November 2001, No. 41

Deadline for contributions:28 February 2002
					
THIS BULLETIN ABSTRACTS THE COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED BY THE VIENNA NGO COMMITTEE ON THE FAMILY. IT DOES NOT REFLECT ALL FAMILY-ORIENTED ACTIVITIES. NOR DOES IT INTEND TO GIVE EMPHASIS TO ONE ORGANIZATION, COUNTRY OR ATTITUDE OVER ANOTHER. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE YOUR NEWS AND VIEWS REFLECTED, PLEASE SHARE THEM WITH US. WE WILL ENDEAVOR TO REPORT ON THEM WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THIS PUBLICATION.

Vienna NGO Committee on the Family
*Brunngasse 12/2, A-3100 St. Pölten, Austria
Phone: 43-2742-352718, Fax: 43-1-352718-5
Email: famcom.vienna@utanet.at
Web: http://www.viennafamilycommittee.org
For contributions to ‘Families International’:
Email: ematt@vki.or.at

From The Desk Of The Chairperson

Expression of Appreciation
Dear Recipients of Families International (FI),
I would like to begin by expressing my gratitude to all of you who have supported the work of our Committee. When we wrote to you earlier this year about the way you receive our Bulletin, we asked you if it is possible for you to receive it by email or by downloading it from our Homepage: http://www.viennafamilycommittee.org.

Over 60% of you who replied said that you would like to receive it by email. This will mean a great saving of financial resources, which we can transfer to our projects, on which I will be reporting below. So if you received this copy of FI by post and have your own email address could you please forward it to the address of the Chairperson (cf. below address).

Interactive Guest Book
A hopefully further incentive to receive FI by email will be the guest book we are in the process of installing at the end of the document so that you can reply immediately and informally to us and attach communication material which you would like published or just send us your positive or negative feed-back.

We on the Board of the Committee have always been mindful of the tradition we are working in and are endeavouring to continue the successful work of our predecessors and at the same time to adapt to

new challenges and the need to move with the times especially in the rapidly changing field of communications.

The Three Flag-Carriers of the Committee on the Family
For me as chairperson the board has an enviable wealth, not in financial terms, but in terms of expertise and generous humanity in having three very highly recognised and respected flag-carriers:
1.	Our Quarterly Bulletin 'Families International', which you receive;
2.	The yearly written statement to the Commission for Social Development (CSD) at the United Nations in New York, which is prepared by the committee and signed by over 30 international NGOs and which then becomes an official document of the CSD and which is published in FI every year; and
3.	The Website and Homepage of the Committee: http://www.viennafamilycommittee.org which is already clicked into on average ten times per day, a figure which speaks for itself.

Committee Website and Homepage
A resolution of the United Nations General Assembly in December 1999 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of The International Year on the Family (IYF) in 2004 was one of the motivating factors for a decision of the Board of the Committee to design and set up our own home page, with the grateful financial support of the Austrian Federal Government. The homepage, which has been online since 4 April 2001 under: www.viennafamilycommittee.org should help focus the celebratory preparations for 2004, intensify our service of the members of the network of family-oriented NGOs, government agencies, research and university institutes world wide and we hope, as well, to help increase the membership of the committee.

Interactive Fora in Kenya and the CEEC Countries
We intend to use our homepage not only as an information medium but as an interactive forum to make the various networks we have truly interactive and are at present setting up a network of over forty family-oriented NGOs in Kenya using the homepage. A special section of it will become a forum for the Kenyan NGOs to interact with each other and with the help of a coded password to update that section of the homepage themselves and interact with each other at will. All this information will of course also be available to anyone who clicks into our homepage. This I feel is an opportunity to have a lasting impact for families and a permanent legacy to the work of our Committee.

The Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) Network
The Committee project to network family oriented NGOs in Central and Eastern European countries was published in a special issue of families international in December 1998 with a supplement published in December 1999. Two international seminars were organised by the Committee and held in conjunction with this network, one in Vienna in October 1999 and the other in Sigulda near Riga in Latvia, encompassing the Baltic region, in October 2001. This whole project in all its stages and phases has been funded by the Ministry for Social Affairs and Generations, of the Austrian government. 

10th Anniversary of IYF 2004
The Committee on the Family is a member of a core group set up by the United Nations Family Unit which meets in New York at the CSD to prepare for the celebration of the tenth anniversary of IYF in 2004. The Committee has set up its own working group on 2004 and at the end of this text you will find the Plan of Action adopted  by the Committee.

New Board of the Committee Elected
At the Full Committee Meeting on October 29th 2001 at the Vienna International Centre of the United Nations a new Board was elected for a three-year term, with the following members:
Peter Crowley (Chairperson), Rosina Santa Olalla (Deputy Chairperson), Michael Schwarz (Secretary), Christine Leopold (Deputy Secretary), Ceja Gregor Hu (Treasurer), and Roswitha Benesch, Eva Matt, and Toni Gauci as board members. Guenter Danhel, Lili Gauci, Lenczova and Winston Sims were co-opted as board members by the new board at its first meeting on 30 October 2001. 

Appreciation to Former Board Members
On behalf of the Committee I would like to express appreciation, gratitude and respect to the members of the board who have worked professionally and tirelessly with great personal commitment for the goals and ideals of this committee which has been so resilient since it's inception in 1985. It is always difficult to pick out members of a team but I would especially like to thank those members of the board who did not stand for re-election recently and hence are not members of the present board but who have provided years of outstanding service: Agota Benkö, Dennis Callagy, Gerda Frey, Ottie Gambrill, Toni Monserrat, Agathe Sering, and Monica Tupay. Mr. Callagy, Ms Gambrill and Ms Tupay also carry the distinction of having served the Committee since its inception.

May I wish you all, as recipients of Families International, success in your endeavours in the vast social field you are engaged. We in the Committee look forward to an active interchange with as many of you as possible and wish to thank you once again for your interest and support.

Yours sincerely,
Peter Crowley
(Chairperson)

Vienna NGO Committee on the Family

Secretariat
Dr. Michael Schwarz
Brunngasse 12/2
A-3100 St. Pölten, Austria
Fax: 43-2742-352718-5
Email: famcom.vienna@utanet.at

Office of the Chairperson
Peter Crowley
Bluecher Strasse 14a
D-40885 Ratingen, Germany
Fax: 49-2102-136 319
Email: peter.crowley@t-online.de

Web: http://www.viennafamilycommittee.org

special feature:
When Prosperity Erodes Familial Well-Being

By Winston Sims

Economic forecasts made in the early 1960s noted that how we dispose of our leisure time might be the most pressing problem confronting the family by the year 2000. Yet making the best use of all of our leisure time hardly seems to be the family's most pressing problem today.

But this forecast was not without sound basis. From 1947 till around 1970 real median family income, adjusted for inflation, closely tracked, and at times, even exceeded increases in productivity. This meant that a single-earner could meet most of the needs of the average family and the situation of the family was undergoing real improvement.

Since the 1970s, the situation has changed markedly.

The present track of our current "prosperity" has witnessed real median family income now trailing increases in productivity. This requires more family members to work more hours for a real median family income, adjusted for inflation, which, except for the past three years, has resulted in the static or slight improvement in the well-being of the family. This has eroded the well-being of families. Only in the past several years, and prior to 11 September 2001, has median family income shown some relative improvement.

The net effect is that parents have experienced much higher levels of stress and tension and have fewer hours for each other and their children often resulting in the erosion of familial relationships and the erosion of familial well-being.

Why is it that, paradoxically, the long period of "prosperity", punctuated by a few downturns or recessions, seems to have failed to strengthen familial well-being?

1947-1970
Over the period 1949-1973 there had been a close linkage between increases in productivity and increases in wages and ultimately in median family income.

From 1947-1970 there was about a 3.0% real growth in median family income per year from 20,866 in 1947 to 39,802 in 1999 adjusted dollars.

With median family income increasing at or near the level as increases in productivity, families produced more; they earned more and real median family income was increasing. In other words, they were realising real advances.

This close linkage led to a period of optimism in which one wage-earner in a family was more than enough to enable the family to keep its economic head above water.

As a result, at the end of the 1960s, it was widely prognosticated that, in keeping with the gains in productivity, income would continue to increase and less work would be called for to purchase the same basket of goods. Indeed, it has been pointed out that due to rapidly growing wages and working women entering the work force "from 1949 through 1969, family incomes grew at a faster rate than productivity."

This gave rise to the prediction that the greatest dilemma confronting the American Family would be how to use leisure time. Today any suggestion that the use of leisure time constitutes the greatest dilemma confronting families would be ridiculed.

1970-1999
While productivity is said to have increased 25% since 1973, from 1970 onward, "median family income [grew] more slowly than productivity, despite a continued growth in the total number of hours that family members work in a year."

Table 1. Average Annualised Growth in Productivity and Median Family Income

Year	A. Productivity	B. Median Family	
1970-73	2.9%	2.2%	
1975-81	1.5%	0.3%	
1982-90	1.8%	1.2%	
1991-99	2.2%	1.2%	

One source of rising family incomes is that the average American worked almost a week longer in 1999 than in 1990 (1,978 hours in 2000, up from 1,942 hours in 1990,) while in other industrialised countries, the work week has been shrinking.

Since 1970 there has also been a significant increase in the numbers of two-earner families. And despite the additional wage-earner, median family incomes have remained stable or decreased due to declining real wages for men. In fact, median income of year-round, full-time male workers declined by 8% between 1977 and 1997.

Lately "...wage gains have come in an environment of rising productivity. Growth in labour productivity picked up significantly in the second half of the 1990s, averaging roughly 2.5 per cent a year since 1995. That compares with annual productivity growth of 1.4 percent from the mid-1970s through the mid-1990s."

Even with women going to work, median family incomes did not rise to any real extent, although those families with the second-earner were better off even though women still earn only between two-thirds and three-fourths of that earned by men for equal work. This still does not speak well for the regard with which women are held in the labour force. 

From 1991-1995 "...the growth in family income has stagnated, falling far below increases recorded during any four year period of economic growth since 1960. In traditional married families with only the husband working, incomes have continued to decline. Only increases in labour force participation of women, income from other sources, and the number of full-time workers also working at a second job have helped to keep the level of family income from falling across the board."

Since 1995, labour productivity has increased at about 2.5% per year and from 1995-98, a period of high economic growth, median family income also grew at about 2.5% per year, in contrast to about 0.4% per year from 1989-98.

Distribution of Income
Another factor affecting familial income relates to the distribution of family income.

In the years 1977-1999, the lowest 20% of families lost 18.2% in real terms. The second quintile, 21-40% lost 13.6% and the third quintile 41-60% lost 12.35%; the fourth quintile lost 6.45% while the top quintile gained 13.3%. The top 5% of households gained 33.54%.

That more than 60% of families should have lost real income over the past 20 years should be alarming to all of us. At the least, we should be seeing our "prosperity" in a new light.

Why is this important?

The inadequacies of current one-earner income are nowhere more apparent than in the context of single-parents, most especially the female-headed, single-parent household. While one-earner used to be able to support spouse and children, a one-earner often can no longer even support children alone. Forget leisure.

Since 1970, there has been a significant increase in the numbers of two-earner families. And despite the additional wage-earner, and among the longest work hours in the industrialised world, median family incomes have remained stable or decreased.

Women and men must be able to pursue education, a sense of self-esteem, broader labour participation, career goals and a wider contribution to their own well-being and that of society. 

While all stress and tension cannot be avoided, we should avoid a system in which our apparent "prosperity" compels two-thirds of our society to work harder and longer so they can, at best, remain in the same place in terms of real income, or where their income shares undergo long-term erosion.

Implications for the future
Families who find they must work longer hours with more family members in the labour force experience many stresses and tensions in just trying to keep their heads above water. These stresses and tensions are important because of their contribution to the erosion of relationships between the couple, between the parents and their children. When parents cannot be "present" to each other, and to their children, it results in diminished support for each other, their children; diminished attention to their accomplishments, hopes, fears, problems and questions.

Strong familial relationships are key to the survivability of families and their members. The ability of parents to give time, energy, caring and love to each other and their children is central to their ability to thrive and comprise the most protective factors, especially for children.

Research has shown that exposure to protective factors plays a far more powerful role than exposure to risk factors. Being exposed to even a few protective factors has a marked beneficial impact and the greater the exposure to protective factors, the lower the prospects of adopting risk behaviours. 

Some protective factors relate to building human capital include acquiring academic skills and knowledge, social and interpersonal skills and a sense of personal efficacy; establishing a coherent sense of identity; forming commitments to larger society and its institutions, especially, the willingness and ability to invest in the well-being and stability of one's own community and society; deepening prosocial values or commitment to the community and to the values and attitudes that help sustain it; exploring sexuality responsibly; and confronting situations that could compromise health and life including dropping out of school, violence, drugs and crime.

Other factors address enhancing life skills of children include: children learning to generate alternative solutions; understanding means-end relationships; developing sensitivity to interpersonal problem situations; developing consequential thinking skills; skills in decision-making, communication, assertion; and coping with anxiety, problem-solving, and behavioural skills training which involved emphasis on problem-solving, developing empathy, standing up for one's rights, and learning to deal with authority figures; resisting peer pressure, improving patterns of behaviour in school, getting along better with family members, controlling anti-social impulses, enhancing skills for social interaction, and enabling children to develop internal controls for their own behaviour.

This is a tall order. Families have always played a key role in cultivating these protective factors. But the stresses and strains described above seriously compromise its capacity to do so.

What are the prospects for the thriving and sustainability of the family if despite more education and more training, representing more social capital, it is less viable economically; less viable socially; less capable of discharging its typical functions? It would appear from these figures that we are involved in the long-term disabling of the family.

What are the social costs associated with such a situation? a) The fact of two parents working long hours diminishes the time available for care and nurturing of children. b) The lack of time with small children increases costs for child care, reduces time for socialising, transmission of values, development of parenting skills, building trust, confidence, intimacy, deeper relationships and a sense of community. c) In the absence of such contact, guidance, supervision, love, and sharing, there is often an increased risk of a higher peer-orientation, often with negative peers, an increased probability of experimenting with alcohol, with its well-known effects of suppressing inhibitions and tobacco with nicotine as one of the most addictive substances known. Alcohol and tobacco are often called "gateway" drugs because their use may increase the likelihood of experimentation with other substances which might presage use and abuse of more powerful substances. d) Lack of time with children might be associated with poorer classroom performance, less help with homework (the very name conjures up negativity, why not call it home discovery?) e) And with those, the increased likelihood of juvenile delinquency, violence and thefts, increasing teenage sexual promiscuity and teenage pregnancy, abortions. f) With this pattern comes still more expenses for the schools and communities in the form of more police, courts and prisons. This is especially the case where the penal system is based on retributive justice as opposed to restorative justice. g) With the onset of this pattern, many if not most of the most effective preventive factors fail to kick-in.

When children realise they cannot obtain attention for positive behaviour, they know they can obtain it for negative behaviour...even if it hurts. The shortest and easiest paths usually involve tobacco and alcohol abuse. These are often associated with juvenile delinquency and are seen as "gateway" drugs that lower inhibitions to the use of "hard" drugs. The use of alcohol is well-known for diminishing inhibitions leading to greater levels of interpersonal violence, traffic accidents and resort to unprotected sex.

Let's be clear. The issue addressed here of the de-linking of increases in median family income from increases in productivity is not posited as the cause of all these problems nor is the re-linking posited as a one-shot fix for the problems of families. But it is suggested that the high demands made of families diminishes their capacity to provide the necessary protective factors.

Where do the fruits of the increased productivity go? Indications are that they go to profits, and increased salaries and other compensation for executives and the top quintile of earners. This, of course, is vigorously defended as the just returns for those who are most productive. Curiously, this argument seems to say at the same time that all those who enable those executives to be increasingly productive should be decreasingly compensated and the de-linkage means, of course, that employees no longer have any positive incentive to achieve higher levels of productivity. Free trade and private enterprise might have disabled the very mechanisms that it has touted so highly for so long.

Since we have not been able to count on rapid advances in technology to move our families ahead significantly in the past twenty years, is there any reason we can expect technology to come to the rescue in the next thirty years. 

To the extent that the firms who de-link wages and income from productivity share in the responsibility for the weakening of the families, this in turn results in a wide array of increasing social costs which they also often oppose meeting. This cannot be seriously proposed as an argument for business or familial sustainability.

What are the usual mechanisms for taking corrective action? Governments? Trade unions? But the same voices that argue the merits of free trade, and globalisation often argue most strongly against these traditional mechanisms. 

What are the approaches which firms are willing to embrace? Just as they were willing to disconnect wages, salaries and benefits from productivity, what are they willing to do to re-establish such a connection? If they truly believe in non-governmental solutions, what will they put forward to help build stronger families and communities?

Of particular concern is that there seems to be so little public discourse on where we will be thirty-years from now if things continue on the same track? As over the past thirty years the additional labour of the spouse, usually the wife/mother has not been enough to lift incomes significantly, where will we be thirty years hence? If the situation of the family has deteriorated to such an extent during a period of significant technological progress, will further such progress ever hold promise for the family? How many other family members will be entering the labour force? By how much will real median family income decline? What additional stresses and tensions will our families experience? What will happen to our sense of well-being? Will our prosperity continue to erode our familial well-being? Will the well-off continue to be even better off? And will the well-being of 60% of families continue to erode? But, more importantly what does this say about the value of our nation's educational establishment? Is only university level education and graduate level education to be up to the task of keeping the heads of our families above water? And what about those of our families members who are not among the highest earners, are we to consign them to the status of third or fourth class citizens? Are we to tell them that their families count, but not so much?

Readers are requested to send their thoughts and reactions to the Editor. 
Contact: Winston Sims, Vienna NGO Committee on the Family, Brunngasse 12/2, A-3100 St. Pölten, Austria, Phone: 43-2742-35 27 18, Fax: 43-2742-35 27 18-5, Email: famcom.vienna@utanet.at, Web: http://www.viennafamilycommittee.org

VIENNA NGO COMMITTEE ON THE FAMILY

Plan Of Action For The
10th Anniversary Of The International Year Of The Family (IYF) 2004

Awareness Building Measures

Preliminary Stage
1.	Special Section of Committee Homepage with Hyperlink to UN Family Unit Homepage with Latest Information on Preparations.
-	Email forum for members and readers to inform Committee and each other of planned events through the Homepage
-	Use of Homepage networks in Africa and CEEC countries to highlight 2004

2.	Special Section of Quarterly Bulletin Families International
-	With update from member organisations preparations planned events
-	News from grassroots organisations and recipients of Families International on planned anniversary activities

Active Participation by Committee Members

1.	Submission of written INGO Statement to the 40th, 41st and 42nd Commissions for Social Development (CSDS) at the United Nations in New York with a section in each statement relating to the 10th anniversary.
2.	Presentation of oral statements at CSDS by representatives of member organisation with a focus on 10th anniversary issues.
3.	Participation in core preparatory group set up by UN Family Unit in New York.
4.	Celebration of International Day for Families 2002 – 2004.
Contact: Vienna NGO Committee on the Family, Brunngasse 12/2, A-3100 St. Pölten, Austria, Phone: 43-2742-35 27 18, Fax: 43-2742-35 27 18-5, Email: famcom.vienna@utanet.at, Web: http://www.viennafamilycommittee.org

Strengthening The Role Of Family-Oriented NGOs In The Baltic Countries
This international seminar, which was attended by 25 participants and held from 19-23 October 2001 in Sigulda, Latvia, was made possible through a grant from the Austrian Ministry of Social Security and Generations, and organised by a working group of the Vienna NGO Committee on the Family under the leadership of Ms Agota Benkö, co-ordinated by Ms Monica Tupay and Mr. Leonids Mucenieks, who led the local organising committee in Latvia. The seminar was co-chaired by the Chairperson of the Vienna NGO Committee on the Family, Mr. Peter Crowley, with Ms Rosi Weiss from the Austrian Federal Ministry for Social Affairs and Generations and representatives of NGOs from the Baltic countries. It was a follow-up to the CEEC Seminar held in Vienna in October 1999 and was organised at the request of organisations in the Baltic countries. 

The programme included 24 presentations, which were made from representatives of the Latvian Ministry for Social Welfare, the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, the PHARE Access Programme and representatives of Family-oriented organisations in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. It is intended to publish an extended report on the seminar at a later date.
Contact: Vienna NGO Committee on the Family, Brunngasse 12/2, A-3100 St. Pölten, Austria, Phone: 43-2742-35 27 18, Fax: 43-2742-35 27 18-5, Email: famcom.vienna@utanet.at, Web: http://www.viennafamilycommittee.org

FAMILY-RELATED NGO NEWS

National Environmental Watch And Service (NEWS) 
A Nigerian-based Family-oriented NGO engaged in the Watch and Service of the total environment in Nigeria and beyond. NEWS is registered with the Nigerian National Commission for UNESCO. NEWS has been observing the International Day of Family at local level by carrying out the following activities:
-	organising family and community forums and workshops, for exploring issues and options for strengthening families;
-	organising special events in educational settings such as parent/teacher/students activities to highlight families;
-	encouraging local government and other local authorities to officially proclaim the Day and even week.
Contact: Akpan Anthony Johnson, National Project Manager, National Environmental Watch and Service (NEWS), Suite AD 12, Amazing Grace Shopping Complex, 157, Mushin Road, Isolo, P.O. Box 75244, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria, Phone/Fax: 234-1-4520 144, 8045 105, Email: ajakpan@yahoo.com

International Confederation Of Christian Family Movements (ICCFM)
Report from the World Assembly, Maceio, State of Alagoas, Brazil, 25-29 July 2001:
The theme for the conference was "Ethics in a Globalised and Exclusive World". The subject happened to be discussed in the right environment "where the world is really exclusive". One could feel the big difference between the very rich and the very poor. The happy medium is non-existing. The conference was held in "a look from around the world atmosphere" and as all the ideas pooled up from the basis; some worth mentioning points came up to the surface.

Very briefly, the idea of Globalisation was thought to be good. It means one world where we can walk together. The idea of "Towards a Global Family" was already the theme for the ICCFM World Assembly in Malta in 1995. Globalisation means solidarity and fraternity. Globalisation has to be led by ethical principles and not simply left to The dictates of the free market. Globalisation could be an instrument at the service of the whole human person and not just "the person for the sake of economy"; the value of the "being" over the "having" of more efficiency, production and profit.

The free market does not automatically guarantee the common good, instead it needs laws and regulations. These regulations cannot be only on local basis, but need international agreements and institutions. Lots of points were raised in relation to the division of labour and shifting industries: Demand for cheap labour which has led to the mechanism of re-location, with the ill-effect on the daily living of families.

Special attention must be given to developing countries. The advantages of globalisation cannot be limited to the few privileged countries such as USA, Japan and the European Union, but must be extended to those countries that are not yet ready to enter into situation of global competition. In some places education is simply unheard of, let alone the use of modern technology like internet."
Contact: Tony & Lily Gauci, Antemma, S. Vella Street, Mellieha, MLH 06 Malta, Phone/Fax: 356-21-523 430, Phone: 356-21-523 407, Email: gaucia@maltanet.net

A Question Of Time (Partners, Parents: Perceptions And Priorities)
Report of the International Conference of the International Commission on Couple & Family Relations (ICCFR), Stockholm, Sweden, 17-20 June 2001:
(Please note that the International Commission on Marriage and Interpersonal Relations (ICMIR) adopted a new name and will henceforth be known as the International Commission On Couple And Family Relations – ICCFR.)

An important concept that was raised quite early in the conference was the relationship between time and silence. Do we have time for just being? Is there a personal use for silence? Is there a collective use for silence? It was debated that time for a personal silence, a meditative silence was something that in recent years needed some vigorous defence. Mass media and the IT revolution attempted to fill up free space during the day. However, many participants felt that time should be made for a personal silence just to think or even relax, a time for the individual to re-charge and reflect.

It was also argued that collective silence could have a positive personal or relationship influence. This could manifest itself by simply being with a partner or loved one, or it could be more formally exhibited as in collective prayer or meditation. It is interesting to note that some commented that in order to achieve either personal, couple or collective silent time considerable planning had to occur. Life is intrinsically busy and full of distractions therefore couples often need to consciously take time to intensify their experiences. The mundane, the workaday, uses a lot of the available time so that any personal time available to the couple can be extraordinarily precious. At the same time we need to be careful not to take a too western or Euro centric view of this issue in that in many developing countries a couple's entire time is taken up with work or survival, and providing food and shelter for their families.

Another interesting question raised was as to whether power and time are connected? This can be particularly relevant with respect to the relationships between adults and children or adolescents. Children can be very sensitive to time and wanting to know exactly when and where things will happen. Because they are still adjusting to their environment, some control over their time and how it will be spent increases life's predictability and therefore their sense of control and security. Adults, in general, see themselves as the custodians of a family's time and thus children can sometimes feel a loss of control. A parent or carer will generally dictate the use of that time. This control can become oppressive from the child's perspective.

It is also possible within adult relationships that one person may try to organise or dominate the time available to the couple. It is obvious that this can lead to a sense of powerlessness or frustration. Both individuals may accuse the other of being the one who is trying to dictate the terms in the use of time. Professor Vansteenwegen was eloquent on this point in his example of the couple that each week had some time apart while one pursued some exercise and a quick drink with friends while the other was at home. The one who was at home felt somewhat abandoned and time passed very slowly, while for the other time passed very quickly and felt upset that she was criticised for this recreation. The same two hours were experienced by both but in fundamentally different ways. This was no small matter and caused a serious rift in the relationship.

At the other end of the scale, at the macro level, the question was raised whether national goals and ideologies also affect the use of time. An example put forward was the Israeli kibbutz. If a country's efforts are directed primarily towards defending itself then it may institute policies that are highly directive with respect to how couples and families use their time. If a country is falling behind economically it may exhort or force its population to work harder therefore, either directly or indirectly, affecting the amount of time available to couples and families. These are relatively extreme examples but are indicative of how national policies can have a significant impact on the use of personal and family time. 

A challenging recent phenomenon has been the increased ageing of the population in developed countries along with a corresponding decrease in birth rate. Some national leaders are now warning their ageing workforces that all may need to work longer to maintain standards of living. The younger generation will not be large enough to generate enough government revenue to support an ageing population and most governments are not looking to expand their migrant intakes to any significant extent. We are yet to see what effect this will have on families and relationships, however if parents and grand-parents are being encouraged to work well into their sixties or beyond this could have a significant effect on extended family and inter-generational family interaction. More and more time of the extended family will be spent working. This may not all be negative in that older people will be encouraged to extend their careers and remain economically active but at what personal or family cost? In a few years this may be an interesting topic for a future conference. 

Another 'hot' topic during our conference was the effect that the IT phenomenon was having on couple and family time. What will be the effect of email and text messages on relationships? Are we just at the beginning of this revolution, and as practitioners and policy makers are we prepared? In some working groups it was said that people might not seek as much eye-to-eye contact. It was also expressed that over long distances the new technology can be a force for good by reinforcing family and intimate relationships. In one sense the IT revolution has been ongoing since the invention of the telephone, a piece of technology that may be painful to the hip-pocket but appears to be universally acclaimed as an aide to long distance relationships. It was also expressed that the new technology was superior to TV in that it was highly interactive albeit at the detriment of face-to-face contact. 

It was pointed out by one speaker that we can get carried away with worrying about the minutiae of time and relationships in that, until the twentieth century, most people spent their entire lives in a 100 kilometre radius. Our ability to travel and to communicate over large distances has expanded the number of possible relationships and, ironically, there is an accompanying pressure to maintain those relationships. The counter argument is that this relatively modern phenomenon of long-distance or even IT enhanced intimate relationships is likely to increase in frequency and thus is an area of ongoing challenge and research for all who work in the couple and family relationships field.

One subtle but fundamental point that was raised throughout the conference was the time and value that couples and families gave to being together. If this was a fundamental commitment by the couple or the family then the relationship could be a place where uniqueness was valued. Valuing uniqueness struck a strong chord with many participants in that it was felt it may be something we are in danger of losing, particularly within developed nations. Participants from non-western countries did not feel this sense of loss of uniqueness as strongly although they did have a sense of some early warning signs.

On a slightly lighter note it was observed by our Swedish colleagues that they have noticed more time is being given to touching and intimacy. During social interaction they felt that appropriate touching was being used more frequently. This was seen to be an improvement on 'normal' Swedish social contact, which they felt was sometimes a little stilted. Touching was seen to increase the warmth of social interaction. Conversely, some participants from Latin countries felt that there was too much touching, in fact, it had become intrusive even claustrophobic! Without drawing too fine a point, this disparity in views did illustrate that while the quest for intimacy is seemingly universal it is not without its limits at both ends of the spectrum.

Another theme emerging from the conference was that people thought that time pressures could contribute to a sense of loss, as if there was something missing from their lives, even though materially life was reasonable. It was observed that people who had had near death experiences appeared to value the now much more. How can we value the now without having to go to the extremes of a near death experience? This was seen to be a fundamental challenge in that life appeared full of experiences but contained very little time to reflect on them and even less time to value them. Is the now beginning to disappear from our lives in that many people are working to tight deadlines and thus are very future oriented, striving to reach a range of personal and professional goals? No definite answers emerged from the conference but there was a strong sense that the now was being lost in mass media trivia and spurious personal objectives.

It could be argued that some of the changes occurring within the post-modern family or couple is part of the spread of democracy, in its most general sense. Some women are experiencing an increased economic independence and thus more control over their lives. Some women are now able to predict and control their time usage with more confidence. An increasing number of children have access to sophisticated communication technologies, which can liberate them, to some extent, from a traditional lack of power. The growth of democracy can be painful and difficult as more voices are heard but a voice that is being acted upon is better than no voice or one that is ignored. If some males, in roles as traditional breadwinners, are feeling threatened or usurped, it may be that this is a necessary part of democratic principles taking root in couple and family relationships. These principles are by no means universal and could be seen as threatening family stability in some cultures. However increasing democracy within couples and families is an emerging process and will be an area for ongoing analysis.

At a more grass roots level, the conference also debated how the couple or family could remain a sanctuary for intimate relationships. Do we give sufficient time to this fundamental human activity? In a number of western countries, the divorce rate is approaching fifty per cent, there appears to be a revolving door approach to child rearing and day-care is as much for the parents as it is for the children. The notion of sanctuary is quite an evocative one particularly when the couple and family experience strong, sometimes overwhelming demands on their time. Sanctuary within the family may be an ideal in that it evokes notions of acceptance, love and uniqueness but it is an ideal that appeared to have the support of all participants. It is such concepts that link our participants and our conferences. There are many differences but one of the great strengths of our meetings is the time and space to look at what is common and what is not, learn to value both, and even change from entrenched positions.
Contact: Paul Tyrrell, Immediate Past Chairman, ICCFR, 4 Barnfield Wood Close, Beckenham BR3 6SY, United Kingdom, Phone/Fax: 44-20-8663 0445, Fax: 44-20-8313 3247, Email: Richards@icmir.fsnet.co.uk

News From The Latvian Ministry Of Welfare
The Government of Latvia has proclaimed that welfare of all society depends on each family’s welfare. Therefore, one of the main tasks is to strengthen the role of the family and to preserve the value of the family. The Ministry of Welfare has worked out a concept paper ‘Support for Families with Children’. This paper highlights spheres where government, municipalities, NGOs and the private sector should and could support families in performing their economical, societal, cultural and developmental functions.
Contact: Ruta Zilvere, Under-State Secretary, Ministry of Welfare of the Republic of Latvia, 28 Skolas str., LV-1331 Riga, Latvia, Phone: 371-7021 600, Fax: 371-727 6445, Email: lm@lm.gov.lv

SOS Children's Villages Pakistan Initiate Support Measures For Afghan Refugees
While Afghan refugees continue to cross the borders into neighbouring Pakistan, SOS Children's Villages Pakistan is about to set up emergency relief measures in close co-operation with local UN agencies. Particular attention is to be given to the needs of children and women.

According to reports received from SOS representatives in Islamabad and Peshawar, warm clothing and shoes are urgently needed in view of the coming winter, and SOS Children's Villages intends to distribute supplies first and foremost to women and children. The organisation is also working with other NGOs to provide medical assistance and set up a temporary medical centre, where malnourished and suffering children can receive treatment and be accompanied by their parents. In addition, SOS Children's Villages Pakistan is in permanent contact with the World Food Programme in case assistance is needed to implement food distribution measures.

Apart from meeting immediate needs, SOS Children's Villages Pakistan will also concentrate on providing educational material and hiring teachers to guarantee basic education for refugee children in collaboration with UNICEF. Plans are underway to set up safe playgrounds for children in the emergency camps in an attempt to provide them with a ray of normality in the midst of this devastating situation, which could severely affect their psychological health.

Based on its experience in providing family-based care for orphans, SOS Children's Villages will also set up facilities for unaccompanied children, who will be cared for by "camp mothers" able to speak three languages spoken in Afghanistan: Darrie, Persian and Pushto.

The Government of Pakistan estimates that 1.6 million Afghan refugees were already living in the country before the crisis. An influx of approximately 2 million additional refugees is now expected. The official Pakistani-Afghan border remains closed, but it is believed that around 1,000 people per day are continuing to enter the country. UN agencies and NGOs are setting up new camps and implementing support measures. Afghans are currently not allowed to leave the refugee camps.

SOS Children's Villages work began in Pakistan in 1975, running today SOS Children's Villages in Dhodial, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Karachi and Sargodha, as well as Schools and Vocational Training Centres. Today, 24 facilities are home to more than 800 children and youths and additionally serve approximately 5,000 people in the country.
Contact: Claudia Schachinger, Liaison Office, SOS-Kinderdorf International, Billrothstraße 22, A-1190 Vienna, Austria, Phone: 43-1-368 24 57-20, Fax: 43-1-368 89 18, Email: Claudia.Schachinger@sos-kd.org, Web: http://www.sos-kd.org/or

Kolping Europe Demands Observance Of Human Dignity In Human Genetics
In two political declarations, the continental assembly of the Kolping Society of Europe, held in Zips on 8 September 2001, demanded that human dignity must be safeguarded as the topmost principle if genetic engineering and bio-technology is to benefit mankind. In the opinion of the Continental Assembly, however, human dignity must be safeguarded equally from the merging of ovum and sperm until natural death. As a logical consequence of this position, it rejects reproductive as well as therapeutic cloning processes and opposes consumer-driven embryonic research. To implement the human-dignity-oriented limit of intervening with human life, the Kolping Society demands a legal framework that is binding for all countries in Europe, and it is with this expectation that it addresses the declaration to the European Parliament.

In a second declaration with regard to the European Council, Kolping Europe supports the efforts made there to work out internationally binding regulations for modern life sciences. Kolping Europe therefore expects a prompt acceptance of the Supplementary Protocol for transplanting human organs and tissues and calls on those European governments who have not yet done so to sign the agreement on human rights and bio-medicine.
Contact: Christine Leopold, Kolping Österreich, Paulanergasse 11, A-1040 Vienna, Austria, Phone: 43-1-587 3542 14, Fax: 43-1-587 9900, Email: cleo@kolping.at, Web: http://www.kolping.at

A Girl’s Bill Of Rights
This "Girl's Bill of Rights" was presented and approved by all delegates to the European Regional Meeting of Business Women, Cyprus, 24-28 October 2001. This official act means that the Business and Professional Women (BPW) Federations commit themselves to carry out the protocol and become a part of an initiative that is designed to promote service for the girls of today who will become the women of tomorrow.

What every Girl Child growing up in Europe should have the right to expect:
1.	Respect and fair treatment from her family, the education and training systems, employers, the health services and the wider community;
2.	Absolute protection from physical, emotional or sexual abuse, overriding the rights of adults to practice religious or cultural traditions,
3.	A fair share of all social resources;
4.	Equal treatment under the law and by social agencies;
5.	To be educated in economic and political issues to enable her to become an effective citizen;
6.	Information and education on all aspects of health, including sexual and reproductive health in order to control her own fertility;
7.	Positive support at school and home to deal with the physical and emotional changes of puberty;
8.	Visibility in official statistics desegregated by gender and age.
9.	Not to be targeted by advertising which promotes smoking, drinking and other harmful substances.
Contact: Ilse Spritzendorfer, Chairperson of the Conference, BPW European Co-ordinator, Email: spritzen@aon.at, Web: http://www.bpw-europe.org

Activities Of The International Council of Women (ICW)
ICW together with its Regional Council of the Americas (RCA) held a seminar in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 6-8 April 2000 ‘Women, the Family and Health’. The final report is now available from the ICW General Secretariat (13, rue Caumartin, F-75009 Paris, France).

During the 45th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (New York, 6-16 March 2001), ICW in co-operation with the World Health Organisation (WHO) held and international seminar ‘Women and Mental Health’. Opening remarks by Mrs. Nane Annan, the wife of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, were followed by speeches of the ICW President, Mrs. Prinz Herzog, and experts from WHO, the National Centre for HIV, STD and TB, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and from Mount Sinai Hospital New York. The subtopics ‘The girl child, HIV/AIDS’, ‘Global aspects of violence and health’ and ‘The Pervasiveness of poverty among older women worldwide and its impact on their mental health’ were seen also from a family aspect. Special emphasis was given tot he situation of families suffering from the consequences of HIV/AIDS among their members. The proceedings of the seminar will be published.

The National Council of Women Austria (NCW Austria), member of ICW, held a seminar on the occasion of the International Year of Volunteers ‘Volunteerism – Emotions and Reality’. The one-day seminar was held on 25 April 2001 in the Ärzteheim in Vienna. Speakers came from Austrian Federal Ministries, the Vienna NGO Committee on Ageing, CARITAS of the Archdiocese Vienna, Austrian Institute for Family Studies, AIDS Service Malteser, Austrian Federal Association of Firemen, ICW and from member organisations of NCW Austria. A final report will be prepared.
Contact: Eleonore Hauer-Rona, ICW Vice-President and Permanent Representative to the UN in Vienna, Wilhelm-Exnergasse 34, A-1090 Vienna, Austria, Phone: 43-1-319 37 62, Fax: 43-1-319 43 28.

European Union Of Women’s 24th General Assembly
Held in Athens, Greece, 17-21 October 2001. Subject of discussion in the family commission was ‘Educate the Women and You Educate the Family’. Three principles were considered:
1.	Individual responsibility;
2.	Barriers;
3.	Resolutions to the problem:
Resolution 1:
Every country should have a legal obligation to provide education in its language and institutions which every immigrant should be legally obliged to receive and respect.
Resolution 2:
Cultivate the man and educate the woman: men should be cultivated to understand the culture of the host country by appropriate means, governmental or private.
Resolution 3:
Circumstances have changed since the original UN Geneva Convention 1951 Section 1A was adopted. This policy should be changed to include the right to asylum for women and children who have suffered violence and gender-related oppression and sexual violence.
From: European Union of Women, Lichtenfelsgasse 7, A-1010 Vienna, Austria, Phone: 43-1-40 126 651, Fax: 43-1-40 66 245.

RECENT AND FORTHCOMING EVENTS

International Family Conference
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 25-28 October 2001
The inaugural International Family Conference was organised by the National Population and Family Development Board (NPFDB), under the Ministry for Women and Family Development, Malaysia. The overall aim of the conference was to create a framework that provides a firm basis on which to model a comprehensive family policy. The conference theme was Family First: Bringing the Heart Home. 
Further information: IFC Conference Secretariat, 9 Jalan 11/14, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia, Phone: 603-79541735, Fax: 603-79546849, Email: info@ayeshaharben.com.my, Web: http://www.lppkn.gov.my/ifc/

63rd National Council On Family Relations Annual Conference
Rochester, New York, USA, 6-11 November 2001
The theme of the 63rd annual NCFR conference was 'Families, Stress, and Coping: Bridging Theory and Practice'. Amongst the sections discussed were: education and enrichment; ethnic minorities; family and health; family policy; family science; family therapy; feminism and family studies; international; religion and family life; research and theory. 
Further information: National Council on Family Relations, 3989 Central Ave., NE, Suite 550, Minneapolis MN 55421, USA, Web: http://www.ncfr.org/conference_info/index.asp

We Are Family
Commonwealth Institute, London, United Kingdom, 19 November 2001
Organised by the National Council for One Parent. Families' main event for and about lone parents.
Contact: Celia Joseph, Conference Manager, National Council for One Parent Families, 255 Kentish Town Road, London NW5 2LX, United Kingdom, Phone: 44-20-7428 5430, Fax: 44-20-7482 4851, Email: celia@oneparentfamilies.org.uk

World Day For Prevention Of Child Abuse
19 November (launched in 2000)
Promotes education and skills to protect children from abuse. You are invited to sign the PETITION transmitted to the UN Special Session on Children in September 2001.
As of 2000, World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse will take place every year on 19 November in synergy with the Children's Rights Day on 20 November. The Day was created and launched by the Women's World Summit Foundation and its World Fund for the Dignity of Children, in partnership with the Coalition for Children. Purpose: to disseminate worldwide public educational briefings and protective skills to help prevent child abuse and neglect, and give guidelines on Internet filters of protection for the good use of the net. Aim: to help provide children, families and communities with skills and resources they need to prevent abuse, cope with effects, and to end such practices. 
For further information, contact: Women’s World Summit Foundation (WWSF), PO Box 2001, 1211 Geneva 1, Switzerland, Tel: 41-22-738 6619, Fax: 41-22-738 8248, Email: wwsf@iprolink.ch 

International Conference On Time-Pressure, Work-Family Interface And Parent-Child Relationships
University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 21-23 March 2002
Organised by the Research Group for the Study of Time Use, Life Stress and Work-Family Interface (University of Waterloo), the conference will include presentations on trends in work-family and parent-child relationships based on national time diary, population health, experience sampling, and other survey data collected around the world over the past 15 to 20 years. Represented countries include Canada, Australia, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Sweden, UK, US and others. 
Further information: Lisa Wenger, Research Co-ordinator, Dpt. of Recreation and Leisure Studies, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada, Phone: 1-519-888 4567 ext. 3468, Email: lmwenger@ahsmail.uwaterloo.ca, Web: http://www.lifestress.uwaterloo.ca/Conference.htm

International Conference On Adolescence Parent-Child 2002
London, Business Design Centre, United Kingdom, 18-19 April 2002
The conference will address a range of research and social policy issues surrounding adolescence, and follows the successful Parent-Child 2000 event, which focused on Early Years. A number of key speakers have already confirmed their attendance. 
The organisers are now inviting offers of papers from researchers, teachers, practitioners, youth workers, policy analysts and voluntary organisations. Papers from all points of view and perspectives are welcome. Papers may present the results of research, describe work in progress or raise questions for social policy debate on issues affecting adolescents for example:
•	The changing social, economic and cultural context of adolescence
•	What research says about surviving the years between childhood and adolescence, from both the parents’ and children’s perspective
•	The kind of parenting that produces resilient teenagers
•	Is adolescence now more challenging than in the past?
•	How parenting can affect offending behaviour
•	Adolescence and social policy
•	Taking risks without harming others
•	New challenges for adolescents
Parent-Child 2000 featured the presentation of high quality and original papers from a wide range of researchers, and it is expected that the 2002 event will be oversubscribed, so the early submission of papers is strongly recommended.

Key speakers include Professor Laurence Steinberg of Temple University in Philadelphia, on the subject of parent-adolescent relations; and Professor Robert Blum of the University of Minnesota, who will present the findings from a study that is the largest health survey ever carried out with teenagers. Norway’s Ombudsman for Children, Trond Waage, will be speaking on redefining roles in modern childhood. Professor Carol Smart of the University of Leeds will speak on family life after divorce; and Dr Ann Phoenix of the Open University and Professor Stephen J Frosh of Birkbeck College, London, will speak on understanding young masculinity.

Parent-Child 2002 is organised by the National Family and Parenting Institute, the Parenting Education and Support Forum, the National Council for One-Parent Families, the Open University and the Trust for the Study of Adolescence. The event is managed by Profile Productions. The conference is aimed at health professionals, practitioners, clinicians, policy makers, researchers, academics, teachers, psychologists, educationalists, representatives of voluntary organisations and all who work with young people and their families. There will also be a conference exhibition and any organisation or individual with material to exhibit or showcase or with general enquiries about Profile Productions PC 2002 should contact Profile Productions as below.
People wishing to offer a paper should send the title, an abstract of no more than 200 words, and a short biography of the main contributor to: Profile Productions (PC 2002), Northumberland House, 11 The Pavement, Popes Lane, London W5 4NG, United Kingdom, Phone: 44-20-8832 7311, Fax: 44-20-8832 7301, Email: profilep@dial.pipex.com
Press information: National Family and Parenting Institute Press Office, Phone: 44-20-7424 3471, Fax: 44-20-7485 3590, Email: jenner@nfpi.org, Web: http://www.nfpi.org

European Federation Of The Elderly (EURAG)
hold the following meetings:
•	EURAG Congress, Turin, Italy, 20-27 May 2002
•	Second UN World Assembly on Ageing, Madrid, Spain, 2002, Web: http:www.un.org/esa/socdev/ageing
Request the newsletter: EURAG Information, Wielandgasse 9, A-8010 Graz, Austria, Phone: 43-316-814 608, Fax: 43-316 814 767, Email: eurag.europe@aon.at, Web: http://www.eurag.org

Families Facing Globalisation: Distance, Diversity, Dislocation
Sydney, Australia, 17-20 June 2002
The International Commission on Couple and Family Relations ICCFR (formerly ICMIR) will devote its Year 2002 International Conference to a multi-disciplinary examination of the impact of globalisation on families across the world. The conference will address the effects of Distance, Diversity, Dislocation on family life including: 
•	Transnational work patterns and the family
•	Changing roles between men and women
•	Family stability
•	Multiculturalism
Keynote speakers and workshop presenters from around the world will provide the input for the work of interdisciplinary international study groups, allowing active participation of those who attend and creating opportunities for members to pursue their own questions within an international forum.
Contact: Mrs. Gerlind Richards, ICCFR General Secretary, 4 Barnfield Wood Close, Beckenham BR3 6SY, United Kingdom, Phone/Fax: 44-20-8663 0445, Fax: 44-20-8313 3247, Email: Richards@icmir.fsnet.co.uk

Second World Conference On Family Violence
Prague, Czech Republic, May 2003
Protecting Every Generation...sharing solutions that prevent child abuse, spouse/partner abuse, and elder abuse. This conference will address the area of intergenerational family violence, specifically in relation to: child abuse, spouse/partner abuse and elder abuse - with emphasis on new, tested solutions world wide in prevention and treatment. 
Further information: International Network on Family Violence (INFV), c/o National Council on Child Abuse and Family Violence (NCCAFV) in co-operation with Our Child Foundation (OCF) of the Czech Republic, 1155 Connecticut Avenue NW, Fourth Floor, Washington, DC 20036, USA, Phone: 1-202 429 6695, Fax: 1-831-655 3930, Email: WCFV@aol.com, Web: http://www.nccafv.org/

National statistics continue to indicate a decline in child abuse and neglect, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported in April. States had reported that just over 900,000 children were victims of child maltreatment in 1998. That number dropped to 826,000 in 1999. The incidence rate of children victimised by maltreatment also declined to 11.8 per 1,000 children, a decrease from the 1998 rate of 12.6 per 1,000. In a trend that began six years ago, the number of victimised children has decreased approximately 19.2 percent from a record of 1,018,692 in 1993. Parents continue to be the main perpetrators of child maltreatment. ‘We are encouraged by the continuing decline in the number of children who are maltreated, but it is nevertheless unacceptable that so many children are suffering,’ said HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson. ‘We will continue to encourage States to do everything they can to prevent child abuse and neglect. We must remain committed to ensuring that all children live in safe, permanent and loving homes.’ The complete findings of States' reports to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) are published in ‘Child Maltreatment 1999’. The report is available on the Children's Bureau Website: http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cb/publications. For a print copy, contact the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information, Phone: 800-FYI-3366, Email: nccanch@calib.com. 

Empowering The Consumer In The 21st Century
Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom, 8-11 July 2003
First international conference by the Institute of Consumer Sciences. The conference seeks to examine many of the aspects of Consumer Science by drawing together experts from around the world. 
For further information contact: Email: zfearne@uwic.ac.uk

PUBLICATIONS

PARENTS FORUM, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, is happy to greet friends around the globe and announce the upcoming publication of their programme handbook for parents and their allies, entitled PARENTS FORUM Where The Heart Listens. The book, distilling ten years of programme experiences and written by the programme founder, Eve Sullivan, will be available through Atlas Books (www.atlasbooks.com).
Inquiries: Parents Forum, 144 Pemberton Street, Cambridge MA 02140-2509, USA, Email: info@parentsforum.org, Web: http://www.parentsforum.org (includes sample chapter of the book and the latest information on publication of Where the Heart Listens). 

The SOS-Kinderdorf Hermann Gmeiner Academy, entrusted with the pedagogical work of SOS-Kinderdorf International, issues twice a year the magazine FORUM, where relevant child-related issues are debated from a pedagogical and sociological point of view. The forthcoming issue is dedicated to the subject of ‘Families’ and contains articles about the changing meaning of family and childhood in Europe, the traditional and new family culture in Mali and Cameroon, the sociological meaning of relationship, family support in Social Centres in Bolivia, and reflections about the ‘family-like’ framework in the SOS Children's Villages. 
In case of interest, you can obtain a copy from: Claudia Schachinger, Liaison Office, SOS-Kinderdorf International, Billrothstraße 22, A-1190 Vienna, Austria, Phone: 43-1-368 24 57-20, Fax: 43-1-368 89 18, Email: Claudia.Schachinger@sos-kd.org, Web: http://www.sos-kd.org/or

The United Nations Population Division reports that Europe may need to accept a substantial number of immigrants over the next 50 years to maintain the size of its workforce. Low fertility rates, among the lowest in the world, will be responsible for fewer young people and a significant increase in the proportions of older people. For example, to maintain its workforce at the 1995 level, Italy alone, whose population is projected to decline from the current level of 57 million to 41 million by 2050, would need 300,000 immigrants a year between 1995 and 2025. During the same period, it is estimated that Germany would need about 500,000 immigrants per year.
As reported in: World Population News Service (POPLINE) Vol. 22, March-April 2000, 107 Second Street, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20002, USA, Web: http://www.populationinstitute.org

Family Policy In The Slovak Republic In 1999
The Bratislava International Centre for Family Studies published the above-titled booklet in July 2000. It indicates that the ‘[f]amily signifies mutual responsibility for each other and the family as a whole. In each family a particular member to a different extent shares diverse responsibilities. The degree of shared responsibility and ways of participating in 'family matters' are also - to a different degree - determined by the relationship between the family and the state.’ In CEE countries creating 'adequate ways' of supporting families means two things: first, to get rid of the outdated 'paternalistic' social programmes that do not correspond with principles of democracy and requirements of market economy, second, to create new programmes that would help families to achieve economic independence and to choose the appropriate form of family life.
The Conception of the State Family Policy, published by the Slovak Government, indicates that the basic strategic objectives of Slovak family policy are to:
•	achieve a relative economic independence of families based on strengthened responsibility of individuals and families for their well-being
•	support stability and quality of family relations (married couples and parents and children) in order to achieve equality and fair division of family duties and roles
•	create optimum conditions for self-reproduction of society
•	adopt such measures that enable parents to chose between the family and work
The role of the state in the realisation of these long-term objectives lies mostly in the ‘...sphere of legal protection of the family and its individual members, in the area of socio-economic security of the family, via supporting responsible behaviour of children and the youth towards partnership and parenting, and via health protection of individuals’.
From: Bulletin 2/2000, Bratislava International Centre for Family Studies, Drotarska cesta 46, 81104 Bratislava, Slovak Republic, Phone: 421-7-6280 2592; Fax: 421-7-6280 2692, Email: bicfs@bicfs.sk

Families As We Are, Conversations From Around The World
Perdita Huston, a journalist/author specialised in giving voice to those from whom we don't ordinarily hear, and long-time UN consultant, received grants from five specialised agencies (UNICEF, UNDP, UNIFEM, UNFPA and UNEP) plus the IYF Secretariat in 1994 in order to travel to eleven countries and interview three generations of families of differing socio-economic backgrounds. The idea was to capture the experience/opinions of families as they spoke about family and the changes that have taken place in their lifetime in family structure and relationships. Ms Huston interviewed families in Japan, Bangladesh, Thailand, China, Mali, Uganda, Egypt, Jordan, El Salvador, Brazil and the United States. The conversations touched upon the entire range of UN agencies' mission: children, ageing, environment, demographic issues, indigenous people, human rights, refugees, the status of women, development, etc. The book is to be released in April 2001 by the Feminist Press at the City University of New York and plans are being made to involve the representatives of the UN agencies in launching the book on the International Day of the Family, 15 May. Mr. Henryk Sokalski, now based in Washington DC, is one of those who will contribute comments on the book. 
For further information, please contact: Ms Lisa London, Email: llondon@gc.cuny.edu

Children In Our Midst - The Voices Of Farmworkers' Children
For many years, farmworkers in Zimbabwe have been a marginalised and neglected community. Little has been known of what they think about their lives and their place in society. This is even more true of their children. Children in our Midst provides us with the voices of several hundred children, collected through essays and interviews. With a freshness, innocence and integrity unique to the young they tell us directly about their lives, and give us their opinion based on their own experiences. They talk about themselves, their families, their homes, their work and play, their education, their customs and their hopes for the future. For many, poverty is a source of great hardship: "In my family we are eight ... we are too many ...so we just wish God will look after us so that we can finish our education. My father is the only one who works ... He cannot afford to pay school fees, food and clothes. This type of problem can influence parents to throw their children in bins, because food is not enough to feed them all." But they are determined to try and achieve a better future through education: "School is important because if you want to be a doctor or look for a job, education is needed. And you can't go overseas if you can't read where the plane will be going. ... That's why people say, education is the wealth that I leave for you..." Despite the hardship faced by these children, what we hear is not a voice of special pleading, but one of resourcefulness, courage and hope.
This book includes over 100 photographs and children's drawings, 160 pages, ISBN 0 79742032 0.
Available from: The African Book Collective (ABC), The Jam Factory, 27 Park End Street, Oxford OX1 1HU, United Kingdom, Phone: 44-1865-726 686, Fax 44-1865-793 298, Email: abc@africanbookscollective.com

Earning A Life: Working Children In Zimbabwe
Edited by Michael Bourdillon
Child labour has received much international attention in recent years, as a form of child abuse that needs urgently to be brought to an end. It is perceived to hinder the rightful development of children, and particularly their education. In Zimbabwe, formalised labour is not common. Nevertheless, children in a variety of situations have to work for their livelihood. In many cases, families, and the children themselves, depend partly on their input and often the children's schooling is dependent on the income they earn. Earning a Life has been developed out of case studies of children in the informal trading enterprises, either helping their parents or operating on their own; children working in small-scale agriculture on their family plots or the plots of others; children working for their schooling in formal plantations; children in small-scale mining enterprises; children in domestic service; children involved in caring for the sick or elderly. While all these tasks take time and energy, and sometimes detract from schoolwork, there are also benefits that can be achieved. This is particularly so when children are the main bread-winners in the absence of adults. The important question we need to address is not the fact that children work, but rather the conditions under which they work. Stopping children from working for their livelihood is likely to do them more harm than good. We need to prevent not the work of children, but the abuse of working children. Earning a Life is a book that will help us to understand both the background and the context of this very important issue.
220 pages, ISBN: 0 7974 2162 9
Available from: The African Book Collective (ABC), The Jam Factory, 27 Park End Street, Oxford OX1 1HU, United Kingdom, Phone: 44-1865-726 686, Fax 44-1865-793 298, Email: abc@africanbookscollective.com

Periodicals & Magazines

Family Matters
Research journal of the Australian Institute of Family Studies - the principal means by which the Australian and international community is informed about Institute- and other family-related research. It contains the latest Institute research and contributions from Australia's most respected social scientists, social policy analysts, service provider and research agencies. All research papers are subject to a formal review process. 
Contact: Australian Institute of Family Studies, 300 Queen Street, Melbourne Vic 3000, Australia, Phone: 61-3-9214 7888, Fax: 61-3-9214 7839, Email: webmaster@aifs.org.au, Web: http://www.aifs.org.au

Studies In Family Planning
Peer-reviewed international quarterly concerned with all aspects of reproductive health, fertility regulation, and family planning programmes in both developing and developed countries. Read original research articles, reports, commentary, book reviews and a data section with findings for individual countries from the Demographic and Health Surveys. Abstracts of journal articles and reports are also included in each issue. 
Contact: Population Council, One Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA, Phone: 1-212-339 0514, Fax: 1-212-755 6052, Email: pubinfo@popcouncil.org

Family Policy
Family Research Council's oldest regular publication, interprets cultural, social, and political trends through the lens of a public philosophy that seeks to strengthen family-centred mediating institutions, including marriage, extended family, neighbourhood school, and church. Each bimonthly issue features a full-length essay providing in-depth, engaging analysis of one family-related issue along with sidebars highlighting related topics. Now in its twelfth year, Family Policy has explored subjects including tax fairness for families, education policy that returns decision-making to local communities and parents, and the historical and cultural context of the sexual revolution. 
Contact: Family Research Council, 801 G Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20001, USA, Phone: 1-202-393 2100, Fax: 1-202-393 2134.

FEEDBACK, the ICOMP (Newsletter in English on Management of Population Programmes), 141 Jalan Dahlia, Taman Uda Jaya, 68000 Ampang, Selangor D.E., Malaysia, Phone: 60-3-457 3234, Fax: 60-3-456 0029, Email: popmgt@po.jaring.my, Web: http://www.icomp.org.my

SOS PAPA (Magazine in French on rights and responsibilities of fathers), 34, rue du Président Wilson, B.P. 49, F-78231 Le Pecq Cedex, France.

Positive Parenting Project, Save The Children Fund Scotland, Haymarket House, 8 Clifton Terrace, Edinburgh EH12 5DR, United Kingdom, Phone: 44-131-527 8200, Fax: 44-131-527 8201, Email: m.currie@scfuk.org.uk

COFACE Contact (a newsletter in English on family policy in Europe), Rue de Londres, 17, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium, Phone: 32-2-511 4179, Fax: 32-2-514 4773, Email: coface@email.mig.be

PARENTS’ FORUM announces The War Against Parents, by Sylvia Ann Hewitt and Cornel West. ‘A parents' bill of rights calling for parents to have time to care for their children and economic security to provide for them, along with pro-family electoral and legal systems a supportive external environment (including good schooling, adequate health care and responsible media) as well as recognition and respect for the work they do.’ Houghton Mifflin Co., 222 Berkeley Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116, USA.
Newsletters, books, kits, handbooks & videos of the Family Caring Trust, 8 Ashtree Enterprise Park, Newry, County Down BT34 1BY, Republic of Ireland.

Building Family Networks In Central And Eastern European Countries, Special Issue of Families International. A compilation of family organisations. Available from: Vienna NGO Committee on the Family, Martinstrasse 92/3, A-1180 Vienna, Austria, Email: famcom.vienna@utanet.at

WFD News, Publication by the World Federation of the Deaf, 13D, Chemin du Levant, F-01210 Ferney-Voltaire, France, Fax: 46-8 442 1499 (Sweden), Email: carol-lee.acquiline@wfdnews.org

EURAG Newsletter, European Federation of the Elderly, Wielandgasse 9, A-8010 Graz, Austria, Phone: 43-316-814 608, Fax: 43-316 814 767, Email: eurag.europe@aon.at, Web: http://www.eurag.org

Sexologia Y Sociedad (Spanish). A periodical of the Centro Nacional de Educacion Sexual, Ave. 19, No. 851 esquina a 4, Vedado, Plaza de la Revolucion, Ciudad de Habana, Cuba.

Reperes. Le magazine de l'Ecole des Parents et des Educateurs. Newsletter, Contact: Claire Guitard, Place des Acacias, 14, 1040 Brussels, Belgium, Email: epebelgique@swing.be

INTRODUCING

What Marfam Is And Does ..... 
Marfam is a part of the Family Life Department of the Catholic Diocese of Johannesburg, South Africa, and is about spreading Good News i.e. the Good News of family life, of the family as the little church of the home. And that is good news for everyone because God really is present in every home whether big or small, a flat, a shack or a mansion. A home for two or twenty-two. And in line with the message of the cross, at times of suffering and of joy. Our mission is to make the Church as a whole and families in the Church more aware of the family as the domestic church and to help families to develop their own spirituality of daily life. HOW? 
Regular publications
‘Marfam Ties’ (quarterly magazine), Web: http://www.icon.co.za/~homefun/homefun/excerpt.htm, and ‘Family Matters’, a monthly electronic newsletter, available on the Web: http://www.icon.co.za/~homefun/homefun/newsletter.html. All these contain topical suggestions, ideas and information about family matters, resources for marriage and family enrichment and also where to go in times of trouble. The free electronic newsletter will enable readers to engage in correspondence and send in ideas and material that they may wish to share with others. 

Special publications
Jubilee of families booklet ‘Every Child a New Smile’; Advent and Christmas booklet ‘Who is My Neighbour’; Lent and Easter booklet ‘If you think about it ... Symbols Signify Something’ -available at :
http://www.icon.co.za/~homefun/homefun/lent01.htm. They provide stories, reflections and activities at particular liturgical seasons. 
‘2001 Family Liturgical Calendar’: Web: http://www.icon.co.za/~homefun/homefun/calendar.htm, family-focused reflections on the liturgical readings of the Sundays and main feastdays of the year published monthly on this website. 
‘AIDS Strikes at the Heart’: Web: http://www.icon.co.za/~homefun/homefun/aids.htm, reflections and sharing questions on the impact of AIDS on family life. 
Contact: MARFAM - Marriage and Family Life Renewal Ministry, Toni Rowland (Co-ordinator), Diocese of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 2881, Randburg 2125, South Africa, Phone/Fax: 27-11-789 5449, Email: homefun@icon.co.za

International Confederation Of Christian Family Movements (ICCFM)
The idea of this Movement arose after the Second World war. The Movement initiated from among the laity seeing the needs of family integration, education, progress and mutual support. Various family groups in towns and villages, countries and continents, were cropping up, to build up the war-ruined families. Slowly but surely all these families from around the world were united as International Confederation of Christian Family Movements under a world President Couple; in continents, co-ordinated by a Continental President Couple; in countries on national basis and down to family groups in towns and villages. This is a very strong union on all these bases. World Assemblies and Continental Assemblies are held every 3 years. The main goals of these family groups are to:
1.	develop a consciousness (both a family and a social consciousness) based on Christian principles and examples.
2.	develop responsible, concerned and happy families that are part of a supportive and affirming network of families within every community who will individually and collectively reach out to others in need.
3.	offer opportunities for families to grow in their personal relationships with one another as well as with their friends, neighbours and co-workers.
4.	develop a caring society that not only recognises, but also actually supports family life.
5.	initiate and encourage research that impacts on the actual needs of families.
6.	continue to foster the international spirit of the Christian Family Movements.

The CFM's methodology is:
-	OBSERVE: The existing situation within our society with all its positive And negative aspects which influence the family.
-	JUDGE: Evaluate the facts or situations in the light of good moral values.
-	ACT: Try to change the situation to improve the quality of life.

Activities are many and varied, mainly family projects, which are usually worked on local, national, continental, and world basis, in the form of help and care as the cases in the particular situations, circumstances, and family issues. Of utmost importance is the continuation of family education in good Christian morals. The family groups can then radiate their amalgamated actions to the angles and targets most needed in society.

The United Nations has recognised ICCFM as a non-governmental agency. The Confederation was granted consultative status category 2 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council in New York.
Contact: Tony & Lily Gauci, Antemma, S. Vella Street, Mellieha, MLH 06 Malta, Phone/Fax: 356-21-523 430, Phone: 356-21-523 407, Email: gaucia@maltanet.net

Projects of the Vienna NGO Committee on the Family are supported by:

•	Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Bäuerinnen in Niederösterreich
•	Austrian Federal Government 
•	Bank Austria
•	Berndorf Gruppe
•	Creditanstalt Bankverein
•	European Commission
•	Government of Germany
•	Government of Liechtenstein
•	Government of Luxembourg
•	Government of Spain, Catalonia and the Balearic Islands
•	INGOs
•	Niederösterreichische Landesregierung
•	Niederösterreichische Versicherungs AG
•	OMV
•	Shell Austria AG
•	Schoeller-Bleckmann Oilfield Equipment AG
•	Rotary International
•	United Nations Trust Fund on Family Activities

‘Families International’ an information-sharing bulletin published by:
Vienna NGO Committee on the Family:
Brunngasse 12/2, A-3100 St. Pölten, Austria, Phone: 43-2742-35 27 18, Fax: 43-2742-35 27 18-5, Email: famcom.vienna@utanet.at, Web: http://www.viennafamilycommittee.org
Printed by in-house duplication. The views published do not necessarily reflect the views of the members of the Vienna NGO Committee on the Family. 
Editors: Editorial Committee: Peter Crowley, Eva Matt, Winston Sims.
Co-Editors: Eva Matt, Winston Sims.
Layout: Sabine Führer.