Inspiring Climate Action Since 2009
Hi Tribe, today is International Day of Families and this is a great occasion to understand how this smallest identifiable social unit or system can help in sustainable development and creating demand for sustainable transformation of our economy and businesses.
Let’s first understand the origin story of this day. The year 1994 was proclaimed as the International Year of Families by the United Nations. This was a response to changing social and economic structures, which have affected and still affect the structure and stability of family units in many regions of the globe. Since then 15th April is observed as International Day of Families to celebrate the importance of families, people, societies, and cultures around the world.
On this day it’s important to understand how family structures around the world are changing. The large joint families are becoming a thing of the past and families are becoming smaller, more molecular. Even single-parent families are becoming more common than before. Moreover, new technologies, rapid urbanization, and migration has been changing the family dynamics worldwide.
From the government level, family policies are great ways for governments to influence the standard of living of future generations. At the same time, families, the fundamental social units of our modern societies have great significance to accelerate sustainable development.
A UNICEF study concluded in a report “Key Findings on Families, Family Policy and the Sustainable Development Goals” analyses how family policies can affect sustainable development. According to this report, the six SDGs poverty; health; education; gender equality; youth unemployment; and ending violence are directly linked to family policies. When this study highlights families contribute to social progress including sustainable development. We also need to break down this approach and understand how family values, family environment affects people to think beyond self and choose to live more sustainably.
Values like peace, environmental protection, helping others, or animal love start at home. While researchers and policymakers dwell on how family policies can accelerate SDGs, we all can definitely focus on what is possible for each of us. Instilling sustainability values in our own families. We all can try and adapt as much sustainable lifestyle, make our home more sustainable, choose to be conscious consumers, and help understand our children about social and environmental sustainability early on via green parenting.
If I may reflect on my own experience of my upbringing, I always have mentioned how I have seen my parents giving back to society and helping others. It was a big part of our family values and so my upbringing. This is exactly the reason why it’s been more than 12 years Sustainability Tribe has been educating society about sustainable lifestyle for free, giving all the knowledge to readers and expecting only their positive actions in return. I see from my own experience as a child, how families can change the way our future citizens think about topics like gender equality, environmental conservation and as a parent, I take efforts to instill those values in my child.
Being a sustainable family, we have family traditions of environmental cleanups every time we go outside or travel. We make a point by participating in environmental conservation volunteering with our son so that he’ll also understand the reason behind it and gain knowledge. Recycling, composting, creating our own chemical-free cleaning products, and responsible consumption of resources is part of our daily routine. I even prefer a more sustainable, slow parenting as my parenting style and share my Green Parenting tips. The goal behind Sustainability Tribe has been helping individuals and families to make a switch to a sustainable lifestyle. We even have a structured challenge-based educational program, our Ambassador Program for anyone who wants to make this switch but doesn’t know where to start?
Because we can’t wait for our policymakers to bring all changes, because ‘be the change you want to see in the world’!
Do you think you want to instill some sustainability values in your family? Then Join our Tribe, today and start your journey!
Amruta Kshemkalyani, an expert sustainability professional turned social entrepreneur, is the founder of the Sustainability Tribe, AK Sustainability
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