Our discussion with Dr. Ayesha Al-Qahtani about “The role of the father in instilling language, values, and religion in children.”
The advancement of knowledge on Arab families and the promotion of evidence-based policies at the national, regional and international levels is at the core of the Doha International Family Institute’s (DIFI) efforts to foster healthy, educated societies underpinned by strong cohesive families in Qatar and the region.
In recognition of this commitment, the Doha International Family Institute was awarded the first “Best Organization to Support Family Issues in the Arab Region” prize for 2020 presented by the Department of Women Family and Childhood in the Social Affairs Sector of the League of Arab States (LAS) on 18 May 2021.
This award recognizes the significant roles of organizations in highlighting family issues and promoting societal cohesion. It aims to encourage organizations and institutions that focus on family issues to underscore and protect the roles of families as essential building blocks of society and its stability.
LAS announced the award contest in 2020 through the permanent delegations. Since then, Arab countries nominated officially the representing organizations. DIFI was nominated by Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs, representing the state of Qatar in this Award. The key criteria for selection as per the League of Arab States were; the constant work over 10 years in strengthening the role of the Arab family, women, and children, producing research and sufficient knowledge on child and women protection, supporting the protection policies and systems on the local and regional levels, , and working on initiatives that serve families and assist Arab families in confronting and solving their challenges.
DIFI’s projects and initiatives to support Arab families on the international, regional and national spheres are evidence of its significant role. For example, DIFI’s special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) has allowed it to hold side-events at the United Nations tackling issues pertaining to family cohesion, family wellbeing and protection, marriage and divorce, parenting and behavioral issues. In addition, DIFI’s regional efforts include producing knowledge on the condition of marriage and family strengths in the Arab region as well as offering the OSRA research grant to promote research for evidence-based policies. DIFI is currently in partnership with LAS are conducing Pan-Arab level study on assessing marital relationships in the first five years of marriage. Meanwhile on a local level, DIFI’s efforts include producing research reports, transforming the evidence into policy outcomes, and advocating for the development of policies and programs with stakeholders and policymakers to support family cohesion and wellbeing. Examples of the topics that DIFI produces research on, and advocating for the development of policies and programs in Qatar are; social aspects of fertility, work-family balance, adolescents wellbeing, impact of covid-19 on family cohesion, and protection systems from domestic violence, among many other topics to support family cohesion and wellbeing.
HE Ambassador Dr. Haifa Abu-Ghazaleh, Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the Social Affairs Sector of the League of Arab States, explained, “The selection of the Doha International Family Institute, a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, to receive the Family Friendly Institutions Award for the year 2020 for its efforts at the national and regional levels to enhance the role of the family. The Arab League, which culminated in partnership with the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States in preparing a platform for family work and sustainable development in the Arab region, as well as the important research project that we are currently conducting together on evaluating marital relations during the first five years of marriage
To watch the video ,click on the link https://youtu.be/xkPUjn6F0ME
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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