Preserve family values at all costs: Sheikha Moza

Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, chairperson of Qatar Foundation ( QF), Wednesday stressed on the challenges faced by contemporary families at the opening session of the 30th Anniversary of the International Year of the Family Conference on Family and Contemporary Megatrends, organised by Doha International Family Institute (Difi).

Addressing the opening session, Her Highness said: “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 globalised world.”

The opening of the two-day conference at Qatar National Convention Centre was also attended by Kosovo 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, Malta Prime Minister's wife Dr Lydia Abela, as well as ministers and other dignitaries.

Her Highness noted: “There is no doubt that the problems facing families are similar in all societies, but they differ in character from one country to the next. Allow me, as an Arab, to address the challenges facing Arab families. The principal challenge is the profound impact of technology. No one can deny the tremendous benefits technology has brought us, but those benefits are not without their social cost."

"We are all consumers of digital technology, and find ourselves susceptible to gorging on it, forgetting boundaries and surrendering ourselves to a virtual world, giving ourselves up to it as we attempt to escape harsh reality. This alienation can be dangerous, and may keep younger generations in particular, from their culture and language, and — crucially — from forming a fully rounded identity,” highlighted the QF chairperson.

Amina J Mohammed, deputy secretary-general of the United Nations and chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group, spoke of the importance of global action to protect families, saying: “The work you will begin today can help to 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.

“Often the burden is on our women and our children – from Gaza to Sudan, Sudan to Ukraine, Ukraine to Myanmar, and so many more places. It is 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’, which 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 HE the Minister of Social Development and Family Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser al-Misnad, the World Family Organisation president Dr Deisi Noeli Weber Kusztra, and Prof Jennifer Lansford, director of the Centre for Child and Family Policy at Duke University, US.

HE al-Misnad told the audience: "The family is the cornerstone of our societies. If we look at historical societies that endured for centuries, such as the Islamic and Babylonian civilizations, we see that they were founded upon a set of values and laws, foremost of which were family values. They succeeded because they recognised 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 added.