MALTA -- To launch the 1994 International Year of the Family, representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from nearly 100 countries gathered here from 28 November to 2 December 1993 to promote the understanding that healthy families are essential to the well-being of both individuals and societies.
Organized by the Vienna NGO Committee on the Family in cooperation with the United Nations Secretariat for the International Year of the Family (IYF), and supported by the New York NGO Committee on the Family, the four-day World NGO Forum featured a series of major speakers in plenary sessions and more than 40 workshops and forums on issues ranging from gender equality to homelessness.
"The Conference was focused on the Year of the Family, of course, but the key theme of the whole event was a realization that the family is a very very important unit of society," said Betty Benson, a Bahá'í International Community representative to the conference. "Virtually everyone reiterated that you cannot ignore the family and have a good society."
The Forum culminated with the signing of an NGO statement which urged governments to formulate policies that protect families, promote their self-reliance, and encourage their participation. "In this regard," the statement said, "a family-friendly society, specific economic and ecological measures, and recognition of the contributions of families in the social, cultural and economic fields are indispensable."
The NGOs pledged to explore areas where "new and creative actions can be developed to support family resilience and to emphasize the significance of family life for the benefit of its members" and to develop "a new culture of partnership" and cooperation to "fulfill our vital functions in the interest of families."
In addition to the Forum's final statement, participants said, a number of important themes emerged in the speeches and workshops. These included the overall recognition of the family's importance as a building block for society, the importance of promoting equality between the sexes, and the significance of education for women.
"Women play the central role in enabling the family to function," said Her Royal Highness Sarvath El-Hassan, the Crown Princess of Jordan. "Education is the key to women's success in making the right choices."
Alba Zizzamia, who is chairperson of the New York NGO Committee on the Family, said she felt that an overall theme of "hope" also emerged at the conference.
"The fact is that people have been prophesying the demise of the family for years," said Ms. Zizzamia, who is the United Nations representative for the World Union of Catholic Women's Organizations. "And yet the family is still surviving, and there is a great deal of interest in it and how it functions and the roles of people in it, as evidenced by this conference."
As reflected in the final statement, many speakers called on governments to do more to protect families. At the same time, the key role of NGOs in working to strengthen the family was repeatedly underscored.
"International organizations and governments must be encouraged to view families as among their most important partners, the first line of defense and protection against all obstacles to human well-being, and the building blocks of communities," said Richard Jolly, deputy executive director for programs of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
"In this effort, NGOs have both power and responsibility," Mr. Jolly continued. "Their grassroots approach places them close to families where they can encourage important attitude changes. They exert considerable influence over policy-makers. And they are well-organized. Using these skills would serve this movement immeasurably."
As a means of recognizing the work of various organizations and individuals in promoting the International Year of the Family, 100 "testimonials" were handed out by the IYF Secretariat in ceremonies on 1 December. Three testimonials were granted to the Bahá'í International Community and its representatives: one to the Bahá'í International Community as a whole; one to Jenny Field for her work on the New York NGO Committee on the Family; and one to Bahia Ettehadieh for her work as the Bahá'í representative to the Vienna NGO Committee on the Family.
"The testimonial was basically a way of saying that we have spoken on the issue of the family and that we have said we want to be involved in this worldwide focus on the family," said Ms. Field. "We were very gratified to have received these awards, and promise that you can expect us to continue to be involved in promoting family issues."
The Bahá'í delegation to the Conference totaled some 23 individuals from 13 countries. Its members ranged from official representatives of the Bahá'í International Community and national-level Bahá'í administrative councils to family professionals who are Bahá'ís.
"Many of the themes that emerged at the conference were themes that the Bahá'í community has been stressing for some years now, such as the necessity of forging an equal partnership between women and men, the necessity of ensuring education for girls and women, and the simple idea that the family, as the most basic unit of society, must be healthy for society itself to be healthy," said Ms. Field. "So it should not be surprising that the interest among Bahá'ís in this conference was great."
The Bahá'í International Community also sponsored one of the Conference's 40 workshops. Entitled "Breaking the equality barrier: Emerging roles of men and women in the family," the workshop was given by Linda Kavelin Popov, a family therapist from Canada; her husband Daniel Popov, a child psychologist; and Ms. Benson.
"One of the major points we made was that, for the well-being
of the family, we need to move from the dominance model within
families to the partnership model," said Ms. Popov. "Part
of the way we can do this is by understanding the purpose of life
is the growth of our soul, and not so much how many things we
accumulate or how much power we have in the eyes of the world."