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.
Families are often judged before they are supported. When difficulties arise, the question is rarely what does this family need? but rather what went wrong? Child–family separation is still too often treated as an inevitable solution, when in many cases it is the outcome of poverty, isolation, migration or lack of accessible support.
In Italy, those who care for a family member with a disability living with them 24 hours a day are neither recognised nor supported. They find themselves alone, poor (having given up work to provide care) and at risk of depression. The law in Italy has been awaited for 30 years and has been under discussion in parliament for 15 years. Read more in this opinion piece by Alessandra Corradi, President of Genitori Tosti in Italy.
As we embark on this new school year, we find ourselves at an important crossroad. Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant prospect. It is gradually becoming a daily reality in our homes, educational systems, and schools.
As adults, we can feel pretty sure that we know what children need and want. The problem is that we are often wrong. In the DigiGen project focusing on the impact of technological transformation on children and young people, we engaged in research with children and families across Europe.
Establishing a safe and fair European consumer credit market needs to be at the heart of the ongoing review of the EU Consumer Credit Directive (CCD), the EU directive designed to provide consumer protection for this market.
It’s difficult to disentangle the energy poverty crisis from all the other crises the world is experiencing. Over 50 million Europeans aren’t able to adequately light, heat, or cool their homes. A number set to be exacerbated by the multiple, interlocking health, climate, and humanitarian disasters we are facing.
Legislative reforms must be driven by evidence, not by a dogmatic belief in self-regulation. It is only if the EU adopts legally binding rules protecting all children from exposure to all forms of cross-border unhealthy food marketing that it will ensure that their best interests are upheld as a primary consideration.
As a parent and child safety expert, I see great value in how the internet can help children grow. Finding relevant information can be transformational but it’s important that this is done in a way that is safe, protects their privacy, and puts minors in control of their data.
In 2020, Toy Industries of Europe (TIE) launched the Play for Change Awards to celebrate toy makers who help kids confidently navigate the world around them. Toy makers know the power their ‘tools of play’ can have over children and they are choosing to use that power for a very positive change.
