despite living highly mobile lives.

Demystifying Raising Global Teens, was held on Thursday, October 20, 2022.

To view the recording of this session, please click here

For more information and resources from our session and to view the slides, click here

About our Speaker: Anisha Abraham, MD, MPH

Anisha is a pediatrician and teen health specialist and a popular global speaker and teen health media expert. She leads interactive workshops and webinars, using her years of experience as a practicing physician, researcher, speaker, and consultant. She has led workshops for companies and schools around the world and Anisha is the author of Raising Global Teens: Parenting in the 21st Century and co-producer of the movie One Small Visit. Her website is www.dranishaabraham.com

You are invited to our next 50^th Anniversary event, Part 2 of the ‘Nourishing Global Families’ series, offered to staff and spouses by the Family Network and Staff Association. The second webinar titled Education Advocacy For Children and Families Navigating a Global Lifestyle,  will help you understand how best to support your child’s educational needs while navigating a new country.

Transitioning between countries and navigating the education system can be a challenge. Understanding how to best support your child as they transition to a new school or country can empower families to make choices that will facilitate continuity of services and mitigate challenge and struggle.

https://www.wbfn.org/article/wbfn-disabilities-program-frequently-asked-questions

https://www.wbfn.org/event/virtual-seminar-self-care-parents-special-needs-kids                                                   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx_R_Sh_k7k

Education Advocacy For Children and Families Navigating a Global Lifestyle - was held on Thursday, December 8, 2022

to access the presentation  click here
to view a recording of our session click here

Addtional Resources:

a checklist of documents to travel with and Advocacy considerations 

MindPrint letter to inform parents 

Dr. Stephanie Sexton, PsyD, MSpEd, Education Consultant

Stephanie Sexton is an education consultant with over 15 years of experience in education in US public schools as well as international schools in China, Brazil, and South Africa. She focuses on understanding the challenges of meeting unique learning, transition, and school placement needs both from a professional and parent perspective.

Throughout her career, she has worked with families to manage the interconnectedness of mental health and education. Making every attempt to understand the whole child and how their struggle may manifest through schoolwork or behavior can help to create the most effective intervention to support core needs which are sometimes not clearly evident.

You are invited to our next 50th Anniversary event, the finale of the 3 part series, ‘Nourishing Global Families’, offered to staff and spouses by the Family Network and Staff Association. This webinar titled ‘What does it mean to be a distance son or daughter?’,  will help you better understand and deal with pent up emotions and expectations.

The pandemic has brought geographical distance into sharper focus for families. It is hard living away from ‘home’ and loved ones, especially in times of crisis or challenge. Most would say it’s the toughest part of an international assignment. Join this very interesting session and get tips on ways to navigate distance from the expert Helen Ellis.

What does it mean to be a distance  son or daughter? This session was held on Wednesday, February 2, 2023

To view a recording of our session Click Here 

About our speaker:

Helen Ellis M.A

Helen is the Founder of DistanceFamilies.com(link is external) and the author of the Distance Families Book Series(link is external). Her latest book, ‘Being a Distance Son or Daughter(link is external)’ acknowledges your issues with empathy, while also supplying super useful hints, tips and ways to navigate the distance.

And....The Winners are.....................

and to view the winning receipe click here so you can make this Golden Dessert for your friends and family too

The Queen of the United Kingdom celebrated her historic reign’s platinum jubilee with a ‘Platinum Pudding Competition’. 

Here at the WBG Family Network, as part of our year-long 50th Anniversary celebrations, we invite all WBGFN families to participate in our grand Golden Dessert Competition. 

So, let’s get creative and put on those chef hats. Non-professional home cooks, bakers, foodies, or any of you with a flair for desserts, are all invited! (refer to rules & regulations for entry criteria).

The winning dessert will be marked as WBGFN’s official 50th Anniversary dessert! And the top 3 winners will walk away with fabulous prizes from none other than Le Creuset!!  

Entries Have CLOSED:  Competition Rules & Regulations/ FAQs: CLICK HERE

Winners: 

Round 1 - Our judges will shortlist finalists from the dessert entries received, who will then be contacted via email with further details. 

Round 2 - Finalists will move to the second round, where DC based finalists will bake their dessert for the final tasting event (to be held in DC in the third/ fourth week of April, subject to Covid conditions). For finalists based outside of DC, a representative from DC will bake the dessert and present at the tasting event. 

All finalists will be contacted via email with details.

* The WBGFN Golden Dessert Competition will be judged by a panel of WBGFN members and volunteers who are not professional chefs, and who want to share their passion and enthusiasm with WBGFN families.
* By participating in the Golden Dessert Competition, you provide consent to have the recipe and photos used for promotional purposes, including social media, by WBGFN.

Workshop 1 - Building Resilience & Strength during challenging times - was held on January 25, 2022

Featuring guest speaker, Shane Joseph, this workshop will focus on the major impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on behavior, health and overall wellness, and strategies to address common concerns and tangible tools to develop resilience factors.

Workshop 2 - Adjusting to Change: The Transition Experience - was held on February 15, 2022

Featuring guest speaker, Yvonne Quahe, this workshop will help participants learn about the transition experience for newly arrived World Bank Group families, and  in particular accompanying male spouses.  It will address the unique challenges that male accompanying spouses face when relocating to a new country. It will provide participants with  a framework to understand and work through these challenges given their own individual situations. There is no one size fits all solution, come and discover what size fits you and your family. 

Workshop 3 – Navigating Couple Relationships: was held on Tuesday, March 15, 2022 

Featuring guest speaker, Michael Clark, in this workshop participants will gain an understanding of the possible impacts of relationship patterns that may not be healthy.  This content rich workshop will examine behaviors in relationships that may be harmful to you or your partner, and address ways to developing and maintaining strong loving mutually respectful relationships.  Strategies on conflict management, stress management and communication skills will be offered.  

Workshop 4 - Positive Fathering was held on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 

In this workshop participants will be educated in the various types of fathers and provided with strategies to be a positive force in the lives of their children. Researchers indicate that when fathers are present in the lives of their children, they have higher academic achievement, greater school readiness, overall great sense of self, high self-esteem, and fewer behavioral programs.

Workshop 5 - Physical Health for Men was held on Tuesday, May 17, 2022

In this workshop participants will learn from an expert Physical Therapist on ways to achieve optimal physical health and wellness. Participants will learn about ways to keep their bodies healthy which includes tips on lifestyle behavior choices, nutrition, exercise and sleep.

Workshop 6 - Men’s Mental Health was held on Tuesday, June 7, 2022

In this workshop participants will learn about mental wellbeing and the challenges to them as they particularly relate to men. The goal of the workshop is to support and engage participants to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental ill health and increase their understanding of relevant support options.