AS THE world looks ahead to the Second World Summit for Social Development in November 2025, the International Day of Families (IDF) will highlight the importance of family-focused policies in driving sustainable development. Under the theme “Family-Oriented Policies for Sustainable Development: Towards the Second World Summit for Social Development,” the event will share key insights from national and regional initiatives, underscoring families’ crucial role in realizing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The 2025 observance will emphasize the crucial role of integrating family-focused policies into national development agendas to tackle key global megatrends, including technological transformation, demographic shifts, urbanization, migration, and climate change. During the World Summit for Social Development in March 1995 in Copenhagen, world governments reached a new consensus on prioritizing people in development. This summit marked the largest gathering of world leaders in history, according to the United Nations.
The Declaration at the first World Summit stressed that poverty eradication is an essential ethical, social, political, and economic goal. It outlined a unified approach focused on three key objectives of social development: eliminating poverty, promoting full and productive employment, and advancing social inclusion. The Declaration emphasized that social development cannot be achieved through the social sectors alone or isolated efforts. Instead, it called for a values-driven approach, aligning objectives and priorities to enhance social progress, improve quality of life, and ensure well-being for all. Its core aspiration was to “place people at the centre of development, ensuring full participation by everyone”.
In implementing family-oriented policies, each country must prioritize social development to enhance both the physical and mental well-being of individuals while addressing undesirable social issues. At the same time, countries, including Myanmar, need to alleviate poverty, as it can contribute to the emergence of social problems. Only by alleviating poverty can people fully benefit from improved well-being, especially in developing and underdeveloped countries. In doing so, societies will be better positioned to prevent social issues effectively.
As part of the 2025 International Day of Families theme, countries around the world must address social challenges and family-related issues. Their efforts will help establish prosperous families and stronger societies. Therefore, it is essential for everyone to support the initiatives of global countries in celebrating and implementing the International Day of Families, with the goal of building a more confident and cohesive society while enhancing their capacity to overcome unexpected family problems.
