Marriage and family

Prague, Czech Republic - UPF-Czech Republic convened a European Leadership Conference in the House of Parliament in Prague Oct. 14, 2014. The topic was "The Family in the 21st Century."

Mr. Walter Baar, Director of the Institute for Trends Research in Austria presented his statistical research in response to the question: Where is our world heading and why does the family need to be protected?

Director of the WFWPI UN Offices, Mrs. Carolyn Handschin’s presentation was “Family: The Place where Human Rights Values meet Peace and Human Development”.

The European Union views families as a source of economic prosperity, in which member states focus on child well-being, gender equality.

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Other than the UN commemoration of international family day, there so many treaties, organizations and institutions, so we have so many opportunities:

The very striking testimony of Mr. Dražen Vukotić, Vice-President, In the Name of the Family-Croatia, showed the power of civil society that brought about the Referendum in Croatia to protect marriage and family in the National Constitution through a constitutional amendment.

Mr. Timothy Miller representing the Unificationist perspective as a Vice- President of FFWPU Europe, explained about his personal experience as part of Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Moon’s Cross Cultural Marriage Wedding /Blessing and the vision of “World Peace through Ideal Families”.

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The first presentation was given by Ms. Lynn Walsh, Office for Marriage & Family of UPF and co-chair of UN NGO Committee on the Family in New York. She mentioned the consistent failure to include the family in policy at the UN.

The first presenter, Mr. Harry Benson, Research Director of the Marriage Foundation-UK asked, “Has government made the problem worse”?

Mrs. Maria Hildingsson, SG of the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe (FAFCE) based in Brussels, spoke about the value of marriage to society.

Mr. Stephen Stacey, Educator and Marital-family Policy Specialist from Finland asked the question, “Is a parent’s right to happiness more important than a child's right to get a good start in life?”

Prague, Czech Republic -A conference in the Parliament of the Czech Republic on May 22, 2014 in observance of the International Day of Families was organized by UPF-Czech Republic, UPF-Germany and other Czech partner organizations.

Through my work with the Family Forum and also being a partner in the Austrian Family Network, I feel that family is the key factor for human development to create a culture of peace. Having visited different countries in Europe and beyond, I learned that family is of great importance in the life of people in the East and in the West, and so, I maintain, that family is the primary vehicle of rapprochement.

Geneva, Switzerland- The Universal Peace Federation, the Women’s Federation for World Peace, the Fribourg Peace Forum, and the Geneva Interfaith Intercultural Alliance organized a conference in Geneva July 5-6, 2012, on the stimulating and highly topical theme, “The Contribution of Families to Peace, Human Development, and Prosperity.”

Presentation of by Mr. Jack Corley, Chair, UPF Europe, in session 2 on "Families, Human Development and Good Governance: What can we learn from other cultures and continents?".

Presentation of Mr. Dennis Stoica, Chair of Directors, Healthy Relationships California and International, at the Conference on “The Contribution of Families to Peace, Human Development and Prosperity”.

Presentation of Rev. Dr. Joong Hyun Pak, author, theologian, Chairman of the Multicultural Family Association in South Korea, at the Conference on “The Contribution of Families to Peace, Human Development and Prosperity”.

Presentation of Mr. Tim Miller, Former Vice Chair, Unificationist Community, Europe, at the Conference on “The Contribution of Families to Peace, Human Development and Prosperity”.