Murray Hill Institute
Newsletter
March 2005
Volume 2, Number 1

Murray Hill Institute participated in the 16th Annual Congress of the International Federation for Family Development (IFFD) held at the United Nations in New York on October 29-30, 2004. The event, which commemorated the 10th anniversary of the International Year of the Family, was opened by Ambassador Hull from the United States Mission to the UN who extended official greetings from President George W. Bush. Approximately 450 persons including over 200 couples from 30 countries were in attendance.

The agenda included several workshops and other presentations designed to help mothers and fathers “to improve their professional skills as parents.” Covering topics ranging from making the workplace more family friendly to new technologies to serve the family, parents received useful guidance in dealing with today’s social environment.

Participants in Murray Hill Institute’s workshop covered practical points gathered from personal experience on how to best integrate the demands of the workplace with those of spouse and children. The panelists included: Mary Hunt, President of HomeAdvantage Plus; William Bowman, President and CEO of US Inspect LLC; and Kimberly Markel Herman, LPL Financial Consultant.

Several presenters made reference to the Family Development Course, developed by IFFD, and how it was best to be offered to couples around the globe, stressing in particular the roles of moderators and team leaders. Karel Philips of Belgium showed a “Handbook” dealing with family matters prepared by IFFD in Europe that will be presented to the European Union.

Among the guest speakers was Patrick Fagan who researches family policy matters at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC. Mr. Fagan offered data proving that traditional families with married parents offered the best opportunity for children to develop to their full potential as human beings and members of civil society. With evidence that “the numbers speak for themselves,” his presentation “The Right of the Child to the Married Love of His Parents” was aptly titled.

Of topical interest was the (Spanish) book presentation by author Prof. Nuria Chinchilla of the IESE Business School dealing with the “Feminine Ambition.” Among the numerous findings in her study was that many women who achieved positions of power in the corporate world often made changes to the modus operandi of their organizations to make them more family friendly, not only allowing employees at all levels to spend more time at home but also to become more productive at work.

At the conclusion of the meetings, a statement was read by James Morgan, President of IFFD, stressing the true significance of the family as the basic unit of society and integral contributor to achieving the United Nation’s “Millennium Development Goals.”