International Project on Changing Families and Family Relationships Began
An international project entitled "FamiliesAndSocieties - Changing Families
and Sustainable Societies: Policy contexts and diversity over the life
course and across generations" began on Friday, 1 February
2013.FamiliesAndSocieties is a major European research project funded under
the Seventh Framework Programme with the aim to investigate the diversity
of family forms, relationships and life courses in Europe, to assess the
compatibility of existing policies with these changes, and to contribute to
evidence-based policy-making. Coordinated by Livia Sz. Oláh, Associate
Professor at the Stockholm University Demography Unit (SUDA), Department of
Sociology, the consortium brings together 25 leading universities, research
institutes from 15 European countries, three transnational civil society
actors and a large number of national and international stakeholders.
Estonia is represented by a researcher from the Tallinn University Estonian
Institute for Population Studies. The project is funded from February 2013
for four years with about 6.5 million EUR in EU contribution.The points of
departure for the project are that family life courses are becoming more
complex and diverse, that individuals’ lives are interdependent –
linked within and across generations – and that individual life courses
are shaped by social contexts and policies. Four transversal dimensions are
integrated into the project: gender, culture (ethnic, migrant and cultural
identities, sexual orientation), socioeconomic resources, and life
stages.The project will:- explore the growing complexity of family
configurations and transitions across and within European societies; -
examine their implications for children, women and men with respect to
inequalities in life chances, intergenerational relations and care
arrangements; - investigate how policies address family diversity and its
consequences;- identify likely paths of future changes in family
compositions and related policy needs."Our approach is multidisciplinary
combining a wide range of expertise in social sciences, law and the
humanities, represented in the consortium," says Livia Sz. Oláh. "We will
conduct comparative analysis applying advanced quantitative methods to high
quality register and survey data, and also conduct qualitative studies."
The project will develop two databases, one on the legal content of family
forms available in European countries, and another on EC/EU initiatives in
core family-policy areas covering the period from 1957 to the present.The
project is organized into 12 work packages including management and
dissemination activities. Substantive work packages address family
configurations, new gender roles, the new role of children and assisted
reproductive technology, inequalities in children’s life chances,
childcare arrangements, intergenerational links, social inclusion/exclusion
of migrants, policies and diversity over the life course, and foresight,
synthesis and policy implications. All major European regions are
represented in the project governance. Together with various stakeholders,
government agencies, national and local policy-makers, non-governmental
organizations and additional members of the scientific community across
Europe, the project will identify and disseminate innovation and best
policy practices.For further information please visit the SUDA website:
http://www.suda.su.se/. The project website will be launched in July
2013.For further information please contactAllan PuurLeading
ResearcherTallinn University Estonian Institute for Population
StudiesPhone: +372 645 4125E-mail: allan.puur@tlu.ee
and Sustainable Societies: Policy contexts and diversity over the life
course and across generations" began on Friday, 1 February
2013.FamiliesAndSocieties is a major European research project funded under
the Seventh Framework Programme with the aim to investigate the diversity
of family forms, relationships and life courses in Europe, to assess the
compatibility of existing policies with these changes, and to contribute to
evidence-based policy-making. Coordinated by Livia Sz. Oláh, Associate
Professor at the Stockholm University Demography Unit (SUDA), Department of
Sociology, the consortium brings together 25 leading universities, research
institutes from 15 European countries, three transnational civil society
actors and a large number of national and international stakeholders.
Estonia is represented by a researcher from the Tallinn University Estonian
Institute for Population Studies. The project is funded from February 2013
for four years with about 6.5 million EUR in EU contribution.The points of
departure for the project are that family life courses are becoming more
complex and diverse, that individuals’ lives are interdependent –
linked within and across generations – and that individual life courses
are shaped by social contexts and policies. Four transversal dimensions are
integrated into the project: gender, culture (ethnic, migrant and cultural
identities, sexual orientation), socioeconomic resources, and life
stages.The project will:- explore the growing complexity of family
configurations and transitions across and within European societies; -
examine their implications for children, women and men with respect to
inequalities in life chances, intergenerational relations and care
arrangements; - investigate how policies address family diversity and its
consequences;- identify likely paths of future changes in family
compositions and related policy needs."Our approach is multidisciplinary
combining a wide range of expertise in social sciences, law and the
humanities, represented in the consortium," says Livia Sz. Oláh. "We will
conduct comparative analysis applying advanced quantitative methods to high
quality register and survey data, and also conduct qualitative studies."
The project will develop two databases, one on the legal content of family
forms available in European countries, and another on EC/EU initiatives in
core family-policy areas covering the period from 1957 to the present.The
project is organized into 12 work packages including management and
dissemination activities. Substantive work packages address family
configurations, new gender roles, the new role of children and assisted
reproductive technology, inequalities in children’s life chances,
childcare arrangements, intergenerational links, social inclusion/exclusion
of migrants, policies and diversity over the life course, and foresight,
synthesis and policy implications. All major European regions are
represented in the project governance. Together with various stakeholders,
government agencies, national and local policy-makers, non-governmental
organizations and additional members of the scientific community across
Europe, the project will identify and disseminate innovation and best
policy practices.For further information please visit the SUDA website:
http://www.suda.su.se/. The project website will be launched in July
2013.For further information please contactAllan PuurLeading
ResearcherTallinn University Estonian Institute for Population
StudiesPhone: +372 645 4125E-mail: allan.puur@tlu.ee