Urbanization is one of the most important megatrends shaping our world and the life and well-being of families worldwide. Preparations for the thirtieth anniversary of the International Year of the Family, 2024 (IYF+30), have been centering on megatrends and their impact on families. The focus on selected megatrends, including technological change, migration, urbanization, demographic and climate change, aims to facilitate the analysis of their impacts on family life and to recommend responsive family-oriented policies in order to harness the positive aspects of those trends and counteract their negative facets. This year’s theme, “Families and Urbanization”, aims to raise awareness on the importance of sustainable, family-friendly urban policies. During the 1980’s, the United Nations began focusing attention on issues related to the family. In 1983, based on the recommendations of the Economic and Social Council, the Commission for Social Development in its resolution on the Role of the family in the development process (1983/23) requested the Secretary-General to enhance awareness among decision makers and the public of the problems and needs of the family, as well as of effective ways of meeting those needs.
In its resolution 1985/29 other Council invited the General Assembly to consider the possibility of including in the provisional agenda of its forty-first session an item entitled “Families in the development process”, with a view to consider a request to the Secretary-General to initiate a process of development of global awareness of the issues involved, directed towards Governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and public opinion.
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