Our main objective is: To improve the conditions for children, adolescents and adults who stutter and parents of children who stutter in all countries, by:

1. Sharing concepts and information about self-help and therapy methods.
   
2. Outreach to make the movement bigger.
   
3. Facilitating communication and cooperation.
   
4. Educating the general public.
   
5. Stimulating research.
   
6. Being an advocate.
   
7. Assisting in founding of international working groups.
   
8. Initiating public relations projects.
   

* From Thomas Krall Keynote speech given in the 3rd IFA
congress in Nighborg, Denmark, August 2000

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The ISA has been involved in many projects, both on its own, and in cooperation with other organizations including the IFA and ELSA. ISA activities have focussed on several areas, each handled by a different working group (see the following table). These projects are coordinated by the ISA Board of Directors, which consists of up to 9 persons, including chair, vice-chair, treasurer and secretary. Regular board meetings occur via email and during ISA and IFA World Congresses.

ISA working groups

1. Internet, database
2. Public relations
3. Outreach
4. Children
5. Employment
6. Relations with telephone companies
7. International Stuttering Awareness Day (ISAD)
   (Joint project of ELSA, IFA, ISA)
8. International Year of the Child Who Stutters 2004 (IYCWS)
   (Joint project of ELSA, IFA, ISA)

Here are some of more active projects to date:

World Congresses for People Who Stutter

These are major cooperative projects which are run by ISA member associations every three years. These were detailed earlier in this paper.

Newsletter "One Voice"

One of the major projects of ISA is our newsletter, One Voice, which is published twice a year and is now a joint project with ELSA. The last edition was dedicated to our friend and ambassador John Larkin (Scatman John), who died in December 1999. His songs and outreach to people who stutter remain an inspiration.

World Health Organization project

Another important project of ISA, which remains a work in progress, is setting up official relations with the World Health Organization. The mission of the World Health Organization (WHO) is to reach "The highest standard of physical and mental health" in our world. ISA has had working relations with WHO for the past 3 years and hopes to formalize our relationship in the near future. Why?

1. to reach our goals more effectively and quickly in all countries, especially the developing countries, by using the excellent network of WHO.
   
2. to distribute through WHO networks exact information about stuttering self-help and therapy. Possibly also future WHO recommendations - elaborated by ISA, ELSA and IFA.
   
3. to lobby our work by

• personal meetings
• fundraising efforts,
• collaboration at international congresses,
• having the Patronage of WHO for our ISA World Congresses,
• and having a voice at the annual World Health Conference in Geneva, together with other organizations and health ministers from around the world.

Unfortunately our progress has been minimal. The WHO Disability and Rehabilitation Unit is understaffed. Therefore two meetings of WHO and ISA are planned for autumn 2000. Once again with the Disability and Rehabilitation Unit, and, for the first time, with the WHO Mental Health Department. Hopefully this department is not understaffed. We very much appreciate these meetings.

International Stuttering Awareness Day (ISAD)

Since 1998, every year on October 22 we celebrate ISAD. Isn't this an excellent joint project between ISA, IFA and ELSA? Haven't we already accomplished a lot together?
The self-help groups and the national associations become very active and creative when International Stuttering Awareness Day approaches. The Stuttering Homepage is the home of the regular online conferences on stuttering every October from October 1 to 22. There is big media coverage in many countries. People who stutter from self-help groups as well as professionals are interviewed for TV and newspapers. Excellent projects, interesting discussions and parties occur around the World around October 22. It is so gratifying to see how the national associations use this Day for working and celebrating.
Michael Sugarman and his great team, Amy Johnson, Judy Kuster and many, many others work enthusiastically to promote this day every year. Isn't International Stuttering Awareness Day an excellent model for further future cooperation of the stuttering community together with the professionals? This year, International Stuttering Awareness Day 2000, is dedicated to children who stutter. We are so curious how the self-help groups, the national associations and the professionals will create International Stuttering Awareness Day:

October 22, 2000
A World Day for our stuttering kids!

Joint projects

Another exciting joint project is already underway. The planned International Year of the Child Who Stutters in 2004 will be the result of the cooperative effort of ISA, IFA and ELSA.

Outreach

Our outreach projects are a particularly important aspect of ISA activity. In many countries national self-help organizations have not yet been set up, but we are frequently approached by individuals in these regions. Although ISA is primarily an umbrella organization for existing national organizations, we have created a special category of members: a group of special friends of the ISA.

We are so glad to tell you about one of ISA's outreach projects: Outreach in China. In 1999, ISA Board Member Stefan Hoffmann, from Germany, living and working in China, initiated a very successful round table meeting in Beijing with delegates from WHO, UNICEF, University, as well as children and adults who stutter, parents and teachers. They all discussed how better to develop stuttering self-help and therapy in China.
Professor Li from China. Great that you are here. You were delegate and co-organizer of this round table meeting at the China Rehabilitation Research Center.
Can you imagine, how happy ISA Board Member Stefan Hoffmann was, when the new Office for International Cooperation of the Speech and Hearing Rehabilitation Unit conferred on him the status of Visiting Professor, because of his intensive involvement in stuttering in China, over many years?

One of the most successful outreach projects by one of the self-help member associations took place in Germany during the past year.

• 14.000 posters to nearly all schools

• Stuttering awareness outreach bus

Cooperation with other organizations

As well as having strong links to IFA and ELSA, the ISA is fortunate to have close working relations with The American Speech, Language and Hearing Association (ASHA), The Stuttering Foundation of America (SFA) and The Stuttering Homepage (SHP). We want to express our deepest gratitude to Jane Fraser of the SFA, Judy Kuster of the SHP and ASHA for their excellent cooperation and support.

* From Thomas Krall Keynote speech given in the 3rd IFA
congress in Nighborg, Denmark, August 2000