|
Storytime Tapestry Newsletter
The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural
awareness throughout the world.
Extra Special Treat – Helen Dowd
May 15, 2006
The International Day of Families
15 May 2006
The International Day of Families
will be observed on 15 May 2006. The United
Nations General Assembly, in its resolution 47/237 of 20 September 1993, proclaimed that 15 May of every year shall be observed as the
International Day of Families. This annual observance reflects the importance,
which the international community attaches to families as basic units of
society as well as its concern regarding their situation around the world.
The International Day of Families
provides an opportunity to promote awareness of issues relating to families as
well as to promote appropriate action.
The Day can become a powerful mobilizing factor on behalf of families in
all countries, which avail themselves of this opportunity and demonstrate
support of family issues appropriate to each society.
The theme for this year's
International Day of Families, "Changing Families: Challenges and
Opportunities", highlights the profound transformations which this basic
unit of society has been undergoing in recent years. The average family
size has decreased all over the world; young people are getting married at a
later age; the average age of mothers at first birth has increased; infant
mortality rates have declined; and couples are having fewer children.
The traditional, extended family
is being replaced by the nuclear family, even as grandparents are living longer
and several family generations are living side by side. Alternative forms
of union have grown more common, such as unmarried cohabitation, or marriages
of migrant workers not living in the same city or country as their
spouses. Divorce has increased, accompanied by remarriage, with more and
more children living in a family with a step-parent. Significant numbers
of both single-parent families and single-person households have emerged,
including a rising number of older persons living alone. And the HIV/AIDS
pandemic is wreaking havoc on families, often depriving children of their
parents, leaving grandparents to care for children.
Many of these transformations
call into question the structure of society as we know it. They require
us to work together to adapt, to shape public policy in a way that addresses the
needs of families, to ensure that basic services such as education and health
are provided to all citizens -- especially children -- irrespective of their
family situation.
Some of the changes in family
structure have also brought new opportunities, such as new and wider options
for girls and women. They have provided impetus for Governments to
develop new policies in collaboration with civil society. And as
countries work to integrate a family perspective into national policymaking,
the United Nations system is striving to reflect this perspective in the global
intergovernmental process.
During this time of ongoing
change, we need to build an environment that sustains and supports families,
while reinforcing the opportunities for fulfillment that a positive family life
provides.
On this International Day, let us
rededicate ourselves to that mission.
Helen Dowd
hmdowd@telus.net
* *** *
|
