CYC-Net in the year 2000

In our August 1999 editorial we reported on plans for the future of CYC-Net which Brian and Thom had collected together from their discussions with CYC-Net people around the world.
These included two basic ideas:

To move CYC-Net beyond its present voluntary status to a more secure organisation which could seek funding from donor organisations and from members.
To enhance the content matter of CYC-Net's internet presence so that it offered a more comprehensive and responsive service to the Child and Youth Care profession world wide.

News at the beginning of December 1999 – especially regarding funding – is very good. Read on ...

The organisation
We have drawn up a simple Constitution for The International Child and Youth Care Network (CYC-Net) and assembled a Board of Governors consisting of acknowledged leaders in the field around the world. A central feature of this new Association is a formal Trust “the International Child and Youth Care Trust “which is in the process of registration with the Master of the High Court in South Africa. This will allow CYC-Net to receive corporate donations and fees from those who choose to become associate or corporate members. Details of these developments will be posted on our web site during December.

Content
Plans are far advanced for the development of CYC-Net so that we can start the year 2000 with a better staffed service “aimed at supporting, complementing and connecting all of the work being done by so many agencies in our field. Our focus will continue to be

the daily discussion group (which grew from 100 members in January and is heading towards 600 in December);
probably the greatest development will be on the web site* (already a 250-page web and with important new sections being added); and
the on-line magazine CYC-Online which offers less formal reading and writing to a growing readership as it publishes its 11th issue today.

Funding
Best news of all is that the Royal Netherlands Embassy in South Africa has replied promptly to our appeal for initial funding, and in addition to meeting the start-up costs (legal work on the Constitution and the Trust, new web domain costs, e-commerce facilities for our web site, etc.) they have contributed running costs for our enhanced service for some months as from today, 1 December 1999!

So today is, in a very real sense, the birthday of CYC-Net's new start as a more formal organisation. Very grateful thanks to the Royal Netherlands Embassy and their representative Janny Poley for so generously responding to the idea of a network like this and to its development into a more “grown-up” service.

Warm end-of-the-year wishes to you all.

Brian and Thom