Dr. Deisi Weber Kusztra WFO President

Dear Members, Friends and Visitors,

Welcome to one more year of hard work and dedication of the World Family Organization!

I would like to start this text addressing the World Family Summit +3, held in Warsaw, Poland in November 26 to 29, 2007. Together with Governments, Parliamentarians, NGOs, Academia, United Nations Representatives, Business Community and Families we again discussed the greater challenges Families face today and approved a resolution to be taken to the United Nations and Governments to improve the living conditions of the Families.

The participation of several Ministers in charge of Family and Women Issues and their Representatives was impressive; their involvement and commitment to the Warsaw Declaration, which was negotiated article by article to present the worldwide Family trends and challenges, gave the WFS+3 an important support and statement that Governments are becoming more and more aware of the importance of concrete actions to improve the well-being of Families.

During the WFS+3 an innovative event took place: leaded by the Former First Lady of Poland, Mrs. Jolanta Kwasniewska and the current First Lady of Poland, Mrs. Maria Kaczynska, a Movement of National and Local First Ladies and Former First Ladies was founded, with the objective of Preventing Newborn and Child Mortality and Improving Maternal Health and Maternal Mortality, the United Nations Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5. Mrs. Kateryna Yushchenko, First Lady of Ukraine, Mrs. Stefka Kucan, former First Lady of Slovenia, and Mrs. Marina Taniguchi, former First Lady of Curitiba (Brazil), also participated of the founding of the Movement and compromised themselves with spreading the word and kickstarting the work.

This Movement is a beginning of a network in which women will have a pro-active role: protecting Motherhood and Childhood, protecting the Family’s core, through initiatives involving worldwide engagement of women – First Ladies and former First Ladies, at National and Local levels. This will involve political experience with political engagement for every family’s benefit.

I want to take the opportunity to thank all the World Family Organization Members who attended the Summit and the WFO General Assembly which followed it. In 2007, WFO completed 60 years of existence, 60 years working for Families, 60 years raising awareness of Family Issues, working hard for politics and support of Members so each and every one of them can work better – Governments with the international support and local feedback, NGOs with the support and coordination of Governments to work directly at grassroot level, Academia with funding sources to promote researches on Families and present vital information for guiding works, Parliamentarians for Family-friendly laws and regulations, Judges committed to applying laws so Families can be protected by legal systems and by innovative solutions where the law just isn’t enough, Business Community which does work for profit but carries a sense of Family well-being as part of their core values, and Families, the very focus of all this joint work.

I also want to thank Mr. Nikhil Seth, the Director of the United Nations Office for Economic and Social Council Support and Coordination, for his active participation in the World Family Summit +3; Dr. Hanifa Mezoui, Chief of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs NGO Section, for her support and participation in all the World Family Summits and continuous collaboration with the World Family Organization works, as well as Mrs. Michelle Federoff, Deputy Chief of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs NGO Section, who has also supported WFO’s work inside the United Nations.

We must always keep in mind that working for Families is a concerted, coordinated work. We all agree that the United Nations MDGs are indeed steps for a better well-being for every Family on earth; we must now apply this knowledge together, supporting other initiatives, policies and projects aimed at Family improvement – such as proposed by the Sanya Declaration, the Aracaju Practical Plan of Action, the Jordan Declaration, and the Warsaw Declaration – to involve Governments who are not committed with this action and promote experience exchange among Governments who already believe in this work. Together, we can not only reach the MDGs in their goals, but also push for further conditions for our Families.

I congratulate our Members in the World Family Organization’s 60th Anniversary and invite everyone for 60 more years of work for Families!

Dr. Deisi Noeli Weber Kusztra, President
World Family Organization

January 2008