COFACE Families Europe together with its members is very active in addressing the social challenges faced by families of today and advocating for policies to support their well-being.

In 2019, COFACE Families Europe mobilised voters locally through its member organisations (representing families of all types, without discrimination). A call was launched to the COFACE network to vote and speak out in May 2019 using 10 key values as a compass: non-discrimination, equal opportunities, empowerment, internet for all, social inclusion, sustainability, respect of human rights, solidarity, child well-being, accessibility. Following the election of the new European Parliament and the publication of the European Commission’s political guidelines, COFACE Families Europe published its New Deal for Families of Today which is a list of key short-term demands (also available in Easy-to-Read language) to be achieved by the new European Commission from 2020-2024, which are to be seen as concrete steps to meet the long-term goals of the European Pillar of Social Rights and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

These demands reflect the needs and challenges of families of today and call for a mix of European actions (policy, law, funding, benchmarking, innovation) to drive real change. These recommendations are addressed at EU-level policymakers in the European Commission, European Parliament and Council of the EU, from whom we expect joint leadership to ensure tangible results for Europe’s citizens.  It is on this basis that we have assessed  the European Union’s work from 2019 to 2024, and how it contributes to achieving eight positive outcomes for families of today (see more here). While this assessment refers to various initiatives to support families, it cannot fully assess the real impact on families at local level yet. It is crucial for the EU institutions to conduct monitoring and evaluation of their policies to understand the impacts (positive and negative) on families, in order to review and consolidate existing frameworks under the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan and adopt any new measures needed to strengthen the Pillars.

Read the full assessment here.

See the 10 key actions we want integrated into the EU’s 2024-2029 programme here.

The post State Of The European Union for Families: COFACE assessment of the European Union’s work from 2019-2024 appeared first on COFACE Families Europe.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) represents a milestone for the promotion of human rights and equal treatment in Europe and worldwide. The CRPD recognises that ‘ disability is an evolving concept’, resulting from ‘the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinders their full and effective participation in society ’. Above all, it identifies persons with disabilities as right-holders rather than passive beneficiaries of welfare and medical assistance : this paradigm shift in the understanding of disability – from a medical to a social and human rights model – remains one of the Convention’s most innovatory aspects.

Several articles in the CRPD also affect, directly or indirectly, the rights and wellbeing of family members of persons with disabilities.

This publication adopted ten years ago in 2012 consists of the COFACE position on the family dimension of the UNCRPD, followed by the integral text of the Convention. The COFACE position is the outcome of the work done by its members within the COFACE Disability platform for the rights of persons with disabilities and their families.

The first aim of this paper is to illustrate the main implications of the CRPD for the improvement of the rights and wellbeing of persons with disabilities and their families, recalling Member States’ and EU’s role in this regard. Moreover, this position intends to raise awareness on the scope and relevance of the Convention among family organisations, policy makers and other representatives of civil society, in order to promote advocacy activities and facilitate the dissemination of the CRPD at national and European levels.

Finally, we chose to publish the integral text of the Convention to support the dissemination of this document, which is a keystone for the human rights system in Europe.

See full publication here in English and French.

The post The Family Dimension of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities appeared first on COFACE Families Europe.

COFACE aims for 2020-2024

We are ‘COFACE Families Europe’.

We are an organisation that works
for the rights of all families in Europe
since 1958.

In short, we are called ‘COFACE’.

We wrote this booklet to talk about
our aims for 2020-2024.

There are 10 aims we ask the European Union
to make happen by 2024:

1. Recognise all forms of families
2. Recognise parents as equal
3. Make sure all children have a good and safe life
4. Support families of people with disabilities
5. Listen to the needs of families
6. Make access to internet possible for all people
7. Support families that are poor or left out
8. Support family carers
9. Respect the rights of all families
10. Make the Sustainable Development Goals happen

See the full booklet here: Our aims for 2020-2024

____________

What are easy-to-read texts?

Easy-to-read texts are designed to be understood by people with intellectual disabilities.

This is important so they can learn new things, make their own choices, know their rights and stand up for them. In other words, they empower them to take part in society.

To do so, easy-to-read texts respond to specific criteria related to structure, language and illustrations.

See also the European Pillar of Social Rights: now available in the “easy-to-read” format.

The post New Deal for Families of Today: Easy-to-read version appeared first on COFACE Families Europe.

Families First

_________________

In an open and democratic discussion process with COFACE members we defined  our focus, our goals, dreams, and intentions for the coming years.

The main outcomes we want to achieve and which drive our agenda and provide an intentional framework for all our actions throughout the year are captured in the word Families.

Families play an essential role in our societies. In so many fields the solution starts at home. Policy-makers should capture the breadth of the relationship between family and society as a whole, including the economy, and recognise families as a “natural social safety net” and the “core” economy.

All families of today should have equal opportunities. The wide diversity of families needs to be recognised and supported with a special focus on one parent families, large families, families of persons with disabilities, rainbow families, migrant families and families in vulnerable situations.

Mainstream the family dimension in society and in policies beyond social policy, and modernise and rethink family policy to drive real change.

Invest in child and family well-being. Children will thrive if their family thrives and if the whole society cares enough to provide for them. European and national policies must therefore put children and their families first and ensure adequate and quality support through a systemic two-generation approach based on the interrelated well-being of children and their parents.

Life-course approach. Families of all ages must be supported in our fast-changing society to find a good work-life balance in family-friendly workplaces.

Intergenerational solidarity and Inclusion for all. We embrace the value of inclusive education and societies and tackle poverty and exclusion of families and their members.

Economy and financial sector at the service of society. The economic system needs to serve society and families and shift towards a “caring economy” with a full recognition of the important role of the family carer and the improvement of their social protection.

Sustainable and strong social policies. The European Pillar of Social Rights needs to deliver quality and impactful outputs for Europe’s families.

We want to shape a healthy society, environment, and economy fit for all families of today.

In COFACE Strategic Framework 2021-2030 we provide a comprehensive, integrated, and long-term strategy to develop appropriate 21st-century policies to support the achievement of 8 positive outcomes for all families.

This framework is our compass, our action plan to drive change and support both children and their families. It will guide our actions and help us make thoughtful decisions and find lasting solutions. We are happy that we can count on the support of the European Commission and cooperate with a wide variety of partners. Especially the continuous support of our COFACE members, who have a firm foot at the national level. They are our watchdogs of emerging trends and our resource to harness in order to contribute to the successful implementation of our ambitious agenda.

COFACE Families Europe is ready to go forward and join forces to trigger change and build a better society for all families.

Annemie Drieskens (President) and Elizabeth Gosme (Director). COFACE Families Europe

The post COFACE Families Europe Strategic Framework 2021-2030 appeared first on COFACE Families Europe.

Given the present social and economic situation, with the combined shocks caused by the coronavirus crisis and climate change, COFACE-Families Europe is concerned about the social and environmental sustainability of the current economic system which is under severe strain from the intertwined dynamic of growing inequalities and deepening ecological degradation.

We invite you to read the recently adopted 14 Economic principles of COFACE Families Europe. This declaration aims at referencing the core values and principles underlining COFACE Families Europe’s actions and activities in the realm of economics, supporting policies towards an economy which cares.

COFACE Families Europe covers very wide and diverse topics of which many are linked in one way or another to economics. Tackling inequalities and poverty, reconciliation policies and the economics of care are among the main topics of focus. In addition, COFACE Families Europe has initiated reflections on more concrete economic themes including financial inclusion, creditworthiness, blockchain technology and crypto-assets, digitalisation in finance and exclusion, big data analytics and artificial intelligence in finance. However, the recommendations and policy proposals formulated always rely on core principles and values such as human rights, the UN Conventions of the Rights of the Child and on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the European Pillar of Social Rights, and overarching targets like the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals).

The 14 Economic principles are as follows:

Principle 1 – Families as an economic unit
Principle 2 – Reconciliation and care economy
Principle 3 – Reducing inequalities and addressing poverty
Principle 4 – Human rights over economics
Principle 5 – Economics within physical boundaries
Principle 6 – One planet, one people, one future
Principle 7 – Financial inclusion
Principle 8 – Democratic oversight
Principle 9 – Financial and economic literacy
Principle 10 – Anti-fragility and resilience
Principle 11 – Fair balance of rights with other policy aims
Principle 12 – Protecting anonymous and free transactions
Principle 13 – Openness to change
Principle 14 – An economy beyond numbers

Taking the Doughnut economics model of Kate Raworth as a starting point, as a holistic approach aimed at balancing basic human needs with the limitations of our planet, COFACE Families Europe’s aim is to ensure that the development of our economic and financial system serves the general interest and wellbeing of all European citizens and families, within the means of what the planet can provide in a sustainable way.

Read the full economic principles here.

The post Towards an economy which cares: COFACE Economic Principles appeared first on COFACE Families Europe.

COFACE response to the EU public consultation on the action plan for the European Pillar of Social Rights

See full position here.

Key ingredients

1.Two-generation approach to policy-making;
2.Automatic social rights for families in vulnerable situations;
3.Use real-time evidence provided by civil society;
4.Monitoring, reporting and impact measurement;
5.Concrete and priority actions to trigger real change;
6.COVID-proofing and ensuring recovery policies fully respect social rights;
7.Upscale NGO-driven good practices through European networks;
8.Developing and consolidating EU legal frameworks with a social impact;
9.Education and awareness-raising for community building;
10.Think beyond social and employment policy.

Overarching messages

We have knowledge, now we need to use it and upscale it to ensure social rights are fully implemented equally across the EU.

Our New Deal for Families of Today (2019) and recommendations to address the COVID-19 impact on families (2020) contain the general direction needed to support families of today.

COFACE has developed a series of policy, service and campaign tools over the last years, and is in a position to boost implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) working closely with EU and national authorities.

The post Key ingredients for the European Pillar of Social Rights to help families and the economy bounce back appeared first on COFACE Families Europe.

#WorldChildrensDay #ChildCompass2030 #ForEveryChild

On this Universal Children’s Day COFACE Families Europe is releasing its “Child Compass 2030: For a Europe which invests in shaping a healthy society, environment and economy fit for children” bringing a family perspective to policy-making based on the interrelated well-being of children and of their parents.

All children are entitled to a healthy and fair start. To ensure this, we need an approach looking at their interlinked surroundings of influence in a holistic way. COFACE Families Europe endorses this approach, highlighting it in detail in its Child Compass 2030 and calls on the European institutions to invest in child well-being and to shape a healthy society, environment and economy fit for children.

Putting the well-being and development of children at the centre by no means collides or conflicts with concepts and positions of a family orientated policy, on the contrary. It is the family that is the indispensable place where people stand up and take responsibility for each other.

“Parents and caregivers play a central role in childrens’s live. In so many fields the solution begins at home. Families can be considered as natural social security system. We are convinced that children will thrive if their family thrives and if the whole society cares enough to provide for them. It is fundamental that European and National policies champion children and their families’ well-being and bring families and children to the heart of policy making” says Annemie Drieskens, President of COFACE Families Europe.

With this Child Compass, COFACE Families Europe provides a comprehensive, integrated and long-term strategy to develop appropriate 21st century policies to support both children and their families. The Compass offers a conceptual framework situating the child and their family at the core of a system with 5 priority and interlinked spheres of influence on individual child and family health and well-being: Education, Community, Digital Technology, Economy, and Environment.

Policies must prioritise investing in children and their families and ensure that adequate and quality support is provided through a systemic two-generation approach based on the interrelated well-being of children and their parents. This means that policies focusing on children’s well-being must support families and their inherent capabilities with a focus on empowerment, participation, and strengthening competences of all families in their daily lives.

This includes actions to support parents in their fundamental role, filling gaps in education, training, social inclusion, parenting skills, psychological well-being, access to services, employment and income, while also looking beyond social policy.

In this context COFACE Families Europe welcomes the commitment of European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen to build a European Child Guarantee, a promising initiative that could offer a renewed opportunity to boost further the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), supporting Member States in their efforts. However, we should not stop here. This is why today, at the Universal Children’s Day, we urge the European Commission, the European Parliament, the European Council and especially the German EU presidency to progress in the realistion of the Child Compass 2030.

DOWNLOAD Child Compass 2030.

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For more information, please contact Isabell Wutz, Communication Officer iwutz@coface-eu.org

Note to editor

COFACE Families Europe is a European network of civil society associations representing the interests of families (all types, without discrimination).
COFACE’s areas of work include social/family policy, education, disability, gender equality, migration, consumer issues, and also protection of children online, privacy, data protection and reflections on technological developments and how they may impact families. More: www.coface-eu.org

The post Child Compass 2030: Shaping a healthy society, environment and economy fit for children appeared first on COFACE Families Europe.

DOWNLOAD RECOMMENDATIONS

In Europe too many children with disabilities are excluded from participating in mainstream education. Now is the time to make a cultural, political and practical transformation of the education systems to accommodate the different requirements and identities of all students including of those with disabilities and make a step forward in the realisation of the UNCRPD (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities). With the S.H.I.F.T. recommendations by the COFACE Disability Platform for the rights of persons with disabilities and their families together with a strong political will and partnerships in the EU and its Member States, the right to education for all can finally become a reality.

Despite the commitment of the EU and all its Member States to implementing the UNCRPD in 2010, barriers remain in most aspects of education for children with disabilities. All across Europe these children are denied their right to education, many do not access education, many do in special schools, segregated from their peers. The COFACE Disability Platform urges the EU and national governments not to waste more time and take on the legal obligation they have committed themselves to years ago.

The inclusion of children with disabilities in education is further key to implement principle 1 of the European Pillar of Social Rights and Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” To foster a swift implementation, the COFACE Disability Platform has published specific recommendations and tools following a webinar hosted today: “Back-to-school: Triggering a meaningful shift towards inclusive education”. The S.H.I.F.T. guide focusing on different areas (Support, Human Rights, Independence, Families, and society Transition) was used as the starting point for discussing a holistic change towards inclusive education systems which cater for, are accessible to, and support every child. On the 14th September, COFACE Families Europe hosted a webinar to compare different realities in Europe and to discuss the recommendations with stakeholders representing civil society, trade unions, education ministries, the the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education and with the European Commission.

Chantal Bruno, co-chair of the COFACE Disability platform: “Inclusive systems provide a better quality education for all children and are instrumental in changing discriminatory attitudes. Schools are the first setting where children build their relationships with the world outside their families, and where they develop social relationships and interactions. Therefore, being part of mainstream education is more than just gaining knowledge. It is about becoming a valuable member of society and being socially included which is why a significant shift in education in Europe is urgently required.”

Sylvie Hirtz, co-chair of the COFACE Disability platform: “The EU needs to take up its responsibility and develop a clear policy framework and relevant legislation promoting inclusive education, in cooperation with all relevant stakeholders. Also, inclusive education must be at the core of the EU actions towards disability and child rights, including the new Disability Strategy 2020-2030, the upcoming European Child Guarantee and Child Rights Strategy.”

The webinar with its written recommendations is only one step towards different actions in society and new partnerships. The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the structural exclusion of children and adults with disabilities from education. In many countries, schools were closed and distance learning became the norm, increasing barriers and discrimination. However, the pandemic does represent an opportunity for national governments to rethink and reorganise education, and to finally implement inclusive education for persons with special needs and for all marginalized groups.

Together with all relevant stakeholders in society inclusive education can soon become a reality. Until then, the COFACE Disability Platform will continue to raise its voice for inclusion and build more inclusive future for all children.

_ _ _

ENDS

For more information:

• Full recommendations on inclusive education
• Summary presentation of the recommendations (additional presentations from the webinar will be provided at a later stage on the webinar webpage)
• Full speech of the co-chairs of the COFACE Disability Platform (in French)

or contact Isabell Wutz, Communication Officer: iwutz@coface-eu.org or Irene Bertana, Policy and Advocacy Officer: ibertana@coface-eu.org

The post No more time to waste to shift towards inclusive education appeared first on COFACE Families Europe.

DOWNLOAD POSITION PAPER

Lockdowns, school closure and teleworking have pushed society into a new reality in the family, working and social spheres of life, with clear consequences on work-life balance and mental health.

The European Union, its institutions and Member States need to look at both today and tomorrow, responding to short-term emergencies while starting long-term reflection and planning for post-pandemic life: what should change, how to address the structural problems which have emerged and which need to be addressed collectively. Are we trying to save lives or trying to save the economy? We must do both and avoid the mistakes made a decade ago where both social and health policy were sacrificed in the after-math of the 2008 financial crisis.

This unprecedented global COVID-19 pandemic requires creative and sustainable solutions. This also goes through consulting civil society organisations (European and national) representing diverse interests in order to understand the needs of the population and be in a good position to respond to those needs. This global common challenge requires placing strong cooperation and partnership between governments and NGOs at the very core of our governance systems.

COFACE Families Europe recommends that EU leaders take the following actions:

1. Urgently assess and meet the diverse needs of families through universally designed measures;
2. Rapidly implement EU response measures to COVID-19 ensuring health protection for all without discrimination;
3. Reinforce capacity and expand funding opportunities for support services to risk groups;
4. Adopt a strong action plan for the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights with ambitious 2030 targets;
5. Step up accessible technological innovations to ensure we have fully inclusive digital care services, schooling and workplaces;
6. Strengthen European solidarity for a coordinated Exit and Recovery strategy;
7. Use the current Economic Governance Review to launch a public debate on rethinking the European economic and monetary system;
8. Redirect existing and future EU budget streams towards family support (social and care) to mitigate the impact of COVID-19.

_ _ _

ENDS

For more information contact Isabell Wutz, Communicatio Officer: iwutz@coface-eu.org

The post 8 key actions to help families & the economy bounce back appeared first on COFACE Families Europe.

Brussels, 3rd December 2019, MEDIA RELEASE for International Day of Persons with Disabilities

According to the Academic Network of European Disability Experts, institutional care continues to consume disproportionate levels of public expenditure, far outweighing that invested in community-based alternatives. There is a trend, albeit slow in many cases, away from such large institutional care arrangements in many countries towards community-based support solutions.

Deinstitutionalisation is about implementing Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities ensuring that individuals with disabilities have all necessary means to exercise choice and control and make all decisions concerning their lives. This can be reached not only closing down large-scale residential institutions, but above all, by putting inclusion and respect of human rights at the centre of all policy actions towards persons with disabilities and their families, from birth to old age.

In order to boost this process, the COFACE Disability platform for the rights of persons with disabilities and their families produced the S.H.I.F.T. guide, which proposes 5 objectives, 15 tools, and 45 actions in the areas of Support, Human rights, Independence, Families and society Transition to achieve meaningful inclusion of persons with disabilities and their families.

COFACE actions and tools are built around the objectives of developing a range of person-centred support services in the community, having efficient ways to exercise and monitor the respect of human rights, making the mainstream sector inclusive and accessible, empowering families of persons with disabilities, and driving a cultural shift to embrace inclusion as an overarching value in society.

COFACE Disability Co-chairs, Sylvie Hirtz and Chantal Bruno: “We encourage all to #BeTheSHIFT by using this guide as a starting point for a discussion based on practical actions to be implemented in your communities to make rights of persons with disabilities and their families a reality in Europe”.

The S.H.I.F.T. guide can be used by different stakeholders at different levels: NGOs, social and health service providers (managers and operational staff), funders, policy-makers, self-advocates, family carers, employers, education professionals (management and operational staff), urban developments and housing providers, European decision-makers across the European Commission, European Parliament and Council of the EU, local and regional authorities, trade unions and employers.

Here the full SHIFT guide: EN, FR, PT, ES, IT

#BeTheSHIFT #COFACEDisability #IDPD2019

/ENDS/

For more information:

Isabell Wutz, Communications Officer: iwutz@coface-eu.org
Irene Bertana, Policy Officer: ibertana@coface-eu.org

Note to the editor

1. The right to live independently and to be included in the community in European States
   ANED synthesis report, By Neil Crowther on behalf on the European network of academic experts in the field of disability (ANED),2019
2. COFACE Families Europe is a network of civil society associations representing the interests of all families without discrimination. COFACE Families Europe’s areas of work include social/family policy, education, disability, gender equality, migration, consumer issues, and also protection of children online, privacy, data protection and reflections on technological developments and how they may impact families. More: www.coface-eu.org

The post S.H.I.F.T. – A guide to shift towards meaningful inclusion of persons with disabilities and their families appeared first on COFACE Families Europe.