Background
In
the framework of the “Follow-up to the International Year of
the Family (IYF) and the observance of its Tenth Anniversary in 2004,
the General Council of the World Family Organization (WFO) took the
resolution to organize a World Family Summit (WFS) in December 2004,
considering that the Summit would be an extraordinary opportunity
to evaluate the concrete achievements made to identify and elaborate
issues of direct concern to families since 1994, to review the objectives
of the IYF, to gain and promote an accurate understanding of family
issues, to propose and initiate actions and activities to address
them, particularly at local levels, and to create a climate and institutional
capabilities at various levels, conductive to these efforts. In February
2003, the project of the Summit as well as statements about the commitment
of WFO Members, Governmental, Non-Governmental, Universities, Parliamentarians
and Families were presented to the 41st Session of the UN Commission
of Social Development, held in New York, from 10 to 21 February 2003.
Since
the proposal was well accepted by many members of the Commission,
the World Family Organization, with the support of the United Nations,
Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), elaborated a concrete
roadmap towards the achievement of the Summit. Different Heads of
State, Ministers of Social Affairs, Education, Health, Labor, Local
Authorities, UN Regional Commissions and Specialized Agencies were
contacted to contribute with ideas to elaborate a definitive calendar
and content to prepare the Summit.
A
Conference to launch the Preparatory Phase was organized to bring
together representatives from Governments, NGOs, Academia and Parliamentarians
of WFO Regions, UNDESA, the Brazilian Government, UN Regional Commissions
and UN Specialized Agencies to discuss the organizational aspects
of the Summit and the Preparatory Phase of the Regional Meetings.
The Conference was held in Curitiba from 10 to 13 May 2003.
Participants
from 42 chosen countries were received by the Brazilian Government
and the Mayor of Curitiba to complete a very comprehensive agenda
of 3 days. The presentations and discussions which followed, focused
on the review of the previous UN Resolutions related to the celebration
of the International Year of the Family in 1994, the follow-up of
the Year and the process for the Celebration of its 10th Anniversary
in 2004, and the role of the Family in the New Millennium and its
contribution in the process of learning, dialoguing and implementing
the Millennium Development Goals.
A
tentative calendar for the preparatory process at regional level and
the main themes to be addressed by the regional conferences and the
Summit were discussed and agreed upon taking into account the proposals
made by some leading countries to host regional preparatory conferences.
It
was also agreed that the World Family Summit will provide the ideal
platform to diffuse, share, promote and act for the implementation
of the Millennium Development Goals through the Basic Cell of the
Society – the Family.
In
November 2003 the Government of the People’s Republic of China
approved a decision at the Chinese People’s Congress to host
the World Family Summit in China.
Vision
The
World Family Summit constituted the biggest partnership towards making
the present and the future world with more peace, security, justice,
tolerance, solidarity, prosperity and integrated by mobilizing and
promoting the basic cell of society – The Family.
It
was a comprehensive and integrated approach to development, redeeming
all the family-related provisions of the outcomes of the UN Summits
and Conferences of the 90’s and their follow-up processes to
implement the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and addressed the
main issues and challenges of the Third Millennium.
It
was a Forum for the interaction, discourse and partnership among the
main stakeholders in this field - Governments, Local authorities,
NGOs, Civil Society Organizations, Parliamentarians, Academia, Business
Community and Families - reaffirming the Millennium Development Goals
and sharing the responsibilities and the political will of its full
implementation.
It
became a legacy to the future generation, through the engagement of
all sectors of Society in a “Learning – Dialogue
– Action” process.
Objectives
The main purpose of the World Family Summit was to promote the Family’s
contribution to the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals
following a multi-stakeholder approach. More specifically the WFS
in the framework of the Tenth Anniversary of the International Year
of the Family, aimed the following immediate objectives:
•
To place family issues in definitive in the International Agenda.
•
To increase awareness of family issues among National Governments,
Local Authorities, NGOs and CSOs, Parliamentarians, Academia, Private
Sector and Families.
•
To strengthen the capacity of National and Local Institutions to identify,
discuss, formulate, implement and monitor family-related policies.
•
To enhance the effectiveness of local, national and regional efforts
to carry out specifics family related programmes, generate new activities
and strengthen existing ones.
•
To stimulate public-private partnerships to respond to problems resulting
of globalization, affecting and affected by, the situation of families.
•
To improve collaboration among all actors of the Society, local, national
and international organizations in support of families.
•
To determine the appropriate means to implement concrete actions.
Achieved Results
The
main achieved results are as follows:
•
A better and common understanding of the MDGs and the role of Family
in contributing to their implementation through an enhanced learning,
dialogue and action process.
•
An exchange of experiences (good and bad) among participants to draw
out the lessons learned and the best practices to adapt to each national
context.
•
A large consensus on the main and crucial issues to be addressed and
on how to address them.
•
Approval of a Declaration, to be transformed in an official document
of the United Nations.
•
The decision to implement a Follow-up process up to 2015, including
an annual conference beginning in 2005, where the main task will be
the preparation of a Plan of Action.
The Declaration
The
Summit provided an exceptional opportunity for a commitment of all
stakeholders on a World Family Declaration globally adopted as well
as a proposal regarding the means to implement them.
This
Declaration was presented to the UN Commission of Social Development
in February 2005 as a proposal and to the High Level Segment of ECOSOC
in July 2005, where is expected to reach the inclusion as an UN established
program.
Full
Report
