Belgium The League of Large and Young Families

1
BelgiumThe League of Large and YoungFamilies
The Bond

• Pluralistic and nongovernmental organization
  which began in 1921
• Unites 300,000 families in Flanders and Brussels,
  representing more than 1 million men, women, and
  children
• Represents 1/6 of the Flemish population

2
The Aims of the Bond

• To promote solidarity between families
• To promote the interests of all families
• To work towards a family- and child-oriented
  climate in society

3
The Bonds Organizational Structure

• The Bond is organized locally (1,100 branches),
  regionally (33 regions), provincially
  (5 provinces), and centrally
• All representatives are democratically elected
  every 6 years
• Efforts are supported by 14,000
  volunteers
• Volunteer workers are supported
  by 120 personnel

4
The Bonds Activities

• Political action on behalf of families
• Promoting social life at the local level
• Providing family-oriented services for member
  families

5
Successful Political Initiatives

• Preserving child allowances
• Creating a minister for Culture, Family, and
  Welfare
• Making family impact assessment of government
  policies compulsory
• Establishing home loans for low-income families
  with at least three
  children

6
Successful Political Initiatives

• Laying the groundwork for children to be heard in
  divorce proceedings
• Ensuring the right of grandparents to see their
  grandchildren
• Banning television advertising 5 minutes
  before and after childrens
  television programming

7
Methods of Accomplishing Political Objectives

• Organizing rallies
• Encouraging regional representatives to contact
  politicians
• Preparing press releases and leaflets for
  distribution
• Establishing commissions to study important
  aspects of family policy
• Launching a five-year program to follow
  economic and social trends in
  order to formulate new policies

8
Methods of Accomplishing Political Objectives

• Organizing lunch meetings with the press,
  politicians, and organizations to discuss family
  proposals
• Scheduling audiences with ministers to present
  aims and requests
• Representing families on advisory bodies and
  management committees which deal
  with family policy at the local
  and national levels

9
Promoting Social Life at the Local Level

• Offering recreational sports for young and old
• Providing a range of quality childrens films
• Organizing childrens clubs and workshops
• Organizing family day trips
• Providing educational programs for
  parents/grandparents

10
Provides Direct Services to Families

• Operates more than 800 baby-sitting services that
  provide care for the children of 175,000 families
  per year
• Provides newsletters to young parents during
  pregnancy and the first six years of life with
  costs sponsored through advertising
• Rents infant car seats
• Provide discounts of 3 to 10
  in family stamps for food, shoes,
  toys, clothing, furniture

11
Provides Direct Services to Families

• Offer vacations at their two holiday centers
  including one in Austria
• Operate summer camps for children 6 to 15
  year-olds
• Provide consumer advice, complaint department,
  and legal services
• Offer counseling services
• Provide a weekly magazine