Part II: July 1975 - August 1977

In Munich I had accepted the invitation from Cal Catterall to become a member of the new International School Psychology Committee (ISPC). That was in July. Already early August I learned from a letter that Cal expected me to carry out the following duties:

• Organize the work of ISPC,
• Suggest who to appoint as other members of ISPC, and
• Take responsibility for the next colloquium to be held in 1977 and to find in which Scandinavian country it could be best arranged. In fast succession, all during August, four more letters came from Cal. Their content included:
• A news release about the Munich colloquium,
• Guidelines for choosing members of the ISPC,
• Organizational Guidelines to keep ISPC momentum going, and
• A tentative timeline for the 2nd international colloquium on school psychology listing 19 items/steps and the months each should be finalized.

Needless-to-say, my breath was taken away because Cal expected me to carry out all of the tasks. Little did he know that I already had more than enough to do. I was the leader of the School Psychological Counseling in my area and wanted here to do a job deserving professional respect among school children, parents, and teachers as well as by my employer, the municipal authorities. I was also deeply involved in official and semi-official associations related to the function of our society which were time consuming. But most demanding was my 6 year chairmanship of the Danish School Psychologists Association. This post brought along requests for my participating in and contributing to many types of sessions, meetings, conferences throughout the country, and also I was asked to be a member of several official Government boards and Commissions. All of this were unpaid work to be done after normal working-hours. I replied to Cal's five letters before the end of August. This letter crossed in the mail with one more letter from Cal. (now, altogether six since we met in Munich). The main content in this letter from him was "I have been waiting for your answer for the last week and a half. I do not know what would happen to the Steering Committee if you are not able to accept. We need you desperately."

I perhaps should have felt flattered at being seen as important but, instead, I was a bit fearful. I could foresee some problems if Cal, who seemed to spend most of his time on ISPC, could not accept or understand that I had major obligations elsewhere. In my reply to him, I assured him that he could rely on me to do what I accepted to do keeping in mind my other responsibilities. As the fine, warm hearted man he was, he immediately gave me a positive reply. Generally, we had an uncomplicated, cooperative relationship and I deeply respected his dynamic and visionary leadership. I also believe that he respected my help shaping and defining the direction of ISPC in those early years of 1975-6 as well as keeping plans close to the world of reality.

In 1975 Cal was preparing the first volume of the series of books about International Perspectives on School Psychology. It was published in 1976. Subsequently, Volume 2 was published in 1977.

In planning for the 2nd ISPC Colloquium, I suggested that Helsingør, Denmark, be the site for this colloquium. Early in 1976, the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) was well on its way in planning for the 1977 colloquium. Even though Helsingør was two hours traveling time away from the airport in Copenhagen, it had all the facilities and attractions beneficial for our colloquium. It is a town with the Hamlet castle .Kronborg., and a new, modern Conference Centre had enough accommodations for the participants which could be supplemented, if necessary, with nearby camping huts, youth hostels, and even local teachers and colleagues opening their homes for us. All the municipalities around Helsingør had well staffed School Psychological Counseling Offices willing to support the LOC is various ways. But one major problem existed. The conference site was owned and run by the United Danish Trade Unions. It was much in demand and required that we sign a contract one year prior to the colloquium. We had to guarantee to rent the whole Centre which included full payment of all 175 rooms and full board for the same number of participants. Cancellation would be accepted no later than 3 months before the colloquium. If later, we would be obliged to pay 90% of the total sum (an amount of money higher than the value of my private home). ISPC had no buffer-sum available. However, realizing the personal risk in signing the contract, I did so on June 2, 1976, with my wife'[s approval. More about this later.

A torrent of letters passed between Cal and me, his more frequent and longer than mine. Fax and email did not exist so communication took time and we needed to meet in person to talk over a number of issues. The XXI International Congress of Psychology gave us this opportunity in July 1976 in Paris. Concurrently in Paris, Frances Mullen coordinated and organized the 34th Annual Convention of the International Council of Psychologists and Cal arranged to be there with a Traveling Seminar. I was invited to participate in a seminar on international psychology so with the financial support from my association and the Danish Ministry of Education, I was able to go to Paris and meet Frances and Cal. Staying at a humble side-street hotel where all sorts of perceptible human activities went on all night, I found my experience filled with joyful contrasts: Speaking in a Sorbonne classroom, meeting with Frances and Cal for a light meal at a little café (a favorite hangout for both Lenin and Hemingway), and finally an evening banquet in the luxury Hotel Concorde La Fayette, were the high lights of my Paris experience.

During our discussions of colloquium items and general ISPC matters, Frances hinted that because of an overload of duties she may need to leave ISPC. She did so formally during the fall and Professor Gaston Gauthier of Quebec, Canada, accepted to replace her. Upon returning to Denmark, the flow of letters about the planning of the colloquium between Cal and me continued and our local planning progressed. The First Circular, colloquium information, and the registration form were distributed on time. Cal's travel agent planned three Traveling Seminars.
A plan was devised whereby Americans could register to attend the colloquium with Cal or with the travel agent or with us in Copenhagen. Unfortunately, we did not foresee the confusion and how difficult it was for us to keep a general overview of the registration process. We mailed announcements of the colloquium directly to every school psychologist in all 5 Nordic countries. We were supported by the Danish Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Education with both addresses and directly forwarding our material via their own channels especially to the East European Countries. To educational institutions in the Soviet Union, we made special letters of invitation in Russian. All of the publicity did not seem to help much because by May 1, 1977 we, in Denmark, only has 10 registered participants and Cal reported 50 "reservations, but some of them just inquiries." Since the dollar was low, we wondered if that was influencing registration from USA.

At this point our signed contract with the colloquium site was causing us great concern. We had 15 days to make a decision to cancel or be bound to pay 90% of the total sum for 175 people. In fact, I was the one to have the final word on this because it was my home that we were gambling with. In a letter we told Cal that the LOC would call him on May 11th and he, by then, had to know how many, in total, had registered for the colloquium with him. But on that day, there was no reassurance from Cal except "they are coming in pretty fast now." The situation was becoming critical. But I had the feeling that the administration of the conference site was not too happy if we cancelled because it perhaps could be difficult to get another group to contract the facility at this late date. I proposed and they agreed to set a new deadline date of June 15th and, further, they agreed to 153 full paying participants rather than 175. But even this lower figure could be a problem since the dollar continued to drop in value, which in itself undermined our budget. It was increasingly more expensive for American to travel abroad.

An appeal was sent out to all Danish school psychologists, explaining the situation and asking as many as possible to participate in our colloquium through the financial assistance of their own office budget. By early June we had a total of 109 people registered, but phone calls from Danish colleagues as a result of our letter- appeal gave us the absolute, unquestionable backing we needed from our colleagues. We decided not to cancel and luckily so because we ended up with 250 participants at the colloquium coming from 30 different countries. We will never forget that May in 1977 when panic was just around the corner. It taught me a lesson to strive for ISPC to establish a large enough buffer-sum to survive a necessary cancellation of a colloquium. This we first really took steps to realize after the Chernobyl disaster threatened our colloquium in the summer of 1986.

The Second School Psychology Colloquium, August 14-19, 1977, Elsinor, Denmark The theme was "Child Rearing and Educational Practices: Interaction on Personality Development." Cal pulled off a remarkable feat by putting together a well organized program from a distance and bringing with him nicely designed program booklets. The colloquium was successful, documented in a very favorable way from our .Evaluation Questionnaire. that participants were asked to complete. We instigated the .Small Interaction Groups for all Participants. which has continued to be a valued characteristic at our colloquia ever since. Our very successful social programs included the popular study visits to schools and institutions, an evening in the old Carmelite Abbey where a local Amateur Theatre Group presented 'Shakespeare Vignettes,' and a special children's program every day. Worthy of mentioning here is that the secretarial staff, reception and information desk personnel, as well as the shuttle service drivers were all volunteers which did not burden the colloquium budget at all. They were offered to us by their employers, the municipal school systems in the area where they were employed.

Financially, we were supported by a grant from the Danish Ministry of Education that covered pre-colloquium costs for printing and mailing and, further, a special grant large enough to invited a South African colleague to attend the colloquium as well as a special post colloquium study tour in our country. Settling the financial side of the colloquium was not easy because of three accounts (The Traveling Seminars, Call Catterall and the LOC). This led to the future decision that a very clear budget is needed and that money control must be in one place only. In spite of the fears of potential problems we made enough money to pay Cal for Vol. 1 and 2 of .Psychology in the Schools. which we gave to all participants. Also we were able to advance $2000 as a loan for costs of printing and mailing to the group planning the next colloquium in England (an amount that this group unfortunately lost for reasons never explained or understood). By the very end, we were able to transfer the small amount of $1500 to the work of ISPC, administered by Cal Catterall. Not much after all that work, but other types of results were probably worth more than money, such as: The Danish Association of School Psychologists had proved its ability to handle such a task, which gave some benefits externally. Of some importance it was also that Professor Robert Vallet, after a post colloquium study tour we arranged for him, was interviewed by a newspaper which appeared under the headline "Danish School Psychology Is The World's Most Advanced." Also the professional cooperation inside the Scandinavian countries flourished as a result of the colloquium AND it made ISPC and its work international known, and increased the aspirations for the future, which are documented in notes from internal committee meetings held during the colloquium under the heading: .Deliberations of the International School Psychology Steering Committee, August 1977. Members in attendance at all sessions were: Cal Catterall, Gaston Gauthier, Avner Ziv, and Anders Poulsen along with others who were invited when special items were discussed. Highlighted items are as follows:

• A strong group of British participants (Klaus Wedell, Jack Wright, Maurice Chazan, Seamus Hegarty, and the Honorary Secretary for the Division of Educational Psychologists of the British Psychological Society, Ken Cornwall) suggested the University of York in England as the site for the 1979 colloquium. Ken Cornwall offered to be the Convener if the two British associations, in joint sponsorship, would agree.
• The concept of Regional Meetings held at places where it was not yet practical to hold a colloquium, was discussed and accepted. Also planning Traveling Seminars and/or Study Travel Groups to such places were to be considered.
• A Task Force had been urging ISPC to start a journal entitled »International School Psychology Journal«. Although ISPC agreed on the desirability of a journal, we were not in a financial position to start now. The Task Force would continue to work on this (Ludwig Lowenstein, UK).
• The desirability of a relationship with the United Nations was discussed. Gaston Gauthier and Avner Ziv should explore possibilities and bring up more concrete plans and suggestions, especially considering the International Year of the Child in 1979.
• To increase the level of ISPC activity by building up broader contacts in various parts of the world, special assignments were accepted by committee members along with Anna-Lisa Melldén, Sweden. All would report their activities to Cal.
• Finances were discussed by representatives of present and up-coming colloquia and the Journal Task Force. ISPC was functioning on very limited funds. It should be the aim of all colloquia to produce some money for general operational expenses. It was revealed for the first time that Cal, when funds were available, received $100 a month as an honorarium. Avner Ziv suggested that this amount be increased to support Cal, who invested so much time in ISPC, as it would be unlucky for ISPC if he had to find other paid work, consequently, limiting his involvement in the development of ISPC. As soon as the financial status of the colloquium was known, Cal agreed to bring this question back to the committee by mail.
• A discussion about receiving any type of payment for doing work for ISPC revealed major cultural differences. How would this influence attitudes in the years ahead, what repercussions could be foreseen. North and West Europeans in those days expected such activities to be made by socially involved people, who volunteer their free time trying to move the world somewhat in the direction of their dedication, and not receiving any type of pay for this, but having refunded only their direct expenses.
• The formalization of ISPC was also an important item for discussion. As a first step, it was agreed to accept the offer from Werner Epp, USA, to begin to look into a Constitution and possibly even a Charter under the UN. It was no time to rest on the credit obtained during this colloquium. What developed hereafter will be reported in Part III...