PRESS RELEASE | FAFCE celebrates the International Day of Families

Tomorrow, the 15th of May, is the International Day of Families. FAFCE President, Vincenzo Bassi, declares: “This is a special occasion to say thank you to our families, to all its members. It is a precious moment to highlight the hidden and priceless work of many fathers and mothers and the contribution of our families and family networks to the social cohesion of our communities. Public policies should recognise that. As we said in our latest resolution, approved last week by our Board ‘to work for the family is to work for peace and reiterates its commitment to be a tool of peace’. It is crucial to recall this in these terrible times of war in our continent”. FAFCE Board met last week in the city of Vác (Hungary) and approved a resolution on Families and family associations, builders of peace.

This year the United Nations theme for this International Day is Families and Urbanisation. The European Commission Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas, published last year, identifies urbanisation, together with globalisation and demographic change, as a key trend with which the EU in general and its rural areas specifically face.

“We acknowledge the efforts of the European Commission to analyse the impact of the demographic change as central challenge for the future of Europe and we encourage all European policymakers to invest in families, children and family networks”, FAFCE’s President declared.

As stated by the United Nations, “Preparations for the thirtieth anniversary of the International Year of the Family, 2024 (IYF+30), have been centering on megatrends and their impact on families. The focus on selected megatrends, including technological change, migration, urbanisation, demographic and climate change, aims to facilitate the analysis of their impacts on family life and to recommend responsive family-oriented policies in order to harness the positive aspects of those trends and counteract their negative facets”.