Opinions
About Opinions

Take a look at our Opinion series, with individual voices from inside and outside COFACE, providing different perspectives and insights on topics relevant for families of today.

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Text: Skills that makes a difference,
OPINION – Home and school: a powerful duo to develop children’s basic skills

OPINION – Home and school: a powerful duo to develop children’s basic skills

Strengthening basic skills - literacy, mathematics, science, digital competencies and citizenship - is key to preparing pupils for their future. These five basic skills support individuals in developing critical thinking, engaging with their communities, staying healthy, adapting to a rapidly changing job market, and navigating today's complexities, including digital tools and artificial intelligence (AI).

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OPINION – Legalising surrogacy in Europe: a basic right any parent should have access to

OPINION – Legalising surrogacy in Europe: a basic right any parent should have access to

OPINION - Legalising surrogacy in Europe: a basic right any parent should have access to   It is true that in most European Nations, Surrogacy is a complex and controversial subject. But what is surrogacy ? The European Union has not set a universal definition...

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OPINION – Europe, listen to survivors and stop abuse online

OPINION – Europe, listen to survivors and stop abuse online

Content warning: this article includes material about child sexual abuse  that some people might find confronting.

In the 17 seconds you have taken to read this far, footage or images of at least 34 children being abused have been uploaded onto the world wide web. 2 per second. This is the rate of appearance of the kind of material Apple is wilfully failing to detect.

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OPINION – Investing in family policies is a win for every child

OPINION – Investing in family policies is a win for every child

Universal Children’s Day on 20th November offers us an inspirational entry point to promote child well-being and build a world fit for children. It is a day of action by children. They are speaking out and imagining a better future. It is important to listen to their ideas and demands. It is also a day for children to ensure their rights and provide a nurturing and safe environment for all from birth on.

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OPINION – Digital Media Parenting: How to empower parents online? The European SafeOnline Initiative Model

OPINION – Digital Media Parenting: How to empower parents online? The European SafeOnline Initiative Model

Digital parenting is first and foremost parenting. It involves guiding children to use technology safely and wisely, understanding their online activities, setting boundaries together with children and teaching them to be responsible in a positive and beneficial way.

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OPINION – Empowering Parenthood: How the Work-Life Balance Directive reshapes parental Leave in Poland

OPINION – Empowering Parenthood: How the Work-Life Balance Directive reshapes parental Leave in Poland

On 23rd of March 2023, the President of Poland signed the bill implementing the work-life balance directive in Poland and the new regulation came into force on 26th of April 2023. This marks, two years of advocacy work led by Share the Care foundation coming to an end.

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OPINION – Children with imprisoned parents: ‘forgotten victims’ of the criminal justice system

OPINION – Children with imprisoned parents: ‘forgotten victims’ of the criminal justice system

Have you ever been inside a prison? For many children in Europe the inside of a prison is a reality when they go visit their imprisoned parent, some children even live together with their parent inside the prison. Children with imprisoned parents are often ‘invisible’ or ‘forgotten victims’ of the criminal justice system.

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OPINION: Who cares? Achieving effective measures to support informal family carers

OPINION: Who cares? Achieving effective measures to support informal family carers

It could be a good brain-teaser to ask what is the occupation of the tens of millions of people in Europe today, whose daily work time can span over 24 hours and is not only essential but also life-saving. We could not even say that this type of work is underpaid as it is, in many cases, not paid at all. And although it is not necessarily undervalued, it is clear that this essential work is taken for granted. For COFACE Families Europe, who represents the interests of families across Europe, the answer to this brainteaser is evident.

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