The UN decided to pencil in 1994 as the International Year of the Family, with the theme of family: power and responsibility in the changing world. The WFO called upon the UN, governments and non-profit organizations worldwide to hold the World Family Summit in 2004 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the International Year of the Family. It aimed to summarize and review achievements in related fields over the 10 years; draft new bills; and raise family problems related to the overall agenda of economic, social and sustainable development.

Approved by the 41st UN standing committee, the first World Family Summit was held in Hainan’s Sanya city. The theme of that summit was the family’s role and contribution in realizing the UN Millennium Development Goals. The Sanya Declaration was passed at the meeting, which specified family problems and looked at problems at the community level. Coping strategies were also proposed to solve these problems.

After the Sanya Summit, all countries actively hosted the World Family Summit to boost their own family development, increasing the meeting’s scale and participants. The summit was held in Brazil in 2005, Jordan in 2006, Poland in 2007, Egypt in 2008, Turkey in 2009, France in 2010, the United Arab Emirates in 2011, Brazil in 2012 and Germany in 2013.

The 2013 summit was held in Germany’s Berlin from Dec 2-5. It was sponsored by the WFO, the UN Division for Sustainable Development and various NGOs. The meeting carried the theme of building the future we want.

A total of 227 representatives from relevant UN organs, 73 government and non-government organizations, and academic circles attended the meeting. Wang Peian, vice-minister of the NHFPC, led a delegation to the meeting and delivered a keynote speech.

Previous World Family Summit