International Day of Families 2021: Titbit

In school days we all read the famous line ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (a Sanskrit phrase) which means "the world is one family". So, it is evident that family is sine qua non for a society, country and for the world. Although long long ago the Sanskrit phrase ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ was used to mean the importance of family but in1985, the United Nations put importance on families in the world. The Economic and Social Council and the Commission for Social Development requested the then Secretary-General to raise more awareness about the issues and needs of families. On May 29, 1985, the General Assembly passed a resolution by including a topic, "Families in the Development Process" on the recommendation of the Council. In 1993, the General Assembly decided in a resolution (A/RES/47/237) that 15 May of every year should be observed as ‘The International Day of Families’. This day provides an opportunity to promote awareness of issues relating to families and to increase the knowledge of the social, economic and demographic processes affecting families. On 25 September 2015, “the 193 member states of the United Nations unanimously adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, a set of 17 goals aiming to eliminate poverty, discrimination, abuse and preventable deaths, address environmental destruction, and usher in an era of development for all people, everywhere. Families and family-oriented policies and programmes are vital for the achievement of many of these goals” (www.un.org/en/observances/international-day-of-families).The UN website further states, “Family policies are a mainstay of national public policies, and the most meaningful vehicle for governments to influence the living standards of upcoming generations. As part of achieving the global ambitions of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), family policies play an important part in meeting targets across many of the goals”. The theme of International Day of Families 2021 is ‘Families and New Technologies’.

 Today (15 May 2021) an  inaugural Conference was held in Bangkok , under the banner of Asia Pacific Leadership Conference ‘Providing Vision and Leadership for Nation Building and Peace’ 6th  Batch under Universal Peace Federation (UPF), an international and interreligious network of individuals and organizations, including representatives from religion, government, civil society and the private sector. UPF is dedicated to achieving world peace. An NGO in general consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, UPF supports the work of the United Nations, particularly in the areas of interfaith peace building, peace education, and the strengthening of marriage and family. In today’s Conference I was one of the participants as it took place as a virtual conference. All gave importance today’s day as International Day of Families. Anyway by quoting from UN website I am concluding, “Family trends: Families around the world are changing, many becoming smaller, as the number of single-parent households grows. Currently, 65% of all families are made up of either couples living with children of any age, or couples living with both children and extended family members, such as grandparents. The diminishing number of extended families and the increasing number of single-parent families put into sharp focus the issue of social protection”, (www.un.org/en/observances/international-day-of-families).

Dr Shankar Chatterjee, Hyderabad , 15 May 2021