The Kopp Mária Institute for Population and Families (KINCS), in cooperation with the Municipality of Tata (Hungary), organized the Family-Friendly Municipalities Expo in the touristic city of Tata, at the Güntner Arena Municipal Sports Hall on Saturday, 10 May.
This year, the city of Tata is hosting the 2nd edition of the „Family Friendly Settlements Expo”, featuring professional and family-friendly programmes. The aim of this all-day professional and family event is to showcase the good practices of municipalities, professional and civil organisations working in a family-friendly way and to strengthen cooperation in the service of families.
The Family Friendly Settlements Expo in Tata was opened by the performance of the Tata Band of Soldiers’, followed by a welcome speech of the mayor of the town. József Michl stressed that families are the key to our survival and safety, and which rescue us, which is why the Hungarian state pays special attention to supporting families.
In her welcome speech, Tünde Fűrész said that family friendly Hungary is a treasure worth living and working for. This is why the Family-Friendly Settlements Expo in 2024 was launched, aiming to present the cooperation formulated in the Cardinal Act on the Protection of Families: “Family protection and the reinforcement of family welfare is a task shared by the State, local governments, non-governmental organisations, media providers, and businesses.” The President of KINCS expressed her delight that an international family policy organisation and several cross-border municipalities present their family-friendly practices at this year’s event. She added that without them, we could not talk about a family-friendly country or a family-friendly nation either.
János Bencsik, a Member of the Hungarian Parliament, drew attention to the close relationship between families and settlements. He emphasized that a settlement can only be strong if it supports families and children. He pointed out that children are not only the greatest asset of a family, but also of a settlement, as a community can only survive if there is someone to carry it on.
Dr. Csaba Kancz, Capital and County Government Commissioner, pointed out that there are currently more than thirty government measures to support families, but this has not always been the case. He emphasised that fostering family-friendly attitudes is crucial today, as negative influences and harmful practices are pushing children away from the family. This is why organising such events and fostering the solidarity they generate is so important.
The municipality of Tata has been awarded the title of Family-Friendly Municipality three times — in 2013, 2015, and 2019. This is the most prestigious civil recognition of the National Association of Large Families, which is awarded to municipalities that strengthen family communities through their actions and support, thus making it easier to raise children in everyday life. Tata has a long history of supporting families in a number of ways, such as providing them with free bus passes.
Regina Maroncelli, vice president of Elfac and coordinator of the European Network of Family-Friendly Municipalities, was invited to present the Network, which already includes Hungarian municipalities such as Veszprem.
Mrs. Maroncelli invited the Hungarian municipalities to join the Network and share the many good practices that were presented in the country, which proudly considers itself “family friendly”. “We always learn a lot about good family policies in Hungary” – said Mrs. Maroncelli – “and we would like to disseminate these good experiences throughout Europe. It represents the most important aim of the Network: to create a family-friendly culture all across Europe. I thank KINCS for its efforts to establish, together with NOE, the Hungarian Large Families Association, for their support and commitment in making Hungary and Europe better places to live and raise a family.”
(More information here)
