Open Meeting: Oct 24, 2024
On Thursday, October 24, 2024, the NGO Committee on the Family held its first event of the new General Assembly session as a review of the Summit of the Future.
Family Im-Pact: The Role of the Family in the Pact for the Future & Beyond
Speakers included:
Dr. Susan Walker
Professor Emeritus of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota
and
Dr. Kara Alaimo
Associate Professor of Communications at Fairleigh Dickinson University
The full recording of the event can be found at: https://youtu.be/UPBhFBcIKIs
Full concept note below
Open Meeting: May 1, 2024 – CPD
On Wednesday, May 1, in co-sponsorship with the Permanent Mission of Hungary, the NGO Committee on the Family held a Side Event as part of the 57th Session of the UN Commission on Population and Development in New York.
“Family Policy & Population Research Forum 2024: Exploring Global Fertility Trends, Family Dynamics, and Solutions”
Speakers included:
Ms. Anita Kókai, Deputy Permanent Representative of Hungary to the United Nations
Lyman Stone: “The Fertility Gap and Economic Freedom” (2023)
Rachel Fung: “Welfare Reform and Fertility” (2022).
Saison Kim: “Parental Leave, Fertility, and Labor Supply” (2023).
Link to Full Concept Note
Link to Flyer
A full recording of the event can be found through UN WebTV here.
Open Meeting: March 21, 2024 – CSW
On Thursday, March 21, the NGO Committee on the Family held its annual parallel event as part of the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations in New York.
“Empowering Women and The Family Through Family Business”
If the United Nations is serious about achieving the SDGs it should turn its attention to the family and its immense contributions through family-founded businesses. The family is not only the “fundamental group unit of society” but also the main economic thrust for global development. Family businesses are the biggest drivers of economic growth, employment, and poverty eradication worldwide.
An individual or a couple starting a business and watching it grow and prosper will then ask other family members, siblings, or children, to join the business. Children who assist in a family business learn responsibility and how to manage resources, money, and risk. Women founders or co-partners are empowered via ownership, management, and decision making.
To learn more about how family businesses start, grow, and create prosperity, please join us as we listen to our speakers Professors Anthony P. Cannizzaro and Francisco Lara discuss family entrepreneurship and its importance to human flourishing.
Speakers:
Professor Anthony P. Cannizzaro, Family Business Consortium, Busch School of Business,
Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
Professor Francisco J. Lara, Catholic University of Valencia & Busch School of Business,
Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
A full recording of this session is available on our YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G14oKWkKfhI
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.
Open Meeting: February 22, 2024
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.
Open Meeting: November 30, 2023
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.
Fall Preview
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!
October 26 – “The Struggle for Girls Education in Afghanistan: The Family’s Role”
Dr. Sakena Yacoobi will be sharing her amazing – and sometimes harrowing – experiences in helping girls receive an education in Taliban- controlled Afghanistan.
November 16 – “Volunteerism: Giving Back as a Family”
December 14 – “Family Holiday Traditions”
Presentations and sharing of holiday foods. This event will be in-person as well as broadcast via Zoom.
January 25 – UN Third Committee Representatives speak on their country’s family policies
February 22 – Annual “Graduate Student Forum”
Learn from the best and brightest graduate students, from around the country, as they address family issues and dynamics.
***If you are a graduate student, or know one, please visit this link to see the “Call for Papers” and learn how to have your work spotlighted at the UN during this February event.
March – “Family Business as a means to employ women, provide income and eradicate poverty.”
This event will be held in conjunction with the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). Exact date to be determined.
April – “Family Policy and Population: Research Forum”
The first of an annual series at the UN with scholars presenting their research on fertility and family policy. The goal of the forum: provide evidence-based research to assist countries experiencing low-fertility challenges. Held during the Commission on Population & Development (CPD) – week of April 29-May 3, 2024.
***If you are a scholar or researcher, please visit this link to see the “Call for Presentations” and learn how to have your work spotlighted at the UN during this April event.
May 15 – International Day of Families – 30th anniversary
Tentative theme: “Demographic Change, Climate Change, Aging, and Intergenerational Families”