3. WOMEN AND JUSTICE SUMMIT

FAMILY EMPOWERMENT

The main theme of the Third International Women and Justice Summit to be held this year by KADEM in cooperation with the Ministry of Family Labour and Social Services of Republic of Turkey is “Family Empowerment”. This Summit will take place in Istanbul from the 23th to the 24th of November 2018.

KADEM will be addressing from different angles the concept of family as the basic unit of society and threats awaiting the family. Families established on the basis of mutual love and respect, commitment, understanding, empathy and kind relations introduce happy and emotionally healthy individuals into society; while unhappy families that lack love and respect and are in turmoil with conflicts, violence and fights cause the emergence of an unhealthy psychological and sociological order that spreads from individuals to the society as a whole.

Departing from this point of view, KADEM aims to draw national and international public attention towards the policies and suggestions regarding family structure that is based on strong relations and connections, and thus raise awareness on the subject. To serve this purpose, the Summit aims to bring together government officials from different countries, as well as political actors, women entrepreneurs, academics, researchers, journalists, activists and civil society representatives to discuss and negotiate the relevant issues from several different aspects.

In addition to sessions in which the presentations and speeches are delivered, a Leaders’ Session will be held by ministers of family and social policies or relevant officials from different countries, and policies and practices of each country related to family will be discussed in detail. His Excellency Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey and his wife Emine Erdogan will also grace the Third International Women and Justice Summit with their presence. Following the protocol speeches to be delivered by the President of KADEM, the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Services, and His Excellency Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the “Leaders’ Session” will begin with the attendance of people who are leading figures in their respective countries.

The protocol speeches and the ministers’ session, which will take place on the first day, will be followed by parallel sessions on the second day. During the sessions, presentations will be delivered about developments, success stories, and ongoing problems in different areas in terms of family empowerment, which will also focus on establishing the facts and offering solutions in these issues.

All expenses of the participants invited to the Third International Women and Justice Summit will be covered by the organization.

The summit book consisting of summaries of presentations delivered at the summit will be published both in English and Turkish.

The summit will be multilingual. Participants will be able to deliver presentations either English or Turkish. Simultaneous translation service will be provided for presentations.

PROGRAMME

09:30-11:00

Opportunities and Challenges of Families in the Modern Era

The family is under multiple threats in modern society. Problems such as decline of intergenerational communication, increase in divorce rates, the ongoing issue of domestic violence, urban spaces having negative effects on the family structure, increase in drug and media addiction and social isolation are directly or indirectly affecting family structure and unity. On the other hand, despite these negativities, the family continues to carry out its vital functions in terms of the individuals and social and political structure. It plays an important role in the preservation and empowerment of the social structure by promoting the moral values such as mutual aid, solidarity and sharing. The modern world also offers important opportunities for families to be strengthened. Supporting mechanisms, such as therapies, help families who are going through issues overcome manageable problems. In this session, the threats awaiting the family in the modern world, as well as the ongoing functions of the family and the possibilities offered by the modern world for the family empowerment are going to be addressed from different perspectives; and related policies of various countries will be discussed in detail.

Moderator
Dr. Ignacio Socias
Director of International Affairs, International Federation for Family Development

Interaction of Space, Urban Planning and Family
Fehmi Bilge
Architect

Effects of Population Dynamics on Families
Dr. Dimiter Philipov
Demographer, Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital

Family Counseling and Therapy as a Rising Trend
Prof. Kemal Sayar
Psychiatrist, Marmara University School of Medicine

Intergenerational Dialogue and Transmission of Values
Prof. Gunhild O. Hagestad
Professor, Agder University College

11.15 – 12.45

Religion as the Bounding Power of Family

All religions regard the family as the foundation of human life. All of them contain values and norms that contribute to the provision of family unity, the empowerment of family relations and the continuity of the family as an institution. In addition to the values they have, religions provide important opportunities for the family institution through emotions such as sharing, cooperation, solidarity, compassion, kindness, mutual love and respect cultivated among their members. This session will focus on the outlook of religions, notably Islam, on the family, the importance they attribute to the family, the roles of the spouses in the family, the ways in which the family members can benefit more from the religious services and the related suggestions and policies will be discussed.

Moderator
Prof. Huriye Martı
Vice President, Directorate of Religious Affairs, Turkey

Role of Religion in Families Today
Prof. Dariusz Krok
Professor, University of Opole Faculty of Theology

Religion as a Source of Peace and Respect in Family
Leasha Prime
Director of Women’s Aff

14.00 – 15.30

Domestic Violence: A Threat To Family Union

Violence is a multidimensional problem with its physical, psychological and deprivation aspects. Beside women, children are also exposed to domestic violence. Violence has multidimensional effects on the family. Both in Turkey and in other countries, most of the divorces, and the consequent disintegration of the institution of family is caused by violence. Moreover, violence has profound psychological effects on family members. Turkey has developed significant policies on this issue and acceded to the relevant international conventions within the last fifteen years. Despite all this, unfortunately violence is still an ongoing problem. This session will focus on successful examples / practices in the fight for elimination of violence and effective policies to be developed in this respect, with reference to the experiences from different countries. Different dimensions of violence and abuse against women as well as children will be discussed.

Moderator
Ms. Wafa Bani Mustapha
MEP, JORDAN

State Policies Against Violence for the Protection of Family Union
Gülser Ustaoğlu
General Director, Directorate General on the Status of Women, TURKEY

Disfunctioning Families and Divorce Due to Domestic Violence
Prof. Medaim Yanık
Psychiatrist, TURKEY 

A Tool for Preventing Domestic Violence: Family Law
Prof. Zaleha Kamuruddin
Rector, International Islamic University Malaysia, MALAYSIA 

Domestic Violence Against Children
Prof. Paola Todini
Professor, E-Campus University, ITALY 

15.45 - 16.45

KADEM Talks

16.45 - 17.00

Summit Final Report

9.30 – 11.00

Towards a Better Work- Family Balance

The working woman has a dual role in terms of her responsibilities for her family and professional life. Some women, who decide that they cannot perform these roles together, are either compelled to compromise on their family life by choosing their profession, or compromise on their work life by choosing to be housewives. Many women who want to pursue a career make use of their education four themselves and for their country cannot spend enough time with their families due to the conflict they experience in these roles, which either creates a psychological pressure on women, or causes them to be hesitant in getting married and starting a family. Policies that regulate working conditions in a way that takes into account the needs of women and the time they need to devote to their children, that provide part-time working opportunities for women, develop nurseries and care facilities at workplaces, and ensure sharing of responsibilities in family between spouses can make it easier for women to take part in the work life, and also contribute to ensuring the integrity of family. This session will address policies and suggestions that women take part in the work life without harming the unity of their family and neglecting their children, will also underline the active participation of men to this process.

Moderator
Assoc. Prof. Dr. E. Sare Aydın Yılmaz
MEP AK Party, Founding President of KADEM

Contribution of Social Policies in Achieving Work-Life Balance
Ahmed Mohamed Aref
Researcher, Doha International Family Institute, Qatar Foundation, EGYPT

Achieving Family Friendly Work Hours
Dr. Willem Adema
Senior Economist, OECD Social Policy Division

Increasing the Role of Father in Upbringing of Children
Dr. Fred Deven
Psychologist, University of Louvain

Work – Life Balance and Career in Corporate Life
Dr. Margarida Gonçalves Neto
Doctor, Casa de Saúde do Telhal Hospital

11.15 – 12.45

Media And Family Interaction: Digitalization Of Relations

There are both positive and negative effects of the media on the family. Educational programs in the media contribute positively to intra-family relations, distribution of roles in the family, relationships between spouses, and parent-child interactions. However, there are negative effects of communication tools and social media due to reasons such as their ability to reveal family privacy, make virtual infidelity possible, change family and marriage expectancy, cause social isolation, pave the way for corrupting family loyalty, change expectations and destroy value systems. This session will discuss the positive and negative effects of mass communication tools and social media on the family, as well as suggestions and policies to strengthen the intra-family relations and the unity of the family are expected to be made against the negative effects of the media. On the other hand, suggestions for increasing the positive effects of the media that has become indispensable in today’s world.

Moderator
Fatma Barbarosoğlu
Journalist, TURKEY

Impact of Media on Family
Dr. Sumaiyah Ahmed
Assistant Professor, Jamia Hamdard School of Humanities and Social Sciences, INDIA

Family Profile in Media
Prof. Dong Hoon Ma
Director of School of Media and Communication, Korea University, SOUTH KOREA 

Family And Social Media Relationship
Prof. Ferhan Odabaşı
Professor, Anadolu University Faculty Of Education, Turkey 

Family Relationships in the Series and Cinema, Past and Present
Birol Güven
Scriptwriter & Producer, TURKEY

14.00 – 15.30

The Impact Of Conflicts And Poverty On Families

This session will address two issues which are directly or indirectly linked to each other: Conflict and poverty. The wars and conflicts in different regions of the world have the most destructive effects on the institutions of family. As a result of wars and conflicts, families are displaced, falling apart, and becoming impoverished. Families that have been displaced are faced with fundamental problems such as accommodation, financial difficulties, health, and adapting to the places they take refuge in.

On the other hand, poverty as a multifaceted social problem, deeply affects the family. Family members, surrounded by poverty, face problems related to education, health, nutrition and sheltering in decent conditions. This session will focus on the effects of conflict and poverty on the structure, integrity and the members of the family, as well as the policies and measures to protect the family against poverty. In this context, the policies and strategies to be developed by the public sector, the private sector, local governments and non-governmental organizations to combat poverty will be specifically addressed.

Moderator
Reem Abu Hassan
Former Ministry of Social Development, JORDAN

Family Life and Structure in War and Conflict
Sabiha Husic
Theologian & Psychotherapist, Medica Zenica, BOSNIA- HERZEGOVINA

Family Well-Being and Poverty: Strategies for Sustainable Families
Dr. Deisi Kusztra Weber
President, World Family Organization, BRASIL 

Conditions of Refugee and Internally Displaced Families
Dr. Ali Khashan
Former Minister of Justice of the Palestinian Authority, President of Palestine Global Center for Justice & Humanity, PALESTINE 

Families as a Protective Tool in Economic Hardships
Dr. Zitha Mokomane
Associate Professor, University of Pretoria, SOUTH AFRICA