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Other Activities in 1994–95

Covenant for a New Millennium - 4th World Conference on Women

Covenant for a New Millennium - 4th World Conference on Women

1 Leave a comment on paragraph 1 0 The International 4th World Conference on Women was held in Beijing, China, September 4–15,1995. Over 189 countries and governments attended and ratified the platform statement. Marilyn Bensman, Margaret Feldman, Harriette Pipes McAdoo, M. Janice Hogan, Lynda Walters, and Mary Jo Czaplewski were involved over a 3-year period.

2 Leave a comment on paragraph 2 0 Meetings were held in Vienna, Austria; New York; and Beijing/Huairou, China. NCFR sent McAdoo, Feldman, and Czaplewski as official delegates with observer status to these two Chinese cities (i.e., Beijing and Huairou). There they presented a workshop on Family Life Education, Research and Policy. Others from NCFR who attended were Verna Hildebrand, Lucy Jackson Bayles and Dorothy Cudabeck. While there, the NCFR delegation worked diligently with the U.S. delegation and the Vienna NGO Committee on the Family to ensure that the platform statements would include women’s issues in the context of families. As a result, the Beijing Platform for Action document, Covenant for the New Millennium, published in 1996 in many languages, contained the following paragraph crafted by NCFR in collaboration with the U.S. delegation, which included Sen. Geraldine Ferraro. Paragraph 29 of the Global Framework of the Platform reads as follows:

3 Leave a comment on paragraph 3 0 Women play a critical role in the family. The family is the basic unit of society and as such should be strengthened. It is entitled to receive comprehensive protection and support. In different cultural, political and social systems, various forms of the family exist. The rights, capabilities and responsibilities of family members must be respected. Women make a great contribution to the welfare of the family and to the development of society, which is still not recognized or considered in its full importance. The social significance of maternity, motherhood and the role of parents in the family and in the upbringing of children should be acknowledged. The upbringing of children requires shared responsibility of parents, women and men and society as a whole. Maternity, motherhood, parenting and the role of women in procreation must not be a basis for discrimination nor restrict the full participation of women in society. Recognition should also be given to the important role often played by women in many countries in caring for other members of their family

4 Leave a comment on paragraph 4 0

5 Leave a comment on paragraph 5 0 It was apparent in China that NCFR was considered by other nations a key U.S. family organization, and requests from other countries began to arrive at NCFR for help and consultation. One of those was the International Family Policy Forum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, a group that had grown out of the International Year of the Family. It was headed by Eugene Rolfe, Vienna International Year of the Family office; Pierre Dione, Board President; Mr. Horgay from Brazil, Second Vice President; and Dr. Carol Matusicky from Canada, Secretary–Treasurer.

6 Leave a comment on paragraph 6 0 Another Canadian organization, FAMILIS: World Organization for Families (headed by Yves Lajoie) was making plans for headquarters based in Canada. It was decided by the NCFR Board to drop its membership in the International Union of Family Organizations and to look east to several Asian countries that expressed interest in becoming NCFR Affiliates and forming Family Life Education units. These included Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, and potentially the China Society of Marriage and Family Studies. This international expansion required changes in NCFR bylaws and were presented to the Board for consideration. Executive Director Mary Jo Czaplewski traveled to South Korea, Taiwan, and China, where she presented several workshops on family life education and NCFR.

7 Leave a comment on paragraph 7 0 The CFLE program celebrated its 10th anniversary with a 93% rate of yearly renewals. In 1995 the Certified Family Life Education Program Review Process for Schools was approved and implemented.

8 Leave a comment on paragraph 8 0 A proposal was presented to the Board initiating an NCFR Honorary Fellowship Designation to honor those who had made lifelong professional contributions to the family field.

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