March 2004, No. 50

Deadline for contributions:.1 st June 2004
					
Vienna NGO Committee on the Family
*Brunngasse 12/2, A-3100 St. Pölten, Austria
Phone: 43-2742-352718, Fax: 43-1-352718-5
Web: http://www.viennafamilycommittee.org
For contributions to ‘Families International’:
Email:  famcom.vienna@utanet.at 

From the Desk of the Chairperson

Dear Readers of Families International,

This is the 50th issue of Families International since the Committee was founded in 1985. We are grateful for your continued interest in the bulletin and for the support and contributions you have sent us over the years for inclusion in the various issues.

As you are well aware, this is also the 10th anniversary of the International Year of the Family (IYF) which we will be observing with an international seminar at the United Nations in Vienna from May 6th to May 7th 2004 entitled: Civil Society Organisations Networking – Interactive-Internet-Forums. While there will be input presentations from experts, the emphasis will be on dialogue with the participants, in general discussion time and through questions from the floor, for which ample time is allotted after the presentations, and especially in the working groups. The programme of the seminar can be found inside this issue and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in Vienna.

The Committee has also set up a new Interactive-Internet-Forum at: www.10yearsIYF.org with family-oriented international NGOs which are accredited with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and with the financial support of Siemens. A book on the Forum will be published during the seminar with the support of the United Nations Trust Fund on Family Activities. The Committee has carried out a study on the positive contributions of civil society organisation to the well-being of families since IYF in 1994 and it will also be published in this book.

42ND SESSION  
UNITED NATIONS
COMMISSION FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
2004

We look forward to a continued interchange with our readers world-wide, many of whom come from civil society organisations, governments, universities and research institutions. Please forward your contributions for inclusion in Families International directly to the Committee e-mail address at: famcom.vienna@utanet.at

Peter Crowley
(Chairperson)

Table of Contents

VIENNA NGO COMMITTEE ON THE FAMILY
SPECIAL FEATURE
COMMISSION FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT – 
42nd SESSION	2

VIENNA NGO COMMITTEE ON THE FAMILY	13

10th ANNIVERSARY OF THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE FAMILY (IYF)	19

PUBLICATIONS		21

INTRODUCING		22

FAMILY-RELATED NGO NEWS 		25

RECENT AND FORTHCOMING EVENTS 	30

NEWS FROM THE UNITED NATIONS 	32

Special FEATURE: Commission for Social Development – 42nd Session

Commission for Social Development
42nd Session
4 – 13 February 2004 –New York

Rosina Santa-Olalla
Deputy Chairperson of the Vienna NGO Committee on the Family
Email: rose@arrakis.es 
26 February 2004

Summary of the meetings

INTRODUCTION

The Commission for Social Development is a functional commission of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations. Since the convening of the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen in 1995, the Commission has been the key UN body in charge of the follow-up and implementation of the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action. In that regard, it is in unique position to stimulate and strengthen international cooperation on issues such as the persistence of poverty, the worsening of equalities, and the problems of social cohesion and social integration that exist in various parts of the world. It is also one of the intergovernmental bodies that have the ability, if not the duty, to promote the coherence of and links between economic and social policies.
Composed of 46 members elected by ECOSOC, it meets once a year in New York, usually in February.

AGENDA OF THE SESSION
Main issues:

3. Follow-up to the World Summit for Social Development and the twenty-fourth special session of the General Assembly:

(a)	Priority theme : “Improving public sector effectiveness”
(b)	Review of relevant United Nations plans and programmes of action pertaining to the situation of social groups:
(i)	Tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family
(ii)	Equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities
(iii)	Modalities for review and appraisal of the Madrid International Plan of Ageing 2002
(c) Emerging issues affecting social development:
International migration and migrants from a social perspective

DOCUMENTS

Reports of the Secretary-General, introduced by Johan Schölvinck, Director, Division for Social Policy and Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs:

“Improving public sector effectiveness”

The report examined five means currently being considered to improve public sector effectiveness: levels and methods of financing; methods of delivery; privatisation; social dialogue and participation; and service-oriented public officials.	

The report suggests that the public sector be treated from the perspective of public institutions and public activities to deliver effectively social services. It also points out that most developing countries continue to face extremely difficult situations. Therefore, in a context of dramatically insufficient resources allocated to the public sector, they probably will not be able to achieve the Millenium Development Goals.

The report also notes that the call for effectiveness of the public sector comes in the context of policy shifts over the past two decades. In accordance with the view that smaller government is better, public institutions were asked to accomplish more with reduced means. Retrenchment in social expenditures and cutbacks in public services, particularly in developing countries, resulted from that policy.

“Preparation for the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family”

The report provides an overview at all levels of significant aspects of the preparations for the anniversary and notes the “many achievements recorded”. Several Governments have formulated “family-sensitive” policies and improved national capacity for their implementation. The family has been increasingly recognized as an object and agent of social policy in many countries, and mechanisms devoted to family policy and research have been developed or strengthened. Problems were identified, priorities set, resources determined, policies established, programmes implemented and outcomes evaluated.

Taking into account the family-related problems that confront planners and administrators in designing or redesigning policies, the report makes four recommendations:

-Strengthen cooperation and mechanisms for consultation and advocacy at the national and local levels in order to promote greater consensus on policy contents, concepts and an integrated perspective on the family.

-Enhance international cooperation in the area of family research to assist in policy formulation and evaluation.

-Promote training and advisory services for the analysis, formulation and evaluation of integrated strategies, policies and programmes.

-Continue to support the United Nations Trust Fund on Family activities to assist in national capacity-building and development cooperation.

Also before the Commission is the report of the Secretary-General transmitting the views of Member States on the proposals contained in the report of the Special Rapporteur on Disability. They were asked to express their opinions regarding the suggested supplement to the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with disabilities.

From the replies received, the report concluded that the majority of Member States favoured the adoption of the proposed supplements to the Rules. They acknowledged that although the Standard Rules have played an important role in the elaboration of national policies, their extensive application had led to experiencing shortcomings and areas in need of further elaboration.

The Commission was also expected to consider a Note by the Secretariat for the review and appraisal of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing. The note stressed that the review and appraisal process should focus on ageing specific policies as well as on efforts aimed at mainstreaming an ageing dimension into national development strategies.

DISCUSSIONS AND STATEMENTS

Public Sector Effectiveness

	José Antonio Ocampo, Under Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, reminded the Commission that improving public sector effectiveness should be seen as a genuine effort to ensure that all people and societies benefit from major social objectives, notably social justice and participation.

	When delegations took the floor to discuss the session’s main theme, they expressed a variety of concerns, but all agreed that achievement of significant advances in public sector effectiveness was crucial to the progress of social development, and that efforts to improve the sector had to go hand in hand with efforts to achieve good governance within public bodies and sustainable development in society at large.

	The delegate of Qatar, speaking on behalf of the Group 77+China, said that at a time when developing countries were making significant strides to achieve economic and social reforms, particularly in the public sector, it was up to developed countries to meet those efforts in kind, by committing to their own obligations towards development

	The Group, he said, considered deepening poverty the most pervasive violation of human rights.
	Another Delegate said that poverty eradication had emerged as the principal goal of the social agenda over the last decades. Many developing countries did not have a sufficient level of financial resources to establish public services. While development was basically a national responsibility, it could not be fully achieved without international support, empathy and sympathy. International cooperation was a categorical imperative in fulfilling social development goals.

Disability

	Hessa Al-Thani, the special Rapporteur on Disability, said that over the past decade there had been steady progress towards identifying disability as a central focus of human rights efforts. That evolution, guided by the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities of Persons with Disabilities, had led to increased United Nations – as well as Governments and civil society – promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities in law and policy.

	And while the Rules had heretofore served as an authoritative guide for Member States, it had become clear that they needed to be broadened and enhanced to more effectively address issues like women and children with disabilities, and integration of persons with developmental disabilities into society. So, Ms. Al-Thani urged the approval of a Supplement to the Rules, which would not diminish but would create opportunities to better monitor issues that had received inadequate attention, such as personal training, violence and abuse, and health and medical care. 

	Speakers from several civic groups representing persons with disabilities urged the Commission to move quickly to approve the Supplement. The urgent situation facing their communities should not and could not wait for protection during the time it would take to bring the Convention into force.

Ageing

	Delegations took the floor to address the International Action Plan on Ageing adopted in Madrid in 2002, stressing. Among other things, the need to ensure that older person were integrated into all sectors of their communities.

	The Delegation of Ireland, speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, said that the Union was committed to the principles outlined in the Madrid Plan of Action on Ageing and welcomed the Secretariat’s proposals for advancing the implementation of its recommendations.

	The focus of poverty reduction among older women and men, he said, includes specific gender-sensitive ageing policies and incorporates mainstreaming policies into national strategies and international development programmes.

	Peter Gudgeong, Interregional Adviser in the Division for Social Policy and Development, said that the Division had a broad mandate, including ageing, family, youth, poverty eradication, conflict management and indigenous people. Its core was to follow up on the World Summit for Social Development.

	Regarding ageing, he said that the Madrid Plan signified a move way from the welfarest to the developmental approach. Progress on developing the action plans at the country level had been patchy and uneven. The reason for that included lack of funding, poor institutional capacity, lack of data and the absence of high-level political priority. To mainstream ageing, the importance of national capacity-building had to be emphasized.

Tenth Anniversary of the International Year of the Family

	Several speakers highlighted the need to protect the family as the most basic unit in an increasingly environment.

	Ireland, on behalf of the European Union and associated States, said the various events marking the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family should lead to specific outcomes, including a renewed recognition of the role of families in all their forms; a clear focus on how families have been affected by profound social, political, economic, demographic, cultural change, and the strengthening of the programmes of work on family issues.

	Strengthening families, he said, required appropriate supports in the performance of vital tasks such as parenting support, child care and providing a stable family life; a special focus on how best to support families in reconciling work and family life was needed; special recognition should be given to the importance of preserving solidarity at the core of families, which was one of society’s greatest resources.

	Other statements on the tenth anniversary of the I.Y.F.:

The family is the basic cell of society and the place where the process of social integration begins. 

	The upcoming anniversary of the International Year of the Family offers the chance to carry out an evaluation of progress that has been achieved nationally, regionally and globally. Strengthening the family will help strengthen social welfare at all levels.

	Families are linked to every single development issue not only as beneficiaries of developmental programmes but also as active agents for social change.

	The observance of the tenth anniversary also provides an opportunity to focus attention on critical issues affecting the family. One major concern is the impact of poverty on the family. Female heads of household are particularly vulnerable. The family plays an important role in poverty alleviation and coping strategies. International migration was one of the factors affecting the stability of family. Migration patterns have led to the introduction of the concept of transnational family.

	The current demographic and social shifts (migration, HIV/AIDS and ageing) affect sustainable development, particularly in developing countries. We hope that the upcoming celebration of the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family will provide an opportunity for global actors to reaffirm the primary importance of the family as human capital, the wealth and resource base of all societies.

DRAFT RESOLUTIONS

	The Commission on Social Development suspended its forty-second session on the evening of the 13 February, unable to reach an agreement on its conclusions on the priority theme – improving effectiveness of the public sector. It did, however, approve texts on persons with disabilities, ageing and the family.

	Summary of text on the family, presented by Benin:

	By the draft resolution on the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family and beyond (document E/CN.5/2004/L.3), the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), recommends that the General Assembly decide that the follow-up to the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family be an integral part of the agenda and the multi-year programme of the Commission’s work until 2006. It also urges governments to continue to take sustained action at all levels concerning family issues, including studies and research, to promote the role of families in development and to develop concrete measures to address national priorities to deal with family issues.

	Also according to the text, the Assembly requests the Secretary-General to, among other things, give appropriate consideration to the tenth anniversary by preparing the observance of the International Day of Families on 15 May 2004 and by taking appropriate steps to promote the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the Year. He is also requested to continue using the United Nations Trust Fund to support national actions that directly promote the objectives of the International Year in developing countries, especially in the least developed countries. He is also requested to incorporate a capacity-building component in the family programme to assist governments in integrating family-related programmes into national development strategies.

Statement by Mr. José Antonio Ocampo
Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs
to the 42nd session of the Commission for Social Development
4 February 2004

Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to address the Commission for Social Development for the first time in
my capacity as Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.

The Commission, which has a long and distinguished history dating back to its creation in 1946,
was given a renewed mandate and comprehensive normative framework by the World Summit for Social Development convened in Copenhagen in 1995. While social issues may have changed significantly over time, the social problems the world is facing today are certainly no less serious than they were a decade ago. Consequently the difficulties in addressing social issues in an international context remain acute. This Commission is in a unique position to stimulate and strengthen international cooperation on issues such as the persistence of poverty, the worsening of inequalities, the problems of social cohesion and social integration that exist in various parts of the world. The Commission is also one of the intergovernmental bodies that has the ability, if not the duty, to promote the coherence of and links between economic and social policies. These tasks are particularly timely in the context of your next year’s priority theme on “Review of further implementation of the Social Summit and the outcome of the 24th special session of the General Assembly”, a review that coincides with the tenth anniversary of the Social Summit.

I also note with interest that the Commission has included in its agenda an item on “Emerging issues, trends and new approaches to issues affecting social development”, under which you will be considering the issue of “international migration and migrants from a social perspective.” By introducing flexibility in your agenda you will increasingly be better placed to take up issues that call for urgent actions. This approach will also no doubt enhance the effectiveness of the Commission as well as its impact on the rest of the Organisation.

Mr. Chairman,
Let me turn to the priority theme of this session, “Improving public sector effectiveness”.

Improving public sector effectiveness, especially in the context of your Commission, should be
seen within the framework of the implementation of major social objectives, notably social justice and participation. It should be seen particularly as the locus of policy making where efforts to integrate social and economic objectives and measures have to be truly realized. By integration, I do not mean the traditional subordination of “social” to “economic” considerations. Here I would like to recall the keynote address I gave before your Commission two years ago in February 2002 when you considered the priority theme of “Integration of social and economic policy”. At that occasion, I stated that “economic development makes sense to the extent that it promotes welfare and social integration.” I also said that “a commitment to reduce poverty, eliminate extreme poverty, and enhance equity and social integration requires persistent actions to reconcile economic growth, employment generation and an active social policy, within a consistent macroeconomic framework.” Clearly integrating social objectives into economic policy making is key to achieving inclusive development.

Activities of the public sector, notably the delivery of public social services, should be geared towards reaching every individual in a given society, including the poor and the weak. One should never lose sight of this when seeking to evaluate and assess the effectiveness and efficiency of such services. Also, one should always remember that the effective delivery of public services is not only necessary for equity, equality, a good functioning of society and strengthening of the social fabric; it is also an indispensable condition for economic development. Unfortunately, the provision of social services continues to be regarded by many as a “luxury”, or as an expenditure, rather than as an investment in improving the human condition.

The ultimate objective of improving public sector effectiveness is the overall improvement in people’s lives. A well-functioning public sector will play an important role in attaining the goals and objectives set out in the major United Nations international conferences and summits including the goals and objectives set out in the Millennium Declaration. Economic growth, although indispensable, will not be enough. It is the content of that growth, especially its distributional and equity aspects, that is important. Here the public sector will have an important role to play in order to achieve high quality economic growth.

When examining the effectiveness of the public sector, the role of the private sector inevitably comes to the fore. The respective roles and responsibilities of the public and private sectors on policies and methods of efficient delivery of public services urgently need to be reviewed, reassessed and reconsidered. However, whatever modalities are adopted, it should be clear that the fundamental objectives which underpin the raison d'être of the public sector remain unchanged and that, therefore, the ultimate responsibility for the delivery of public services rests with the State.

Improvement of the effectiveness of the public sector is not only a national task and obligation. It
also requires strengthened international cooperation, through, for example, cooperation among countries and regions, and through the work of the UN regional commissions, agencies and the multilateral financial institutions. The Commission for Social Development has a vital role to play by serving as the forum for exchange of experience and elaboration of norms on this very important subject. I trust that the outcome of your deliberations will make a major contribution to this endeavour.

Mr. Chairman,
It is clear from your agenda that your Commission deals with a wide range of mandates. Besides the priority theme, the Commission this year also deals with three crucial social issues directly related to social integration namely disability, ageing and family.

Let me first turn to the issue of family. This year we observe the Tenth Anniversary of the International Year of the Family, which was celebrated in 1994 to strengthen and support families in performing their societal and developmental functions and to build upon these strengths, in particular at the national and local levels. The family is an ancient institution, but it is also an evolving and changing institution. It is important is to move away from a focus on what a family is, to a focus on what a family does. Each of us comes from a family. Our families offer us a unit for providing mutual support, pooling resources and sharing burdens, and giving and receiving emotional encouragement and affection. We all have a need for affiliation, for relationships, for sharing our lives with others, and families – whether single-person, nuclear, extended or composite – are the means for achieving this affiliation.
The observance of the tenth anniversary provides an opportunity to give new attention to the role of families in our societies, and to give added impetus to policies and programmes to support family functions.

Mr. Chairman,
Although not directly related to the work of the Commission, I cannot refrain from mentioning my deep satisfaction with the positive outcome, some two weeks ago, of the Working Group established to draft a text of an international convention on the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. The fact that the Working Group was able to prepare and adopt ad referendum a draft convention to serve as a basis for negotiation for the General Assembly Ad Hoc Committee, bodes well for this extremely important negotiating process. In the not too distant future, we may well see a comprehensive international document dealing with rights of persons with disabilities. I would like to commend representatives of the Member States and the civil society for a highly constructive dialogue they conducted and for the encouraging outcomes achieved. The drafting process was particularly successful due to the richness and openness of the debate among representatives of Governments, leaders of organizations of persons with disabilities and human rights specialists. All of this augurs well for your debate under the agenda item on equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities, especially as you examine the relationship between the Standard Rules, its Supplement and the preparations towards the Convention.

Mr. Chairman,
The implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing is another important issue before the Commission. Reaching agreement on the modalities for the review and appraisal of the Madrid Plan is essential for its implementation. Here I wish to recall that at your last session in February 2003, the Commission endorsed the bottom-up approach to the review and appraisal of the Madrid Plan. Following that endorsement we have proceeded to elaborate the content of the review and appraisal exercise to be applied at the local and national level. We mobilized our own expertise and that of international experts to clarify important dimensions of national implementation strategies and the key components of the bottom-up participatory approach. In our view, the time has come to start translating discourse into action: it is necessary that the participatory approach for the review and appraisal of Madrid be adopted by Governments, in line with their specific national circumstances. Equally important for the Commission is to decide on the format and periodicity of the global review and appraisal exercise. The Madrid Conference emphasized that ageing was a "silent revolution" with monumental consequences over the coming decades. It is up to this Commission, by its actions and decisions, to break this silence.

Mr. Chairman,
I have not dwelled upon the various reports before the Commission. My colleague Mr. Johan Schölvinck, Director of the Division for Social Policy and Development, will introduce the Secretary-General’s reports on the various subject matters in a more detailed manner. Let me conclude by saying that this Commission, whose very existence, not long ago, was called into question, has been much invigorated. This is not only evident through the content of your agenda, but also by the keen interest of civil society, especially NGOs, in your work. The number of side events organized during the course of the Commission attests to that. I wish you every success in your deliberations and look forward to the outcomes of your work.
 
cf. also Report of the Secretary-General. Document: E/CN.5/2004/3 at: www.un.org/esa/socdev/

Commission for Social Development
Forty-Second Session 
4-13 February 2004
Item 3(b) (i) of the provisional agenda:

Tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family

Statement

We the undersigned international non-governmental organisations in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council,

Recognize
 “that the family is the basic unit of society and that it plays a key role in social development and is a strong force of social cohesion and integration. In different cultural, political and social systems, various forms of family exist. Further recognize that equality and equity between women and men and respect for the rights of all family members are essential for family well-being and for society at large, and promote appropriate actions to meets the needs of families and their individuals members, particularly in the areas of economic support and provision of social services. Greater attention should be paid to helping the family in its supporting, educating and nurturing roles, to the causes and consequences of family disintegration, and to the adoption of measures to reconcile work and family life for women and men.”(Twenty-fourth Special Session of the General Assembly, “Further initiatives for social development”, para. 56, Geneva 26 June-1 July 2000)”

Recall that :
 “Helping the family in its supporting, educating and nurturing roles in contributing to social integration should involve: (a) Encouraging social and economic policies that are designed to meet the needs of families and their individual members, especially the most disadvantaged members, with particular attention to the care of children; (b) Insuring opportunities for family members to understand and meet their social responsibilities; (c) Promoting mutual respect, tolerance and cooperation within the family and within society; (d) Promoting equal partnership between women and men in the family.” (World Summit for Social Development, Programme of Action, para. 80, Copenhagen 1995)

In the modern world, society is made up of a complex set of relationships; among them the family should be conceived as a very unique relationship based on equity, reciprocity and respect between genders and generations, law and custom.

Families come in many forms and varieties, and there is change over the life cycle of individual families. A family-friendly society is one that recognizes the diversity of family forms and respects the unique conditions, benefits and problems each family experiences in the execution of its functions.

There is no simple view of the family, nor can there be a universally applicable definition. Throughout history and in different parts of the world, many types of families exist, with pronounced variations in their structures. New and divergent family forms are constantly evolving. This diversity is a faithful reflection of the cultural pluralism of the individuals that constitute society.

The relative strength of a nation or society depends largely on the strength of the family. What occurs in families affects the whole of society and viceversa. Most countries still rely on families to provide the basic safety net to care for its members. Because of the bonding involved, humans are best cared for by those who know and love them.

In providing care for the weaker and most vulnerable members – children, disabled, old and sick people – the family carries out a crucial societal function. Families are the main providers of basic services such as adequate food, shelter, clothing and supportive interaction as well as being the source of human capital for society.

We, therefore, urge that:
Families, being expert in their own affairs, should be enabled to be full and active partners in decision-making, policy formulation and the design and evaluation of public services and should be assisted and encouraged to fulfill their responsibilities.

	Policy makers should be aware of the state of family functioning in their national societies.  The detection of the ability, or inability, of families to carry out their functions is a pragmatic and thus valuable approach to identifying unmet needs and isolating specific targets for intervention.

	Policies and programmes designed for family members should focus attention on the fact that families are units with their own dynamics and are primary resources in meeting the needs of such groups; to the extent that such policies and programmes do not take into account this fact, they are prone to failure.

	The increasing employment of women and the emerging new roles of men are major changes with regard to family responsibilities. The involvement of the father in family functions, as well as the reconciliation of work and family life, should be identified as an important issue to be further developed.

	World attention should be focused on the important role played by families especially in the care of those affected by HIV/AIDS and on what can be done to decrease the spread of the virus in order to prevent the erosion of the family unit.

We, hence, expect:
	That policy-makers at all levels, in focusing on family concerns, will develop an approach to social development which would synthesize and integrate diverse issues, in an interdisciplinary and multisectoral approach.

	That families, as a legitimate focus of social policy, will be placed on the agenda and included in the multi-year programme of work 2002-2006 of the Commission for Social Development, and that long-term goals will be set after the celebration of the Tenth Anniversary of the International Year of the Family in those plans and programme of action.

	That the General Assembly of the United Nations, in recognition of the 10th Anniversary of the International Year of the Family in 2004, give priority to continue funding for family issues within the Secretariat of the United Nations, which is essential to maintaining important networks of government, International and Civil Society Organisations, involved in strengthening families. 

That the possibility of  the documentation of world-wide institution building endeavours, including those organized by Civil Society Organisations, to conmemorate the Tenth Anniversary of the International Year of the Family, is envisaged.

European Union of Women, Foundation for the Rights of the Family, International Confederation of Christian Family Movements, International Council of Psychologists, International Council on Alcohol and Addictions, International Kolping Society, Pax Romana, Soroptimist International

Statement to the 42nd Session
of the Commission for Social 
Development, (4-13 Feb. 2004)
by Peter Crowley, Chairperson,
Vienna NGO Committee on the Family,
Representative of the International
Council on Alcohol and Addictions (ICAA)

Mr Chairman,

Thank you for giving me the floor to speak on behalf of the International Council on Alcohol and Addictions (ICAA) and other members of the Vienna NGO Committee on the Family - of which I am Chairperson. ICAA is one of the 67 member organisations of the Vienna NGO Committee on the Family, which was founded in 1985 and serves a world-wide network of family-oriented organisations, who come from civil society, research and university institutions. 

May I respectfully draw your attention to the joint INGO Statement, Conference document E/CN.5/2004/NGO prepared by The Vienna NGO Committee on the Family and signed by INGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC. 

As the United Nations Secretary-General stated in his message on the launch of the observance of the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family on December 4th 2003 “families have always been the essential social unit in all societies.” This reiterates the Twenty-fourth Special Session of the General Assembly, (“Further initiatives for social development”, para. 56, Geneva 26 June-1 July 2000)” “that the family is the basic unit of society and that it plays a key role in social development and is a strong force of social cohesion and integration.” It would hence seem appropriate to take a family-focused approach to national and international co-operation for social development thus benefiting from partners directly involved in the intricate day-to-day challenges confronting society.

Mr Chairman, issues such as:
1.	The paradigmatic changes in demo-graphic development, also in developing countries is having long term consequences for society. In the 1960s the Total Fertility Rate in Less Developed Countries was 6.0 and today it is under 3.0 children per woman.  The United Nations projects that before 2050, 80% of the world population will have below-replacement levels.   The concern is not the drop in fertility rates, as such, especially as many of those children would be born into poverty. Of concern is the grade and speed of this development and the capacity of society to deal with its consequences. This fact in synergy with an ageing society leads to,

2.	the breakdown in the intergenerational contract, where one generation guaranteed the economic survival in old age of the other.
3.	The HIV/Aids pandemic, partly wipes out in many countries and regions, the parent or “carer generation”, leaving grand-parents to look after their grandchildren, without any rights in this relationship, until they themselves become infirm and need to be cared for by the grandchildren, who are often too young and ill prepared to do so.
4.	Ca. 50% of the world population is living in poverty on less than US$2 per day, mainly within a family structure.
5.	Increasing migration through conflict, or economic necessities for survival, usually takes place within families.
6.	The hunger of humans for knowledge, especially in childhood, youth and early man-and womanhood needs co-ordinated education policies,

These, Mr Chairman, are all issues, which go right to the core of the sustainable development of society, and hence would seem to necessitate policies which have a family orientation, in order to address issues of sustainable development comprehensively and holistically. 

The challenging changes in society are usually interwoven with paradigmatic changes in families. For many years family issues have been regarded as problematical areas, which needed support, like another charity. Would it not, Mr. Chairman, be more meaningful instead, to recognise families as the human capital, wealth and resource of society, which they, without dispute, are, and hence regard families as the medium and motor, to attain true social and sustainable development?

We trust that the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family in 2004 will re-emphasise the permanence of family issues as central to the work and programmes of the Commission for Social Development. We further trust that the General Assembly of the United Nations will give priority to continue funding for family issues within the Secretariat of the United Nations, which is essential to maintaining collaboration and partnership between governments, International and Civil Society Organisations, for the well-being of families, which is central to the process of social and sustainable development

In conclusion Mr. Chairman, to observe the 10th Anniversary of IYF, The Vienna NGO Committee on the Family and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations (DESA) have agreed to set up an Interactive-Internet-Forum, at www.10yearsIYF.org with the support of international NGOs, which are in consultative status with ECOSOC. This has enabled the implementation of a study, under the chairmanship of the Vienna NGO Committee on the Family, to document the positive contributions of civil society to the well-being of families since IYF in 1994. The results of this study are to be submitted to the General Assembly of the United Nations in 2004 (cf. Report of the Secretary-General to the General Assembly - A/57/139, 2002). 

Thank you Mr. Chairman. 

42nd session of the Commission on Social Development

Draft resolution: Celebration of the Tenth Anniversary of the International Year of the Family and beyond

PP1- Recalling its resolutions 44/82 of 8 December 1989, 45/133 of 14 December 1990, 46/92 of 16 December 1991, 47/237 of 20 September 1993, 52/81 of 12 December 1997), 50/142 of 21 December 1995,  54/124 of 17 December 1999, 56/113 of 19 December 2001, 57/164 of 18 December 2002 and the  58/15 of 15 December 2003, concerning the proclamation, preparations for and observance of the International Year of the Family in 1994 and its tenth anniversary in 2004,

PP2 - Recalling also that all relevant United Nations instruments on Human Rights as well as relevant global plans and programmes of action call for the widest possible protection and assistance to be accorded to the family, bearing in mind that, in different cultural, political and social systems, various forms of the family exist,

PP2 bis - Recalling further that the family is the basic unit of society and, as such, should be strengthened, and that it is entitled to receive comprehensive protection and support,

PP3- Noting that the family-related provisions of the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits of the 1990s and their follow-up processes continue to provide policy guidance on ways to strengthen family-centred components of policies and programmes as part of an integrated comprehensive approach to development,

PP4- Recognizing that the preparation for and observance of the tenth Anniversary of the International Year of the Family provided a useful opportunity for drawing further attention to the objectives of the Year for increasing cooperation at all levels on family issues, 

PP5- Also recognizing the commendable efforts made by Governments at the local and national levels in carrying out specific programmes concerning families,

PP6- Emphasizing that equality between women and men and respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms of all family members are essential to family well-being and to society at large, noting the importance of reconciliation of work and family life, and recognizing the principle that both parents have common responsibilities for the upbringing and development of the child, 

PP7- Aware that families are affected by social and economic changes manifested as observable worldwide trends and that the causes and consequences of those trends concerning families have to be identified and analysed,

PP8- Noting with concern the devastating effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on family life as well as the devastating effects on family life by other infectious diseases, such as malaria and tuberculosis, 

PP9- Noting also with concern the devastating effects of difficult social and economic conditions, armed conflicts, and natural disasters on family life,

PP10- Recognizing the important role of non-governmental organizations, at both the local and the national level, working in the interest of families, 

PP11- Aware also that there is a need for continued inter-agency cooperation on the family to generate greater awareness of family issues among the governing bodies of the United Nations system, 

PP12- Recalling that the Tenth Anniversary of the International Year of the family will be observed and celebrated during the 59th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations,

PP 13 - Having considered the report of the Secretary-General ,

OP1- Notes that the follow up to the Tenth Anniversary of the IYF is an integral part of the agenda and of the multiyear programme of work of the Commission on Social Development until 2006; 

OP2- Urges Governments to continue to take sustained actions at all levels concerning family issues, including applied studies and research, to promote the role of families in development and to develop concrete measures and approaches to address national priorities to deal with family issues;

OP3 - Urges the international community to address family related concerns within the framework of the commitments undertaken in relevant major UN conferences and their follow-up processes, including as agreed in the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, adopted by the General Assembly at its twenty-sixth Special Session in June 2001; 

OP4 - Encourages more inter-agency cooperation within the United Nations system on issues related to the family;

OP5 – Encourages United Nations regional Commissions, within existing resources, to promote further the exchange of experiences at the regional level through provision of technical assistance including advisory services to governments upon request;

OP6- Emphasizes that the Secretariat should continue its important role in the programme of work on family issues within the United Nations system, and in this regard, encourages DESA to continue to cooperate with governments, the United Nations system and civil society in strengthening national capacities through the implementation of the mandated IYF’s objectives, including through:

(i) the provision of policy guidance on emerging issues and trends affecting the family through the preparation of studies and research papers aimed in particular at enhancing the role of family in society;

(ii) the provision of technical assistance to countries, upon request, to enhance, where appropriate, their national capacities in the area of family-related work; 

OP7 – Invites the Secretary-General, within existing resources, to disseminate a compilation of existing development cooperation activities of the United Nations system in the field of the family, for the benefit of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, other relevant United Nations bodies, Member States and observers, by the fourty-fourth session of the Commission for Social Development;

OP8 - Requests the Secretary-General to:

a) Give appropriate consideration to the Tenth Anniversary of the International year of the Family by preparing the observance of the International Day of Families on 15 May 2004 and by taking appropriate steps towards the celebration of the Tenth Anniversary of the International year of the Family;

b) Continue to utilize the UN Trust Fund on Family Activities to provide financial assistance for activities specific to the family and projects of direct benefit to it, with special focus on least developed and developing countries;

OP9 - Requests the Secretary-General to report on the implementation of the present resolution to the 60th session of the General Assembly. 

Nicole Elisha
Email: EENICOLE@aol.com

the Vienna NGO Committee on the Family

The Observance of the Tenth Anniversary of the International Year of the Family 2004

10th International Seminar

Vienna NGO Committee on the Family

in Cooperation with the

Austrian Federal Ministry for Social Security Generations and Consumer Protection 

Civil Society Organisations Networking

Interactive-Internet-Forums

Thursday May 6th 2004 to Friday May 7th 2004

UNITED NATIONS

Vienna International Centre (VIC) 
1400 Vienna 
Austria

PROGRAMME

Thursday May 6th, 2004:
09:00	Registration
10:00	Peter Crowley, Chairperson of the Vienna NGO Committee on the Family Welcome and Opening Statement
	Ursula Haubner,  State Secretary, Federal Ministry for Social Security,
	Generations and Consumer Protection (requested)
	Bob Huber, Chief, Generational Issues and Integration Section, Division for Social Policy and Development, United Nations, New York 
10:30	Chair: Peter Crowley and Theresa Stourzh, Austrian Federal Ministry for Social Security, Generations and Consumer Protection (requested)
Prof. Mervyn Frost,  London Centre of International Relations, Kings College London  

Fragile Power: Global Civil Society Post 9/11 
Questions from the floor and general discussion
11:30	Coffee Break
12:00	Anna Home, Nina Mitts, 
Peter Crowley, Vienna NGO Committee on the Family

Study on the Contributions of Civil Society Organisations to the Well-Being of Families since IYF 1994 - Initial Analysis 

13:00	Lunch Break
14:30	Chair: Michael Schwarz and Angelika Schiebel, 
	Austrian Federal Ministry for Social Security, Generations and Consumer Protection
Paul Reinker, Tobias Gersdorf  (Reinker & Gersdorf) Internet Company, Germany
What do Interactive-Internet-Forums Offer? 
15:00 	Working Groups (Phase I)
1. 	Network of Eastern African Countries (EAC)
2. 	Network of Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC)
3. 	Network of International Non-Governmental Organisations Accredited with
the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations(ECOSOC) 

16:30	Reports from the Working Groups to the Plenary

17:00	End of Session	

19:30	Vienna City Hall, (Rathauskeller)
Reception by the City of Vienna for Participants of the Seminar

Friday May 7th, 2004

Chair: Peter Crowley and Günter Danhel
10:00	Prof. Jan A.G.M. van Dijk, University of Twente, The Netherlands
The Network Society – The Prevention of Structural Information Inequality 
Questions from the floor and general discussion
11:00	Coffee Break

11:30	Working Groups, 1. EAC,  2. CEEC  & 3. ECOSOC accredited (Phase II)
12:30	Lunch Break
14:00	Nasra Hassan, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 
Chief,  Public Affairs and Interagency Branch
Bridging the Digital Gap with the Support of the United Nations

14.30	Working Groups,1. EAC,  2. CEEC, & 3. ECOSOC accredited (Phase III) 

16:00	Report from the Working Groups to the Plenary 

16:30	Peter Crowley, Chairperson of the Vienna NGO Committee on the Family
	Summary and Outlook beyond the 10th Anniversary of IYF

17:00	End of Seminar

Technical Information:

Registration: 	Participants are requested to register, at the latest, 
by April 30th 2004 preferably by e-mail to 
famcom.vienna@utanet.at
or by post to: 
Secretariat of the Vienna NGO Committee on the Family,
Brunngasse 12, 
3100 St.Pölten, Austria 
or via 
Fax:  00 43 2742 35 27 185

Location:	The Seminar will be held in the United Nations, 
Vienna International Centre (VIC), Conference Room II
1400 Vienna.

In order to enter the Vienna International Centre (VIC) participants will need a valid passport and prior written registration.

Public transport:	The VIC can best be reached by the underground line U1.
	to Kagran ( Kaisermühlen / VIC Station)	

Participation fee:	 € 10,-- per participant, to be paid at the registration desk
	at Conference Room II in the VIC

Language: 		The Seminar will be held in English.

Accommodation: 	To be organised by participants
		For information see: www.wien.gv.at/english/touris.htm

Vienna NGO Committee on the Family
Secretariat:
Brunngasse 12, 
A-3100 St.Poelten
Fax: +43/2742/3527185
Office of the Chairperson:
Bluecherstraße 14 a, D-40885 Ratingen
Fax: +49/2102/136319
www.viennafamilycommittee.org 
e-mail: famcom.vienna@utanet.at

ANNUAL REPORT 2003
Vienna NGO Committee on the Family
PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES

In two Full Committee Meetings representatives of the 42 International Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in official relations with the United Nations, who are members of the Committee and the 25 associate member organisations discussed various areas of activities and approved the proposed Action Plan 2003. The Board of the Committee worked out a schedule for its implementation, which was realised in co-operation with the working groups of the Committee and the support of the member organisations and their representatives. The world wide network of non-governmental organisations, research and university institutes, government agencies and individuals continues to be, not only a beneficiary of information exchange, but is in many cases, directly involved in the work of the Committee. The Committee welcomed two new associate members in 2003. (cf. List of member organisations on our web site.)

The following projects were realised in 2003

1.	Families International

Four issues, Nos. 46 – 49 of the Quarterly Bulletin of the Committee, including the following special features were published: The Compatibility of Family and Business Life, Issues Involved in Pregnancy Discontinuation, Divorce and Joint Custody. The Board of the Committee has set up, with the support of the network, an up-dated mailing list to send Families International also per e-mail. 80% of the recipients of Families International are able to receive their copy this way.

2.	International Seminar for the International Day of the Family 2003

The theme of the Day for the year 2003 was “Preparations for the Observance of the 10th Anniversary of the International Year of the Family in 2004”. The Statement of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan, on the above mentioned theme was distributed to the international network of the Committee. To celebrate the International Day of the Family 2003 the Committee organised, within a Full Committee Meeting, an International Seminar, with the support of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Social Security, Generations and Consumer Protection, at the United Nations in Vienna, entitled “The Compatibility of Family and Business Life” for which over 90 participants, from 19 countries, 
Registered, and included presentations from Ms Nicole Elisha, Permanent Mission of Benin to the United Nations in New York, Prof. André Habisch, Eichestätt-Ingolstadt, Germany, Prof. Mausud Hoghughi, Newcastle, England, Prof. Ron Prinz, South Carolina,U.S.A., Uwe Reiner-Kolouch, Herold Business Data, Austria. The International Seminar was formally opened by Ursula Haubner, Austrian State Secretary and the Chairperson of the Committee.

An International Forum on the issue of  Joint Custody after Divorce was organised by the Committee with a presentation by Prof. Roland Proksch of the University of Erlangen, Germany, during a 2nd Full Committee Meeting at the United Nations in Vienna.

3.	Co-operation with the United Nations Organisation

a) Active participation at the 41st Session of the Commission for Social Development (CSD) in New York in February 2003 which focused on ‘National and International Cooperation for Social Development’.
b) Presentation of an international NGO Statement which was prepared by the members of the Committee and signed by 18 international member organisations before becoming an official document of the CSD 2003. 
c) Presentation of an oral statement by the Chairperson of the Committee to the CSD.
d) Participation by the Chairperson in a Consultative Meeting organised by the United Nations Programme on the Family in New York on the future of the United Nations Family Programme  and discussions of areas of co-operation with the Focal Point on the Family of the United Nations in New York.

e) Resulting out of the participation of the Chairperson in a previous consultative meeting of international and regional NGOs set up by the United Nations Secretariat in New York, to implement a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly to observe the 10th Anniversary of the International Year of the Family (IYF) in 2004 “it was agreed to prepare a study, under the chairmanship of the Vienna NGO Committee on the Family, on the positive contributions of  civil society to the well-being of families since 1994. The study will be submitted to the General Assembly in 2004, at its fifty-ninth session”. (cf. Report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to the General Assembly – A/57/139, 2002).
f) “In addition the Vienna NGO Committee on the Family and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations (DESA) have agreed to set up an Interactive-Internet-Forum with the support of international NGOs in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) to prepare a report on (a) past and present projects carried out for families since 1994 by each international NGO: and (b) plans of each international NGO to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family in 2004. Each NGO willing to join will receive a user identity code thereby enabling it to set up its own section of the web site using a uniform format, applicable to all network members. Categories will be formed according to the substantive issues addressed by the international NGOs, such as education, health promotion, and HIV/Aids. Search engines will seek out organisations clustered in these categories. Each participating organisation can make use of an interactive online conference and discussion board. Information specific to each of the participating organisations, can be updated by each organisation itself. This Interactive Internet Forum will provide a focused channel of communication once created, and encourage civil society organisations to establish partnerships with Governments and international organisations.”
 (cf. Report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to the 41st session of the Commission for Social Development www.un.org/esa/socdev/csd/2003.htm).

This Interactive-Internet-Forum will be online from January 5th 2004 at a web site set up by the Committee with funding from the corporate sector at: www.10yearsIyf.org

g) Preparation and submission of an INGO Statement to the 42nd  Session of the   Commission for Social Development, February 4th to 13th 2004, at the United Nations in New York, which will consider the priority theme ‘Follow-up to the World Summit for Social Development and the twenty- fourth special session of the General Assembly.’

4.	Website and Homepage of the Committee

The Board of the Committee commissioned the setting up of a home-page, which went online in April 2001, to widen the impact of the information exchange in which the Committee is engaged and to help heighten the awareness of and focus on the observance of the tenth Anniversary of the International Year of the Family in 2004. The Web-site can further be used as an instrument of communication within the projects and numerous networks of the Committee as well as to enlarge it’s membership. Funding for the Home-page was obtained from the Austrian Federal Ministry for Social Affairs and Generations. It also offers the opportunity of cutting costs of the Committee, by offering the possibility to readers of the Committee’s Quarterly Bulletin, ‘Families International,’ to download it from the Internet. User statistics show that the Committee web site was visited on average 100 times per week in 2003. 

5.	Building Networks of Family-Oriented Organisations in Eastern African Countries – Establishment of an Interactive-Internet-Forum

 A special section of the Committee Web-site has become an interactive-internet forum for over 90 Eastern African NGOs in Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia & Zimbabwe to interact with each other at will and with the help of a coded password to update their own section of the Home-page. This information, including a descriptive sociological analysis and statistical index of the data from the projects, is also available to all those visitors who click into the Committee home-page. A number of the networks are still in the preparatory stage and others in an expansion stage. Preparations have been made to integrate these NGOs into the study to discern the positive contributions of civil society to the well-being of families by inviting them to describe and post on the web site the projects they have carried out for and with families since IYF in 1994.

6.	Building Networks of Family-Oriented Organisations in Central and Eastern European Countries

Further similar steps have been taken to include the 50 member Interactive-Internet-Forum of the network of family-oriented NGOs in 13 Central and Eastern European Countries in the study to discern the positive contributions of civil society to the well-being of families since 1994.

7.	Interactive-Internet-Forum with Family-Oriented Civil Society Organisations in the Iberian Peninsula

Preparations have been made to set up an interactive-internet-forum for interested Civil Society Organisations in Spain and Portugal as an integral part of the Committee web-site.

Vienna, January 2004

PROPOSED PLAN OF ACTION 2004
Vienna NGO Committee on the Family

1. SERVICE TO THE INTERNATIONAL NETWORK FOR INFORMATION EXCHANGE

* FAMILIES INTERNATIONAL (QUARTERLY BULLETIN OF THE VIENNA NGO COMMITTEE ON THE FAMILY): EXPANDING THE INFORMATION EXCHANGE VALUE OF THE PUBLICATION IN OUR WORLD-WIDE NETWORK OF PARTICIPANTS THROUGH:
a) 	SPECIAL FEATURES ON FAMILY ISSUES & POLICIES
b) 	NEWS FROM THE UNITED NATIONS RELEVANT TO FAMILIES & FAMILY-ORIENTED ORGANISATIONS
c) 	NEWS FROM THE VIENNA NGO COMMITTEE ON THE FAMILY
d) 	FAMILY RELATED CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATION NEWS
e) 	RECENT AND FORTHCOMING EVENTS
f) 	PUBLICATIONS - PERIODICALS AND MAGAZINES 
g) 	INTRODUCTION OF FAMILY-ORIENTED ORGANISATIONS  
h) 	INFORMATION DOCUMENT RELATED TO THE THEME OF THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF FAMILIES 2004 & 
i) 	UP TO DATE INFORMATION ON THE PREPARATIONS FOR THE OBSERVANCE OF THE 10th ANNIVERSARY OF IYF 2004

2. COOPERATION WITH THE UNITED NATIONS
·	COOPERATION WITH THE PROGRAMME ON THE FAMILY WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS (DESA) 
·	 PARTICIPATION IN THE COMMISSION FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT (CSD)  2004 IN NEW YORK
·	SUBMISSION OF JOINT INGO WRITTEN STATEMENT PREPARED BY THE COMMITTEE, AS  WELL  AS ORAL STATEMENT TO THE CSD

3. FOCUS ON FAMILY-ORIENTED CSOs IN  EASTERN AFRICAN COUNTRIES

* IMPLEMENTATION & EXTENSION OF PROJECT: "BUILDING NETWORKS OF FAMILY-ORIENTED CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS (CSOs) IN EASTERN AFRICAN COUNTRIES" BY SETTING UP AN INTERACTIVE-INTERNET-FOUM TO FACILITATE THE MAINTANANCE OF A NETWORK BETWEEN PARTICIPATING CSOs, IN KENYA, MALAWI, MOZAMBIQUE, SOMALIA, UGANDA, TANZANIA, ZAMBIA, ZIMBABWE & LOCAL, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

4. FOCUS ON FAMILY-ORIENTED CSOs IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

*  MAINTANANCE OF INTERACTIVE INTERNET FORUM OF FAMILY-ORIENTED CSOs IN CEEC COUNTRIES 

5. INTERNATIONAL DAY OF FAMILIES 2004

* INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR MAY 2004 TO CELEBRATE THE 10th INTERNATIONAL DAY OF FAMILIES

6. IMPLIMENTATION OF THE PREPOSED PLAN OF ACTION FOR THE 10th ANNIVERSARY OF IYF IN 2004

7. STUDY TO ASSES THE POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION OF CIVIL SOCIETY TO THE WELL-BEING OF FAMILIES SINCE 

8. ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INTERACTIVE INTERNET FORUM OF ICSOs ACCREDITED WITH THE ECONOMIC AND   SOCIAL   COUNCIL OF THE UNITED NATIONS IN CO-OPERTION WITH THE PROGRAMME ON THE FAMILY  WITHIN DESA     www.10yearsIYF.org

9. WORKING GROUPS OF THE VIENNA NGO COMMITTEE ON THE FAMILY:
* CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES / COMMISSION FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT / EASTERN AFRICAN   COUNTRIES / FAMILIES INTERNATIONAL / 10th ANNIVERSARY INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE FAMILY 20004

10th Anniversary of the International Year of the Family (IYF)

	
        http://www.10yearsIYF.org

HISTORY OF THE PROJECT
 The General Assembly, in its resolution 44/82 of 8 December 1989, proclaimed 1994 as The International Year of the Family. Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 56/113 of 19 December 2001, it was decided to observe the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family in 2004

The Programme on the Family within the Department of Economics and Social Affairs (DESA) of the United Nations has convened a series of consultative meetings with international and regional non-governmental organisations since 1999. At the 4th consultative meeting in 2002 “it was agreed to prepare a study, under the chairmanship of the Vienna NGO Committee on the Family, on the positive contributions of civil society to the well-being of families since 1994. The study will be submitted to the General Assembly in 2004, at its fifty-ninth session”. (cf. Report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to the General Assembly - A/57/139, 2002)
“In addition the Vienna NGO Committee on the Family and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations (DESA) have agreed to set up an Interactive-Internet-Forum with the support of international NGOs in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) to prepare a report on (a) past and present projects carried out for families since 1994 by each international NGO: and (b) plans of each international NGO to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family in 2004. Each NGO willing to join will receive a user identity code thereby enabling it to set up its own section of the web site using a uniform format, applicable to all network members. Categories will be formed according to the substantive issues addressed by the international NGOs, such as education, health promotion, and HIV/Aids. Search engines will seek out organisations clustered in these categories. Each participating organisation can make use of an interactive online conference and discussion board. Information specific to each of the participating organisations, can be updated by each organisation itself. This Interactive Internet Forum will provide a focused channel of communication once created, and encourage civil society organisations to establish partnerships with Governments and international organisations.”
(cf. Report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to the 41st session of the Commission for Social Development www.un.org/esa/socdev/csd/2003.htm).

Vienna NGO Committee on the Family			Office of the Chairperson
Secretariat							Peter Crowley
Dr. Michael Schwarz                                              		Bluecher Str.14a
Brunngasse 12/2						D-40885 Ratingen
A-3100 St. Poelten Vienna					Germany
Fax.: 00 43 27 42 35 27 185					Fax.: 00 49 2102 136 319	
e-mail: famcom.vienna@utanet.at				e-mail: peter.crowley@t-online.de      

www.viennafamilycommittee.org                          
                  www.10yearsIYF.org

PROPOSED PLAN  OF  ACTION
10th  ANNIVERSARY  OF THE  INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE FAMILY (IYF)
2004
INSTITUTION BUILDING MEASURES				

1.	SET UP AN INTERACTIVE-INTERNET-FORUM WITH INGOS ACCREDITED WITH ECOSOC TO FACILIATATE A STUDY TO DISCERN THE POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION OF CIVIL SOCIETY TO THE WELL-BEING OF  FAMILIES SINCE IYF 1994 AS WELL AS HIGHLIGHT THE OBSERVANCE OF THE ORGANISATIONS FOR THE 10th ANNIVERSARY OF IYF IN 2004 AT www.10yearsIYF.org THIS STUDY IS TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLEY AT ITS  58th SESSION IN 2004

2.	DISCERN THE POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION OF CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS TO THE WELL-BEING OF FAMILIES SINCE IYF 1994 IN THE EASTERN AFRICAN NETWORK OF KENYA, MALAWI, MOZAMBIQUE, UGANDA, SOMALIA, TANZANIA, ZAMBIA & ZIMBABWE AS WELL AS IN 13 CEEC COUNTRIES AT THE LOCAL AND NATIONAL LEVELS AND TO PUBLISH THE RESULTS ON THE COMMITTEE WEBSITE

3.	APPLICATION OF COMMITTEE WEBSITE NETWORKS IN 8 EASTERN AFRICAN AND 13 CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES TO HIGHLIGHT THE 10th ANNIVERSARY IN 2004 THROUGH EMAIL REPORTS AND TO SEEK A BRIEF STATEMENT FROM EACH MEMBER ORGANISATION OF THE NETWORKS ON THEIR PLANNED ACTIVIES SPECIFICALLY FOR 2004 TO BE POSTED ON THE COMMITTEE WEBSITE

4.	SPECIAL SECTION OF COMMITTEE HOMEPAGE ON 2004 WITH HYPERLINK TO THE
UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON THE FAMILY  HOME PAGE 

5.	SPECIAL SECTION OF COMMITTEE QUARTERLY BULLETIN ‘FAMILIES INTERNATIONAL’ WITH UPDATES ON THE OBSERVANCE OF THE 10th ANNIVERSARY OF IYF FOR 2004

ACTIVE PARTICIPATION BY COMMITTEE MEMBERS

1. SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN INGO STATEMENT TO 42nd COMMISSION FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT (CSD) AT THE UNITED NATIONS IN NEW YORK IN FEBRUARY 2004 WITH A SECTION OF THE STATEMENT RELATING TO THE 10th ANNIVERSARY

2.  PRESENTATION OF ORAL STATEMENT AT CSD BY REPRESENTATIVES OF  MEMBER   ORGANISATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE WITH A FOCUS ON 10th  ANNIVERSARY ISSUES

3.	CELEBRATION OF THE 10th INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR FAMILIES 2004 WITH AN INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON ‘CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS NETWORKING’
4.	PARTICIPATION IN MEETING AT THE UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT IN NEW YORK TO OBSERVE THE 10th INTERNATIONAL DAY OF FAMILIES AND 10th ANNIVERSARY OF THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR ON THE FAMILY

PUBLICATIONS

Family Indicators
New publication on family indicators 
The Division for Social Policy and Development commissioned a study on family indicators to guide policy makers in their development of effective family policies. The study provides a critical look at current practice regarding indicators, as well as the basic conditions necessary for the establishment of a comprehensive array of family indicators. In such a conceptual approach, a definition of the term “indicator” is central to the analysis, followed by a brief examination of the concept of the family. Finding a single definition is hindered by the diversity of families in both developed and developing regions. The study shows that the real meaningful unit for the creation of family indicators is the household, while the family remains a fluctuating concept, its form and content reflect social and political choices. 
Family Indicators is a United Nations publication, Sales No. E.03.IV.4, ISBN 92-1-130225-0. For more information, visit http://www.un.org/publications. 

Journal of Consumer Policy
26 (4): 419-439, December 2003 
Copyright © 2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers
All rights reserved

Technology, Families, and Privacy: Can We Know Too Much About Our Loved Ones?
Robert N. Mayer 
Department of Family & Consumer Studies, University of Utah, 225 South 1400 East/Rm.228, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0080, USA, e-mail: robert.mayer@fcs.utah.edu 
Abstract 
Both an array of privacy advocates and a body of privacy policies have emerged to reduce threats to personal privacy posed by Big Government and Big Business. Technologies that threaten personal privacy when employed by large institutions are increasingly being used by family members to track one another, but without a comparable level of societal scrutiny and control. This paper examines four such technologies – internet tracking software, global positioning systems, miniature cameras, and genetic tests – to gauge their level of use and public acceptance and then to consider their impact on family relations, especially those between parent and child and between spouses. While these technologies are intended to promote the safety of family members, by disrupting personal privacy, they may also provoke a number of counterproductive responses that reduce safety. Moreover, the deployment of these technologies may inhibit the development of trust and trustworthiness within the family. Partly owing to a lack of understanding of how new technologies affect family relations, both formal and informal efforts to control these technologies have been slow to develop.
Article ID: 5146357

INTRODUCING

The Associated Country Women of The World (ACWW)

ACWW's Aims & Objectives

TO RAISE the standard of living of rural women and families through education, training and community development programmes.
TO PROVIDE practical support to its members and help them set up income generating schemes.
TO GIVE rural women a voice at international level through its links with UN agencies.

How it Began

Late 19th Century – rural women's groups were set up independently. Communication between groups enabled more country women to come together in friendship and work towards similar goals.
London April 1929 – first International Conference of Rural Women – 46 women from 24 countries attended four day conference.
Vienna 1930 – conference decision by the international council of Women to form a 'Liaison Committee' of rural women's organisations.
Stockholm 1933 – the committee became the Associated Country Women of the World.

ACWW Projects

ACWW actively supports a whole range of development programmes in rural communities through its Projects and Trust Funds: Leadership and skill training, nutrition/education projects, literacy and basic education programmes (including family planning and HIV/AIDS awareness), small business initiatives and small-scale agricultural, income-generating schemes.

ACWW's Water for All Fund supports clean water and sanitation projects providing water tanks, bore wells and hand pumps.
ACWW's Women Feed the World Fund supports subsistence food production, co-operatives, training in appropriate agricultural techniques and credit savings schemes..
ACWW's four year Women in Development Programme in collaboration with the UK National Lottery Charities Board and our partner organisation in Mali, West Africa is empowering women and girls through increased access to education, healthcare and income-generating opportunities
ACWW's capacity building workshops in Kenya, Colombia and the Philippines, carried out in partnership with Dutch development agency Agriterra, are helping to strengthen rural women's organisations.
Contact: ACWW
Mary Sumner House, 24 Tufton Street, London SW1P 3RB.

Tel: (020) 7799 3875
Fax: (020) 7340 9950
email: info@acww.org.uk 
Web: www.acww.org.uk

International Council on Alcohol and Addictions
Conseil International sur les Probèmes de l’Alcoholisme et des Toxicomanies

Mission and goals of ICAA 	
ICAA, the International Council on Alcohol and Addictions, was founded in 1907 in Stockholm (Sweden) during the 11th International Congress on Alcohol. At that time the need was recognised for the creation of an organisation to provide constant study on the alcohol problem and to further improve the quality and organisation of the International Congresses on Alcohol which had been successfully held since 1885. Dr. Robert Hercod was appointed ICAA's first Director and established the secretariat in his native Lausanne in Switzerland, where the head offices are still based today.  Since its inception, ICAA has developed into an international, independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation.

The mission of ICAA

•	To provide an international forum and network for all concerned with the prevention and/or alleviation of harm resulting from the use of alcohol and other drugs; 
•	To enhance and develop through the expertise of its worldwide membership appropriate responses to addiction problems and; 
•	To offer advice, guidance and assistance in the development of relevant policies, strategies, programmes and research 

CAA's objectives are to reduce and prevent the harmful effects of alcohol and drug abuse by developing prevention, treatment and rehabilitation programmes and by disseminating knowledge and information on all aspects of substance abuse.
Essentially an umbrella organisation creating effective, long-term planning on alcohol and drug prevention, information and control, ICAA is instrumental in providing a neutral, objective platform for all active professionals and non-professionals interested in problems of addiction on which to meet and define new strategies.
The multidisciplinary nature of ICAA ensures that the organisation responds effectively to requests for information from companies, medical and paramedical personnel, parents, students, media and people from all walks of life seeking assistance. 
Relationships with United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC; status: category special), with the World Health Organization (WHO; status: official relationship) and with a number of other international and regional governmental organisations as well as connections to global and regional policy making and implementing bodies not only provide the members of ICAA with regular information about new political trends and developments but also helps to establish an ongoing dialogue between NGOs and government organisations.

Networking	

ICAA is in the forefront of networking and co-operation with other NGOs whose activities are directly or indirectly related to the prevention and treatment of dependencies.

Through its UN accredited representatives ICAA is actively involved in the Vienna NGO Committee on Narcotic Drugs, and the Vienna NGO Committee on Family.  Other representatives are accredited at certain NGO networks based at the UN offices in New York, Geneva and Vienna.

As part of the NGO networking activities and in order to fulfil its political function, ICAA regularly and actively participates in the annual sessions of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs. Together with other NGOs, ICAA carries out active lobbying to gain greater recognition of the importance of demand reduction issues. ICAA always stresses the importance of the activities of NGOs in this field and promotes action-oriented partnerships between NGOs, NGO networks, governments and intergovernmental organisations.

ICAA regularly assists the UN and other relevant agencies to reach out to local and national NGOs working in the area of substance abuse prevention and helps grassroots movements to receive international support and recognition.

   	Contact	
ICAA 
Case Postale 189
1001 Lausanne
Switzerland

Tel. +4121 320 98 65 or 66
Fax: +4121 320 98 17
e-mail: secretariat@icaa.ch 
http://www.icaa.de

Family Related NGO News

International Commission on Couple and Family Relations
Commission Internationale des Relations du Couple et de la Famille

Buckingham Palace, London, 12 December 2003
Mrs Gerlind Richards, ICCFR's exemplary, long-serving General Secretary was awarded an MBE. The ceremony was conducted by HRH Prince Charles, the Queen being briefly hospitalised for minor surgery. Bill, Gerlind's husband, and her children Julia and Philip were present at the investiture. Later in the day friends and colleagues joined the Richards family in celebrating the Honour which was granted "for services promoting international links between relationship counselling agencies."
.

ICCFR 51st International Conference
Tallinn, Estonia, 13 – 16 June 2004
NEVER THE SAME AGAIN
Families and their Relationships: Ten Years after the Year of the Family

The International Commission on Couple and Family Relations extends an invitation to participate in its 2004 International Conference to members of all those professions concerned with the welfare of people in their family settings. Once again, the Commission will offer a unique forum in which legislators, policy makers, legal experts, researchers, and those responsible for the delivery of front-line services to families, from countries throughout the world, can join in an examination of influences affecting couples and family life today. The research findings and practice developments of leading specialists will be presented. International networking between members of participants' own professions will be enriched by opportunities for interdisciplinary dialogues and collaboration, and the chance to understand more about approaches being adopted in other cultural settings.

The focus of this year's Conference
The tenth anniversary of the 1994 International Year of the Family is taken as an opportunity to examine how today’s societies are valuing, supporting and enriching family life and the couple relationships around which families are established.  Families have been described as the fundamental building blocks of society and “family-friendly” social policies have been commended - yet today, more than ever before, the concept of the family is the subject of vigorous debate and of redefinition.

The Conference Programme makes room for both philosophical perspectives and the practicalities of the services being shaped to support family life in the future. The combination of keynote presentations, specialised workshops, and the activities of multicultural, interdisciplinary groups ensure that all participants will be able to pursue their own specialist interests while also gaining new insights and ideas from colleagues working in other specialisms.

Contact: Gerlind Richards MBE
General Secretary
International Commission on Couple and Family Relations
4 Barnfield Wood Close, Beckenham, Kent BR3 6SY
England
 
Tel/Fax: +44+20+8663.0445   E-mail: Richards@icmir.fsnet.co.uk 

Information about the Conference:
•	Website: www.iccfr.org
•	ICCFR Secretariat:
4 Barnfield Wood Close, Beckenham, Kent BR3 6SY
Tel/Fax: 020-8663.0445  or Fax: 020-8313.3247
E-mail: secretariat@iccfr.org 
The Family
by Ingunn Birkeland, Vice-Chairman 
ACWW United Nations Committee

Democracy begins at home. Rights and responsibilities shared between parents and children provide the framework for a child’s future life and can have a profound influence on the contribution an individual makes to society. Although the composition and structure of families varies greatly today, the family is still cherished universally as the basic unit of society.

UN bodies and ACWW societies have carried out a lot of projects for and with families since the International Year of the Family (IYF) in 1994. This contribution of civil society to the well-being of families will be highlighted in 2004, the 10th anniversary of IYF.

In 1992 48% of Africans were living on US$1 per day.  Ten years later this rate has only dropped by one per cent to 47%.

CEDAW is calling for national reports on how the Beijing Platform for Action is being followed up.  Gender equality policy as taken up at the Beijing Conference and Beijing +5 is encouraging new ideas and stimulating dialogue designed to promote gender equality in the family and all sectors of society.

The family is seen as the first and, ideally, last line of protection for children. The Convention on the Rights of the Child emphasises the responsibility of the family to provide care and protection for its children and obliges countries that have ratified it to meet the needs of any child deprived of a family environment. State support for families or children in difficult circumstances is seldom sufficient, although most countries recognise a responsibility to intervene when families fail to provide adequately for their children.

The Convention recognises the child as a separate person with individual rights. It states that every child has the right to survival, protection and development. Although many millions of children, mostly in the developing world, have yet to enjoy those rights, policy makers in every country publicly endorse the moral principle that every child is entitled to good health, education and other opportunities for development, as well as protection against exploitation and abuse.

The issue of children’s rights still remains a somewhat revolutionary concept. By law and tradition, children in most countries have been regarded as the property of their parents. Many families still oppress female members, discriminating against girls in favour of boys and stifling women’s capacity for participating equally with men outside the stereotyped roles of child-bearing, child-rearing and housework.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and CEDAW (1979) actually complement each other, since both Conventions envisage a protective role for the state when there is a risk of the family becoming a source of exploitation or abuse. Both also recognise that the healthy development of children is linked to opportunities given or denied to their mothers. Implicit in both is an understanding that sustainable development is impossible unless women and girls have equal opportunities for advancement.

We live in a world where traditions and family values are in a state of flux, where families are often struggling to cope with multiple problems. The family is the first social environment a child will know and the inadequacies, prejudices or failings of one generation usually have a natural tendency to pass to the next.

The problem for women is that when they do succeed they frequently earn less than men for doing the same job and find fewer openings for positions of power. In many countries parents still rely on abortion to avoid having daughters.

Girl children in developing countries routinely suffer neglect and discrimination and face glaring inequalities such as higher levels of malnutrition and mortality and unequal access to education and technologies that could ease their workload and improve their productivity as well as accepting unfair divisions of labour, women are also poorly represented at policy-making levels where improvement in their overall status might be won.

Nations can expect to pay a high price for continued discrimination against girls. The mother’s educational level, poverty, limited access to school or transportation and the pressure on young children in poor countries to work suggest that the education deficit will not easily be erased.

The fundamental principle of the Convention on the Rights of the Child is equality and non-discrimination among children, regardless of gender. Regular debates in parliaments and society on gender equality policy help to highlight the issue but big changes are needed to prevent gender discrimination and promote genuine equality in families in every society.

Article submitted by
Carol Summers
UN Committee Secretary 
 
Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW)
Mary Sumner House
24 Tufton Street
London SW1P 3RB, England
Tel. +44 (0) 20 7799 3875
Fax  +44 (0) 20 7340 9950
E-mail:  un@acww.org.uk 

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INTERNATIONAL INNER WHEEL

International Inner Wheel adopted the „UNICEF Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus (MNT) Programme“ to be their international social project until 2006.
In the developing world mothers give birth at home on earth floors, where tetanus spores in the soil can come into contact with open cuts during childbirth.
Each year some 215,000 babies and 30,000 mothers die needlessly from maternal or neonatal tetanus. Immunising women against tetanus before or during pregnancy protects them against infection for 15 years and the immunity is transferred to their unborn child.
The UNICEF programme is working towards eradicating MNT globally within the next few years and Inner Wheel will help by contributing towards the costs of immunisation.
Contact:
Ceja Gregor [ceja@aon.at]

Competition
 “Family Matters”
 
www.europe4family.net
 
WIN A TRIP TO BRUSSELS! 
GANA UN VIAJE A BRUSELAS!
GEWINNE EINE REISE NACH BRÜSSEL!
GAGNE UN VOYAGE POUR BRUXELLES!

“Family Matters” Competition (English)
 
EMAIL YOUR THOUGHTS TO wya@worldyouthalliance.org - WE WANT TO HEAR THEM!
Tell us in 50 words (or less): 
 
Why my family matters:
 
Name: 
Date of Birth:
Postal Address: 
Telephone: 
 
Participants must be between 10 and 30 years of age. Entries must be received by 1 April 2004. Results will be announced on the 15th May 2004, the International Day of the Family, and published on the Europe4Family website. The best entries will be exhibited at the European Parliament in Brussels, and in public by the World Youth Alliance. The first prize is a trip to Brussels from 9 to 12 September 2004, participating in the Europe4Family final event and includes the ceremonial presentation of a gift.

This competition is part of the World Youth Alliance Event "Europe4Family". For more information visit www.europe4family.net and www.worldyouthalliance.org. The World Youth Alliance is a registered charity in the United States, Canada, Belgium, Austria and Germany. By entering this competition you certify that you agree to the conditions of entry. Visit www.europe4family.net or call USA 1-646-796-3458 for details.
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MARFAM'S FAMILY MATTERS - FEBRURY 2004 
The online newsletter of MARFAM, the Marriage and Family Life Renewal Ministry - Johannesburg, South Africa.

Also see our website http://homefun.www.icon.co.za  updated regularly for more detailed information about MARFAM's ministry and available resources in the local Church. Contact us at marfam@icon.co.za 

What are you doing to strengthen family life during this INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE FAMILY? 
REQUEST: BEFRIEND THE FAMILY! MARFAM has been promoting the cause of family life for nearly 10 years. To continue this work we need your financial support, to operate, produce the publications, including this monthly enewsletter and maintain our website. You can advertise your company or project on the website, enewsletter or various publications or send a donation to P.O.Box 2881, Randburg 2125. South Africa. Every rand, dollar or euro helps to strengthen families somewhere, somehow.
 
INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE FAMILY 2004 
A friendly hand-shake to the Archdiocese of Mombasa in Kenya who passed on these thoughts of ours to their readers too. 

THE FAMILY THAT PRAYS TOGETHER STAYS TOGETHER
THE FAMILY THAT PLAYS TOGETHER STAYS TOGETHER
THE FAMILY THAT STAYS TOGETHER THROUGH GOOD TIMES AND BAD
IS A WITNESS TO THE POWER OF LOVE
THE FAMILY THAT CANNOT STAY TOGETHER NEEDS LOVE, GOD'S AND OURS.

 
REFERENCES AND WEBSITES. 
United Nations 
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/family/TenthAnv/ 
 
"Families should be at the center of any future social policy development"
 
"Ten years later it is time to take stock and to determine whether the situation of families has improved," he said   Kofi Annan. 
 
There is remarkably little info about IYF + 10 from official sources, UN or church or states.  SA Social Development Department is using the occasion to launch its Family Policy, which will be studied and commented on here in more depth. But SA is not yet like President Bush in his efforts to promote and strengthen marriage by pledging funds for marriage education and support. 

*******************************

Recent and forthcoming events

23 - 29 March 2004
The Associated Country Women of The World (ACWW),
24th Triennial Conference
Tasmania, Australia
The conference theme is 'Working with Women Worldwide'.
Contact: ACWW
Mary Sumner House, 24 Tufton Street, London SW1P 3RB.
Tel: (020) 7799 3875, Fax: (020) 7340 9950
email: info@acww.org.uk  Web: www.acww.org.uk

31 March - 2 April 2004
'In partnership with Families: Stepping off the Roundabout' - 5th National Intensive Family Services Practice Symposium 
Sydney, NSW
Intensive Family Services (IFS) are designed to work intensively with a family in the family's own home or community with the objective of improving that family's functioning and preventing the unnecessary placement of children into care. At this 5th National Practice Symposium, hosted by The Spastic Centre of NSW and UnitingCare Burnside, streamed sessions will include practical applications of the Intensive Family Based Services Model - special areas such as disability, drug and alcohol, child protection, with families from a non-English speaking background, and with Aboriginal families.
Further information: Symposium Secretariat, Sharyn Low, Matrix On Board, PO Box 4023, Pitt Town NSW 2756. Email: sharyn@mob.com.au. Tel: (02) 4572 3079. Fax: (02) 4572 3972. Web: http://www.mob.com.au/ifs2004

May 6th 2004 to Friday May 7th 2004
10th International Seminar
The Observance of the Tenth Anniversary of the International Year of the Family 2004
Civil Society Organisations Networking- Interactive-Internet-Forums
Vienna NGO Committee on the Family in Cooperation with the Austrian Federal Ministry for Social Security Generations and Consumer Protection
UNITED NATIONS Vienna International Centre (VIC) 1400 Vienna Austria
Ontact: Vienna NGO Committee on the Family
Secretariat:
Brunngasse 12, 
A-3100 St.Poelten
Fax: +43/2742/3527185
Office of the Chairperson:
Bluecherstraße 14 a, D-40885 Ratingen
Fax: +49/2102/136319
www.viennafamilycommittee.org 
e-mail: famcom.vienna@utanet.at

15 May 2004 
International Day of Families
“The Tenth Anniversary of the International Year of the Family: A Framework for Action”

13-16 June, 2004
Never the same again? Families and their Relationships: Ten years after the Year of the Family 
Tallinn, Estonia
The International Commission on Couple and Family Relationships announces the 51st International Conference. It will explore change that has taken place in the past decade from an Estonian viewpoint; examine the new balance of power between husbands, wives and children in today's families; and discuss the tensions which arise when efforts are made to sustain the privacy of family life whilst supporting them as the basic units of economic life and social organisation.
Further information: Gerlind Richards, ICCFR General Secretary, 4 Barnfield Wood Close, Beckenham Kent BR3 6SY, England. Tel/Tax: +44 +208 +663+0445. Email: richards@icmir.fsnet.co.uk. 

17-18 June 2004
Parent Child 2004 - International Conference on the Family 
London, UK
Organised by the National Family and Parenting Institute, the Parenting Education and Support Forum, One Parent Families, the Open University, Trust for the Study of Adolescence and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), this conference celebrates the 10th anniversary of the International Year of the Family. It will address a range of research, policy and practice issues relating to the current and future state of the family in the UK and across the world. Closing date for abstracts is 31 October 2003.
Further information: Parent Child 2004, Neil Stewart Associates, PO Box 39976, 2nd Floor, 1 Benjamin Street, London EC1M 5YT. Tel: 020 7324 4330. Fax: 020 7490 8830. Web: http://www.neilstewartassociates.com/ja120

2-4 August 2004
National Child and Family Services Conference
Sydney, NSW
Knowledge into Action! Effective Practice for Child and Family Services - this conference will have streamed sessions on: out of home care for children and young people; working with Indigenous children, families and communities; supporting families - prevention and intervention; and participation of children and young people. Papers are invited, abstracts to be submitted by 28 February 2004.
Further information: Sharon Low, Conference Organiser, Matrix On Board. Email: sharyn@mob.com.au. Tel: 02 4572 3079. Fax: 02 4572 3972. Web: http://www.acwa.asn.au/conf2004/

16-19 August 2004
31st International Conference on Social Welfare
Kuala Lumpur
Advance notice that The International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW) will hold the 31st International Conference on Social Welfare in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in August 2004.
Further information: Web: http://www.icsw.org/global-conferences/global-conf-intro.htm

1-4 September 2004
14th Annual Conference on Quality in Early Childhood Education 
Qawra, Malta 
The European Early Childhood Education Research Association 14th Annual Conference on Quality in Early Childhood Education has the theme Can research, policy or praxis create a quality curriculum for young children? Issues of equity and access.
Further information: Website: http://www.eecera2004.org. Email : conference chair : Dr Valerie Sollars : info@eecera2004.org . 

12-18 September 2004
Social Security: Securing Social Justice
Beijing
The 28th General Assembly of the International Social Security Association will look at the role of social security and the most recent trends in the field of pensions, health care, unemployment and employment maintenance, accident insurance and family protection.
Further information: Email issa-ag04@ilo.org. Web http://www.28issa-china.org.cn

19-22 September 2004
9th International Conference on Family Violence
San Diego, California
Working Together to End Abuse - Advocacy, Assessment, Intervention, Research, Prevention, and Policy. Conference co-hosts are: Family Violence and Sexual Assault Institute (FVSAI), San Diego, CA; Children's Institute International (CII), Los Angeles, CA; and Alliant International University (AIU). The conference will be preceded by training institutes and workshops. Submissions are invited.
Further information : http://www.fvsai.org/

15-17 October 2004
20th International Conference of Alzheimer's Disease International 
Kyoto, Japan
The main of this conference will be Dementia care in an ageing society. Daily themes are the future strategy of dementia care; people with dementia and the family; and dementia and human rights. The conference will focus on caregivers and caregiver organisations as well as providing updates on research and scientific developments in the dementias. 
Further information Web: http://adi2004.jtbcom.co.jp/english/index.html

NEWS FROM THE UNITED NATIONS

	United Nations	A/RES/58/15	
	General Assembly	Distr.: General
15 December 2003	
Fifty-eighth session
Agenda item 106	

Resolution adopted by the General Assembly
[on the report of the Third Committee (A/58/497 (Part I))]
58/15.	Preparations for and observance of the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family in 2004

	The General Assembly,
	Recalling its resolutions 44/82 of 8 December 1989, 45/133 of 14 December 1990, 46/92 of 16 December 1991, 47/237 of 20 September 1993, 50/142 of 21 December 1995, 52/81 of 12 December 1997, 54/124 of 17 December 1999, 56/113 of 19 December 2001 and 57/164 of 18 December 2002 concerning the proclamation of, preparations for and observance of the International Year of the Family in 1994 and its tenth anniversary in 2004,
	Recognizing that the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family constitutes an important opportunity to strengthen and enhance the effectiveness of efforts at all levels to carry out specific programmes within the framework of the objectives of the Year,
	Recognizing also that 2004 is to be viewed as a target year by which time concrete achievements will have been produced with respect to identifying and elaborating issues of direct concern to families and mechanisms will have been set up to plan and coordinate activities by the appropriate governmental and non-governmental bodies and agencies,
	Emphasizing that equality between women and men and respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms of all family members are essential to family well-being and to society at large, noting the importance of reconciliation of work and family life, and recognizing the principle that both parents have common responsibilities for the upbringing and development of the child,
	Noting with satisfaction the close collaboration of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat with intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations active in the family field, as well as its research efforts and preparations for the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family,
	Appreciating the active role of the regional commissions in the preparatory process of the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family, particularly in facilitating regional cooperation in that regard,
	Recalling that one plenary meeting at its fifty-ninth session, in 2004, will be devoted to the observance of the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family, building upon the events to be held on 15 May 2004 on the occasion of the International Day of Families,
	1.	Welcomes the decision of Benin to host a regional preparatory conference in Benin in May 2004 in collaboration with the United Nations, within existing resources;
	2.	Also welcomes the decision of the State of Qatar to host an international conference to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family in November 2004;
	3.	Welcomes the launching by the Secretary-General of the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family on 4 December 2003;
	4.	Further welcomes decisions by members of the international community (Governments, non-governmental organizations, civil society) to host events in observance of the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family;
	5.	Encourages Governments to make every possible effort to realize the objectives of the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family and to integrate a family perspective in the planning process;
	6.	Recalls its invitation to all States to set the end of 2003 as a target date for finalizing a programme for the observance of the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family;
	7.	Also recalls its invitation to Governments that had not already done so to set up national coordinating committees or similar mechanisms, as appropriate, for the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family, and invites them, as well as the Governments of countries with existing bodies responsible for preparations and observance, to intensify preparatory measures already under way;
	8.	Recommends that all relevant actors, inter alia, Governments, civil society, including relevant non-governmental organizations, and research and academic institutions, contribute to developing strategies and programmes aimed at strengthening the livelihood of families;
	9.	Encourages United Nations agencies and bodies, including the regional commissions, as well as intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and research and academic institutions, to work closely with the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat in a coordinated manner on family-related issues, inter alia, by sharing experience and findings, in recognition of their valuable role in family policy development at all levels;
	10.	Calls upon United Nations agencies and bodies, including the regional commissions, within existing resources, and invites intergovernmental organizations and research and academic institutions to support regional events of the year 2004 to contribute to the success of those events;
	11.	Requests the Secretary-General:
	(a)	To strengthen the programme of work of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs on family pursuant to the objectives of the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family in the context of national family-related provisions of the outcomes of the United Nations conferences and summits, and in the context of the internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the United Nations Millennium Declaration, to enhance the unique role of the family in society, in particular through:
	(i)	The development and strengthening of a family-focused perspective in relevant policies and programmes of United Nations bodies as well as in the follow-up to the outcomes of the relevant United Nations conferences and summits in the economic and social fields;
	(ii)	The provision of policy guidance on emerging issues and trends affecting the family, through the preparation of studies and research papers aimed in particular at enhancing the role of the family in society;
	(iii)	The provision of technical assistance to countries, upon request, to enhance, where appropriate, their national capacities in the area of family-related work;
	(b)	To address family issues, where relevant, in his report on the integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic and social fields;
	12.	Also requests the Secretary-General to submit an interim report to the Commission for Social Development at its forty-second session and a substantive report to the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session on the implementation of the present resolution and on the preparations for and the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family at all levels.

68th plenary meeting
3 December 2003

Projects of the Vienna NGO Committee on the Family are supported by:

•	Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Bäuerinnen in Niederösterreich
•	Austrian Federal Government 
•	Bank Austria
•	Berndorf Gruppe
•	Creditanstalt Bankverein
•	E.F.T. Transportagentur GmbH
•	European Commission
•	Government of Germany
•	Government of Liechtenstein
•	Government of Luxembourg
•	Government of Spain, Catalonia and the Balearic Islands
•	INGOs
•	Niederösterreichische Landesregierung
•	Niederösterreichische Versicherungs AG
•	OMV
•	Shell Austria AG
•	Schoeller-Bleckmann Oilfield Equipment AG
•	Siemens
•	Rotary International
•	United Nations Trust Fund on Family Activities
'Families International' an information-sharing bulletin published by:
Vienna NGO Committee on the Family:
Brunngasse 12/2, A-3100 St. Pölten, Austria, Fax: 43-2742-35 27 18-5, 
Email: famcom.vienna@utanet.at, Web: http://www.viennafamilycommittee.org

Printed by in-house duplication. The views published do not necessarily
reflect the views of the members of the Vienna NGO Committee on the Family. 

Editorial Committee: Peter Crowley, Eva Matt, Michael Schwarz.
Co-Editors: Eva Matt, Michael Schwarz.
Layout: Sylvia Harling