“V zájmu dítěte” (In the Interest of the Child) web site launched in the Czech and Slovak Republics

Extracts below from the “About us” page above – you may also get a basic translation of the web site using “Google Translate”

UN CRC Article 3: In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.

Chris Gardiner, Kateřina Šlesingerová, Daniela Žilinčíková and Tereza Gardiner are the four people who are the initial volunteer researchers for VZD. Between them they have many years of experience in working in the Czech and Slovak Republics with organisations which are seeking to change the systems of caring for children who are unable to live with their own families. All were involved in the Quality4Children project where they met and exchanged information with people from all over Europe who were also involved in the changing the childcare systems in their countries.
Chris Gardiner was also involved at an international level with the Better Care Network. BCN is a web-based resource coupled with a moderated Discussion List which currently links together more than 1500 people and organisations worldwide in order to share information, research and best practice. However, a limiting factor with BCN is that it is only in the English language thus effectively excluding many people.
Over the last 2 years the Czech NGO Člověk hledá člověka has promoted the international exchange of information and good practice through conferences in Prague with international speakers from neighbouring countries and beyond. Many people attending these conferences told us that they did not know very much about the comprehensive changes taking place elsewhere or of the comparative situation of the Czech Republic in relation to other European countries.
In 2008 we began to talk about the possibility of setting up something like the Better Care Network for all those involved with the childcare systems in the Czech and Slovak Republics and to publish information in Czech and Slovak. Soundings were sought from other organisations and VZD.CZ is our response to an obvious need for more information sharing in your language!
We are new, we are volunteers and we need your help! You will find much information and news here in Czech and Slovak but also some still in English and other languages (please use the Google Translate tool to get an idea of the contents). The Child Care system is changing in both countries and good information, training opportunities and regularly updated news is vital. We need volunteer translators plus lots of news, research, information, publications – anything which would be useful to others in the field! Later in the year, we will be inviting people to be members of the VZD Advisory Group – we know you are all busy so our first priority is to provide you with useful, regularly updated information.
You may also COMMENT on items here and add a link to http://www.vzd.cz on your web site – please tell other people too.

"Google Translate" offers their free instant text or web site translation service in 35 languages.  It is not always very accurate but it is improving and can at times be quite funny!
Go to:  http://translate.google.com/ and then enter the text or web site you wish to translate and select your language.