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
Taking action to achieve Gender Equality: COFACE’s President speaks at the European Parliament
COFACE and its members in Europe work to address the needs of all families and boost gender equality. In February 2023, our president Annemie Drieskens delivered a speech at the European Parliament during the “Empowering Women Now” event organised by Renew Europe.
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.
Taking action to achieve Gender Equality: COFACE’s President speaks at the European Parliament
COFACE and its members in Europe work to address the needs of all families and boost gender equality. In February 2023, our president Annemie Drieskens delivered a speech at the European Parliament during the “Empowering Women Now” event organised by Renew Europe.
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.
News
Guiding Children Through Parental Separation: Key tips from Women for Women
Every year, thirty thousand minor children in the Czech Republic face the divorce or separation of their parents. COFACE member organisation Women for Women (W4W) runs a service which supports separating parents and offers them a helping hand.
The Council of Europe denounces the violation of the rights of people with disabilities by the French State
The Council of Europe's Committee of Social Rights recognises that in terms of social protection, the French state does not do enough for families affected by disability which contributes to their discrimination and precariousness. This statement is the result of a collective complaint filed by Unapei, APF France handicap, Unafam and FNATH.
Inclusive education for an Inclusive Europe – a critical perspective by Genitori Tosti
Representatives of Genitori Tosti (member of COFACE Disability) attended a European expert meeting co-organised by AIAS and COFACE Disability to take stock of progress in inclusive education in Europe. The event took place at the end of March with 100+ participants in Monza (Italy) looking at the Italian system as a starting point for discussions with European peer countries and with EU policy-makers.
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
Thematic Note on High-quality Early Childhood Education and Care
COFACE has developed a thematic note to trigger debate and examines a crucial precondition for high-quality ECEC provision: the ratio of children to staff in daycare settings (child-staff ratio). Low child-staff ratios can yield multiple benefits for the children and all the other actors involved.
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.
Opinions
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.
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.
Media Releases
Early Childhood Education and Care in times of trouble: Time for European minimum quality standards
Media release, 15th May 2023 International Day of Families As governments across the EU are called upon to increase the overall uptake of Early Childhood Education and Care, COFACE members are reporting increasing trade-offs between quality and quantity,...
Single Motherhood as a vulnerability factor: can you afford your relationship status?
While single motherhood does not automatically mean vulnerability, statistics, and testimonies show that this status puts women at increased risk of poverty and social exclusion. On this International women’s rights day, COFACE Families Europe is calling on the EU and Member States to act now for the economic and social rights of single mothers.
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.