Family Institute to Host MENA Experts Meeting in Doha

Doha, May 27 (QNA) - The Doha International Family Institute (DIFI), previously known as Doha International Institute for Family Studies and Development (DIIFSD), will host an Expert Group Meeting (EGM) here on June 2 and 3. Fourteen high profile experts from around the region will convene to discuss policies and measures on protecting the Arab family from poverty through employment, social integration and intergenerational solidarity. The EGM is part of the preparations for the 20th anniversary of the International Year of the Family in 2014. The panel will undertake a comprehensive review of what has been achieved in the MENA region in terms of addressing family poverty, ensuring work-family balance, advancing social integration and promoting intergenerational solidarity. They will also highlight challenges and success, which differ from one country to another in the region, explore best practices, review policies and put forth recommendations that will be incorporated in the 2013-2014 Report of the Secretary-General in line with the 20th anniversary of the International Year of the Family (IYF). The year 1994 was proclaimed the IYF by the United Nations General Assembly. A member of Qatar Foundation, the DIFI is a leading international institution in Qatar that supports research, policy and outreach programs that promote the development of Arab families. DIFI Executive Director Noor Al Malki Al Jehani said, "The social integration of families living in poverty should encompass meeting their basic human needs, including nutrition, health, water and sanitation, housing and access to education and employment. "Ensuring access to decent work and opportunities is a key component of social integration as it provides a path way out of poverty and creates opportunities for marginalized groups including the young, the elderly, women and persons with disabilities." In this time of socio economic changes and political turmoil, many families in the Arab world are struggling to maintain the intergenerational bonds that have sustained them in the past. Factors such as youth migration, and population ageing in rural communities only add to the problem, she added. A key theme that will be addressed by the panel is the need to promote work life and family balance. As the region continues to see more and more women enter the workforce, work-family balance is becoming an important measure of overall family stability. In the majority of developing countries, reconciliation of work and family life needs to addressed at a policy level as it will contribute to successful labour relations, employee health and well-being, gender equality and child welfare in the Arab world. "There is a need for intervention from all relevant stakeholders at every level of society to implement comprehensive policies that create coherence amongst the various strategies that promote social integration and prevent intergenerational transfer of poverty," said Al Jehani. (QNA)