Families and New Technologies: The Challenging Impact of Social Media

Certainly, there are positive aspects of access to internet and social media especially during Covid-19 related shutdowns. However, parents and families around the world also have found themselves vulnerable to a deluge of unwanted negative material such as pornography, sexually explicit messages on Tik Tok or damaging bullying on other social media. Unfortunately, many families are not aware that their children, at younger and younger ages, are viewing this material. The evidence is clear that exposure to such negative content can have a tragic effect leading to depression or even suicide. Data also show that pornography leads to demeaning and abusive treatment of women and can be deleterious to viewers. In addition, the use of pornography has been shown to tear apart the trust and security in a marriage, leading to conflict and divorce.

Panel speakers will share policies that help protect families from harmful use of technology. Other experts will explain the research of the impact of pornography on the personal and family life and practices that help individuals overcome the habit of pornographic viewing. Speakers will also describe how parents can protect their children from harmful exposure to social media and heal together from inappropriate use.

Register here: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZApceutrzotGdWxWzaDPuN7hFv6tM7MU9CT

Speakers:

H.E. Mohamed Al Hassan, Permanent Mission of Oman to the UN
Mohamed Ibrahim Elbahi, Charge d’Affaires, Permanent Mission of Sudan to the UN
Andrew Love, Founder and Director, High Noon, Content Developer, Educator in sexual integrity and overcoming pornography habits
Erica Komisar, LCSW, Family Therapist, Parenting Coach, Author of forthcoming “Raising Resilient Adolescents in the New Age of Anxiety”
Kristen Jenson, Founder and Director, Protect Young Minds, Parent educator and author

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Mental Health, please visit ngomentalhealth.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Family, please visit ngofamilyny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

International Day of Families: Family-Friendly Business Enterprises

Dear Colleagues,

It is a pleasure to invite you to a virtual high-level side event organized by the Partnership for Families (Brazil, Hungary, and Poland) on the occasion of the International Day of Families. The event will take place on Tuesday, 18 May 2021, from 10 am – 11:30 am. New York time.

To attend the event, please register on the following link: https://forms.gle/zmKEqdnLNC1evp1dA. The connection details for the event will be sent by email to registered participants.

Background:

During the 58th Session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD58), which took place in New York in February 2020, the “Partnership for Families” initiative was launched with the aim of raising awareness and promoting families and family-friendly policies in the international agenda. As we celebrate the 2021 International Day of Families, the Partnership will hold a virtual panel to discuss policies to promote and support family-friendly business enterprises.

In the Side Event to be held on the occasion of the International Day of Families, the members of the Partnership will present a scientific and evidence-based approach on the implementation of policies to support family-friendly business enterprises, and how they can improve the well-being of families, which also translates into the general well-being of the society on a country level. Such practices also promote social and economic development, the enjoyment of human rights and support individuals and their families all over the world. Considering all systemic changes in the world of work caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, we expect a comprehensive debate over this increasingly influential theme during the scheduled event.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Family, please visit ngofamilyny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

Who’s in the Family? Various Compositions and the Challenges They Face

Family compositions take various forms and have profound effects on all family members. This event will feature presentations on different family structures and the benefits and challenges faced by the unique family compositions. These presentations will be given by graduate students of Global Psychology and interns with the International Council of Psychologists. The intern presentations are a popular annual event for the Committee and we hop you will be able to join us!

This event will be held virtually. We will send out the login information after the RSVP deadline. Responses must be submitted by 6pm EDT on Wednesday, April 21st.

Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdpurt3db7YcSNIkOm-82TLhuedFxQEWK–rf6F8bXcojt00g/viewform

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Family-NY, please visit ngofamilyny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Mental Health, please visit ngomentalhealth.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Children’s Rights, please visit childrightsny.org.

Youth-led Action Research (YAR) on the Impact of COVID-19 on Marginalised Youth in 9 Countries in the Asia Pacific

The Asia Pacific region is home to more than 700 million young people. About 85 million come from marginalized backgrounds, living in extreme poverty, having little to no access to education, employment, health care, and social protection, and facing barriers to meaningful opportunities to engage in decision-making processes that affect their lives. Disconnected from their peers and pushed to the margins, youth took a serious hit due to the profound impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to face significant disruptions and changes on multiple fronts- at home, in their community, and in the economy. They will continue to feel the weight of this crisis for a long time.

The Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education (ASPBAE) recognizes the immense value of youth as equal partners in promoting transformative youth and adult work and strong lifelong learning systems and creating a better world. ASPBAE is well-positioned to serve as a source of support for youth and as a platform through which their voices and needs can be conveyed and amplified, even and especially during a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. Strengthening the voice and agency of youth in education policies and processes has been a priority of ASPBAE and is a huge part of its work and advocacies.

It is against this backdrop that ASPBAE invites you to its virtual side event:

Youth-led Action Research (YAR) on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Marginalised Youth in 9 Countries in the Asia Pacific

Register here!

This side event will bring together youth and youth organizations, national and local governments officials, international organizations, civil society organizations, parents’ and teachers’ associations to deepen understanding of the new and challenging realities that marginalized youth are facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the different aspects of their lives. The event specifically aims to:

✱ Share stories and recommendations of marginalized youth on how to place education, decent work, and social protection at the centre of the agenda towards recovery and resilience

✱ Discuss measures that governments, decision-makers, and other relevant stakeholders can take to finance and prioritize the recommendations of youth

✱ Appraise the VNRs of 12 countries in the region through an adult learning and education (ALE) lens looking into the integration of youth and adult learning and education in the implementation of the SDGs

✱ Discuss the financing of education based on the recommendations from the youth-led action research

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Children’s Rights, please visit childrightsny.org.

He for She at Home: Gender Equality and the Family

We are pleased to invite you to attend our virtual event during the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), “He for She at Home: Gender Equality and the Family” on Thursday, March 25 from 1:30 to 3:00 pm.

This session will explore how the family empowers women and girls, particularly when men within the family value gender equality. As this is a UN event you must register to attend live by Wednesday, March 10 through the NGO CSW system. This is a 2-step process. Click here to begin the registration, then wait for an e-mail from NGO CSW/NY to complete your profile. Once you have completed your profile, click here to register for this event.

Our excellent speakers, a couple:

Carolyn Pape Cowan, PhD is Adjunct Psychology Professor, Emerita, UC Berkeley. She co-directed three longitudinal intervention studies of how family relationships affect children’s adaptation. Co-author of When Partners Become Parents: The Big Life Change for Couples and co-editor of Fatherhood Today: Men’s Changing Role in the Family and The Family Context of Parenting in Children’s Adaptation to Elementary School, Pape Cowan consults internationally about the development, evaluation, and policy implications of family intervention results.
Philip A. Cowan, PhD is Psychology Professor, Emeritus, UC Berkeley. He served as director of the clinical psychology program and the Institute of Human Development and co-directed three longitudinal intervention studies of links between family relationship quality and children’s development. He is the author of Piaget with feeling, co-author of When Partners Become Parents: The Big Life Change for Couples, co-editor of four additional books and monographs and numerous scientific articles on implications for family policy.

Hope to see you there!

NGO Committee on the Family New York

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Family-NY, please visit ngofamilyny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-NY, please visit ngocsw.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Vienna, please visit ngocswvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Geneva, please visit ngocsw-geneva.ch.

Adverse Childhood Events: Protecting, Preventing, and Healing

The NGO Committee on the Family New York invites you to attend “Adverse Childhood Events: Protecting, Preventing, and Healing” on Thursday, February 25th, 1pm-2pm EST.

Concept note/background info:

Families around the world strive to provide children with a safe and nurturing home environment to empower their children to thrive. However, many families experience unexpected difficulties and trauma that can negatively influence this home environment. Parents, families, and communities can work to prevent, protect, and heal from these adverse events.

Speakers will present insights from their practical experiences working with parents and families to promote a healthy environment for children to thrive.

Prevent and Protect – Silvia Mazzarelli, Coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC) and Arigatou International will look specifically at how parents can keep children safe online and prevent any access to harmful material and persons.

Heal – In the unfortunate event of early childhood trauma, Dr. Amanda Costello from the University of Delaware will discuss the Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC) home-visiting parenting program that was developed by Dr. Mary Dozier. This evidence-based program helps caregivers to develop strong relationships with their children through positive feedback on parenting strategies. The program is currently offered in 19 US states and 8 countries.

Following this, there will be an opportunity for questions.

Please RSVP by Feb. 24th at 6pm EST to attend at https://forms.gle/bDVdyoPtM2hoPB5z7.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Family-NY, please visit ngofamilyny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Children’s Rights-NY, please visit childrightsny.org.

[IFFD Virtual Briefing] Parenting in the Digital Age: Policymaker Perspective

IFFD virtual briefing on “Parenting in the Digital Age” through a policymaker perspective

Co-organized by UN-DESA Division for Inclusive Social Development, with the participation of Center for Educational Research and Innovation – OECD, UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti, Common Sense Media

Background Note

The global pandemic crisis has shown the great value of new technologies, especially for families. New technologies have enabled many people to continue working at home. They have helped many teachers and parents to continue to provide an education for their children when the schools closed. They have provided ways to stay connected with friends and relatives. They have been a way to reach out for help getting food and medicines. They have been a much-needed source of entertainment.

At the same time, new technologies have shown a darker side. Parents around the world are concerned about what impact the Internet is having on their children’s lives. Their concern is not so much about if they are spending too long online but more about how their online interactions are impacting on their health, happiness and wellbeing. They also worry about them being cyber-bullied, what their kids’ digital legacy will be and if they are safe online.

The event will focus on how policymakers can help parents and families to develop character and cyber-wisdom in their children. At the same time, it will spur parents’ proactivity in seeking to cultivate values, qualities and skills in their children.

Discussion Points

1. What is access and opportunities to digital technologies among different families? Digital opportunities and access for all (Curitiba Manifesto)
2. How does the digital gap impact the suitability and efficiency of parenting? (Venice Declaration)
3. How can policymakers, industry leaders and global media partners support parents in building a digital world that works better for every child, family and community? (Common Sense Media)

Register here!

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Family-NY, please visit ngofamilyny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Children’s Rights, childrightsny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN.

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