Family Enrichment in the World

Family Enrichment course in Madeira

On January 24, moderators from Lisbon and Porto traveled to Madeira for the first session of Family Enrichment in the archipelago. In the course of the day, the function and structure of IFFD, as well as the case method, were explained. Twenty-six people participated in the workshop, which made the analysis and discussion of cases a success. The day ended with a small conference, after which participants were awarded a certificate of attendance, as a sign of their interest in being part of upcoming courses.

Moderators training course in IESE Business School

On Saturday, February 28, Aula Familiar, one of the two Family Enrichment centers in Madrid, organized a moderators’ training session, held at IESE’s Madrid headquarters. Professor Sandalio Gómez presented information about the case studies. More than thirty-five Spanish moderators participated.

Closing ceremony in Madrid

On March 4, the closing ceremony of a moderators’ training course took place at the Rafael del Pino Foundation. Don Alfonso Aguiló was commissioned to deliver a lecture on school and family. Afterward, Don Vicente Montes, president of the Rafael del Pino Foundation, and Don José Miguel Cubillo, president of IFFD Spain, said a few words, thanking the foundation for having made possible a new edition of this program. This year, the course was held in Badajoz, Granada, Zaragoza, and Madrid, with 112 students participating.

Family Day in Cameroon

As has become a custom over the last few years, the Family Enrichment Association of Cameroon recently organized a «Day of Families,» which consisted of a series of lectures and discussions about topics relating to the family. This year’s program dealt with two topics: «How to Teach Our Children to Be Leaders» and «Education of Feelings.» More than 600 people, including both parents and children, participated. With activities like this, the Cameroonian population is showing greater interest in the family.

Training moderators

In early February, Josemaría Postigo traveled to Zagreb, Croatia, to give a moderators’ training course. The same course was taught during January in Lithuania, where it was attended by more tan twenty couples.

Courses in China

Family First Foundation, the Family Enrichment Center of Hong Kong and mainland China, plans to launch the Matrimonial Love program in Shen Zhen. During 2014, several other courses were held in the country. The First Letters course was offered in Hong Kong, beginning in January and running through November 9. Eighteen couples from the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the United States, Canada, China, Singapore, the Philippines and Hong Kong participated. In addition, between the months of April and June,
several training conferences for parents were offered in the Tak Sun Primary and Kindergarten in Hong Kong.

Family Enrichment in Long Island

After several months of promotion, the first Matrimonial Love course began in Long Island, New York, on January 31, involving twenty-one couples. The first session was moderated by Canadians Gillian and Danielle Roussy.

First Steps in Lebanon

In early January, the second general session of the First Steps course was held in the town of Baabda, Lebanon.

Promotional video about Family Enrichment courses

New addition to IFFD

In early January, Costa Rican Ana María Ruiz traveled to Madrid to receive a month’s training in preparation for her February work as an IFFD intern in the Committee on Economic and Social Development at the United Nations in New York.

Conference in Vilnius

On January 10, Javier Vidal-Quadras, Secretary General of IFFD, gave the opening conference for a day devoted to the family, organized by the Archdiocese of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. The presentation was titled, “The Family, the Place of Joy.” Vidal-Quadras also had the opportunity to offer the Lithuanian translation of his book, After Love, I´ll Love You, and to meet with leaders of Seimu, the family university and the city’s center for Family Enrichment, which provides about twenty courses per year.

Course in the UK

On January 24, Karel and Marina Phlips moderated a session of the Matrimonial Love course in Manchester. A young and dynamic group of five couples participated.

XIX International Family Congress- October 2015

16th-18th October 2015, Mexico

More information

Public Affairs

IFFD Briefing

The IFFD Briefing was celebrated during the 53rd Session of the Commission for Social Development  in the United Nations on February 11. During this event, the 2015 IFFD Awards were granted to the High Representative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, for his work in favor of families worldwide not only in his present position, but also during his years of service to United Nations and his country; and also to the Department of Family, Children, Time Use and the Disabled of the City council of Barcelona, because of their City of Barcelona Family Plan 2013-2016, and especially the programme Barcelona is Family, developed during the past months to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the International Year of the Family. More information and pictures: Family Perspective.

At IFFD Headquarters

The “Siempre Chile” Foundation began its 2015 formation course in Spain with a meeting at IFFD headquarters, with Ignacio Socías, Director of International Relations of IFFD.

IFFD in Brussels

On January 26, Ignacio Socías and Eloise Leboutte represented IFFD at a seminar of the Families and Societies project on immigrants. The discussion was very interesting, in that it revealed details of investigations into the overwhelming importance of parents versus schools and the fact that immigration does not affect family stability. A primary conclusion was the need to study the means for promoting «quality parenting.”

During his stay in Brussels, Socías also participated in a fascinating breakfast on the approach of care for the elderly in the EU, considering the roles of the state, the private sector, and families. He met with MEP Arne Gericke, with whom he discussed a possible collaboration on a project to promote work-family balance in the EU, and possible training assignments with young people interested in international institutions and family policy.

Second Annual Assembly of FamiliesAndSocieties project

On 14-16 January, the Director of International Relations of IFFD, Ignacio Socías, has attended the Experts Meeting of the project FamiliesAndSocieties, in which the IFFD is part of the Consortium as a member of the civil society. It was held in the Humanities and Social Science Center of the Superior Council of Scientific Research (CSIC) in Madrid.

New publication

It includes the papers and other documents presented for the Expert Group Meeting convened in Mexico City on 19-20 May 2014 and organized by IFFD, in cooperation with the NCFR (USA), the Vanier Institute of the Family (Canada) and the UN focal point on the family within DESA.

United Nations

The official journal of sessions has published the Annual report of the Secretary General of the United Nations on the anniversary 20th of the International year of the family, in which the Secretary General has highlighted the work carried out and promoted by The Family Watch and the IFFD (International Federation for Family Development), the main global family enrichment entity.

World Family Summit+10

The World Family Summit +10 organized by the World Family Organization and the National Health and Family Planning Commission of the Chinese government, has been celebrated in Zhuhai (China), 2-4 December. The results of the 20th Anniversary of the Intenational Year of the Family and the inclusion of family in the new UN Development Goals have been an important part of this meeting. It has been attended by ministers and lawmakers from many countries, as well as representatives of NGOs and civil society, including the Director of International Relations of IFFD, who gave a speech on the topic ‘Civil Society Organizations and Families working together in setting a new course for the world families want’.

Focus Group on «vulnerable families»

The group discussions on ‘vulnerable families’ has taken place on 10 December at the Committee of the Regions of the European Union (Brussels) with the participation of Antonio Polychronakis (Family Justice Center, Rotterdam), Michael Maira (La Ligue des Familles, Belgium), Philippe Seidel (Age Platform Europe), Daniel Wisniewski (WYA), Marina Robben (World President of IFFD) Arne Gericke (Member of the European Parliament, Germany) and Branislav Stanicek (Committee of the Regions). The meeting has been organized by IFFD within the framework of the European collaborative research project FamiliesAndSocieties and was aimed at encouraging discussions between the experts. It was moderated by Prof. Bernhard Riederer from the Austrian Academy of Sciences – Vienna Institute of Demography.

FAS Project

The third newsletter about the Families and Societies Project is now available. This is the most important research project carried out in the framework of the European Union on the situation of the family and whether policies adequately meet their needs.

Publication on the web

The book on the occasion of the European meeting of experts in Brussels can be downloaded here.

IFFD Papers

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

IFFD Paper nº 41

Authoritarian and authoritative parenting.

[1st April 2015]