Families in Europe are confronted by a variety of potential future challenges and the third stage of FAMILYPLATFORM is to help policy makers understand how to meet them.

About

Through a structured process of discussion, the situations that European families might face in the year 2035 will be identified. Attempts will be made to project what might happen if contemporary trends continue and if certain disruptive events occur, and the challenges they may pose for families. By considering these challenges, it will be possible to identify and describe family wellbeing and understand the conditions necessary to achieve it.

The methods used for this third stage of work are scientific simulations and a technique called the Foresight Approach, which enables a group of experts and stakeholder representatives to generate visions about the future of the Family and its well-being. This work builds on the results of the major trends in Europe regarding Family and Family research (Area 1) and its Critical Review (Area 2).

Foresight Meeting 1 in Witten

FAMILYPLATFORM met in Witten from the 28th to 30th of April. Scenarios were discussed and narratives were deliberated amongst participants. More information here.

Foresight Meeting 2 in Witten

FAMILYPLATFORM met for a second time, from the 9th to the 11th of June, to finalise the future family narratives. More information here.

Video Presentation Online

A video recording of a presentation on the Results of the Foresight Exercise made during the Lisbon Conference (25-27 May 2010) are available to view online.

Two Outputs Produced

Two outputs, one documenting the process of developing scenarios and family narratives, and the other the key policy and research issues identified as having an impact on the wellbeing of families in future Europe, are available to download for registered users.

Final Report Published Online

The final report of Future of Families has been published. To download it, go to the final report page.