it is important, however the issues related to the family must be perceived in greater scope – to ensure that the measures do not include just assistance.  

Marlena Maląg, Minister of Family and Social Policy who hosted the meeting, stressed that family support activities would be incomplete without the involvement of local authorities: - A happy family bringing up children is an important element of the security, stability and well-being of local communities, which form a national community. Therefore, at all levels, both governmental and self-government, we need to ensure to establish conditions which will allow families to develop their family support. The expenditures made in support of families must not be perceived as social assistance, but rather as a necessary investment. In accounting terms, the family always classifies as an investment, rather than expenditure.

During her speech, Minister Maląg summarised the measures successfully implemented by the Ministry of Family in 2020; which served as the basis for developing actions to strengthen the family at every level. These included, for instance: establishing a record number of childcare facilities for children under 3 years of age, maintaining over 6 million jobs and providing benefits in support of parents during the pandemic, as well as the protection of the most vulnerable and senior people during this difficult time.

The need for a new look at the issue of cooperation between institutions working for the family has been highlighted by the speech given by Deputy Minister Barbara Socha, Government Plenipotentiary for Demographic Policy. She explained that this is another step in the consistent effort to put the family at the centre of attention. – We started by diagnosing the situation and developing a general concept of how to put the family at the heart of the community. Later, we have developed a model of cooperation between organizations; in the meantime, we launched the “Family First!” programme addressed to the NGOs. We have also strengthened our cooperation with the Voivodes’ Plenipotentiaries for Family – Barbara Socha added. – The next steps are ahead of us: we are going to carry out pilot implementations of the ideas developed in those municipalities that want to become even more involved in family activities, and to help disseminate good practice.

The main principles of the organizational cooperation model, based on the idea of establishing social relations in such a way as to strengthen strong links within local communities were presented by the Dorota Bojemska, the Chairwoman of the Family Council: – our idea has a very practical dimension. This is not a resolution, but a concrete action in various areas\ that are crucial for increasing the well-being of families, such as family sustainability, health, culture, education, local identity and working in the area of the so-called social competences of young people, allowing them to overcome the issues of loneliness, lack of close relations and community ties.

The next section of the meeting presents examples of good practice and a pilot project for municipalities which are ready to implement a new model of cooperation and communication for pro-family activities. At the end of the conference, the representative of KGHM Polska Miedź SA Blażej Marzoch spoke about how the company engages in pro-family activities, and the benefits it brings both to the local community and the company itself. 

Among the conference's guests – in addition to representatives of local authorities: city presidents, starosts, mayors and village mayors, the event was attended by Voivodes and Voivodeship Marshals, representatives of the Polish Episcopate, representatives of the Family Council and representatives of the NGOs working in favour of families.