A very Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening to Honorable Sir/Madam, respected teachers, seniors, and my dear friends, Warm Greetings to Everyone!
Thank you all for taking out time and being present at this seminar session. Today, we are here to celebrate the most important day, ‘International Day of Families’.
Today, May 15 is celebrated as the International Day of Families; this day highlights the importance of families. It aims at fostering equality, bringing a fuller sharing of domestic responsibilities, and employment opportunities. The day was proclaimed by the UN (United Nations) General Assembly in 1993 with resolution A/RES/47/237 and reflects the importance the international community attaches to families.
The family is the basic and natural unit of society, which plays a critical role of nurturing and caring for individual family members, from children to youth, men, women, people living with disabilities, and the older generation. Families bear the primary responsibility for the development, education, and socialization of children. They provide material and non-material care and support to their members and are a backbone of intergenerational solidarity and social cohesion. Celebrating the International Day for Families also brings into focus the importance of family solidarity wherein members of the family work together to sustain the unit through challenges, trials, and tribulations.
A family has a worth of foundation-pillar in the development of society as social laws and norms are the anticipated form of family bonding and strength. We all know is not easy living with one’s family. With so many oddballs that make up a family, it is tough to find common ground. Yet, a family is the most refined of all human relationships. Mother, sister, brother, father, and you may make up a family. But what ties you all together is that invisible umbilical cord… the cord of love and sacrifice. It is a cord that should never be cut as it is the cord that binds the family together.
The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic brings into sharp focus the importance of investing in social policies protecting the most vulnerable individuals and families. It is the families who bear the brunt of the crisis, sheltering their members from harm, caring for out-of-school children, and, at the same time, continuing their work responsibilities.
Families have become the hub of intergenerational interactions that support us in this crisis. Under economic duress, poverty deepens. In times of uncertainty stress increases often are resulting in growing violence against women and children. That is why the support for vulnerable families who have lost their income, those in inadequate housing, those with young children, older persons, and persons with disabilities is imperative now more than ever.
Family is a source to overcome social and individual fears, a family is the part and parcel of our joys and distress; family helps us come out of economic burdens as every member of the family suffers during poverty and economical failures. Relationships between children and their parents, parents, and grandparents, or children, and their grandparents are called intergenerational relationships.
Ladies and Gentleman, one of the major challenges facing families is the problem of domestic violence, especially gender-based violence. We need to address the violence within our families and be good role models for our children. Violence against women, many of whom are mothers, remains one of the most pervasive human rights violations in our country. It has far-reaching consequences endangering the lives of women and children and harming families and communities. Preventing family violence should be a key priority for all of us.
We call on all sectors of society to work with us in a quest to build strong families. These efforts must start with programs to strengthen families by protecting vulnerable members of society such as children, women, people with disabilities, and older persons.
Hope you all have a great time.
Thank you all.
