WUNRN
Twentieth
Anniversary of IYF 2014
Twentieth Anniversary of
the
International Year of the Family, 2014
The
twentieth anniversary of the International Year of the Family (IYF) offers
an opportunity to refocus on the role of families in development; take stock of
recent trends in family policy development; share good practices in family
policy making; review challenges faced by families worldwide and recommend
solutions.
Owing
to rapid socio-economic and demographic transformations, families find it more
and more difficult to fulfil their numerous responsibilities. Many struggle to
overcome poverty and adequately provide for the younger and older family
members. It is also more and more difficult for them to reconcile work and
family responsibilities and maintain the intergenerational bonds that sustained
them in the past.
In
response to these trends, the preparations for the twentieth anniversary of the
IYF will focus 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
different stakeholders in achieving these goals.
The preparations for the twentieth
anniversary will include:
§
International and regional expert group meetings gathering
family experts and practitioners to explore recent family trends; analyse
family-oriented policies and programmes and review good practices in family
policy making.
§
Research activities, including background papers on family
poverty, work family balance and intergenerational solidarity.
§
Exchange
of good practices in family policy.
§
Observances of the International Days of Families focusing
on the themes for the twentieth anniversary.
§
Side events at the Commission for Social Development.
§
Government, civil society, academic and private sector
initiatives at the national level.
§
Findings and recommendations from these activities are to
guide future action in effective family policy design, monitoring and
implementation.
Governments, United Nations agencies
and bodies, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, research and
academic institutions and the private sector are encouraged to play a
supportive role in promoting the objectives of the twentieth anniversary for
the benefit of families worldwide.
For
more information contact Focal Point on the Family at kaczmarska@un.org.