The first IFFD Briefing was held in UN Headquarters in New York last February 12, 2013. It will be organized each year from now on during the meeting of the Commission for Social Development, as it is the time when many delegates and members of governments from all over the world gather to discuss about family issues.
The attendance of the meeting was much larger than expected and some members of Permanent Missions from different Member States, as well as UN officials and representatives of international organizations and American institutions related with family issues.
The first speech was delivered by Mrs. Marina Robben, president of IFFD, who presented the outcomes of the European Expert Group Meeting held in Brussels last June and the book in which all the inputs and recommendations have been included. This publication also includes nine good practices from different European countries, such as Sweden, Ireland, Netherland, France, Italy or Spain, and the Family Enrichment courses given by IFFD in the five continents.
Ignacio Socias, director of The Family Watch and International relations in IFFD, presented the Declaration of the Civil Society that is being promoted on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the International Year of the Family (2014), already co-sponsored by dozens of organizations from many countries.
Cristina Napolitano, IFFD delegate in New York, presented the contents of the inputs the Federation is providing for this year’s Session of the Commission. She verbalized it as the consideration of family empowerment as a requirement for enabling individual persons and reach social improvements.
Then the two first IFFD Awards were granted to Micheal Flaherty, well-known as the producer of the film on ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’, and to the Regional Council of the Veneto Region, as a recognition of their efforts to promote family-friendly policies in that part of Italy.
The United Nations Focal Point on the Family, Renata Kaczmarska, produced the final intervention. She praised the work IFFD is doing worldwide and urged everyone present to help in promoting this Anniversary.
After the event, there was still time to discuss and share experiences and initiatives among the attendants, while some refreshments were offered to them.
Video
Official presentation video for 51st. Session of the Commission for Social Development.
Gallery
Other pictures of IFFD participation in the Commission for Social Development.
