Our discussion with Dr. Ayesha Al-Qahtani about “The role of the father in instilling language, values, and religion in children.”
Overview
Building on the theme of the 59th session of the Commission for Social Development: “Socially just transition towards sustainable development: the role of digital technologies on social development and well-being of all,” the 2021 observance of the International Day of Families focused on the impacts of new technologies on the well-being of families.
On 24 May 2021, the Doha International Family Institute (DIFI) organized a virtual panel discussion to commemorate this year’s International Day of Families, highlighting the important topic of “Technology and familial relationships amid COVID- 19.”. Dr. Sharifa Noman AL-Emadi commenced the event and stated that “Technology has reshaped our relationship with our extended families, paving the way for us to connect with loved ones we cannot see. It has also allowed us to spend more time with our children and adolescents, especially as organizations around the world have introduced flexible working arrangements and steps towards working from home.”.
The lively discussion was held between Dr. Deisi Kusztra, President of the World Family Organization, Prof. Raian Ali, Division of Information & Computing Technology, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Dr. Deena Al Thani, Assistant Professor and the Director of Interdisciplinary Programs at the College of Science and Engineering at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Ms. Francesca Gottschalk, Analyst at OECD Directorate for Education and Skills, and Ms. Ana Neito, Early Childhood Development Specialist at UNICEF. The session was moderated by Mr. Ahmed Aref, Planning and Content Manager at the Doha International Family Institute.
The session provided a platform for a diverse set of stakeholders, including experts, civil society, academics and United Nations entities to discuss and better understand how technology has impacted familial relationships, especially with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The event highlighted the measures taken to support families as well as the challenges faced by families and to exchange experiences and lessons learned concerning new evidence and innovations targeted at families, in the context of technology and digital world.
Dr. Deisi Kusztra highlighted the main challenges that families faced and are still facing during the COVID-19 Pandemic and how technology has exacerbated these challenges. Dr. Raian Ali discussed the problematic usage of technology in the family context, including digital addiction and outlined the necessary policy changes in this area. Dr. Deena Al Thani underscored the importance of modern-day technologies such as augmented and virtual reality and how they can support children online education during the pandemic, as well as how to minimize the effects of digital inequality when accessing vital health information. Ms. Francesca Gottschalk shed light on the effects of technology use on children in terms of their brain, cognitive, socio-emotional, and physical development. Lastly, Ms. Ana Neito outlined the role of UNICEF in tackling the challenges of technology on family relationships amid COVID-19.
Date and time:
Date: May 24th, 2021
Time: 8:00-9:00 pm (Doha time)
Format: Virtual through Zoom
Event Topic:
Technology and familial relationships amid Covid- 19
Objectives:
DIFI aims to provide a platform for a diverse set of stakeholders, including governments, civil society, academics and United Nations entities to undertake a dialogue to enable a better understanding of how technology has impacted familial relationships, especially with the prevalence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The event will highlight the measures taken to support families as well as the challenges faced by families and to exchange experiences and lessons learned concerning new evidence and innovations targeted at families. To that end, the IDF celebration event aims to address the following:
To watch the event click here : https://zoom.us/rec/share/hxme0-RMF0UGBDOUB6HHibtDMXRpqJCSJuZ2EW-Aw9a2aQbZIBlWSxHzmyx5QCV-.od8F2me5UGzThjiA
The Doha International Family Institute (DIFI) has launched the OSRA research grant in its sixth cycle which is a research grant on Arab families and family policy related issues.
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