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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20190508
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20190509
DTSTAMP:20260419T125554
CREATED:20211124T192811Z
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SUMMARY:COFACE Round Table on family policy in Spain
DESCRIPTION:The 2019 General Assembly of COFACE took place in Barcelona\, Spain\, hosted by COFACE member L’Associació Salut i Família (ASF). The meeting was the occasion to collectively take stock of the impact of 2018 actions (advocacy\, campaigns\, innovation\, study visits\, conferences\, expert meetings\, position papers\, assessments and much more)\, preparing key actions of the next six months of 2019\, and brainstorming on key priorities for 2020 and beyond.  In combination with the General Assembly\, our hosts organised two key meetings which helped COFACE civil society organisations get more insight into the realities of their Spanish colleagues: a study visit of local ASF programmes\, and a public round table on family policy in Spain. \nThe study visit of ASF programmes was themed: Mosaic of services for vulnerable women and families. ASF is an independent\, private and non-profit  organization  working  in Catalonia\, Spain and Europe\, based on principles of impartiality\, equity and pro-choice. ASF maintains active collaboration with   public   administrations   and also develops a sustained advocacy  to  make  the  needs  of families  and  vulnerable  people  a subject   of   general   interest  and public investment. They run several programmes for families in vulnerable situations\, and on the occasion of this visit focused on the following programmes: \n\nCare for maternity at risk\, providing information on maternal and reproductive health\, maternal health promotion and abortion prevention based on pro-choice principles;\nMothers between two cultures\, including intercultural health promotion and family planning;-Integration and employability for vulnerable mums of migrant origin\, connecting women with professional training opportunities;\nChildhood is essential\, supporting mothers in the early childhood years through nutrition\, health advice and more;-Multiculture\, assisting vulnerable women and families in escaping from isolation;\nTime banks\, to support community-building and exchange in local communities across Spain.\n\n_____________ \nThe public round table hosted by L’Associació Salut i Família focused on Family policy in Spain in a European perspective. This round table brought together COFACE members and key Spanish stakeholders including representatives of family-friendly companies\, the Ministry of social affairs\, family carers and more. The round table started with a warm welcome by the presidents of ASF (Asumpta Baig) and COFACE (Annemie Drieskens)\, followed by a presentation by ASF Director\, Elvira Mendez: “Overview of family policy in Spain: challenges and solutions”. This led to an exchange with COFACE members on challenges and solutions in their different countries\, and ended with an update on the EU work-life balance directive by COFACE policy and advocacy officer\, Pascual Martinez. \nIn the afternoon\, COFACE members then continued their discussions focusing on transposition strategies for the EU worklife balance directive\, different types of ECEC services provided by COFACE members (inclusive ECEC by UNAPEI and out-of-school services for children of single mothers by FAMS)\, the needs and work-life balance of families of children with disabilities and family carers in the sandwich generation\, and finally the work of ProParents  and Gezinsbond to strike up a dialogue with businesses and family-friendly workplaces. \nFor more information\, contact secretariat@coface-eu.org
URL:https://coface-eu.org/event/coface-round-table-on-family-policy-in-spain/
LOCATION:Barcelona\, Spain
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://coface-eu.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Projects-2-e1639496920131.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20181004
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20181006
DTSTAMP:20260419T125554
CREATED:20211124T192424Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231027T093841Z
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SUMMARY:Building sustainable and future-proof education systems: How can families contribute to a paradigm shift?” 4-5 October\, Austria
DESCRIPTION:A COFACE Families Europe conference\, co-hosted with KFÖ\, the City of Graz\, the Province of Styria under the Austrian EU-Presidency\n\nConcept \nThe starting point for the conference is to explore education in a holistic way and bring the family perspective to debates on education\, including the core values of COFACE Families Europe: social inclusion\, equal opportunities\, solidarity\, empowerment\, human rights and non-discrimination. COFACE Families Europe considers these essential for building inclusive\, diverse and sustainable communities in Europe.\n\nContext \n\nThe Right to Education has been recognized as a human right in a number of international conventions\, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 26)\, the International Covenant on Economic\, Social and Cultural Rights (Articles 13 and 14)\, and the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 28) which recognises a right to free\, compulsory primary education for all\, and includes an obligation to develop secondary education and higher education accessible to all. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) defines and guarantees the right to inclusive education.\nThe UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030. SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning. Education is the key that will allow many other SDGs to be achieved. Inclusive and quality education must therefore be placed as a priority in both policy and practice.\nChild rights and well-being is a priority for COFACE Families Europe\, and this includes in the field of education. Member organisations of COFACE Families Europe provide different types of services to families to help them support the well-being of their children\, including support in addressing challenges linked to the education of their children.\nEducation is a hot topic at EU level\, with principle 1 of the recently proclaimed European Pillar of Social Rights focusing on Education\, training and life-long learning: “Everyone has the right to quality and inclusive education\, training and life-long learning in order to maintain and acquire skills that enable them to participate fully in society and manage successfully transitions in the labour market.”\n\n\nConference objectives \nThe combination of international human rights obligations\, the momentum around the UN Sustainable Development Goals\, the newly proclaimed European Pillar of Social Rights\, and the importance of education for COFACE Families Europe\, means the time is right for us to contribute to promoting education where children without discrimination can take part in quality and inclusive education\, so they can have a good start in life and access better opportunities across their lifecycle. \nThis conference will look at education holistically\, and namely: \n\nMainstream the core values of COFACE in discussions on education;\nExamine the role of families as first educators and their support needs;\nExplore the role of families in building sustainable and future-proof education systems;\nEnsure that inclusive and quality education is placed as priority in both policy and practice;\nContribute to shaping the future education landscape in Europe.\n\n\nThematic workshops \nDifferent experts on education will gather from Europe and Austria to examine practical examples of along the following four topics: \n\nMaking education inclusive and accessible for all;\nThe role and limits of digitalization in schools;\nThe importance of childcare\, at a crossroads between education\, family and social policy;\nSupporting parents to tackle different forms of discrimination in schools.\n\n_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _\n \nSpeaker’s presentations \nWelcome speeches \nVideo message from Marianne Thyssen\, European Commissioner for Employment\, Social Affairs\, Skills and Labour Mobility \nKeynotes\n“Placing the child at the centre of our education systems”\nIrmeli Halinen\, Director for Educational Innovations\, Metodix Oy. Former Head of National Curriculum Development\, Finland. \nWS 1: Inclusive education from right to reality: is legislation enough to empower families? \nMichèle Racke\, Deputy Director of APEMH\, Luxembourg.\nGaetano Santonocito\, Managing Director of A.I.A.S. Città di Monza Onlus\, Italy.\nIsabel Amaro (Psychologist) and Maria José Lorena (Occupational Therapist)\, Fundaçao Liga\, Portugal. \nWS 2: The transformative power of digitalization in schools: where to draw the line? \nClaire Morvan\, Communication Manager\, eTwinning\, Europe.\nJulien Léonard\, Expert\, Union Nationale des Associations Familiales\, UNAF\, France \nWS 3: Childcare in the 21st century: at a crossroads between education\, family and social policy? \nKurt Hohensinner\, City Councellor for Families\, Youth\, Education\, childcare and social affairs\, Member of the City Government\, Graz\, Austria.\nSven Iversen\, Director of the Association of German Family Organisations (AGF)\, Germany. \nWS 4: Parental support services to address discrimination against their children: how can education contribute to building inclusive societies? \nLivia Járóka\, Member of European Parliament\, Hungary. (video speech)\nAstrid Ebenberger\, KFÖ-Vice-President\nAntonia Torrens\, Director of KMOP (Family and Childcare Centre)\, Greece. \n  \nMore information \nTo see the programme of the conference click here. \nTo see the biographies of the great international line-up of speakers click here. \nTo see the info pack\, click here on INFO PACK GRAZ CONFERENCE 4-5.10.2018. \nQuestions? Contact secretariat@coface-eu.org
URL:https://coface-eu.org/event/building-sustainable-and-future-proof-education-systems-how-can-families-contribute-to-a-paradigm-shift-4-5-october-austria/
LOCATION:Graz\, Austria
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://coface-eu.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Projects-3-e1639497228259.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180627
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180628
DTSTAMP:20260419T125554
CREATED:20180627T182156Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220119T103045Z
UID:15308-1530057600-1530143999@coface-eu.org
SUMMARY:COFACE Disability Platform meeting and field visit hosted by the Institute of Robotics for Dependency in Spain
DESCRIPTION:On 25-26 June 2018\, the COFACE Disability platform (for the rights of persons with disabilities and their families) met in Sitges\, Spain. The meeting was hosted by COFACE member The Institute of Robotics for Dependency (IRD or Instituto de Robótica para la Dependencia in Spanish). IRD is a foundation\, based in Sitges\, Barcelona. It promotes and encourages research and training in robotics and assistive technology for disabled and dependant persons\, in order to improve their quality of life\, as well as the quality of life of their families and care professionals. \nOn the first day\, the participants followed a Seminar on support needs in Catalonia with presentations from Rosa Cadenas (Dincat Group)\, Glòria Canals (Fundació Aura) and Montserrat Falgera (Redós Foundation). We will take some of the key messages from Catalonia back to Brussels in EU-level discussions\, namely the need to support autonomy and inclusion\, as well as fair and adequate retirement for persons with disabilities\, and community-based support. After the introduction on the Catalan examples\, there was an introduction of different projects from the IRD followed by a questions and answers session. Some examples here \nAfter the seminar\, the group visited the Ave Maria Foundation to see the several projects focused on enhancing independent living of persons with disabilities in the community. Some examples\, the Never Alone project (telecare platform for people living at home)\, the innovative residential care facility of the Ave Maria Foundation for persons with disabilities and the Laundry ID project (2017 EESC Civil Society Prize winner project for labour market inclusion of persons with disabilities). \nOn the second day\, the participants followed a session on EU developments such as the European Accessibility Act\, the EEG/DI\, the next EU Multi-Annual Financial Framework\, the EU Disability Strategy\, the European Pillar of Social Rights and the proposed EU Work-Life Balance Directive. The participants also discussed the COFACE Study on Family Carers and COFACE’s position on the family dimension of the long-term care. The COFACE members also exchanged on different training programmes for family carers. \nMore information about IRD: https://institutorobotica.org \nPhotos of the event: https://flic.kr/s/aHskAGS9nR
URL:https://coface-eu.org/event/coface-disability-platform-meeting-and-field-visit-hosted-by-the-institute-of-robotics-for-dependency-in-spain/
LOCATION:Sitges\, Spain
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://coface-eu.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Projects-2-e1639496920131.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180515
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180516
DTSTAMP:20260419T125554
CREATED:20211118T031413Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220119T103135Z
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SUMMARY:COFACE Families Europe celebrates 60 years of active engagement
DESCRIPTION:MEDIA RELEASE – 15 May 2018\, International Day of Families \nOn the International Day of Families 2018\, the United Nations is celebrating  families and inclusive societies\, highlighting the role of families and family policies in advancing Sustainable Development. On this occasion\, COFACE Families Europe is celebrating its 60th anniversary looking back at the achievements of family organisations in Europe\, and starting from there to build a sustainable future for all families. \n#cofaceturns60 #familieseurope @COFACE_EU \n\nThe history of COFACE is intertwined with the history of the European Union. COFACE was born in 1958 as a separate arm of the International Union of Family Organisations\, following the creation of the European Economic Community. In this context\, the family was considered a ’consuming unit’. COFACE members mainstreamed the family perspective beyond consumer policy\, namely in the social\, education\, and disability fields. COFACE members followed the evolution of society through the years\, with a formal shift from “the family” to “families”. \nToday\, COFACE Families Europe is an open and pluralistic network of national/regional organisations representing families in their diversity\, striving to build a ‘better society for all families’ driven by solidarity\, non-discrimination and equal opportunities. These values guide actions at EU level to support the implementation of key agendas such as the European Pillar of Social Rights\, and the international obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. COFACE members create synergies both internally and externally through their wide range of expertise spanning different areas: from social policy to education\, financial inclusion\, disability\, care/support\, gender equality\, migration\, consumer issues\, safer internet and data protection. \nMarianne Thyssen\, Commissioner responsible for Employment\, Social Affairs\, Skills and Labour Mobility: “I warmly congratulate COFACE on its 60th anniversary. COFACE is a great promoter of families\, of social progress and inclusion. As Commission we do what we can on the European level. But COFACE knows best what families want. I hope the next sixty years will be as fruitful\, and as social\, as the previous sixty”. \nLooking to the future\, Annemie Drieskens\, COFACE Families Europe President: “More than ever\, pluralistic civil society organisations like COFACE need broad support to promote core European values\, and to build bridges between local and EU level. Family organisations are essential for democracy holding governments at all level accountable. They are watchdogs and agents of change drawing attention to the emerging needs of families. Together they strive for the respect and implementation of fundamental rights and a better society for all European families”. This commitment must be reflected in the future ambitions of the European Union\, in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. \nEND \nCOFACE has published a series of drawings illustrating 30 milestones of its history\, as well as a digital exhibition with real pieces of history. \nSee also: International Day of Families \nAbout COFACE Families Europe\nCOFACE Families Europe has been involved for 60 years in building a strong social\, family friendly Europe. COFACE Families Europe advocates for strong social policies that take into consideration family needs and guarantee equal opportunities for all families.
URL:https://coface-eu.org/event/coface-families-europe-celebrates-60-years-of-active-engagement/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://coface-eu.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Projects-2-e1639496920131.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20160927T080000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20160927T170000
DTSTAMP:20260419T125554
CREATED:20160927T115422Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250316T145154Z
UID:24511-1474963200-1474995600@coface-eu.org
SUMMARY:Making the European Pillar of Social Rights a reality for Europe’s families: mind the gap
DESCRIPTION:Making the European Pillar of Social Rights a reality for Europe’s families: mind the gap\nThis COFACE seminar brought together key EU-level stakeholders\, and published a discussion paper to kick off the debate. \nSession 1: How to take the EU Pillar of Social Rights to the local level to both prevent and address the increasing vulnerability of families? \nThe first panel discussed openly and constructively how the proposed Pillar can have an impact at local level – what instruments exist already and what are the obstacles and the opportunities in using them. \nSession 2: Mainstreaming social rights in other areas: how to take the Pillar beyond the EU social policy realm? \nThe second panel discussion focused on ensuring horizontal coherence between the Pillar and relevant parallel EU initiatives\, which are relevant to some of the principles put forward in the Pillar proposal. \nSee here: \n\nFull programme\nDiscussion paper\nSeminar report\n\n 
URL:https://coface-eu.org/event/making-the-european-pillar-of-social-rights-a-reality-for-europes-families-mind-the-gap/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://coface-eu.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/PillarEvent2016.png
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