
For we who nurse, our nursing is something which, unless we are making progress
every year,
every month, every week, we are going back. No system shall
endure which does not march.
Florence Nightingale
Notice re: NIGH
_______________________
FNIF
is the International
Council of Nurses (ICN) premier foundation, it supports and
complements the work and objectives of ICN.
Its
history dates back to 1912 when a memorial to Florence Nightingale
was first proposed by Mrs Ethel Bedford Fenwick at an ICN Congress
in Cologne. The vision was of an educational foundation for nurses.
As the First World War intervened, it was not until 1929 that the
memorial was finally activated by the ICN Grand Council in Montreal.
Mrs Bedford Fenwick, the first president of ICN was elected the
first chair of the Florence Nightingale Memorial Committee.
From 1931, national Florence Nightingale committees were established in countries
where ICN had member associations. In
1932 discussions were held between ICN and the League of Red Cross Societies
to use their Red Cross international post-graduate courses as an international memorial
to Florence Nightingale.
The ICN Grand Council agreed to take over the international courses, and in
1934, established the Florence Nightingale International Foundation (FNIF)
as a living memorial to Florence Nightingale. FNIF became an autonomous organisation
under British law with its own governing body and a mandate to develop and
promote nursing education world wide.
FNIF is a registered Charity in the United Kingdom and maintains its
original purpose; to support the advancement of nursing education, research
and services for the public good. Though UK registered, the day-to-day
administration is carried out in Geneva through the International
Council of Nurses, a federation of 129 national nurses'
associations working to ensure quality care for all and sound health
policies globally.
International
Council of Nurses
U.K. Registered Charity
number : 1074773
© 1999
Florence Nightingale International Foundation (FNIF) Copying, downloading and distribution of material from the FNIF web
page is permitted as long as credit in print is given and that the material will not be used for commercial or for-profit purposes without permission.