HH Sheikha Moza highlights challenges facing modern families during Doha conference
HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, opened the 30th Anniversary of the International Year of the Family Conference on Family and Contemporary Megatrends on Wednesday.
The event, organized by Qatar Foundation’s Doha International Family Institute, attempts to highlight challenges faced by contemporary families.
Kosovan President Dr. Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu, Zanzibar President Dr. Hussein Mwinyi, Guyana’s First Lady Arya Ali, Iraq’s First Lady Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed, Rwanda’s First Lady Jeannette Kagame and Dr. Lydia Abela, wife of the Maltese Prime Minister, various ministers and other dignitaries attended the conference’s opening at the Qatar National Convention Centre.
Sheikha Moza spoke about the challenges facing contemporary families, saying: “There’s no doubt that the problems facing families are similar in all societies, but they differ in character from one country to the next.
“Families from the global North and families from the global South share many concerns. The most prominent are the negative impacts of technology and the issue of preserving mother tongues and cultural identities in an increasingly globalized world,” she said.
United Nations Deputy Secretary-General and Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group Amina J Mohammed spoke about the importance of global action to protect families.
“The work you’ll begin today can help drive this international effort — a call to action, a call to protect, a call to anticipate, to empower, and to invest in families as the foundational units of just and thriving global communities. Our sessions here will frame that action and inform the policies that strive toward an inclusive, equitable, and just future for our families,” she said.
She also spoke about the impact of conflict on families.
“Often, the burden is on our women and children — from Gaza to Sudan, Sudan to Ukraine, Ukraine to Myanmar, and so many more places. It’s incumbent on us, in this forum, that we seek to ensure family is about everyone and leaves no one behind.”
Dr. Osmani-Sadriu and Dr. Mwinyi participated in a high-level panel discussion, titled ‘Why Family Policy Matters.’ It provided a global perspective on family policies and their impact on the four megatrends, and looked ahead to how they might be shaped in the next 10 years.
Also on the panel were Qatar’s Minister of Social Development and Family HE Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser Al Misnad, World Family Organization President Dr. Deisi Noeli Weber Kusztra and Professor Jennifer Lansford, Director of the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke University, USA.
Her Excellency Al Misnad told the audience: “The family is the cornerstone of our societies. Let's look at historical societies that endured for centuries, like the Islamic and Babylonian civilizations. We see they were founded upon a set of values and laws, foremost of which were family values. They succeeded because they recognized the importance of family values.
“Qatar fully understands the importance of family values and keeps them in mind when developing policies. Family policies are among the most important pillars we relied upon when formulating Qatar’s Third National Development Strategy, as well as laws such as the Compulsory Education Law and the Family Law, and our many social services,” she said.
Al Misnad also highlighted the importance of the Family Charter, launched by the Ministry of Social Development and Family, which includes family values such as honesty, integrity, cooperation, solidarity, dialogue, and mutual respect.
Over the two-day conference, experts, policymakers, and thought leaders from around the globe will explore four major global megatrends — technological change, demographic change, migration and urbanization, and climate change — that affect families in Qatar, the region, and across the world.
Held every decade, the conference has a pivotal role in developing policies and programs that support and empower families.
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