I am thrilled to announce that as of January 2019, World Animal Net will be taking over as secretariat for the International Coalition for Animal Welfare (ICFAW). ICFAW is an international coalition which represents non-governmental animal welfare organizations from all over the world at the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). 

The OIE is an organization which develops internationally agreed animal health and welfare standards, and as of this writing has 183 member countries. Through these standards, the OIE makes a substantial contribution to improving the welfare of animals around the world. The OIE's standards focus primarily on farm animals. However, the OIE has also developed standards for the welfare of working equids, stray dog population control, and animals in research. 

In 2018, ICFAW signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the OIE, formalizing the relationship between the two entitites. 

In this role, I will be supporting ICFAW's current chair, Alex Hammond Seaman of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), by organizing ICFAW's meetings, developing ICFAW publications and documents, liaising with representatives of the OIE, submitting ICFAW comments on draft standards, and organizing the biennial ICFAW-hosted reception to the OIE's General Session. 

ICFAW was founded in 2001, and World Animal Protection (formerly WSPA) has provided the secretariat for ICFAW since the coalition's inception. WAN will hold the position through 2020. WAN is grateful for the support and confidence from ICFAW's members in taking on this role, and is looking forward to continuing to develop and strengthen ICFAW, as well as the opportunity to work in closer collaboration with ICFAW member organizations and the OIE. 

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