Family Watch International will launch 12 monthly themes at the November 2013 Stand for the Family conference. Each of these themes will be further addressed during 2014–the 20th Anniversary of the International Year of the Family. One theme will be focused on each month and education, information and suggestions for activities to strengthen the family unit as a matter of both policy and practice will be provided. (To receive ongoing updates, click here to sign the “I Stand for the Family” petition to be put on the Family Watch e-mail list.)
• Promoting the Family as the Fundamental Unit of Society
• Protecting Marriage and Strengthening Marriages
• Protecting and Promoting Religious Freedom
• Promoting Family Safe Media and Combating Pornography
• Protecting and Promoting Motherhood
• Protecting and Promoting Fatherhood
• Promoting Positive Parenting and Protecting Parental Rights
• The Family and the Protection of Life
• The Family and Education
• The Family and Human Sexuality
• The Family as the Solution to World Problems
• Family-Based Care for Orphans (Foster Care/ Adoption
The 20th Anniversary of the International Year of the Family
The first International Year of the Family was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989 and celebrated by the world in 1994. In designating the International Year of the Family, the UN emphasized that families are the “basic units of social life … and that their contribution to that process is crucial for its success.”
A proclamation noted the United States’ position, stating: “Families are fundamental to the lifeblood and strength of our world. …We all must work toward the goal of preserving these ties, society’s most valuable resource. …We must sustain and support our families so that they can continue to survive and prosper.”
In support of the Year, the first International Conference on the Family, in conjunction with the United Nations, was convened in Salt Lake City in June of 1995. Over 600 delegates from 56 countries participated. President Thomas S. Monson, then an apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was the keynote speaker and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performed for the closing session, which was held at the Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City.
In 2014, the world will celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the International Year of the Family. The United Nations has issued a call for people around the world to hold events celebrating the family.
Family Watch International and other sponsoring organizations will launch a year-long celebration of the 20th Anniversary at the Stand for the Family Conference on November 15, 2013 in Sandy, Utah. Click this link for information about the Stand for the Family Conference.