Amidst the worldwide coronavirus crisis, the General Assembly of the International Family Equality Day (IFED) calls for innovative solutions, unity and mutual support.
Not just one but two important events for family equality were supposed to take place in Geneva yesterday: Firstly, the General Assembly of the “International Family Equality Day” (IFED) NGO, and secondly the UN side event “The Recognition and Respect of Families”. The latter had been co-organized by IFED and the Global Interfaith Network (GIN-SSOGIE) and was set to be held during the 43rd session of the Human Rights Council. Due to the measures imposed by the Swiss Federal Council and the United Nations at the beginning of the week to protect the public by slowing down the spread of COVID-19, neither event could be held as originally planned.
Unusual but effective
Global representation
One of the main items on the agenda was the election of new board members. “We are thrilled to welcome Benny Odongo from Kenya, Lana Woolf from Australia and Serena Johnson from the United States in our ranks,” says IFED Board Member Ging Cristobal. “With Benny, Lana and Serena, every continent is now represented on the IFED board. This is another strong sign of the universal relevance of the International Family Equality Day and a great motivator to tackle the upcoming tasks.” It is also a reflection of how much IFED is growing and finding its place on the global human rights stage. Regarding future plans, the IFED community will continue to fight for the global recognition of equal rights for rainbow families and people with diverse gender identities, sexualities and sex characteristics in general. “Highlighting the importance of family diversity, enhancing our visibility and mutual empowerment is what we keep striving for,” says newly elected IFED board member Benny Odongo, adding that this year’s focus lies on raising awareness for the need of safe and inclusive learning environments where no child feels inferior or left behind.
New challenges, new ideas
DONWLOAD: IFED Motto 2020: “FAMILY DIVERSITY IN EDUCATION”
DOWNLOAD: IFED Report 2019: “FAMILIES: UNITED WE STAND”
Media contacts:
Benny Odongo (IFED Board-Member, Kenya) +254 711131195
Lana Woolf (IFED Board-Member, Australia): +61 477530312
Ging Cristobal ( IFED Board-Member, Philippines): +63 9175570404
Maria von Känel ( IFED Board-Member, Switzerland ): +41 79 611 06 71