Contemporary issues in family studies : global perspectives on partnerships, parenting and support in a changing world

Abstract

The inspiration for this book came from a colloquium held on the Mediterranean island of Malta in 2009. The Cana Movement, a leading NGO which has been providing services to Maltese families for over fifty years, invited one of us, Angela Abela, to assist in the organisation of a colloquium on supporting families in a changing world. Dr Anna Maria Vella, the then President of the Cana Movement, invited a group of leading scholars from around the world to meet at the magnificent Presidential Palace in Valletta for two days in October 2009 to debate global changes in marriage and family life and consider the kinds of supports that are necessary to buttress strong, stable couple relationships and strengthen parenting practices. The colloquium was held under the patronage of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Malta, Dr George Abela, and under the auspices of the Standing Committee on Social Affairs of the Maltese Parliament. It was made possible by the financial support of the Doha International Institute for Family Studies and Development (DIIFSD). The DIIFSD was established in 2006 to promote and strengthen the family, and it provides a platform for networking opportunities between international scholars, practitioners and organisations working on issues related to the protection of families. During the colloquium, the participants agreed with Angela Abela’s suggestion that the papers presented should be collated in a book which would discuss contemporary issues and global changes impacting on family life across the world. Dr Vella and Dr Richard Wilkins, the then Executive Director of DIIFSD, both of whom had attended and contributed to the colloquium, readily endorsed the idea. Angela Abela took responsibility for developing the proposal and invited one of the key speakers, Janet Walker, to join her as co-editor.