Family as Society’s Foundation: Challenges and Policy Perspectives

Family has always been the cornerstone upon which society is built. It is a duty of the family to step out of its shell and participate in the cultural, political, and social life of the society in which it lives and develops, the so-called “family cell”.

It is essential to promote a “culture” of the family in a “global sense,” recognizing that the family is a resource and a valuable asset for society as a whole. These were the three main themes around which the debate, held at the parish youth center on the occasion of Family Day, was centered. The main speaker was Antonio Zerman from the Verona Municipal Council.

Topics discussed during the debate

In his clear presentation, supported by many insightful slides, Zerman emphasized the multiple aspects of today’s family. From the significant issue of demographic decline at the provincial level, to single-person households, better known as “single,” to the families of the elderly, referred to as “empty nests” because they are without children, as they are already married and live outside their original family.

He also addressed the issue of “de facto” families, formed by divorced or separated individuals, which still today do not exceed 1.6% of the provincial population. There is still, Zerman continued, a strong desire for family among young people. This is demonstrated by the over 4,000 marriages celebrated each year in the Verona province.

However, another data point must be noted. In our area, 2,200 separations and divorces are recorded annually. It is also important to highlight that today’s families show increased relational bonds among parents or spouses, grandparents, and grandchildren, and the family that holds together functions much better than in the past. The relationship, therefore, becomes stronger and more rewarding.

Problems and challenges facing modern families

There is also a marked decline in birth rates, demographic decrease, with a significant increase in the elderly population. In Verona, today’s fifteen-year-olds are half as many as thirty-year-olds, meaning young people must take on the “management” of the elderly.

The family must therefore serve as the “vehicle” for managing voluntary work and caring for the increasingly broad world of seniors and the elderly. The family must also be a spur for local politics.

It must, the speaker added, be a firm point, perhaps through family associations, representing the broad and important issues that families face within society and the community where they live and operate. Greater attention from politics toward the family is necessary.

A long-term plan around family policies must be outlined, rather than mere “patch” interventions to address urgent and emerging problems. Society must foster solidarity and social subsidiarity.