Family Enrichment in the World

International Moderator Training Course Held in Barcelona

On January 25 and 26, an international moderator training course took place in Barcelona. The new moderators include two couples from Croatia, two couples from Brazil, and several people from Barcelona and Lleida.

The sessions were taught by veteran moderators and members of the Board of the Family Enrichment center of Barcelona. What they liked most was the practical portion, wherein participants moderated sessions and engaged with the case method. At the end of the course, attendees complimented the theoretical training as very positive and remarked that improvements had already been made.

Croatian participant in the practical session

During the session

Two New Family Enrichment Courses Develop in the Holy Land

Mr. and Mrs. Reig-Teetor traveled to the Holy Land for the second time February 7-10. After their visit in May 2012, the Board pledged to offer several sessions with the aim of promoting First Steps, which was to begin at the end of the moderator training program in February 2013. Seven such sessions were organized from May 2012 through January of this year.

The objective of this couple’s second visit was mainly to teach moderation techniques to seven people, who have demonstrated their readiness to moderate courses.

After this trip, First Steps will begin in Nazareth, and the Personal Project course will begin in Jerusalem. Both courses will be led by local moderators.

Practical session with one of the participants

During the session

National Meeting of Family Enrichment in Colombia

On February 23, a national meeting of the directors of the foundation Famof (Families that help other families) was held in Bogota, Colombia. One of the main objectives, in addition to sharing experiences and impressions, was to bolster the growth of Family Enrichment where it has been developing in recent years. The Secretary-General of IFFD, Javier Vidal-Quadras, sent a message of support, in which he emphasized his joy in the the holding of this meeting, “because it shows your great involvement in the ‘project’ of Family Enrichment, but also your desire make it grow.” 

Group photo

The conference involved about 30 couples from seven cities: Bogota, Medellin, Cali, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Bucaramanga, and Manizales.

Last year, twenty-one Family Enrichment courses were taught in this country in six cities, involving 248 couples. In 2013, the aim is to offer twenty-seven courses for 535 couples, as well as young people who participate in the Personal Project.  Colombia has 60 moderators in several cities.

All the attendees during one of the session

The preparations for the twentieth anniversary of the International Year of the Family focuses on exploring family-oriented policies and strategies aiming mainly at confronting family poverty; ensuring work-family balance and advancing social integration and intergenerational solidarity.

IFFD Briefing and participation in the meeting of the Commission for Social Development

The first IFFD Briefing was held in UN Headquarters in New York last February 12, 2013. It will be organized each year from now on during the meeting of the Commission for Social Development. The first speech was delivered by Mrs. Marina Robben, president of IFFD, who presented the outcomes of the European Expert Group Meeting held in Brussels last June and the book in which all the inputs and recommendations have been included. Ignacio Socias, director of International relations in IFFD, presented the Declaration of the Civil Society that is being promoted on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the International Year of the Family (2014).

During the briefing, the two first IFFD Awards were granted to Micheal Flaherty, well-known as the producer of the film on ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’, and to the Regional Council of the Veneto Region, as a recognition of their efforts to promote family-friendly policies in that part of Italy. The United Nations Focal Point on the Family, Renata Kaczmarska, produced the final intervention. She praised the work IFFD is doing worldwide and urged everyone present to help in promoting this Anniversary.

Click here to see extended news

IFFD Papers

A series of position papers on current affairs an topics that have to do with family enrichment.

Balance, nexus or interface? Work and home: two concepts, one cultural challenge

[1 March 2013]

TFW is a “think tank” inspired by IFFD dedicated to analyzing the social reality of the family.

Vídeos (Canal YouTube).

Family Enrichment in the World

Promoting Personal Project in Israel

A promotional session of the Personal Project course, which is targeted at young people aged between twenty-five and thirty-five years, was held on January 21 at the Jerusalem Institute of Languages and Humanities. This course was introduced in April 2012 by Reig Teetor, who traveled to Israel to offer several sessions detailing Family Enrichment methodology, courses, and objectives. The session was accompanied by a typical Japanese sushi dinner.

Promotional photo of the course

Training in Other Countries

The end of the year 2012 was fraught with news about the development of Family Enrichment. At the beginning of November, a training course for ten new moderators took place in Tegucigalpa, the capitol of Honduras, led by Vice-Presidents for Central America, Sonia and Juan Antonio Godoy. As the month ended, José Miguel Cubillo, Spanish moderator of Aula familiar , and the Board of Directors of ASPOF, the association for Family Enrichment in San Jose, Costa Rica, exchanged experiences and discussed plans for 2013.

During the weekend of December 7-9, another moderator training course was given in Rome. Giorgio Tarassi and Carmen Pontieri, moderators and Presidents of the Center for Family Enrichment in Milan, led this session, which was attended by 30 participants. They took advantage of this session in the Auditorium of the Center Elis to present the courses for 2013.

During the first weekend of December, Amparo and Santiago García traveled to Johannesburg, South Africa. There, they gave training sessions concerning moderation practices and the main themes addressed in the First Letters and First Decisions courses (for parents with children aged six to seven years and eight to eleven years, respectively). Local moderators are now better prepared to launch these courses in the coming years.

Atendees to the meetings in Johanesburgo

Other activities in Different Countries

In addition to publishing the 2012 Activity Report online soon, here we offer recent information on activities in various countries to support Family Enrichment.

In Ivory Coast, Professor Nuria Chinchilla gave a lecture on his book Masters of Our Destiny: How to Reconcile Professional, Family and Personal Life.

More than fourteen Family Enrichment courses have been attended by around 120 couples in El Salvador. In addition, several sessions have been organized there, for example: “X-ray of Feelings”, “X-ray of Moral Conscience”, “Civic and Political Ethics”, “Ethics in a Pluralist Society”, “The 10 Keys of Education”, “Classics writers speak to the businessmen of ethics and business”, and a forum on the book The Diary of Paula. These activities have attended more than 1,000 people.

Japan has developed its association web page. The Japan Family Development Association (JAFDA) can be found online at http://jafda.sakura.ne.jp/. It has certainly proven to be a great tool to help the dissemination of Family Enrichment in this Asian country.

Picture of the JAFDA webpage

The same thing is happening in Bolivia, where continuous updates of the blog on the Families Forming Families Association site offer various texts on parenting issues to read and study.

Blog Familias formando familias, in Bolivia

During 2012, several seminars and conferences were organized in Tallinn, Estonia, concerning such matters as “Educating Children on Virtues”, “The Virtues and Values of the Family”, and “Conjugal Love and Family Values”.

Review of Materials by Technical Committees

The Spanish Technical Committee (composed of experts from Spain, Mexico, and Ecuador, in collaboration with Italy) improved the drafting and updating of all Spanish-language Family Enrichment program materials in the year 2012.

Similarly, the French Technical Committee (consisting of members from France, Canada, Belgium, and Ivory Coast) has begun to work on the same task, and in 2013, plan to review all the material in this language. The update has been presented as a 2013 goal for the English and German Technical Committees as well.

The Year 2012 in Figures

IFFD was present in 63 countries on 5 continents. 593 Family Enrichment courses were taught during the year 2012 (Marital Love: 182 courses, First Steps: 148 courses, First Conversations: 14 courses, First Letters: 74 courses, First Decisions: 42 courses, Pre-adolescence: 55 courses, Adolescence: 44 courses, Personal Project: 31 courses, Grandparents: 3 courses). 19,496 people participated.

The preparations for the twentieth anniversary of the International Year of the Family focuses on exploring family-oriented policies and strategies aiming mainly at confronting family poverty; ensuring work-family balance and advancing social integration and intergenerational solidarity.

New European Union Project: Families and Societies

On January 31, the EU officially presented a new project titled, “Families and Societies”. This project will allow better understanding of how to impact public policies on well-being, inclusion, and sustainability of family environments

Continuing Preparations for the Twentieth Anniversary of the International Year of the Family in 2014

On January 29, the third preparatory meeting for 2014 took place in Brussels, In which there took part 17 representatives of international NGOs related to family topics.

IFFD Publishes Recommendations by European Experts in Family Policies

This book contains the conclusions and recommendations of eight European experts of recognized prestige. These experts participated in a June meeting, whose objective was to provide Member States of the United Nations and other stakeholders its recommendations on the three topics suggested for the Twentieth Anniversary of the International Year of the Family: child poverty, labor conciliation, and intergenerational solidarity.

IFFD Papers

A series of position papers on current affairs an topics that have to do with family enrichment.

Towards 2014: The empowerment of women and men through the promotion of families

[1 February 2013]

TFW is a “think tank” inspired by IFFD dedicated to analyzing the social reality of the family.

Vídeos (Canal YouTube).

Family Enrichment in the World 

In December we received news from many countries, including the USA, where Cristina Napolitano confirms that the second part of the Pre-adolescence course began in October in Westchester, New York.

We also received news from Poland, which saw the completion of nineteen courses in seven cities (Warsaw, Wroclaw, Poznan, Krakow, Katowice, Szczecin, and Wroclaw) in 2012. Two hundred thirty couples participated in these courses.

Israel informed us that several moderators have gathered to launch Family Enrichment courses. Various promotional activities have already been organized. They plan to begin offering First Steps, Personal Project, and perhaps Marital Love in 2013.

Promotion sessions

Australia and New Zealand report that couples in the cities of Melbourne and Sydney participated in First Steps, Adolescence, and Marital Love in 2012. In 2013, the courses will be extended to other cities on the continent: Canberra, Hobart, Hamilton, and Auckland.

IBF Brazil (Instituto Brasileiro da Família) will focus on the important task of training moderators in 2013. Moderator training and refresher courses will be given in ten cities: Londrina, Curitiba, São Paulo, Campinas, São José dos Campos, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Porto Alegre, and Ribeirão Preto. Strengthening the country’s moderators will allow Brazil to launch more Family Enrichment courses, in response to the great demand for them there.

In addition to Family Enrichment courses, different associations are developing other activities. This is the case in Nigeria, where collaboration with Criterion Press in Lagos has led to the production of a series of well-received documentaries based on the family. Several experts in this field have been involved in them via interviews about their knowledge and experience.  Similarly, the “Family First Foundation” association of China conducted a series of workshop sessions for parents of students at Tak Sun Secondary School, focusing on the role of parents, the true meaning of freedom and communication between parents and children. The workshops were very well received.

Group photo

During the different courses offered

This year in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, there were three courses in Kinshasa—two Marital Love courses, in which forty couples participated, and one First Steps course, in which seven couples participated. This country has also shown interest in the importance of training moderators to make the sessions more fruitful.

Team work during the ”Marital love” course

Finally, news comes from Johannesburg, South Africa, where Santiago Garcia gave a moderator training course to two Family Enrichment programs (First Letters and First Decisions) December 7-9. This intensive training, attended by ten people, achieved two objectives: first, it deepened the moderators’ formation concerning the contents of the topics addressed in each of the programs; and second, it updated moderators’ techniques via practical sessions. It was a few days of a great deal of work, beginning Friday at 10:00 AM and ending Sunday at 4:30 PM.

Declaration of the civil society

We propose this Declaration of the Civil Society in which the basic contents of UN resolutions about the International Year of the Family are included, as well as the main recommendations of different Expert Group Meetings, particularly the European one organized in Brussels. We aim to enroll as many politicians, academics and representatives of NGOs in every country as we can, so that we can present it together with the rest of international organizations in the Commission for Social Development to be celebrated in February 2014. We also hope that its contents can become a part for the contents of a resolution by the UN General Assembly on the occasion of this anniversary.

Group photo at the Christmas celebration with the new interns

Stay of the new interns in Madrid

New interns working with IFFD for the United Nations and the European Union—Anna Skórzynska, Eloïse Leboutte, Kornélia Bagi and Jakub Rybicki—spent December 11-14 in Madrid, receiving extensive training. Their training will be of great help in the coming months in both institutions: for example, one session on how to communicate was given by Sylvia Camuñas, Communications Director of the magazine Family and Culture.

View extended news here

IFFD Papers

A series of position papers on current affairs an topics that have to do with family enrichment.

Towards 2014:

Empowering persons and society through the promotion of families

[1 January 2013]

Vídeos (Canal YouTube).

Family Enrichment in the World

Trinidad and Tobago

During the weekend of November 18-19, some moderators  traveled from Puerto Rico to this Caribbean country to give a moderator training seminar (PIMOF). The course elaborated on new styles and explained how a properly moderated general session yields best results. Although many of the participants had already been trained as moderators for upcoming courses in the country, all were satisfied with the information received.

PIMOF in Trinidad Tobago

Ecuador

A First Steps course in Guayaquil, Ecuador concluded at the end of October. The course had a high turnout—more than 12 young couples!

Fist Steps video

Canada

During the session in Otawa

This year has seen considerable development in Family Enrichment in Canada. Courses took place in Toronto, Ottawa, and Vancouver during the month of September. In addition, Mike Mckernan communicates a future goal: the completion of a Pre-Adolescence course in January/February 2013.

Saint Petersburg

As reported earlier this year, moderators from Poland traveled to Saint Petersburg to launch Family Enrichment courses. During the weekend of November 10-11, eight couples attended a second visit by Polish moderators. On the occasion of this second meeting, a local television station offered to interview the organizers for a cultural program that will be released in the coming months.

Spain

On November 10, a meeting was held for all centers associated with the IIOF, association coordinating Family Enrichment in          Spain, at the Zayas Cultural Association in Madrid.

The conference was attended by representatives from fourteen regions of Spain, involved with Family Enrichment: ITEFA-Asturias, ALQUIBLA (Murcia), AULA FAMILIAR (Madrid), CESFA (Valladolid), DARSENA (Santander), FERT (Barcelona), IDEFA (Madrid), INEFA (Granada), MIRALMAR (Cádiz), PREF (Valencia), VALDOMAR (Vigo), AZNAITÍN-Jaén, HAURRIDE-Pamplona, PREF-Valencia and some IFFD members. To open, Antonio Santos, IIOF´s Director, analyzed the previous year and offered prospects for 2012-2013.

After the meeting

Next, Sylvia Camuñas, IIOF´s communications director , spoke about her department’s plans to develop a website of the magazine “Familia y Cultura”, to increase participation in social networks, and to maintain the quality of the magazine. She encouraged all the centers to have up-to-date websites and to use social networks as tools for promoting courses.

Later, Javier Vidal-Quadras, secretary-general of IFFD, gave a lecture entitled “On Falling in Love to Love: A Human Journey.”

After lunch, attendees talked enthusiastically about activities and experiences in their respective cities, which was beneficial to all participants.

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Collaborators in the European Union

The director general of The Family Watch held a meeting in Brussels with young professionals from six countries who have offered their collaboration in tasks related to the family within the scope of the European Union.

Preparations for the XX Anniversary of the International Year of the Family in Brussels

Coordinated by the delegate of TFW and led by IFFD, a meeting of family-focused NGOs that work in the EU was held in Brussels, to prepare for 2014. In the image, beside the IFFD president stand representatives of the Mouvement Mondial des Mères, World Youth Alliance, New Women for Europe, Forum Européen des Femmes, and FEFAF, as well as the delegation of the Region of Veneto to the EU, which hosted the event.

IFFD Papers

A series of position papers on current affairs an topics that have to do with family enrichment.

Crisis and social division in Europe: causes and effects in Spain

[1 December 2012]

Vídeos (Canal YouTube).

Family Enrichment in the World

On the Occasion of the Establishment of Family Enrichment Ireland

On October 13 and 14, an intensive moderator training program was held in the city of Dublin, Ireland. The program was attended by six couples from Dublin and Belfast, who will be in charge of moderating the Marital Love course, as well as First Steps, and later, Personal Project.

During the session

That the country’s program now has its own moderators—Siobhán Scullion, Pamela Quinn, John Kehoe, Claire Connolly, Gobnait O’Grady, Owen Connolly, Rosa Mejia, and Angel Martinez—who will be responsible for the courses is a big step for Family Enrichment in Ireland.

Family Enrichment Ireland plans to launch Marital Love and Personal Project courses in January 2013, and First Steps in September 2013.

The Board of Directors, which consists of John and Jennifer Kehoe, Keith and Mags Rowe, Ronan and Siobhán Scullion, and Owen and Rosa Connolly, will encourage and promote the courses in the coming months.

Assistants to the course

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Testimony:

Javier Reguart, A Global Perspective on Family Enrichment

1. After having taught many Family Enirchment courses in America, Europe, and Asia, could you tell us how you percieve the development and evolution of the family in the different countries that you’ve traveled?

The development and evolution of the family is very positive in all places in which I have had the great fortune to work with Family Enrichment. Interest in everything affecting the family is appreciated more each day. The voice of families is being heard increasingly more firmly, more serenely, and more convincingly, with a great sense of responsibility in regard to its relevance. This attitude is an invaluable contribution, creating a unique and profound impact on people.

Read the full interview

To read extended news click here

During the lecture

Annual lecture on Family

The Family Watch held the third annual Lecture on Family, once again in the Garrigues Madrid Auditorium. The event was attended by people from the worlds of politics, law, and communication, as well as by a number of experts in family and family enrichment

Pierluigi Brombo, chief administrator of the European Economic and Social Committee’s Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship, was the rapporteur. The program addressed issues concerned with the ageing of the continent’s population.

Resolution of the Call for Interns

After last month’s call for interns to complete a three- or six-month stint in New York, Geneva, or Brussels, we are pleased to report success. The Family Watch (TFW) headquarters received more than thirty applications from sixteen countries on five continents. Most candidates have Master of International Relations degrees from some of the best universities in the world.

IFFD Papers

A series of position papers on current affairs an topics that have to do with family enrichment.

Family policy and demographic change: The role of the European Union[ 1 October 2012]

Vídeos (Canal YouTube).

Family Enrichment in the World

After several courses of Family Enrichment (First Steps, First Letters, and First Decisions) were held in Peru during the first half of 2012—both in the city of Lima and in Piura and Arequipa—a facilitators’ training course took place in the capitol during the month of August.

About twenty-three couples participated in the course, which provided them child care services. The course included tutorials on general sessions and a group work session. The participants finished very excited and eager to advance this work in the Andean country.

Recommended Reading

‘Marriage, the best antidote against child poverty’

On September 5, The Heritage Foundation, an American entity, published a study entitled, “Marriage, America’s Best Antidote to Child Poverty.”

The study observes that families created around marriage have a much lower risk of ending up living below the poverty line, in comparison to single-parent families.

This pattern is consistent, regardless of membership in a particular ethnic or social group. The study also concludes that the higher the school dropout rate and child educationtraining, the greater the possibility of pregnancies in future single mothers, who are more likely to eventually live under the poverty line.

To read extended news click here

New web page  

Call for Internships

IFFD is calling young professionals with a few years’ experience, who demonstrate interest in family issues to complete three- or six-month internships in New York, Geneva, or Brussels.

IFFD invited to participate in high-level meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations

Civil society statement 2012

IFFD has prompted a statement from civil society on the occasion of the International Year of the Family in 2014

The Family Watch meets with authorities in Paris and Brussels

During the week of September 17, Ignacio Socías, general director of The Family Watch, traveled to Brussels and Paris with two major objectives: present a draft of the Declaration of 2014 in Brussels and explain the events scheduled for 2013

IFFD Papers

A series of position papers on current affairs an topics that have to do with family enrichment.

Do Fathers Matter Uniquely for Adolescent Well-Being?

[ 1 October 2012]

NEWS ABOUT THE PREPARATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE FAMILY 

Vídeos (Canal YouTube).

Conference and Meeting of Experts in Brussels

The Family Watch, a member of the International Federation for Family Development (IFFD), was responsible for organizing a meeting of European experts in Brussels from June 6 to 8, 2012, as part of the preparation for the United Nations’ Twentieth Anniversary of the International Year of the Family in 2014. About thirty people from fourteen countries debated proposals for social policies, in order to provide UN Member States and other stakeholders recommendations on the three topics the anniversary will explore: family poverty, the reconciliation of work and family, and social integration and intergenerational solidarity.

During the meeting

The preparations for the twentieth anniversary of the International Year of the Family focuses on exploring family-oriented policies and strategies aiming mainly at confronting family poverty; ensuring work-family balance and advancing social integration and intergenerational solidarity. The preparatory process is to accelerate progress in family policy development; demonstrate its relevance for overall development efforts and draw attention to the role of stakeholders in achieving these goals.

Confronting family poverty

Equality is a fundamental right within the EU and other European countries. However, deep-rooted disadvantages faced by certain groups of society, coupled with ingrained attitudes and beliefs of others, means that legislation alone is unlikely to achieve the goal of creating a society which genuinely offers equal opportunities to all and is totally free from discrimination.

Ensuring work-family balance

The feeling of an excessive workload due either to professional or family obligations leads to a substantial reduction in life satisfaction. According to the Second European Quality of Life Survey, women who work outside the home and experience work–family conflict tend to be less satisfied with life than women who work solely in the home. Unemployment, nevertheless, has the most negative impact on life satisfaction: even those who report a high level of work–family conflict are far more satisfied with life than unemployed persons.

Intergenerational solidarity

The European population structure is changing and becoming progressively older. A steady increase in life expectancy across Europe during the last century led to increased longevity, while in more recent decades –from the 1970s onwards– Europe has experienced falling fertility rates. These two developments impact upon demographic ageing, a process that has become established in the EU in the last 30 or 40 years and which is expected, by many, to become further entrenched during the next half century, as the absolute number and the relative importance of the population of older persons continues to grow.

These demographic changes will lead to significant challenges for families and individuals

During the conference

The primary objective of the European Expert Group Meeting held on the 6th, 7th and 8th of June has been to provide UN Member States and other stakeholders with expert opinion and recommendations regarding the three topics suggested for this Anniversary. Experts dealing with various aspects of family policy have been invited from a broad geographical distribution to participate in the meeting in their personal capacities.

Assistants to the meeting, including Luis Fernando Gonzalo and Ignacio Socías

Conference video

Audios

- Statement by Mrs. Noor Al-Malki (original EN).

- Statement by Mrs. Noor Al-Malki (interpretation FR).

- Statement by Mrs. Marina Robben (original EN).

- Statement by Mrs. Marina Robben (interpretation FR).

- Speech by Mr. Thomas Wobben (original EN).

- Speech by Mr. Thomas Wobben (interpretation FR).

- Speech by Mrs. Anna Záborská (original FR).

- Speech by Mrs. Anna Záborská (interpretation EN).

- Presentation by Mrs. Renata Kaczmarska (original EN).

- Presentation by Mrs. Renata Kaczmarska (interpretation FR).

- Presentation by Mr. Dominic Richardson (original EN).

- Presentation by Mr. Dominic Ricardson (interpretation FR).

- Presentation by Mrs. Barbara Trentin (original FR).

- Presentation by Mrs. Barbara Trentin (interpretation EN).

- Presentation by Mrs. Lieve Fransen (interpretation FR).

Texts and Presentations

- Statement by Mrs. Noor Al-Malki.

- Statement by Mrs. Marina Robben.

- Speech by Mrs. Anna Záborská.

- Presentation by Mrs. Renata Kaczmarska.

- Presentation by Mr. Dominic Richardson.

- Presentation by Mrs. Barbara Trentin.

- Presentation by Mrs. Lieve Fransen.

If you want to download the Activity Report 2011

Click here

Report 2011

IFFD Papers

A series of position papers on current affairs an topics that have to do with family enrichment.

Give and you shall receive?Generosity, sacrifice and marital quality

[1 September 2012]

NEWS ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE FAMILY 2014

Vídeos (Canal YouTube).

Publication of the IFFD Annual Activity Report for the year 2011.

Click here

Family Enrichment in the world

New Objectives for 2013 in Lima, Peru Enrique and Mireya Pérez, vice presidents of IFFD in Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic, traveled to Lima, Peru on June 21 to present a refresher course for moderators. The course was offered in a classroom of the Advanced Management Program (PAD) of the University of Piura, Lima. It was attended by enthusiastic couples from Lima, Piura, and Arequipa, who are committed to the project of parent formation through IFFD’s Family Enrichment courses. Atendees to the PAD in Peru On June 23, Enrique Pérez gave a lecture entitled “Family, Your Best Company” to an audience of more than seventy people in the auditorium of Alpamayo College. Pérez was also interviewed by a journalist from the Department of Social Communication of the University of Piura about marriage today. After evaluating the motivation and the needs of developing Family Enrichment in Peru, two objectives were established: reaching more than 100 couples by the end of 2012, and more than 200 by the end of 2013. Conclusion of the First Marital Love Course in Panama Atendees to the Marital Love course in Panama The final general session of the the first Marital Love course in Panama was held the weekend of July 14-15. Twenty-seven couples participated, as well as future Panamanian moderators who completed PIMOF (moderators’ training course) last year. Moderators from Medellín, Colombia, showed their appreciation for the assistance in helping them to launch Family Enrichment in their country in the very near future. The beginning in Sweden News from Canadá The Steering Committee of Family Enrichment Ottawa was pleased to host a one-day seminar in Ottawa on Saturday, June 30th, with Javier Reguart, from FERT in Barcelona. 24 participants (Moderators and Steering Committee members) from Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto received an introduction of the newly translated IFFD “Pre-Adolescence” course. This course will be launched in September 2012 in Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto. Javier made a presentation on what Pre-Adolescence is and why this course will be such a help to so many parents. During the session The main objectives of the course were reviewed in detail. Participants also had the opportunity to discuss the different techniques that moderators can use to deal with participants’ interventions in the best way. This one-day seminar was very effective and practical. Everyone was pleased that they made time to attend on a busy holiday weekend. It was also an opportunity for Steering Committee members to network with others from different cities in Canada. We look forward to launching this great course in September and are confident that it will fill up quickly! The last PIMOF in Vancouver Daniel and Gillian Roussy arrived in Vancouver on Thursday, May 24 and had a meeting with Patti, who is on the Steering Committee and was the main organizer of the weekend events. The next day, they met for two hours with a couple who are potential moderators and they reviewed the PIMOF docs moderating with them. Then, they met with the Steering Committee for another 2.5 hours to discuss the different aspects of starting up Family Enrichment in Vancouver. It was very productive. Atendees to the PIMOF in Vancouver On Saturday, they gave a PIMOF training session from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. In the morning session, they went over the objectives of the courses, the teaching method, the roles of all involved: steering committee, moderators, team leaders and participants. They had a lovely lunch all together and then some people left, but most stayed for the afternoon session which dealt mostly with moderating techniques etc. They wanted to get a couple to moderate, but in the end, he moderated for them to give them an idea of how this works. One interesting thing is that the couples that are interested in starting family enrichment (members of the Steering Committee, potential moderators and team leaders) have never participated in an IFFD course before. This presents a special challenge when giving them formation because they’ve never seen it in action before. I highly recommended that they bring in a seasoned moderator (we have many in Ottawa) for the first 2 sessions of Married Love and then they will at least have seen two good moderators, so it will help them to be able to moderate themselves. At this point, they will be starting with Married Love on Sat. November 3rd and Nicole Scheidl (a lawyer/business woman from Ottawa) will be going down to moderate. So the session finished a bit late around 3:30 p.m. Vancouver has lots of potential! They have great couples who are genuinely interested in getting Family Enrichment off the ground. They have many (around 26) being trained as moderators and team leaders, which is fantastic. To read extended news click here

First course translated into Arabic

In the middle of July, we received the exciting news that for the first time a case and promotional material will be translated into Arabic. In addition, the First Steps course will be translated as soon as possible. In November, a moderators’ training course will take place in Israel, thus solidifying the launch of IFFD’s work in that country.

IFFD Papers

A series of position papers on current affairs an topics that have to do with family enrichment.

Keeping our children save (and savvy)

[ 1 July 2012]

NEWS ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE FAMILY, 2014 

Vídeos (Canal YouTube).