Families—both traditional and non-traditional—are the foundation of society. Some of the most formative years of our lives are spent growing up with our families, so they should be celebrated! And today we do just that. Founded by the United Nations in 1994, The International Day of Families is observed on May 15 every year to celebrate the importance of families, people, societies and cultures around the world. It’s been around since 1994, with a different family-focused theme each year (past themes have included “Building Families Based on Partnership” and “Families, education and well-being”). So celebrate with us this year, and learn about some of the social, economic and demographic processes affecting families around the world!
This year’s 25th anniversary of Copenhagen Declaration and Beijing Platform for Action comes at a time of one of the most challenging global health and social crises. The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic brings into sharp focus the importance of investing in social policies protecting the most vulnerable individuals and families. It is the families who bear the brunt of the crisis, sheltering their members from harm, caring for out-of-school children and, at the same time, continuing their work responsibilities.
Families have become the hub of intergenerational interactions that support us in this crisis. Under economic duress poverty deepens. In times of uncertainty stress increases - often resulting in growing violence against women and children. That is why the support for vulnerable families - those who have lost their income, those in inadequate housing, those with young children, older persons and persons with disabilities - is imperative now more than ever.
Worldwide, women are increasingly taking part in the formal and informal labour force, while continuing to assume a disproportionate burden of the household work in comparison with men, and work-family balance is more difficult to achieve. The imperative of ensuring gender equality in the family is, therefore, gaining more attention.
As the world struggles to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, there is a real opportunity to rethink and transform the way our economies and societies function to foster greater equality for all. In doing so, it is clear that gender equality will not be achievable without greater equality in families, and that on this, as so much else, the Beijing Platform for Action continues to provide a visionary roadmap of where we need to go.
For those who are staying away from family, we wish you the International Day of Families. You can be a part of your family by sending them greetings, SMS, WhatsApp status, Facebook messages
My family is everything. I am what I am thanks to my mother, my father, my brother, my sister because they have given me everything. The education I have is thanks to them.
Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. International family day!
The universe works in crazy ways. Your good luck will come in waves, and so does your bad, so you have to take the good with the bad and press forward. World family day! Happy International day for families.
Maysadness never touches us, may the hands of God restlessly bless us. As long as it's about our family happiness, I hope it will be infinite and endless. World family day!
Happy International Family Day to you and your loved ones! I hope you are doing great. Wishing you a lot of love and happiness. Hold on to each other, because you will always have your family, even when the world is falling apart.
Happiness is being contented with what you have, living in freedom and liberty, having a good family life and good friends.
Bond is stronger than blood. The family grows stronger by the bond. Happy International Day of Families!
HappyWorld Family Day! My family is everything. I am what I am thanks to my mother, my father, my brother, my sister... because they have given me everything.
