“Family creates a good climate!”. This was the motto of the Congress of Polish Large Families that hosted the general assembly of ELFAC, the European Confederation of Large Families.
Over 1000 people, mostly children, attended the annual meeting of Polish large families held in Grodzisk Mazowiecki, a few kilometres from Warsaw, from 17 to 19 June. A spectacle of colours, laughter and smiles filled the green town just a few kilometres from the capital Warsaw, certified ‘family friendly’ and member of the European Network of Family Friendly Municipalities.
A young city that has decided to invest in the family, with the result of seeing its population double in just a few years, thanks also to the family policies implemented by the municipal administration, starting with Poland’s first family card. Not surprisingly, the city’s proud mayor on Saturday named the square in front of the splendid library (a real jewel, surrounded by a centuries-old park) after the discount card during a simple ceremony in the presence of Family Minister Barbara Socha and the ELFAC board, meeting for its general assembly.
In the morning, the families and European representatives of large families had attended a round table organised by the Trzy Plus association, during which Minister Socha had been given several proposals to strengthen the Polish government’s birth strategy. An all-round plan that has had the merit of lifting large families out of poverty, boosting consumption and restoring confidence in the population.
The plan needs to be complemented by certain manoeuvres such as pension reform, recalled Prof. Marek Kosny, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wroclaw, who called for the establishment of a fourth pillar to the pension system, with the direct transfer of contributions from children to retired parents.
Awards and diplomas
MInister Socha was awarded as a “Friend of large families”, as was our secretary general, Raul Sanchez, who was recognised for his contribution to the founding of the Polish Large Families Association and as a pioneer in the development of family policies.
The morning session finished with the delivering of diplomas to four Polish cities as a new members of the European Network of Family-Friendly Municipalities. They were Lublin, Gmina Lubochnia, Tomaszów Mazowiecki and Trezbinca, all of them certified as family-friendly by the Polish large families association.
In the afternoon, the young Marysia Jesmanowicz, a “large” daughter, moderated the round table on “large families and sustainability”, with the participation of international experts: the results of a research on the propensity to ecological responsibility of families with several children, and their sustainability questioned by those who raise the spectre of the overpopulation of the Planet, were anticipated. The research, which will be officially presented in the coming weeks, will then be published on the ELFAC website, together with the Hungarian association’s 2021 ELFAC Congress, in preparation for its Magyar edition.
“Once again, large families prove to be a model of sustainable living, where the practices of the circular economy are applied every day: recycling, reuse, sobriety, optimisation of resources, participation and sharing,” commented Regina Maroncelli, President of ELFAC.
After the panel representatives of ELFAC associations met for their general assembly, where they reviewed the main activities carried out and set objectives and projects for the future.
