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Editorial
Working for COFACE these past weeks feels like a Rollercoaster ride. We are bursting with optimism at the thought of having 2014 designated as the European Year for Reconciling Work and Family Life. As I am typing this, 168 MEPs have signed our Written Declaration Nr. 32 in the European Parliament. Our colleagues and our President are just back from Strasbourg, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them on behalf of COFACE and our Members, as they have been doing an amazing job in talking to MEPs, explaining the project of the year, and really getting the word out.
We also have received the news that apparently our proposal for 2014 is now one of two on the table of the decision makers. So now more than ever we need your help in fulfilling our ambition, and having a European year for working parents, carers, all forms of families and everyone who is involved in creating a better social Europe. Reconciliation is a make or break issue for all of us!
In other news, we have sent out the invitation to our conference in Dublin castle next February, co-organised with ICA, our Member in Ireland, who are instrumental in the organisation and outreach of the conference. Our Big Thanks also goes to them team of Liz, Rebecca and John!
We are also in the process of adjusting our budget for our Cyber-Bullying Awareness project under the Daphne III call. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
I wish you all a good read, enjoy our newsletter, and hope to see many of you in Ireland!
Your COFACE team |
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COFACE - 168 MEPs already committed to designate 2014 to be the EU Year for Reconciling Work and Family LifeCOFACE, together with the European Year 2014 Alliance, is calling on Members of the European Parliament to join their 168 colleagues who have already signed the Written Declaration 0032/2012.
In support of the Written Declaration 32 co-tabled by MEPs Marian Harkin, Elisabeth Morin-Chartier, Roberta Angelilli and Jutta Steinruck, MEPs affirm that work-life balance means making a difference in the quality of life for everyone in our society, realising gender equality in practice, motivating and retaining the workforce, preventing poverty and having a positive impact on child well-being.... Read our Press Release
- Read our Press Briefing
- All about this campaign: http://eyf2014.wordpress.com/
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COFACE Bookshop - Trans-national families and the Impact of economic migration on familiesIt is more and more common to see a member of the family moving to another country and leaving their family members (including partner, children, elders...) in the country of origin. These families are known as "transnational families” and this has emerged from the understanding that migration does not end with settlement and that migrants maintain regular contacts across borders. However, EU migration and integration policies are designed as "migrant-centred”, based on the single individual who is moving and considering his/her specific features (woman, child, worker…) but do not reflect on the family dimension of migration.
This publication wants to provide a picture of an ignored European reality and draw the attention of policy makers on a growing phenomenon that has and will have strong implications on several sectors of EU policy... Read more |
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Members - Microcredit in France: a plan B for those the banks don’t want?The economic and financial crisis of recent years has plunged growing numbers into financial difficulties. One in ten people have less than 700 euros a month to live on.
Personal microcredit is a loan that can help individuals who cannot get standard forms of credit to get through temporary difficulties and avoid social exclusion, such as by finding a job.
Around 80% of microcredit loans are for a job or car, and 10% for housing. A typical microcredit loan is for 300 to 3000 euros at a fixed interest rate of between 2 and 5%... Read more |
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COFACE - "Free our people, end institutionalisation!"It is with this powerful sentence that a representative of the European Expert Group on the Transition from Institutional to Community-based Care (EEG) – of which COFACE is member - closed the launch event of a set of key guidelines on how to make a sustained transition from institutional care to family-based and community-based alternatives for children, persons with disabilities, persons with mental health problems and older persons and the Toolkit on the use of EU funding to support this process.
More than one million children and adults live in institutions across Europe and numerous reports have highlighted human rights concerns and have drawn public attention to the appalling treatment and living conditions endured by the residents... Read more |
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EU - What works for families and what doesn’t – evidence based practice in social and family policyHow does a government, a municipality or an NGO know, whether their programme or project is really delivering the outcomes and results they want to achieve with it? How do policy and decision makers make budgetary decisions about which programme or intervention to finance, and which not to?
Will the intervention that looked so good on paper also yield results in practice? And whether a programme worked 5 or 10 years ago on a specific target group, will it work again in a different context or on a different target group? Not to mention in a different EU country?
These questions are at the very heart of the collaboration between the European Commission and the RAND Corporation when establishing the Evidence Based Family Practice Database... Read more |
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Members - Childcare: still much to do says LDF BelgiumParents who cannot find a nursery place for their children are forced into making unpalatable decisions in life. Stopping work, long morning and evening treks, hiring babysitters or calling on grandparents are solutions many parents have to fall back on, show the findings of a Ligue des Familles survey.
Childcare is a key issue on several counts: it is a mainstay of policies for work-life balance, gender equality, education, employment and employability, quality of life and the fight against social exclusion and poverty. It is also part of a comprehensive policy to support parenthood: parenting makes demands in time, financial resources and community-based services, and all are equally essential... Read more |
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SAVE THE DATE! - High Level conference on Vulnerable familiesThe Conference "Vulnerable Families – What can Europe do?” is co-organised by COFACE and the Irish Countrywomen’s Association. The Conference will be hosted by the Irish Presidency and will be held in the picturesque Dublin castle on the 4th and 5th February 2013.
Through keynote speeches by outstanding scholars and high level policy makers, as well as three parallel workshops, the Conference presents a great opportunity for networking and to discuss how to tackle the negative effects of austerity measures on those most at risk of poverty and social exclusion in our society.
Twitter account of the conference: @FamiliesVul
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COFACE Bookshop - Men’s changing family roles in EuropeFor the occasion of an event organised by the Belgian Institute for the equality of women and men, COFACE re-edited this publication again. The event, which was entitled "My daddy is at work”, examined the issue of fatherhood and the reconciliation of work and the role of parent and family life, drew together many participants from institutions, research organisations, civil society and the European Commission.
The publication has of course great relevance now for our 2014 European Year campaign, since we would like to discuss the participation of women in the labour market, but not only from the point of view of the women themselves, but highlighting the roles men can take on from the family and care responsibilities to free up women to be able to go to work... Read more |
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EU - Encouraging healthy eating habits: which policies work?With obesity statistics on the rise, and our hectic lifestyles and lack of time, as well as the temptation of ready meals, the quality and quantity of food consumed by family members is receiving more and more attention. COFACE is very concerned with healthy eating habits, and this is why we were so interested to learn more about this issue from the outcomes of the EATWELL research project.
The main aim of the project was to assess the efficacy, cost-effectiveness and public acceptance of past public policy interventions designed to improve dietary and health outcomes and assess the acceptability of potential future policies, providing policy makers with recommendations on ameliorating their public health strategies... Read more |
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Members - The long story of family diversity, UNAF SpainSpain’s Union of Family Associations, UNAF, is hosting the Second Congress of Families on the theme "The long story of family diversity" in Madrid on 12 and 14 December The conference will share knowledge on and discuss the family as a dynamic structure that far from dying out is asserting itself as the foundation of human development and social cohesion.
Under the banner "The long story of family diversity", the conference will look at the wide range of family models that are not only an incontrovertible fact of today’s life, but also of the history of humankind and children’s storybooks.
UNAF is a platform of Spanish family associations working in areas as diverse as health, education, multiculturalism, equality, lone parenthood, the rights of children and older people, gay, lesbian, transsexual and bisexual rights and gay parenting.
Further information
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