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On February 22, 2024, the NGO Committee on the Family hosted our annual Graduate Student Forum.

The Forum addressed the Priority Theme of the 62nd session on UN Commission on Social Development:

“Fostering social development and social justice through social policies to accelerate progress on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to achieve the overarching goal of poverty eradication.”

The Graduate students selected to speak were:

Nikita Duncan, M.S. Psychology from Walden University;
Research Assistant at Montclair State University and Fairleigh Dickinson University
Title: The Attachment Interaction Project

AND

Patrick O’Neill, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Penn State University; Evidence-to-Impact Collaborative, Penn State University; M.A. Psychology in Education from Teachers College, Columbia University
Title: Integrating Research into Policymakers’ Social Media to Improve the Lives of Children and Families

A full recording of this session is available on our YouTube Channel at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84JzB6VMm44

The NGO Committee on the Family has been wonderfully fortunate in the high caliber of panelists and speakers who have graciously addressed us. In an effort to enrich the intellectual experience of our audience, we have invited guests representing a diverse set of views and beliefs. We should note here that the expression of any views on this or any other program does not constitute an endorsement of those views by the NGO Committee on the Family, our member NGOs, or our co-sponsoring organizations.

Volunteering as a Family

People all over the world spend “time, talent, and treasure” to aid charities and other nonprofits in their endeavors. Most focus on sharing treasure, that is donating money. For example, Giving Tuesday which occurs on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, reminds us to share our good fortune with those less fortunate.

But people also offer their time and talent as volunteers to assist various causes. They do this mostly by doing unpaid work through organizations that may encompass the local neighborhood to the world at large and may include schools, churches, food banks, homeless shelters, animal rescuers, the environment, civic causes, and more. Spending time in volunteer activities is so well-established in the United States that the U.S. Census Bureau quantifies the practice and periodically publishes data the latest of which show that a quarter of the US population volunteers, and that most volunteers are parents.

More people would volunteer if they knew where to turn. Our first speaker, MiaLisa McFarland Millares, Executive Director of “Doing Good Together,” will discuss available sources of volunteer opportunities that allow parents and children to volunteer together and share the experience of helping those in need.

Our second speaker, Rachel McGovern, is Visiting Professor at the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University and has done research on how families that volunteer together have strengthened family bonds and otherwise benefited by teaching kindness, compassion, and service to others to their children.

A full recording of this session is available on our YouTube Channel at https://youtu.be/CKXkiQezxBU

The NGO Committee on the Family has been wonderfully fortunate in the high caliber of panelists and speakers who have graciously addressed us. In an effort to enrich the intellectual experience of our audience, we have invited guests representing a diverse set of views and beliefs. We should note here that the expression of any views on this or any other program does not constitute an endorsement of those views by the NGO Committee on the Family, our member NGOs, or our co-sponsoring organizations.

As High Level Week draws to a close, we’d like to advertise our events for 78th General Assembly.  We look forward to a tremendous slate of speakers.  See you soon!

We would like to thank all of our supporters for their participation in our events over the course of the 77th General Assembly. We have concluded our programming for the year, but will return with new events sharing the latest in family trends and advocacy with the opening of the 78th General Assembly in October. In the mean time, you can review our archives for past sessions, or simply visit our YouTube channel! We look forward to seeing you again soon!

Population Change: Will your family be impacted?

The global population crossed the eight billion mark on November 15, 2022. What impact will eight billion people have on world economies, geo-political dynamics, poverty reduction, ageing, intergenerational relationships, and other issues related to human flourishing? What, if any, is the link between population and climate? And, in light of the annual celebration of the International Day of Families, what does it mean for each and every family?

The basics of Demographic Transition Theory (DDT assert that a modernizing society will progress through stages from high levels of fertility and mortality to low fertility and low mortality. DTT, however, makes no predictions about where it will all end – “in fertility balance or bust.” Or, in keeping with an oft used demographic metaphor, “will there be a soft-landing” as the world transitions from a state of ever increasing population, to declining or stagnating population numbers?

This event will provide a reasoned, pro-natalist perspective as it explores population dynamics with a focus on “the family as the basic unit of society and as such is entitled to receive comprehensive protection and support…” (ICPD 5.1, Social Summit, 80)

Speakers:

“Family Factors Impacting Population Change”
Lyman Stone
Director of Research at Demographic Intelligence Research
Fellow at the Institute for Family Studies (IFS)

“Population Eight Billion: Considerations for Families”
Karoline Schmid, Ph.D.
Chief, Fertility and Population Ageing Section Population Division
UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)

A full recording of this session is available on our YouTube Channel at https://youtu.be/EGYWk78u9vA

The NGO Committee on the Family has been wonderfully fortunate in the high caliber of panelists and speakers who have graciously addressed us. In an effort to enrich the intellectual experience of our audience, we have invited guests representing a diverse set of views and beliefs. We should note here that the expression of any views on this or any other program does not constitute an endorsement of those views by the NGO Committee on the Family, our member NGOs, or our co-sponsoring organizations.

The NGO Committee on the Family-New York welcomes our annual Graduate Student Forum on the Family. The family is the “natural and fundamental” building block of society (UDHR Art. 16(3)). As such, stable families are essential for stable communities, stable nations, and a stable world. The optimal way to promote stable families is through parent empowerment and support. Speakers will address programs that have supported parents with financial needs, from marginalized groups, and with special needs children. Current research and implications for parents, community organizations, and policymakers will be addressed.

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Successes in Family Frameworks and Technology for the Empowerment of Rural Women and Girls: A Parallel Event for the 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women

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Sons and Daughters of Working Mothers:Successes and Challenges
Thursday – February 23, 2023 (1:15 – 2:30 PM EST)

What woman would not want to see more men take a more active part in sharing household duties? A multinational Harvard Business School study a few years ago determined that sons of working mothers are more likely to grow up to assume a greater role in caring for family members and participate more actively in household
responsibilities.

The U.S. government continues to press for more childcare so that more women can be employed outside the home and fill numerous job openings that are going begging. But is this government strategy given the rapid and radical shift that has just taken place in the American labor force?

This event should be viewed by working parents as an opportunity to learn from
experts in the field and make good choices for themselves and for their children.

A recording of this session is on our YouTube channel at:
https://youtu.be/6tyjbKmFzUI

Kathleen L. McGinn
Cahners-Rabb Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School

Katharine B. Stevens
Former Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and in 2022 Founder of the Center on Child and Family Policy

The NGO Committee on the Family invites you to join a conversation with two Third Committee Representatives to the UN hailing from different regions of the world. Many countries have been experiencing consequences from a weakening of the family and a family-supportive culture.

Some national legislatures have decided to prioritize the family in their policies and programs, not in contrast to individual rights but in recognition of the family’s importance for personal development and society as a whole. Our speakers will share:

1. their experiences lobbying for the family at the
   General Assembly this past year
2. examples of family policies in their countries and why these were prioritized

There will be an opportunity for Q&A with the audience