This position paper aims to contribute to the current discussion on introducing and enforcing age restrictions for children and young people accessing social media, as a means of better protecting them from online risks.
COFACE Families Europe and the Odisee Centre for Family Studies in Brussels co-hosted a European conference in Brussels in September 2025. The conference convened 100+ researchers, policymakers, public administrators, and NGOs to advance integrated, place-based...
Climate change is a defining challenge of our time, with urgent ecological, economic, and social implications. Families are at the heart of sustainable development and climate action. They raise the next generation, provide care across life stages, and are crucial...
In order to boost the shift towards fully inclusive societies, the COFACE Disability platform for the rights of persons with disabilities and their families produced the S.H.I.F.T. guide in 2019, which proposes 5 objectives, 15 tools, and 45 actions in the areas of Support, Human rights, Independence, Families and society Transition to achieve meaningful inclusion of persons with disabilities and their families.
The European Charter addresses the needs of family carers irrespective of the cause of the person’s support need.
In April 2024, COFACE and the Irish Country Women's Association co-hosted a European expert meeting on Life-long learning and bringing the family perspective to the education field. This expert meeting brought together speakers from Ireland and Europe to help pave the way for family-centred education and learning systems.
EU policy-makers must ensure that all families are given support and guidance to access and navigate the digital environment in a meaningful way. This includes strong legal frameworks as well as strong and “low-threshold” evidence-based support and prevention measures for families. COFACE has produced a policy brief highlighting the importance of digital technologies for children and their families, and analysing whether existing and currently debated EU frameworks aimed at ensuring safe and empowering digital experiences for children integrate a families perspective.
In 2019, COFACE Families Europe mobilised voters locally through its member organisations (representing families of all types, without discrimination). These recommendations are addressed at EU-level policymakers in the European Commission, European Parliament and Council of the EU, from whom we expect joint leadership to ensure tangible results for Europe’s citizens. It is on this basis that we have assessed the European Union's work from 2019 to 2024, and how it contributes to achieving eight positive outcomes for families of today.
In October 2023, COFACE and UNAF Spain co-hosted a European expert meeting on family diversity and making social rights accessible to all types of families. The context is one of fast-paced changes in labour markets and income security to which families have to...
