Latest activities
Check out the latest COFACE activities, and use the search for further information on the latest campaigns, media releases, publications, events, projects and more.
Campaigns
OPINION: How inclusive toys can help to represent and raise awareness of disabilities
Around one in 10 children and young people worldwide have a disability, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Children with disabilities are 51% more likely to feel unhappy and 41% more likely to feel discriminated against than children without disabilities. We believe that representing all children through inclusive toys is hugely powerful.
COFACE Disability Platform puts the spotlight on Children with Disabilities: Breaking policy silos to better support children with disabilities and their families
In the run-up to the 2022 International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the COFACE Disability Platform for the rights of persons with disabilities and their families is launching a policy brief looking at how children with disabilities are represented in recent EU Social Policy Frameworks. With this brief COFACE Disability wants to launch a reflection on the intersection between disability and age and how to integrate it into policies and programmes. For this EU Year of Youth COFACE Disability has focused this brief on Children with Disabilities and their families.
OPINION: How inclusive toys can help to represent and raise awareness of disabilities
Around one in 10 children and young people worldwide have a disability, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Children with disabilities are 51% more likely to feel unhappy and 41% more likely to feel discriminated against than children without disabilities. We believe that representing all children through inclusive toys is hugely powerful.
COFACE Disability Platform puts the spotlight on Children with Disabilities: Breaking policy silos to better support children with disabilities and their families
In the run-up to the 2022 International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the COFACE Disability Platform for the rights of persons with disabilities and their families is launching a policy brief looking at how children with disabilities are represented in recent EU Social Policy Frameworks. With this brief COFACE Disability wants to launch a reflection on the intersection between disability and age and how to integrate it into policies and programmes. For this EU Year of Youth COFACE Disability has focused this brief on Children with Disabilities and their families.
News
Inclusive housing and family carers: An exclusive survey by COFACE members, Unaf and APF France handicap
Unaf and APF France handicap published the results of a survey on carers in relation to inclusive housing which formulate recommendations for stakeholders in the field and public authorities.
UNAF Spain acknowledges that the approval of the country’s new Law on Families is “a great step forward” but calls for “more ambitious” measures
The president of COFACE member organisation, UNAF (the Union of Family Associations) Ascensión Iglesias Redondo, has recognised this Tuesday that the draft Family Law approved this by the Council of Ministers is "a great step forward" for "the protection and recognition of the rights of families in their diversity", but at the same time has called for "more ambitious" measures.
In Czech schools, almost 30,000 families cannot pay for school lunch for their children
In Czech Republic the number of requests for help providing school lunches for children from low-income families has increased dramatically. The W4W: Lunches for Children project, FEAD programme, and municipalities have all contributed to providing lunches to around 30,000 children, however the number of applications is expected to further increase to 20,000 in 2022.
Projects
COFACE Families Europe builds projects with its members (NGOs) and partners (research and policy), in order to deepen our actions in specific domains and strengthen the research-policy-practice triangle.
By building partnerships between practitioners, policy-makers and research institutions, we aim to support evidence-based practice and policy-making. We have been involved with a wide range of European projects, as both advisory board members and impact managers, funded by Erasmus+, Horizon 2020 and the European Research Council. We use the research to feed into EU and national policies under review and under preparation, and disseminate the results to our wide network of family organisations, inserting the research into practice via different programmes to support families which are run by COFACE members.
Publications
POLICY BRIEF. Breaking policy silos to better support children with disabilities and their families
The aim of this policy brief is to take stock of how children with disabilities are covered in EU social policies, and to launch a broader reflection on how to deepen the interaction between disability and age in policy making.
The Family Dimension of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
This publication adopted ten years ago in 2012 consists of the COFACE position on the family dimension of the UNCRPD, followed by the integral text of the Convention.
EU Work-life Balance Directive transposition in action: A mixed picture
This new report presents the findings of COFACE Families Europe’s transposition assessment carried out together with national experts from 10 Member States representing a geographical and welfare mix: Belgium, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Poland and Spain.
Opinions
OPINION: How inclusive toys can help to represent and raise awareness of disabilities
Around one in 10 children and young people worldwide have a disability, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Children with disabilities are 51% more likely to feel unhappy and 41% more likely to feel discriminated against than children without disabilities. We believe that representing all children through inclusive toys is hugely powerful.
OPINION: Struggling to balance life and work? Time policies might be the solution
We usually take time for granted, but the way we use our time is shaped by our individual and social circumstances and can lead to inequalities, inefficiencies, and diminished well-being of our society. Public and private initiatives that are put forward in order to address such issues are known as time policies.
Media Releases
COFACE Disability Platform puts the spotlight on Children with Disabilities: Breaking policy silos to better support children with disabilities and their families
In the run-up to the 2022 International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the COFACE Disability Platform for the rights of persons with disabilities and their families is launching a policy brief looking at how children with disabilities are represented in recent EU Social Policy Frameworks. With this brief COFACE Disability wants to launch a reflection on the intersection between disability and age and how to integrate it into policies and programmes. For this EU Year of Youth COFACE Disability has focused this brief on Children with Disabilities and their families.
EU Work-life Balance Directive transposition in action – A mixed picture: From non-compliance and basic minimum standards to ambitious reforms for modern gender-responsive family policies.
The EU Work-life Balance Directive is the first legislative initiative that follows the launch of the European Pillar of Social Rights in 2017 and was formally adopted two years later in 2019. COFACE Families Europe expects high ambitions from the different EU institutions and national governments in the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, as a stepping stone to develop a framework for a more social and fairer European Union.
Family Organisations welcome the European Care Strategy and call for swift adoption by EU Social Affairs Ministers
Media statement. Brussels, 8th September 2022. COFACE Families Europe welcomes yesterday’s adoption by the European Commission of the European Care Strategy. With this decision, set in the framework of the Action Plan on the European Pillar of Social...