Family Futures

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dvancing

ocial

ntegration

and

ntergenerational

olidarity

and the Grandparents course deals with issues relevant to

that role in the family.

The fact that these programmes deal precisely with the

main issues facing parents in their everyday lives is what

has made the initiative so successful and has meant that,

50 years on, Family Enrichment programmes have spread

to 65 countries and benefit thousands of parents on the

five continents every year. Since 1978, these activities have

been coordinated by the International Federation for Family

Development (IFFD), the reference point for all Family

Enrichment Centres around the world.

The main activities of these centres are educational courses

and programmes. However, most of them also carry out other

activities, such as forums, congresses and conferences, focus-

ing on topics relevant to families. These, and other leisure and

cultural activities, are intended to promote collaboration with

the media and other institutions. All the work carried out by

the centres is aimed at supporting families and promoting

intergenerational solidarity.

IFFD holds general consultative status with the United

Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), a posi-

tion only granted to 4 per cent of civil society organizations

working in the United Nations. By awarding this status,

ECOSOC accredits organizations which it considers to be

technically capable of dealing with matters within their

area of competence, advising the council and participating

actively in the actions it carries out. As part of the prepara-

tions and celebrations for the twentieth anniversary of the

International Year of the Family, IFFD has taken part in

different expert group meetings. In this preparatory process,

IFFD has also organized awareness raising meetings in

different cities on three continents.

IFFD has also regularly organized International

Congresses since 1976, which has resulted in a remark-

able increase in activities related to the family in a large

number of cities and countries across the five continents.

The congresses are also designed to allow new skills to

be learned in order to promote and carry out educational

and family development programmes. They also take

part in innovative European Union projects regarding

the future of families in Europe, such as the large-scale

FamiliesAndSocieties integration project, involving 25

research partners.

For these academic and research tasks, IFFD created, back

in 2007, The Family Watch: a think tank committed to carry-

ing out research on family issues and finding solutions to

the problems they face. The institute uses interdisciplinary

research to analyse the social context families find themselves

in today. Its main activities include publishing research papers,

exchanging information and services, integrating initiatives,

promoting teaching activities and research projects, content

production, and organizing events aimed at the promotion,

creation and presentation of awards.

Fifty years after they were first conceived, Family

Enrichment programmes and the activities surrounding them

are continuing to grow and spread across the world, demon-

strating that parenting is, and always will be, one of the most

important tasks we face in our society.

Family Enrichment courses provide parents with the tools they need to

develop their own philosophies and goals

The IFFD International Congress in Valencia, Spain, 2010: these events have

resulted in a remarkable increase in family-related activities across the world

Image: IFFD