Family Enrichment in the World

Adolescence course in Quito

During April and May 2015, the parents of Los Pinos school in Quito are participating in an Adolescence course. They show great interest in the issues raised in the course and comment that it is very rewarding. Already parents are talking more with their children. They say the case study methodology is a great help in their work as educators.

China

A Matrimonial Love course began in March in the city of Shenzhen, with thirteen couples participating. A First Steps course is planned at Tak Sun Kindergarten toward the end of 2015. An Adolescence course may also be offered at Tak Sun Secondary school, in Chinese, for parents and professors.

Latvia

During the weekend of April 18-19, Diego Barroso and Mercedes Flores traveled to Latvia to give a promotional session of Family Enrichment. Barroso gave a lecture titled, “Order and Organization in the Family,” and then presented the basics of Family Enrichment. He also moderated a case, in which twenty-five people participated.

Anniversary in France

In this year 2015, the Family Enrichment center in France (IPEF) celebrates forty years serving the family. To commemorate this anniversary, they have organized a meeting that will take place May 8-10 in Tartigny. A promotional video has been produced to encourage couples to participate in the program.

Summary of recent activities in Spain

The biannual meeting of Spanish Family Enrichment Centers took place the last Saturday in April in Madrid, and more than twenty couples from many Spanish cities. In addition, a course was offered every Tuesday of April at the Spanish Grandparents Research Institute for Advanced Study. The aims of the course were to cultivate matrimonial love, discuss effective ways to help children, and above all, offer guidance and support in the education of grandchildren. The Matrimonial Love III course, aimed at couples around their silver anniversaries, premiered as a pilot course in Canigó School, Barcelona, in February. Twenty couples participated. It is a test of the program, and the results will be evaluated by the technical committee. On February 25, a First Steps course concluded in Cadiz. It was moderated by Valvanera Cortés. More than twenty people participated and received their certificates at the end of the program.

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.

XIX International Family Congress- October 2015

16th-18th October 2015, Mexico More information

Public Affairs

International Day of Families

We are very excited with the celebration of the International Day of Family next Friday, May 15th. The topic is “Men in Charge? Gender Equality and Children’s Rights in Contemporary Families”. We hope you can follow it online through live streaming. The event will be from 1.15pm to 2.45 pm (-5:00 UTC, Eastern Time).

IFFD in Paris

On March 27, Marina Robben, president of IFFD, participated in a conference organized by FEPEM at the Palace of Luxembourg in Paris. The conference was titled, “The Necessities of the Family in Relation to Care in the Home,” and it was moderated by Rosita Deluigi of the University of Macerata.

Participation in the EPA

From April 24-26, the General Assembly of EPA (European Parents Association) took place in Prague, focusing on “Supporting Parents to Become the Best Primary Educators.” Marina Robben, president of IFFD, was invited to participate in the plenary session and discuss the best international practices in the formation of parents as first educators.

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]