Here you will see news from Europe, from civil society, from research, highlighting emerging trends from local to international level relevant for families of today.
On the initiative of Minister Suzanne Raab, Austrian Minister for Women, Family, Integration and Media , a high level conference of European Ministers responsible for Family Affairs took place in Vienna on 13th June 2024, as part of the commemoration of the 30 anniversary of the International Year of the Family.
Ethnic segregation is a widespread and systematic practice in many European countries. These practices are illegal yet continue to shape the lives of children and families across Europe. Our rights to education, housing, and health, ostensibly enjoyed by us all, remain divided along ethnic lines. For many Roma, their enjoyment of these rights is severely limited, often with the tacit support of the state.
On 6-9th June 2024, Europeans voted to renew the European Parliament and new Members of European Parliament (MEP) will convene for the first time in Plenary mid-July in Strasbourg, France. While the European People’s Party (EPP), European Conservatives (ECR) and Identify and Democracy Group (ID) have seen an increase in seats, the Greens and Renew Europe have had significant losses. The Socialists have maintained around the same number of seats. The biggest increase has been for the non-aligned MEPs which are a heterogenous group, yet with most of them coming from the far right.
The European Commission has released a new toolkit to help policymakers make the best use of EU funding to invest in social housing and accompanying services. This initiative addresses the urgent need for affordable and decent housing, which is crucial for social inclusion and enables greater participation in education and the labour market.
Following the call on 8th April 2024 for a European Long-Term Care Platform, 18 organisations signed a joint statement urging national governments and the European Commission to ensure open and transparent reporting mechanisms for the European Care Strategy, for its effective monitoring and implementation.
Belgian COFACE member, Ligue des familles, recently published its family barometer report which provides a wealth of information on the state and evolution of families in Belgium. The barometer is published every two years, giving families a crucial chance to have their voices heard. The 2024 edition reveals the scale of some of the difficulties faced by families, as well as some problems identified as early as 2015 that remain persistent.
Since 2017, the City of Paris has implemented a digital inclusion strategy with numerous partners, aiming to use digital technology as a lever for social integration. In 2024, COFACE member Unaf participated in the launch of the week-long event dedicated to digital parenting titled "My Child and Screens" and brought its 20 years of field experience and expertise to the discussions
COFACE member, the Association of German Family Organisations (AGF), was founded on the 25th of March 1954. 70 years later, on the 25th of march, AGF members looked back on its history and discussed the current challenges in family policy. The constituent meeting of AGF took place in 1954 in Königswinter, Germany, and laid the foundations for coordinated and committed representation of family interests at a national level and international work.
Several UN entities, civil society organisations, governments, and future generations joined forces at the 68th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) to emphasise the importance of gender equality and the rights of women and girls everywhere. To share good examples and best practices to address challenges for women of today, the Union of Hungarian Women Association (COFACE member) hosted an official Parallel Event
