Defending Marriage and the Natural Family — IOF WEEKLY

Latin American Alliance for the Family (Venezuela)

Associazione per La Difesa dei Valori Cristiani – Luci sull’Est (Italy)

CitizenGO

Foundation For African Cultural Heritage (Nigeria)

Freedom’s Journal Institute for the Study of Faith and Public Policy (USA)

Georgian Demographic Society (Republic of Georgia)

Touchstone Magazine: A Journal of Mere Christianity

Go here to get tickets for the WCF Malawi Conference.

International Organization for the Family

Statement regarding:

ICCPR, Article 6(1): Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.

ICCPR, Article 6(5): Sentence of death shall not be imposed for crimes committed by persons below eighteen years of age and shall not be carried out on pregnant women.

Pregnant women and their unborn children have historically been given special consideration in law and policy. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) speaks in its Preamble of the “equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family,” and states in Article 3 that “Everyone has the right to life…” Article 6 adds that “Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law,” while Article 7 declares that “All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to every protection of the law.”

Hence, although the UDHR does not expressly mention protection of the unborn, it does imply it, according to Patrick J. Flood: “Abortion was not a major political or legal issue in 1948 [at the adoption of the UDHR], and very few countries allowed it on any but the most serious grounds, notably when necessary to prevent the death of the mother. Although the drafters of the Declaration decided not to deal directly with the unborn, they opted for the broadest and most inclusive language possible to describe the subjects of human rights.”

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (“ICCPR”) implies even more forcefully that unborn children are among the human beings who, as stated in its Article 6(1), have “the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.” The scope of who is entitled to this protection is illuminated by what soon follows in Article 6(5) regarding the protection of pregnant women who, save for their pregnancy, would not be so protected: “Sentence of death shall not be imposed for crimes committed by persons below eighteen years of age and shall not be carried out on pregnant women.”

This immutable provision— no derogation from which is permitted even “in time of public emergency which threatens the life of the nation and the existence of which is officially proclaimed,” says Article 4— is reflected nearly ubiquitously in national laws. As noted by the Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide, “In almost every country in the world, it is illegal to execute a pregnant woman. Of the 92 countries that retain the death penalty, 83 have passed laws prohibiting the execution of pregnant women.”

The rationale for ICCPR’s special exemption of pregnant women from the death penalty is not difficult to discern. Protecting these women is the only way of protecting their innocent unborn children, observes Patrick J. Flood. “The [ICCPR] ban on execution of a pregnant woman, which is unqualified and without exception, can have only one foundation, namely, to spare the life of an innocent human being, her child. Moreover, it is only the fact that the woman is carrying an innocent child that exempts her from being put to death. She need not file any appeal or take other action to gain this exemption. The basis of all systems of criminal justice is that the guilty shall be punished and the innocent shall not, and international human rights instruments reflect this logic.”

This rationale for protecting the unborn children of condemned mothers by means of the ICCPR ban is corroborated by the record of the discussion that produced the ban, as noted by Professor William Schabas, distinguished international human rights scholar. “With respect to the [ICCPR] exclusion of pregnant women, the Secretary-General’s Annotations suggest that the provision was added out of ‘consideration for the interests of the unborn child.’ The drafters of the Covenant studiously avoided pronouncing themselves on the difficult issue of when the right to life begins. The Covenant does, however, protect the unborn child, something that is completely compatible with provisions in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.”

The necessary implication of the ICCPR exemption of pregnant women from execution is clear. If an unborn child living in the womb of a woman sentenced to death has an independent claim to legal protection, then all unborn children necessarily have that same claim. As a result, if States Parties to ICCPR are obligated to protect unborn children under Article 6(5), they are equally obligated to protect all unborn children in their “inherent right to life” under Article 6(1).

When the United States ratified ICCPR, one of the reservations it filed was the following. “The United States reserves the right, subject to its Constitutional constraints, to impose capital punishment on any person (other than a pregnant woman) duly convicted under existing or future laws permitting the imposition of capital punishment, including such punishment for crimes committed by persons below eighteen years of age.” It is noteworthy that in insisting on its own national criteria for the administration of capital punishment, for which the United States was roundly criticized by no less than 11 countries, it kept the exemption for pregnant mothers.

The protection and care of pregnant women and their unborn children is reflected in additional provisions of United Nations documents.

“Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance.” (UDHR, 25(2).)

“Special protection should be accorded to mothers during a reasonable period before and after childbirth.” (International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 10-2.)

“The child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth.” (Convention on the Rights of the Child, preamble.)

“Particular attention should be given to the provision of pre-natal care to ensure healthy babies.” (Agenda 21, 6.21.)

“The right of access to appropriate health-care services… will enable women to go safely through pregnancy and childbirth and provide couples with the best chance of having a healthy infant.” (International Conference on Population and Development, 7.2; Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action, 94, 97; Five-year review of Beijing Declaration (23rd special session of the General Assembly), 72-i.)

“The reduction of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality is a health sector priority.” (A World Fit for Children, 37-l.)

In conclusion, the International Organization for the Family respectfully points out the irreconcilable contradiction in General Comment 36 of including language protecting pregnant women from the death sentence while calling for legal access to abortion. We also call for a return of the General Comment 36 language acknowledging the inherent right to life of unborn children. We urge the Human Rights Committee to faithfully implement the foregoing United Nations consensus provisions safeguarding pregnant women and the inherent right to life of their unborn children.

October 23, 2017

Standing Tall: Mother Teresa and Her Defense of the Unborn

One of our most faithful supporters recently told us of the indelible impression made upon him by the speaker at his 1982 graduation ceremony from Harvard. That speaker was Mother Teresa, whose diminutive stature—standing only 5 feet tall—provided a stunning contrast to her towering courage. There, at one of the most liberal institutions on earth, this fearless little nun spoke up for the unborn. “It is something unbelievable that today a mother, herself, murders her own child, afraid of having to feed one more child, afraid to educate one more child. This is one of the greatest poverties. A nation, people, family that allows that, that accepts that, they are the poorest of the poor.”

As reported by the Harvard Journal, “Mother Teresa spoke with almost mesmerizing conviction; her excellent English had an accent and cadence compounded of her native Yugoslavia and India. What she said struck many listeners as anomalous in Harvard Yard on Class Day, but she received a long, standing ovation from the unusually large crowd come to hear a saintly woman.”

Protection of the unborn has been a pillar of our work from the beginning of IOF some two decades ago. Our Geneva Declaration at the 1999 World Congress of Families states: “The intrinsic worth, right to life and sanctity of life of every human person exists throughout the continuum of life, from fertilization until natural death. Every human life is a gift to the person, the family and society.” Since then we have continued to defend the unborn as we have united and equipped leaders worldwide, and lobbied directly in partnership with colleague organizations, to fulfill United Nations mandates to protect the family as the “natural and fundamental group unit of society” and to provide children with the “special safeguards and care [they need], including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth.”

Our most recent effort to protect the unborn also looks to Geneva, location of the Human Rights Committee, to which we have submitted a statement urging the committee to remain faithful to the intent of a major UN treaty. Meanwhile, Mother Teresa’s example beckons us all to join her in defending, in her own words, “the most vulnerable among us,” whose rights, as she told the United States Supreme Court, must be protected: “Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being’s entitlement by virtue of his humanity. The right to life does not depend, and must not be declared to be contingent, on the pleasure of anyone else, not even a parent or a sovereign.” Please join us in defending the inalienable right to life of the most vulnerable among us.

—E. Douglas Clark

IOF Director of UN and International Policy

Here’s What a Pro-Family Champion Looks Like

Dear Friend — Bosko Obradovic is a Member of Parliament in Serbia, and leader of the pro-family Dveri Party. He’s a close ally of the International Organization for the Family (IOF) and has attended a number of our World Congresses and regional conferences in order to learn from the top pro-family experts across the globe. He’s become a good friend of mine.

Bosko is much more than a committed and outspoken supporter of the family, he’s a true champion and courageous leader. The other day, he gave an incredible speech before the Serbian Parliament that was a true tour-de-force, an incredibly powerful rebuke of the LGBT movement. He spoke truth to power, and passionately took on the majority’s insistence on imposing pro-“homosexualism” on society.

Do yourself a favor and take ten minutes to see what a courageous champion looks like. I am so proud of my friend, Bosko Obradovic, for having the courage to speak so forcefully to take on the powers that be.

Each and every one of us, in our own way, needs to speak truth to power and stand up for the eternal truth of the natural family. One way to do that is to join citizens around the globe by adding your name to the Cape Town Declaration, a global decree launched by IOF on behalf of marriage and the natural family.

Tens of thousands of people have added their voices to the Cape Town Declaration, and I encourage you to do so as well.

I’m incredibly proud to consider Bosko as a friend. Serving as president of the International Organization for the Family is a great honor, in part because it gives me the opportunity to get to know true champions like him. It’s a true privilege to be in the arena with Bosko, you, and all our IOF supporters.

God Bless,

Brian S Brown

PS – The Cape Town Declaration was launched nearly a year ago at a summit organized by IOF. Tens of thousands of people have lent their names to the declaration. I encourage you to do the same, if you haven’t already. Thank you.

Donate to IOF Today

World Congress of Families Leadership Memo, October 27, 2017

WCF St Lucia Caribbean Conference Three Weeks Away
WCF Malawi African Conference with Impressive List of Speakers and Leaders
ADF Hosts Tony Abbott on Australian Marriage Vote and Fundamental Freedoms
Brian Brown Issues Call to Fight Soros $18 Billion Open Society Network

“For pro-family leaders…a project of the International Organization for Family, uniting and equipping leaders worldwide to promote the natural family.”

WCF St. Lucia Conference Now Just 3 Weeks Away

The fifth World Congress of Families Caribbean Conference, in St. Lucia (November 16-18) – with the theme, “The Family Development – Strong Families, Prosperous Nations” — is just 3 weeks away.

Organized by Sarah Flood-Beaubrun, a St Lucian Member of Parliament and founder of the Caribbean Centre for Family and Human Rights (CARIFAM), the conference will include coverage of such vital topics as: “The Demographic Reality in the Caribbean,” population control, “Fertility Education and Medical Management,” “The Unexpected Pregnancy,” Family Capital and SDGs, “Five Fatal Inconsistencies in Gender Theory,” Marriage Is the Foundation of Civilization,” “The Role of Fathers in Family and Nation Building,” “HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean,” Motherhood, and Comprehensive Sexuality Education. There will also be two youth panels.

Among the many exceptional speakers are: Rebekah Ali-Gouveia – Founder of the Elpis Centre (Trinidad), and World Congress of Families Caribbean Coordinator, who helped to organize conferences in Trinidad, Barbados and Antigua – Neydy Casillas, Senior Counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom International, who advocates for the sanctity of life and marriage at the OAS – Philippa Davies, Attorney at Law in Jamaica, Advocacy Officer for the Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society (JCHS) — Don Feder, World Congress of Families Coalitions Director and Coordinator of Regional Conferences – Anna Halpine, Founder of the World Youth Alliance, which attracts youth who wish to defend the dignity of the person – Kim Olsen, Director of Journey-2-Freedom, ministering to those hurting from abortion – Susan Roylance, Social Development Coordinator of the International Organization for the Family, and author of UN negotiating guides on family issues – Sharon Slater, President of Family Watch International, and director of the documentary “The War on Children: The Comprehensive Sexuality Education Agenda” – Glenn Stanton, Director of Family Formation at Focus on the Family, who has written and debated extensively on issues of gender, sexuality, marriage and parenting – Godfrey St. Bernard, Senior Fellow at the Institute of Economic and Social Studies, The University of the West Indies in Trinidad – Pastor Scot Strim has lived & ministered in Belize since 1983, is the Pastor of Jubilee Ministries and serves as VP of the National Evangelical Association. of Belize.

The WCF St. Lucia Conference will take place, November 16-18, at the Johnson’s Centre, Rodney Bay, Gros Islet.

For more information, please email sarahfloodbeaubrun@carifam.org.

World Congress of Families African Regional Conference in Malawi, Nov. 28-30

The World Congress of Families African Regional Conference in Malawi will take place at the Sunbird Capital Hotel in the Lilongwe, November 28-30.

With the theme “The African Family and Cultural Colonialism,” the conference will include speeches by the Bishop Thomas Luke Msusa, Roman Catholic Bishop of the Archdiocese of Blantyre in Malawi, Theresa Okafor (WCF Regional Coordinator for Africa), Ann Kioko (founder of the African Organization for Families), Don Feder (WCF Coalitions Director and Coordinator of Regional Conferences) and Sharon Slater, President of Family Watch International.

The conference will cover such timely topics as: Comprehensive Sexuality Education — the impact of pornography – the role of parents in education – abortion – contraception – maternal health – religious freedom – human rights, including those of children– and cultural rights.

Members of the organizing committee include Reverend Zacc Kawalala of Word is Alive Ministries, Moira Chimombo of SAFE-AFRICA, and Ann Kioko. MPs from Malawi and delegations from Uganda and Zambia are expected to attend.

Organizational sponsors of the Malawi Conference include: African Organization of Families, CitizenGo, Episcopal Alliance of Malawi, Evangelical Alliance of Malawi, Family Watch International, Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, SAFE, World Alive Ministries, and World Congress of Families.

WCF Managing Director Larry Jacobs observed: “We’ve become increasingly active in Africa, which is pivotal in the fight for the future of the family. George Soros and his allies are working hard to bring abortion and same-sex “marriage” to the continent. Without their resources, we are working even harder and smarter to oppose them. In the past year, we’ve had regional conferences in Lagos, Nairobi and Cape Town, and now our upcoming conference in Malawi. Another Nairobi conference is planned for next year.”

“We are honored to be working with organizations like the Foundation for African Cultural Heritage, the Kenya Christian Professionals Forum, Family Policy Institute (South Africa) and the African Organization for Families.”

“When Canada’s leftist Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his government would spend $650 million over the next three years to promote abortion in Africa, WCF and our Partner REAL Women of Canada did a joint petition opposing this shameless cultural imperialism.”

And this is only the beginning of our efforts to support African Families targeted by the Sexual Revolution and Foreign Elites and Imperialists.”

To sign the Trudeau petition http://www.citizengo.org/en/72827-stop-650-million-impose-abortion-and-population-control-limit-numbers-african-women-and

ADF Forum on “The Australian Marriage Vote and Fundamental Freedoms” with Tony Abbott, Former Prime Minister

On November 1 (from 7 to 8:30 pm, ET) Alliance Defending Freedom International, a WCF Partner, will hold a forum on “The Australian Marriage Vote and Fundamental Freedoms” at The Pierre Hotel in New York, NY, focusing on the current non-binding vote to assess public support for Same-Sex Marriage in Australia, through a mail-in ballot.

Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott will address the media on the significance of the ongoing Australian referendum.

There will also be addresses by ADF International President Michael P. Farris, Paul Coleman, Executive Director of ADF Int’l and Barronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene’s Flowers.

In February, the Washington State Supreme Court ordered Stutzman to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorneys fees to the ACLU, which sued her for refusing to do floral arrangements for a same-sex ceremony, as her conscience and religious principles dictate. The case is on appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

IOF President Brian Brown Issues a Call to Join the Fight Against George Soros and His $18,000,000,000 Transfer to the Open Society Network

International Organization for the Family (World Congress of Family’s parent organization) President Brian Brown isn’t discouraged by the news that leftist billionaire George Soros is donating $18 billion to his Open Society network of groups “in his quest to remake the family by redefining marriage, gender, sexuality and parenthood.”

Open Society works ceaselessly to deconstruct natural marriage and the family in Hungary, Serbia, Romania, Africa, the Caribbean and around the world.

In a recent mailing, Brian wrote: “The International Organization for the Family is a primary antagonist to George Soros, and we have a budget that is a tiny fraction of one percent of what Soros just donated to oppose us.”

Brian said his initial reaction was to be angry and upset at the seeming unfairness of this disparity – a man dedicated to the destruction of life and the natural family having the resources to pour into his lethal campaign.

Then, he realized “how priceless it is we have an awesome God on our side, and that He is amassing an army of warriors … to fight alongside us. No amount of money can combat that army dedicated to the Truth!”

*World Congress of Families Leaders at Planning Meeting in Madrid*

Moreover, “I know in my heart that people of faith will not sit idly by while a leftist billionaire like George Soros attempts to redefine all that is beautiful on earth – family,life marriage, parenthood, gender and human sexuality. I am confident that our people will rise to the challenge.”

*Viktor Orban Speaks at the Opening of World Congress of Families XI Budapest Family Summit*

World Congress of Families unites and equips leaders worldwide to promote the natural family and grow the international pro-family movement in direct opposition to George Soros and his Open Society Network. More information here.

Calendar of Upcoming Events

November 1 (7 to 8:30 pm, ET) ADF Forum: Australia Marriage Vote and Fundamental Freedoms” with ADF LeadersAnd Tony Abbott (former Australian PM) Hosted by Alliance Defending Freedom International, a WCF Partner, at The Pierre Hotel in New York, NY.
November 16-18, 2017 — WCF Caribbean Regional Conference, St. Lucia. The fifth World Congress of Families Caribbean Conference with the theme, “The Family Development – Strong Families, Prosperous Nations” Contact information for Sarah Flood-Beaubrun…
November 17-18, 2017, #Teens4Truth Conference, “Countering the LGBT Agenda,” Hosted by Professor Dr. Robert Lopez, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas. More information and registration…
November 28-30, 2017 — African Regional Conference, Malawi , Contact information…
January 1, 2018 — Celebrate “Year of Families” Budapest, Hungary, Read more…
January 19, 2018 – National March for Life, Washington, DC, USA, More information…
February 2, 2018 — Movieguide’s Annual Faith & Values Awards Gala & Report to the Entertainment Industry. Read more…
May 11-12, 2018 — WCF Family Forum, Lisbon, Portugal, Honorary Host: Dom Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza and Dona Isabel, Duchess of Braganza, Contact Larry Jacobs for more information…
May 15, 2018 – Seizing the Future, Protecting the Family, WCF Regional Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, co-sponsored by Kenyan Christian Professionals Association and Foundation for African Cultural Heritage, Contact for more information…
May 15-19, 2018 — Global Home Education Conference, Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, More information…
World Congress of Families XII – To Be Determined, Send Proposals and Hosting Bids to ljacobs@profam.org.

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Thank You To All of Our World Congress of Families Partners For Your Leadership and Support

World Congress of Families Partners

Latin American Alliance for the Family (Venezuela)

Associazione per La Difesa dei Valori Cristiani – Luci sull’Est (Italy)

CitizenGO

Foundation For African Cultural Heritage (Nigeria)

Freedom’s Journal Institute for the Study of Faith and Public Policy (USA)

Georgian Demographic Society (Republic of Georgia)

Touchstone Magazine: A Journal of Mere Christianity

World Congress of Families Leadership Memo, November 3, 2017

WCF Regional Conferences Unite and Equip Leaders Worldwide
WCF St Lucia Caribbean Conference November 17-18
WCF Malawi African Conference November 28-30
Nov. 7 Deadline for Mail-in Ballots on Australia’s Marriage Law
Serb Pro-Family Leader Bosko Obradovic Warns of Homosexualiist Agenda
“Caring Not Killing” Euthanasia Prevention Conference, November 18

“For pro-family leaders…a project of the International Organization for Family, uniting and equipping leaders worldwide to promote the natural family.”

WCF Regional Conferences Unite and Equip Leaders Worldwide

World Congress of Families (WCF) Regional Conferences bring the natural family message to the leaders and grassroots delegates, worldwide. Through them, we help to educate, train, and mobilize local campaigns, policies, and projects.

At WCF conferences and events, delegates learn how and why it is important to protect the natural family as the fundamental and sustainable unit of society and defend the sanctity and dignity of all human life from conception to natural death. Besides the upcoming conferences in St. Lucia and Malawi, earlier in the year, we’ve had conferences in Lagos (Nigeria), Paris, and Antigua.

Some of the locations of past regional conferences include: Ottawa, Santa Cruz (Bolivia), Salta (Argentina), Trinidad, Barbados, London, Nairobi, Belgrade, Moldova, Manilla, Washington, DC., Phoenix, Kiev, Salt Lake City, Melbourne, Tbilisi (Georgia), South Africa, and Moscow.

Download a copy of the World Congress of Families (WCF) Manual on “How to Organize a WCF Regional Conference.”

WCF St. Lucia Caribbean Conference November 17-18

The World Congress of Families Caribbean Conference in St. Lucia will take place at the Johnson’s Centre, Rodney Bay, Gros Islet, November 17-18.

Organized by Sarah Flood-Beaubrun, a Member of the St. Lucian Parliament and founder of the Caribbean Centre for Family and Human Rights (CARIFAM) – supported by Rebekah Ali-Gouveia (WCF Regional Coordinator) – the conference will include coverage of such crucial issues as: “The Demographic Reality in the Caribbean,” population control in Jamaica, “Fertility Education and Medical Management,” “The Unexpected Pregnancy,” Family Capital and SDGs, “Five Fatal Inconsistencies in Gender Theory,” Marriage Is the Foundation of Civilization,” “The Role of Fathers in Family and Nation Building,” “HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean,” Motherhood, and Comprehensive Sexuality Education. There will also be two youth panels.

Speakers include: Rebekah Ali-Gouveia, Neydy Casillas (Alliance Defending Freedom International), Philippa Davies(Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society), Don Feder, (World Congress of Families Coordinator of Regional Conferences)Anna Halpine (World Youth Alliance), Kim Olsen (Journey-2-Freedom), Susan Roylance (International Organization for the Family), Sharon Slater, (Family Watch International), Glenn Stanton (Focus on the Family), Godfrey St. Bernard (The University of the West Indies), and Pastor Scot Strim (Jubilee Ministries of Belize).

For more information, sarahfloodbeaubrun@carifam.org.

WCF African Regional Conference in Malawi, Nov. 28-30

The World Congress of Families African Regional Conference in Malawi will take place at the Sunbird Capital Hotel in the Lilongwe, November 28-30.

With the theme “The African Family and Cultural Colonialism,” the conference will include speeches by The Hon. Saulos Chilima (Vice President of Malawi), Brian Brown (WCF and IOF President), Bishop Thomas Luke Msusa (Roman Catholic Bishop of Blantyre, Malawi), Theresa Okafor (WCF Regional Coordinator for Africa), Ann Kioko (founder of the African Organization for Families), Moira Chimombo (SAFE Africa), Don Feder(WCF Coalitions Director and Coordinator of Regional Conferences), Sharon Slater(President of Family Watch International), and Reverend Zacc Kawalala (Word is Alive Ministries).

The organizing committee includes Ann, Pastor Zacc, Moira and Theresa.

The conference will cover: Comprehensive Sexuality Education — the impact of pornography on society – the role of parents in education – abortion – contraception – maternal health – religious freedom – human rights, including the rights of children — and cultural rights.

Nov. 7 Deadline for Mail-in Ballots on Australia’s Marriage Law

Australians have until November 7 to mail back postal ballots indicating whether or not they want to amend the country’s 1961 Marriage Act to include same-sex “marriage.” While the vote is non-binding, the outcome will be significant. If the “no” side prevails, that likely will be the end of such a move for the time being. A “Yes” vote will trigger legislation to legalize SSM, which has a good chance of passing.

The campaign has been hard-fought and at times, bitter. Some LGBT activists have resorted to verbal abuse, intimidation and assault. Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott (who supports a “No” vote) was head-butted by a Yes-supporter. A prominent gay activist threatened to rape politicians who refused to redefine marriage.

The Coalition for Marriage website discusses the potential consequences of marriage redefinition and deconstruction, including education, religious freedom, freedom of speech and freedom of association. Position papers on each can be accessed online.

World Congress of Families Partners Australian Christian Lobby and Dads4Kidsalso been active with marriage, motherhood, and fatherhood education campaigns.

Every other English-speaking county (Canada, the United States, Ireland and New Zealand) has instituted Same-Sex Marriage – only in Ireland by a vote of the people. Natural family advocates are determined to hold the line in Australia. Read more.

Serb Pro-Family Leader Bosko Obradovic Warns of Agenda of Homosexualists and Sexual Radicals

In an October 26^th email to supporters, IOF and WCF President Brian Brown writes of a recent speech before the parliament of Serbia by pro-family advocate Bosko Obradovic, MP, leader, and founder of the Dveri Party.

Brian writes: “He’s a close ally of the International Organization for the Family (IOF) and has attended a number of our World Congresses and regional conferences in order to learn from the top pro-family experts across the globe. He’s become a good friend of mine.”

“Bosko is much more than a committed and outspoken supporter of the natural family, he’s a true champion and courageous leader. The other day, he gave an incredible speech before the Serbian Parliament that was a true tour-de-force, an incredibly powerful rebuke of the LGBT movement. He spoke truth to power, and passionately took on the movement’s insistence on imposing pro-‘homosexualism’ on society.”

Mr. Obradovic told LGBT lobbyists: “Your ideology of homosexualism is a totalitarian ideology which denies us the right to think and speak differently.”

“Where, may I ask, are the rights of the majority in this country? Where are the traditional family values? Where is the fight against depopulation? Where is the right of the majority to educate our children as we see fit?”

You can watch and listen to a 10-minute excerpt of Mr. Obradovic’s remarks. Watch video.

World Congress of Families has been active in Serbia since 2012. WCF and Dveri have held a number of Regional Conferences together in Belgrade. Dveri is a World Congress of Families Partner.

“Caring Not Killing” Euthanasia Prevention Conference, November 18

“Caring Not Killing Conference: Protecting Yourself, Your Family and Others” conference will take place on November 18 from 8 am to 5 pm, at Biola University, La Miranda, CA. Topics include “Futile Care,” Euthanasia, Hospice and Palliative Care, Physician Assisted Suicide, Brain Death (Is it true death?), and Conscience Rights.

Among the featured speakers are Paul Byrne, M.D. (neonatologist and pediatrician, expert on brain death and organ donation), Amy Hasbrouck, J.D. (Director of Canada’s Toujours Vivant (Not Dead Yet), Cristen M. Krebs, DNP (Founder and Executive Director of Catholic Hospice in Pittsburgh) and Alex Schadenberg (Director of the International Euthanasia Prevention Coalition), and other medical personnel and legal experts.

Alex Schadenberg spoke at World Congress of Families XI: The Budapest Family Summit in Hungary.

Registration is $45. Register for conference now.

Calendar of Upcoming Events

November 16-18, 2017 — WCF Caribbean Regional Conference, St. Lucia. The fifth World Congress of Families Caribbean Conference with the theme, “The Family Development – Strong Families, Prosperous Nations” Contact information for Sarah Flood-Beaubrun…
November 17-18, 2017, #Teens4Truth Conference, “Countering the LGBT Agenda,” Hosted by Professor Dr. Robert Lopez, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas. More information and registration…
November 28-30, 2017 — African Regional Conference, Malawi , Contact information…
January 1, 2018 — Celebrate “Year of Families” Budapest, Hungary, Read more…
January 19, 2018 – National March for Life, Washington, DC, USA, More information…
February 2, 2018 — Movieguide’s Annual Faith & Values Awards Gala & Report to the Entertainment Industry. Read more…
May 11-12, 2018 — WCF Family Forum, Lisbon, Portugal, Honorary Host: Dom Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza and Dona Isabel, Duchess of Braganza, Contact Larry Jacobs for more information…
May 15, 2018 – Seizing the Future, Protecting the Family, WCF Regional Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, co-sponsored by Kenyan Christian Professionals Association and Foundation for African Cultural Heritage, Contact for more information…
May 15-19, 2018 — Global Home Education Conference, Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, More information…
World Congress of Families XII – To Be Determined, Send Proposals and Hosting Bids to ljacobs@profam.org.

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Thank You To All of Our World Congress of Families Partners For Your Leadership and Support

World Congress of Families Partners

Latin American Alliance for the Family (Venezuela)

Associazione per La Difesa dei Valori Cristiani – Luci sull’Est (Italy)

CitizenGO

Foundation For African Cultural Heritage (Nigeria)

Freedom’s Journal Institute for the Study of Faith and Public Policy (USA)

Georgian Demographic Society (Republic of Georgia)

Touchstone Magazine: A Journal of Mere Christianity

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World Congress of Families Leadership Memo: November 14, 2017

WCF Regional Conferences Unite and Equip Leaders Worldwide
WCF St Lucia Caribbean Conference November 17-18
WCF Malawi African Conference November 29-30

WCF Regional Conferences Unite and Equip Leaders Worldwide

Download a copy of the World Congress of Families (WCF) Manual on “How to Organize a WCF Regional Conference.”

WCF St. Lucia Caribbean Conference November 17-18

The fifth World Congress of Families’ Caribbean Regional Conference – The Family and Development: Strong Families, Prosperous Nations – will take place at The Johnson Centre, Rodney Bay, St. Lucia, November 17-18.

The conference is organized by The Caribbean Centre for Family and Human Rights(CARIFAM), founded by Sarah-Flood- Beaubrun, MP, with the support of Rebekah Ali-Gouveia, WCF Caribbean Coordinator. The Opening Ceremony will be attended by various dignitaries and include remarks by Fr. Linus Clovis (Chm. of CARIFAM Board of Directors), Hon. Lennard Montoute (Minister for Social Equity and Justice in the government of St. Lucia), Hon. Sarah Flood-Beaubrun, Rebekah Ali-Gouveia, Sharon Slater (President, Family Watch International) and Don Feder (World Congress of Families Coalitions Director and Coordinator of Regional Conferences).

Speeches at general sessions will include: Understanding Sexualized Attachments and Homosexuality (Floyd Godfrey), The Caribbean/Saint Lucian Family (Dr. Julie Xavier, UN Development Program), Why Marriage Matters (Don Feder), Stand for the Family (Sharon Slater), How the Erosion of Fundamental Rights Threatens the Family (Prof. Richard Weikart, historian, California State University – via Skype), The African Experience (Theresa Okafor, WCF African Coordinator), The Five Fatal Inconsistencies in Gender Theory (Glenn Stanton, Focus on the Family), Demographic Reality in the Caribbean (Godfrey St. Bernard, University of the West Indies), Demographic Reality in St. Lucia (Ted St, Catherine, statistician and demographer), “Two is Better than Two Many” is Leaving Jamaica with Too Few (Philippa Davies, Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society), Fertility Education and Medical Management (Anna Halpine, World Youth Alliance), “The Unexpected Pregnancy (Kim Olsen, Journey-2- Freedom), Family Capital and the SDGs/The Family and Sustainable Development Goals (Susan Roylance, International Organization for the Family), Addressing HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean (Prof. Brendan Bain, HIV/AIDS expert), SDGs and Comprehensive Sexuality Education (Sharon Slater), “The Tender Warrior – and The Role of Fathers in Family and Nation Building (Rev. Philip Gumbs, chm of the Caribbean conf. of the Church of God).

There will also be an Interactive Panel (with speakers from Anguilla, Antigua, Belize, Barbados, St. Lucia, Jamaica, Trinidad and Kenya), The Way Forward: A Frank Discussion Among Clergy and The Way Forward: A Frank Discussion Among Youth.

For more information, email sarahfloodbeaubrun@carifam.org or visit www.carifam.org.

WCF African Regional Conference in Malawi, Nov. 29-30

The World Congress of Families African Regional Conference in Malawi (The African Family and Cultural Colonialism), will take place at the Sunbird Capital Hotel in Lilongwe, November 29-30. The organizing committee includes: Ann Kioko (founder African Organization for the Family), Pastor Zacc Kawalala (Word is Alive Ministries) and Moira Chimombo(SAFE Africa).

The Opening Prayer will be offered by Archbishop Thomas Luke Msusa(Roman Catholic Bishop of Blantyre, Malawi). The opening session will include the Guest of Honor, Hon. Saulos Chilima (Vice President of Malawi) and Brian Brown (President of IOF and WCF).

Keynote Speakers will include Sharon Slater (The Truth About Comprehensive Sexuality Education) and Don Feder (The Sexual Revolution).

Group sessions on the First Day will include: Comprehensive Sexuality Education vs. Character (Misheck Munthali, Facilitator), The Impact of Pornography on Education (Rev. Patrick Semphere, Facilitator), The Role of Parents in Education (Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Mlekano, Facilitators), and Homosexuality and Family Life (Theresa Okafor, Foundation for African Cultural Heritage). There will also be plenary sessions on CSE, pornography, parenting, and homosexuality, as well as reports from Ghana, Kenya, Swaziland and Tanzania.

Day Two will open with Keynote Speeches by Dr. Beatrice Mwagomba (The Truth About Maternal Health and Family Life) and Misheck Munthali.

Group sessions will include: Abortion (Kizito Kaunjika, Facilitator), Contraception, Sexually Transmitted Infections (Moira Chiomombo, Facilitator) and Maternal Health (Dr. Mary Mkandawire, Facilitator).

Plenary session reports will be given on abortion, contraception, STIs and Maternal Health.

Keynote Speakers will include: Dr. Garton Kamchedzera (The Truth About Human Rights and Family Life), Victor Kaonga(moderator).

Additional group sessions: Pachalo Kayira (Constitutional Law on Life and Family), the Rev. Nicky Chakwera(Religious Freedom), TBA (Human Rights including the Rights of Children), and Marshall Chilenga (Cultural Rights).

Plenary Session reports will be given on: Constitutional Law, Religious Freedom, Human Rights and Cultural Rights.

A Closing Ceremony Prayer will be led by Rev. Dr. Chatha Msangaambe.

A Reception will be held with Parliamentarians from Committees on Education, Health, and Legal Affairs.

Conference registration for international attendees is $75 usd. Register online at www.familiesafrica.org.

Calendar of Upcoming Events

November 16-18, 2017 — WCF Caribbean Regional Conference, St. Lucia. The fifth World Congress of Families Caribbean Conference with the theme, “The Family Development – Strong Families, Prosperous Nations” Contact information for Sarah Flood-Beaubrun…
November 17-18, 2017, #Teens4Truth Conference, “Countering the LGBT Agenda,” Hosted by Professor Dr. Robert Lopez, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas. More information and registration…
November 29-30, 2017 — African Regional Conference, Malawi , Contact information…
January 1, 2018 — Celebrate “Year of Families” Budapest, Hungary, Read more…
January 19, 2018 – National March for Life, Washington, DC, USA, More information…
February 2, 2018 — Movieguide’s Annual Faith & Values Awards Gala & Report to the Entertainment Industry. Read more…
Feburary 16-17 – International Pro-Life Festival, Verona, Italy. Contact Toni Brandi at ProVita for more information…
May 11-12, 2018 — WCF Family Forum, Lisbon, Portugal, Honorary Host: Dom Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza and Dona Isabel, Duchess of Braganza, Contact Larry Jacobs for more information…
May 15, 2018 – Seizing the Future, Protecting the Family, WCF Regional Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, co-sponsored by Kenyan Christian Professionals Association and Foundation for African Cultural Heritage, Contact for more information…
May 15-19, 2018 — Global Home Education Conference, Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, More information…
World Congress of Families XII – To Be Determined, Send Proposals and Hosting Bids to ljacobs@profam.org.

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Thank You To All of Our World Congress of Families Partners For Your Leadership and Support

World Congress of Families Partners

Latin American Alliance for the Family (Venezuela)

Associazione per La Difesa dei Valori Cristiani – Luci sull’Est (Italy)

CitizenGO

Foundation For African Cultural Heritage (Nigeria)

Freedom’s Journal Institute for the Study of Faith and Public Policy (USA)

Georgian Demographic Society (Republic of Georgia)

Touchstone Magazine: A Journal of Mere Christianity

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2017

This is barbaric…

Dear Friend — The United Nations has a “Human Rights Committee” in order to, “promote and protect human rights for all.” This includes our most vulnerable citizens such as those with disabilities. That is why it was so shocking to see a Commissioner, Ben Achour, strongly suggest that innocent children with Down Syndrome must be aborted before birth:

“If you tell a woman ‘Your child has Dow…what is it called? Down syndrome, dawn syndrome – if you tell her that, isn’t it, or that he may have a handicap forever, for the rest of his life, you should make this woman… it should be possible for her to resort to abortion to avoid the handicap as a preventive measure,” Achour said. He later followed up with the statement, “we must do everything we can to avoid disabilities.”

Mr. Achour is expressing a barbaric policy consistent with eugenics, the intentional killing of those considered to be in some way “inferior” to the rest of the population. He sits alongside the despicable eugenics advocate Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, who advocated the forced sterilization and segregation of those with mental and physical disabilities, and who sought, “to eradicate the Negro population.” (Those are her actual words, quoted from a letter she wrote to the Ku Klux Klan, according to prominent theologian John J. Conley, SJ.)

The International Organization for the Family (IOF) is joining with our friends at the Jerome Lejeune Foundation USA in demanding that Mr. Achour issue an immediate apology for his remarks, and that the UN Human Rights Committee repudiate them.

Please sign the petition demanding the protection of human life under international law and the reaffirmation of the dignity of every person from conception to natural death. Thank you.

God Bless,

Brian S Brown

Donate to IOF Today

International Organization for the Family Partners

Int. Organization for the Family 934 North Main Street Rockford, Illinois 61103phone: 815-964-5819 info@profam.org	Uniting and equipping leaders worldwide to promote the natural family!	profam.org Donate Forward to a Friend Subscribe
The International Organization for the Family (IOF) depends on voluntary contributions from individuals, businesses and organizations to support its work. IOF receives no government funding of any kind. IOF is an international network of pro-family organizations, scholars, leaders and inter-faith people of goodwill from more than 80 countries that seek to protect and promote the natural family as the fundamental social unit and the ‘seedbed’ of civil society (as found in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights).

World Congress of Families Leadership Memo: December 6, 2017

WCF St Lucia Caribbean Conference Promotes Natural Family and Equips Caribbean Leaders
WCF Malawi African Conference Unites East African Families and Empowers Leaders to Stand Up For the Natural Family Against Cultural Colonialism

“For pro-family leaders…a project of the International Organization for Family, uniting and equipping leaders worldwide to promote the natural family.”

WCF St Lucia Caribbean Conference Equips Leaders and Promotes Natural Family, Human Rights, and Human Dignity

The World Congress of Families Fifth Caribbean Regional Conference took place November 17-18 in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia.

More than 150 attended the opening ceremony, which included speeches by the Hon. Guy Joseph, Acting Prime Minister of St. Lucia, Lennard Montoute, Minister for Social Justice and Equity, and Fr. Linus Clovis (Chm. of the CARIFAM Board of Directors). St. Lucia’s Governor General was also present.

The two-day conference (“The Family & Development: Strong Families and Prosperous Nations”) was sponsored by the Caribbean Centre for Family and Human Rights (CARIFAM), founded by Sarah Flood-Beaubrun M.P. Besides St. Lucia, the conference included speakers from Barbados, Trinidad, Antiqua and Jamaica (among other Caribbean nations), the United States, Canada and Morocco (by an academic who represented the local consulate).

World Congress of Families was represented by Regional Conferences Coordinator Don Feder, Susan Roylance (speaking on her handbook: “Family Capital and the SDGs/The Family and Sustainable Development Goals”), Rebekah Ali-Gouveia (WCF Caribbean Coordinator), and Theresa Okafor (WCF African Coordinator).

Topics included marriage, motherhood, fatherhood, Comprehensive Sexuality Education, Caribbean Demographics, “Fertility Education and Medical Management,” “The African Experience,” “The Church’s Role in Addressing HIV/AIDs,” and “The Unexpected Pregnancy.”

The afternoon of the second day was devoted to panels of youth, clergy and representatives of other Caribbean nations. Entertainment was provided by The Royal St. Lucia Police Band and a Christian rapper.

Besides Sarah and her team, special thanks go to Rebekah Ali-Gouveia. This is the fifth Caribbean conference with which she’s been involved (two in Trinidad and one each in Barbados and Antigua). Rebekah will be visiting Guyana in early February to begin planning a fall 2018 conference for Guyana/Suriname.

After the success of the conference and because of her strong stand for the natural family, Sarah Flood-Beaubrun, St Lucia Foreign Minister and the local organizer of the Conference came under spurious criticism from the local media and liberal activists in St. Lucia. Please read her excellent response to the false allegations and attacks against her and the World Congress of Families, published in the St. Lucia Times, “No Apologies for Promoting Strong Families.”

WCF Malawi African Conference Unites African Families and Empowers East African Leaders to Stand Up For The Natural Family and Human Rights In Opposition to Cultural Colonialism

The Third World Congress of Families African Regional Conference in the past two years took place at the Sunbird Capital Hotel in the Malawian capital of Lilongwe, a week after the St. Lucia Conference.

The Conference opened with a press conference that generated considerable media coverage focused on pressure being mounted by western countries to use financial aid as a means of forcing countries like Malawi to abandon traditional family values.

Brian Brown, president of both WCF and its parent organization, the International Organization for the Family, decried the attempts of the Obama administration to use foreign aid to push abortion and same-sex ‘marriage’ on African countries. He urged Malawi to resist any ongoing attempts and remain true to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which provides that the natural family is entitled to protection by the state.

The conference keynote address was delivered by Archbishop Thomas Luke Msusa (Chairman of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi). Brian Brown, welcomed delegates.

Among the other prominent speakers were Rev. Dr. Zacc Kawalala (Chairman of the Ethics, Peace and Justice Commission of the Evangelical Association of Malawi), Dr. Theresa Okafor of Nigeria (WCF African Coordinator), Sharon Slater (President of Family Watch International, a WCF Partner) and Don Feder (WCF Coalitions Director and Coordinator of Regional Conferences).

The conference was organized by Ann Kioko of Kenya (founder of the African Organization for Families), Moira Chimombo (SAFE Africa), Dr. Okafor and Pastor Zacc, all of whom did a consummate job of coordinating the event.

There were sessions on such timely topics as, ”The Sexual Revolution,” “Comprehensive Sexuality Education,” “The Impact of Pornography,” “The Role of Parents in Education,” “Homosexuality and Family Life,” “The Truth About Maternal Health,” “The African Family and Cultural Colonialism,” abortion, contraception and sexually transmitted diseases, “Constitutional Law on Life and Family,” “Religious Freedom” and “Human Rights: Including the Rights of Children.” Among the other prominent local speakers were Dr. Beatrice Mwagomba (with the Malawian Ministry of Public Health from 2012 to 2017) and Dr. Garton Kamchedzera, Dean of Law at the University of Malawi.

The conference also included reports from Ghana, Kenya, Swaziland, Tanzania and Uganda.

The conference closed with a banquet for members of the Malawian Parliament, hosted by Family Watch International. It also included a private meeting with Dr. Saulos Chilima (Vice President of the Republic of Malawi) and a dinner for Malawian bishops. Theresa Okafor and the Kenyan Christian Professionals Forum are planning another WCF African Regional Conference (“Seizing the Future: Protecting the Family”) in Nairobi, Kenya, May 15, to be followed by a WCF Ugandan regional conference to be organized by the Uganda Christian University.

Future World Congress of Families Regional Conferences

World Congress of Families Regional Conferences are also being planned or discussed in 2018 for Guyana/Suriname, Lisbon and Porto (Portugal), Belgrade, Uganda, and Ufa, Russia.

Expect further details in the weeks ahead. In the meantime, our grateful thanks to all of the organizers, speakers, attendees and others who made St. Lucia and Malawi so successful.

Calendar of Upcoming Events

January 1, 2018 — Celebrate “The Year of Families” Budapest, Hungary, Read more…
January 19, 2018 – National March for Life, Washington, DC, USA, More information…
February 2, 2018 — Movieguide’s Annual Faith & Values Awards Gala & Report to the Entertainment Industry. Read more…
Feburary 16-17 – International Pro-Life Festival, Verona, Italy. Contact Toni Brandi at ProVita for more information…
May 11-12, 2018 — WCF Family Forum, Lisbon, Portugal, and VIP Visit to Fatima and Porto, Contact Larry Jacobs for more information…
May 15, 2018 – Seizing the Future, Protecting the Family, WCF Regional Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, co-sponsored by Kenyan Christian Professionals Forum and Foundation for African Cultural Heritage, Contact for more information…
May 15-19, 2018 — Global Home Education Conference, Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, More information…
June 23, 2018 Saturday – 11:00 AM, March for Marriage 2018, Washington, DC, sponsored by National Organization for Marriage (WCF Partner), Freedom’s Journal Institute (WCF Partner) and IOF. Visit www.marriagemarch.org to register and sign up.
World Congress of Families XII and XIII – To Be Selected, Send Proposals and Hosting Bids to ljacobs@profam.org.

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Thank You To All of Our World Congress of Families Partners For Your Leadership and Support

World Congress of Families Partners

Latin American Alliance for the Family (Venezuela)

Associazione per La Difesa dei Valori Cristiani – Luci sull’Est (Italy)

CitizenGO

Foundation For African Cultural Heritage (Nigeria)

Freedom’s Journal Institute for the Study of Faith and Public Policy (USA)

Georgian Demographic Society (Republic of Georgia)

Touchstone Magazine: A Journal of Mere Christianity

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International Organization for the Family
934 North Main Street
Rockford, Illinois 61103phone: 815-964-5819email: info@profam.org

Uniting and equipping leaders
worldwide to promote the natural family!

profam.org

The International Organization for the Family (IOF) unites and equips leaders worldwide to promote the natural family. IOF depends on voluntary contributions from individuals, businesses and organizations to support its work. IOF receives no government funding of any kind.

World Congress of Families is a project of IOF (formerly The Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society) that mobilizes the international pro-family movement through an global network of pro-family organizations, scholars, leaders and inter-faith people of goodwill from more than 80 countries that seek to protect and promote the natural family as the fundamental and only sustainable social unit and the ‘seedbed’ of civil society in agreement with the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights,1948.

World Congress of Families Leadership Memo: January 8, 2018

WCF 2017 in Review, Impacts and Influence – This is an overview of WCF XI Budapest Family Summit and our five regional conferences in 2017. You can click on the link at the end of each story for a more detailed description.

“For pro-family leaders…a project of the International Organization for Family, uniting and equipping leaders worldwide to promote the natural family.”

World Congress of Families XI, The Budapest Family Summit – A Success by Any Measure

On May 25-28, more than 3,000 leaders, activists, scholars, clergy and media professionals gathered at the Budapest Congress Center for World Congress of Families XI – Building Family-Friendly Nations, Making Families Strong Again. WCF XI was organized by the International Organization for the Family and the Hungarian Ministry of Human Capacities.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban Opens WCF XI Budapest Family Summit

Participants came from Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, France, Romania, Finland, Poland, Moldova, Belarus, Russia, Kenya, Nigeria, Malawi, Cameroon, South Africa, Singapore, the Philippines, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and dozens of other countries on six continents.

Over the course of two days, they heard from more than 140 speakers on life issues (abortion, euthanasia and cloning), marriage, mothers and fathers, children, education, the sexual revolution, demographics, international institutions and the family, and other timely topics.

Brian Brown, Allan Carlson, Larry Jacobs, and Orsolya Pacsay-Tomassich

Plenary speakers included: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, WCF/IOF President Brian Brown, WCF Managing Director Larry Jacobs, Zoltan Balog (Minister for Human Capacities in the Hungarian Government), Katlin Novak (Minister of State for the Family, Youth and International Affairs), Christiana von Habsburg-Lothringen (Archduchess of Austria), Natalia Yakunina (Sanctity of Motherhood Program, Russia), Ignacio Arsuaga (CitizenGo, Spain), Janice Shaw Crouse (Managing Director, World Congress of Families IX, Salt Lake City), Levan Vasadze (organizer, World Congress of Families X, Tbilisi), Christine de Marcellus de Vollmer (President, Latin American Alliance for the Family, Venezuela), Duarte Pio di Braganza (the Duke of Braganza, Portugal), Errol Naidoo (Director, Family Policy Institute, South Africa) and Ted Baehr (Founder and Publisher of Movieguide).

Previous Congresses were held in Prague (1997), Geneva (1999), Mexico City (2004), Warsaw (2007), Amsterdam (2009), Madrid (2012), Sydney (2013), Salt Lake City (2015) and Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia (2016).

IOF Team Meets with Hungarian PM Viktor Orban, Hungarian Sec. of State, Katalin Novak, & Polish Minister for Family, Labour & Social Policy, Elzbieta Rafalska

World Congress of Families XI, Budapest Family Summit was preceded by the Budapest Demographic Forum II, sponsored by the Hungarian government, which included experts and officeholders from all over the world. One of Us, the European Federation for Life and Human Dignity, also held its European Forum II as part of the Budapest Family Summit, on May 27.

The world’s largest flashmob dance for the natural family welcomed participants to WCF XI Budapest on May 24th. Organized by UpToFaith and Faith Church Hungary, the flashmob dance in Budapest with thousands of people was joined by flashmob celebrations of the family in more than 60 cities around the world. Watch here.

The Summit closed with a Family Festival in the streets and parks in central Budapest that attracted thousands of Hungarian families and children to celebrate the importance and beauty of the natural family.

WCF African Regional Conference in Lagos – March 27-29

A WCF African Regional was held at the Nigerian Institute for International Affairs in Lagos, March 27-29. The principal organizer was Theresa Okafor, WCF Regional Representative for Africa.

WCF/IOF President Brian Brown gave a rousing opening address which set the tome for the conference, telling the audience: “In this fight for the family, we can all do something. We all need to do something. Ultimately, we need better tactics, and I know we will end this.”

The Conference had speakers and participants from the US, UK, Netherlands, Malawi, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya and several Nigerian states.

Participants included the Archbishops of Ibadan and Lagos, the President of the African Bar Association, MPs from Uganda, and Ambassador Uche Ajulu-Okeke (Nigeria’s Consul General in South Africa). Also represented were the Nigerian Ministries of Education and Justice.

The Conference stressed the need to respect human life from conception to natural death, and protect children, marriage and the family.nIt examined the indispensable role of the family. It also examined various threats to the family and why it is in dire need of protection. There was also a discussion of the effect of domesticating certain treaties such as CEDAW (the Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women) and the Maputo Protocol. Both are anti-life and anti-family.

Sharon Slater, chairman of the UN Human Rights Caucus, exposed Comprehensive Sexual Education (CSE). Dr Philip Njemanze, who’s done groundbreaking work on cognitive neuroscience, discussed the fundamental differences in the male and female brains. His conclusion: Gender is nature and not nurture. The notion of innate sexual orientation is ideological, not scientific.

The testimonies of post-abortive women, such as Kechy Aimba, Jacqueline Gandi and Salome Wende, had a powerful impact.

Theresa Okafor reports: “For those attending, the Conference was an eye-opener. They heard things they had not heard before and they realized that the fight against moral decadence was not exclusive to Europe and America, and that it was already at the doorstep of Africa. The need to act now was clear to all.”

WCF Paris Regional Conference – April 1

On April 1, more than 300 leaders, activists and scholars participated in the first World Congress of Families Conference in Paris.

The conference, held at the historic La Maison de la Chimie, was organized by the French Society of Demography, chaired by Fabrice Sorlin.

More than 15 speakers discussed such varied topics as:

Tactics and strategies of the LGBT lobby at the European Union
Georgia’s Liberal Experience
Russian Revival in the 21^st century
Europe or the European Union — which way for Serbia?
The counter-values of the mainstream media
The aggressive anti-family policy of the EU as a factor in destruction of Ukrainian statehood

International speakers included Brian Brown, Levan Vasadze (Georgian Demographic Society, organizer of WCF X), Nemanja Zaric (International Director of the Serbian Movement Dveri), Alexey Komov (WCF Representative in Russia and the C.I.S.), and Alexander Skvortsov and Liudmyla Hrydkovets from Ukraine.

Among the French speakers were: Guillaume de Thieulloy (owner of “Le Salon Beige website”), John Laughland, Ph.D., Yannick Jafrré (Professor of Philosophy), Philipe Migault (ex-journalist and President of the Centre for European Strategic Analysis) Xavier Moreau (Founder of the Startpol Think Tank) and Fabrice Sorlin.

Sorlin observed: “Organizing a regional conference in France was a great and wonderful experience for me and my team. It was the first time that we were able to bring together so many pro-life and pro-family leaders, from within and outside the country.”

WCF Antigua Caribbean Regional Conference, June 29-30

WCF Antigua was our 4^th Caribbean conference. Besides Antigua, there were participants from Trinidad, Barbados, St Lucia, Jamaica and Montserrat.

The conference was opened by Sir Dennis Williams, Governor General of Antigua and Barbuda, who strongly endorsed its theme (“Building Strong Caribbean Families”).

Speakers included: Don Feder, Glenn Stanton (Focus on the Family), Rebekah Ali-Gouveia (WCF Caribbean Coordinator), Donna Harrison (President of the American Association of Pro-Life OBGYNs), Dr. Martha Shuping (a clinical psychologist with Save One, an international pro-life group), Neil Joseph (a local anti-pornography activist), Lisa Thompson (National Center on Sexual Exploitation), Sarah Flood-Beaubrun (Member of Parliament, St. Lucia), Dr. Godfrey St. Bernard (University of the West Indies), Philippa Davis (Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society), Douglas Napier (Alliance Defending Freedom), Sharon Slater (Family Watch International) and Stephanie Luck, Esq. (an anti-drug activist from Colorado).

Topics covered included marriage, demographics, marijuana, abortion, pornography, overcoming same-sex attraction, sexuality education, population control, prostitution and human-trafficking, and defending the family at the Organization of American States.

The conference was covered in The Antigua Observer https://antiguaobserver.com/activists-promote-traditional-marriage-over-same-sex-union/.

The Antigua conference chief organizer was Sean Bird (Antigua Christian Coalition for a Healthy Society).

WCF Caribbean Conference in St Lucia – November 17-18

The World Congress of Families Fifth Caribbean Regional Conference took place November 17-18 in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia, sponsored by the Caribbean Centre for Family and Human Rights (CARIFAM).

CARIFAM was founded by Sarah Flood-Beaubrun M.P. Besides St. Lucia, the conference included speakers from Barbados, Trinidad, Antiqua and Jamaica (among other Caribbean nations), the United States, Canada and Morocco.

World Congress of Families was represented by Don Feder, Susan Roylance (speaking on her handbook: “Family Capital and the SDGs/The Family and Sustainable Development Goals”), Rebekah Ali-Gouveia (WCF Caribbean Coordinator), and Theresa Okafor (WCF African Coordinator).

WCF African Regional Conference in Malawi, November 29-30

It opened with a press conference and closed with a banquet for members of the Malawian Parliament, hosted by Family Watch International. It also included a private meeting with Dr. Saulos Chilima (Vice President of the Republic of Malawi) and a dinner for Malawian Catholic bishops.

The keynote address was delivered by Archbishop Thomas Luke Msusa (Chairman of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi). Brian Brown welcomed participants.

Dinner with Members of Malawi Parliament

Among the other prominent speakers were Rev. Dr. Zacc Kawalala (Chairman of the Ethics, Peace and Justice Commission of the Evangelical Association of Malawi), Moira Chimombo (SAFE Africa), Dr. Theresa Okafor, Sharon Slater and Don Feder.

There were sessions on such timely topics as:”The Sexual Revolution,” “Comprehensive Sexuality Education,” “The Impact of Pornography,” “The Role of Parents in Education,” “Homosexuality and Family Life,” “The Truth About Maternal Health,” “The African Family and Cultural Colonialism,” abortion, contraception and sexually transmitted diseases, “Constitutional Law on Life and Family,” “Religious Freedom” and “Human Rights: Including the Rights of Children.” Among the other prominent local speakers were Dr. Beatrice Mwagomba (who was with the Malawian Ministry of Public Health from 2012 to 2017) and Dr. Garton Kamchedzera, Dean of Law at the University of Malawi.

The conference also included reports from Ghana, Kenya, Swaziland, Tanzania and Uganda.

IOF is Uniting and Equipping Leaders Worldwide to Promote the Natural Family

World Congresses provide a unique opportunity for thousands of leaders, activists, scholars and public officials to meet and discuss the most pressing issues of the day relating to life and the family. Since 2012, Congresses have been held almost every year.

Regional conferences bring WCF to grassroots leaders and activists, providing in-depth discussion of crucial topics, and training on how to impact the policy debate. The annual number of regional conferences continues to grow. At this point, there are 5 to 6 a year, covering North and South America, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa and Australia and New Zealand. Through this work – and along with our more than 40 Partners – the World Congress of Families and the International Organization for the Family (our parent organization) are building a worldwide pro-family and pro-life movement.

Stay tuned for the the next issue of the WCF Leadership Memo which will contain an overview of our other projects and activities in 2017 and plans for 2018.

Calendar of Upcoming Events

January 19, 2018 – National March for Life, Washington, DC, USA, More information…
February 2, 2018 — Movieguide’s Annual Faith & Values Awards Gala & Report to the Entertainment Industry. Read more…
Feburary 16-17 – International Pro-Life Festival, Verona, Italy. Contact Toni Brandi at ProVita for more information…
February 20, 2018, 7pm — BYU Wheatley Institution Roundtable on Family, Keynote Speaker: Allan C. Carlson (IOF Senior Fellow),
Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center, Provo, Utah, United States
May 11-12, 2018 — WCF Family Forum, Lisbon, Portugal, and VIP Visit to Fatima and Porto, Contact Larry Jacobs for more information…
May 15, 2018 – Seizing the Future, Protecting the Family, WCF Regional Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, co-sponsored by Kenyan Christian Professionals Forum and Foundation for African Cultural Heritage, Contact for more information…
May 15-19, 2018 — Global Home Education Conference, Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, More information…
June 23, 2018 Saturday – 11:00 AM, March for Marriage 2018, Washington, DC, sponsored by National Organization for Marriage (WCF Partner), Freedom’s Journal Institute (WCF Partner) and IOF. Visit www.marriagemarch.org to register and sign up.
September, 2018 — World Congress of Families XII (to be announced)
World Congress of Families XIII – To Be Selected, Send Proposals and Hosting Bids to ljacobs@profam.org.

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Thank You To All of Our World Congress of Families Partners For Your Leadership and Support

World Congress of Families Partners

Latin American Alliance for the Family (Venezuela)

Associazione per La Difesa dei Valori Cristiani – Luci sull’Est (Italy)

CitizenGO

Foundation For African Cultural Heritage (Nigeria)

Freedom’s Journal Institute for the Study of Faith and Public Policy (USA)

Georgian Demographic Society (Republic of Georgia)

Touchstone Magazine: A Journal of Mere Christianity

—————————————————

International Organization for the Family
934 North Main Street
Rockford, Illinois 61103phone: 815-964-5819email: info@profam.org

Uniting and equipping leaders
worldwide to promote the natural family!

profam.org

World Congress of Families Leadership Memo: January 22, 2018

Movieguide’s 26^th Annual Faith & Values Awards Gala, February 2^nd
IOF Sustainable Development Goals Books Promoted at the United Nations, Jan 29-Feb. 7
WCF Coalitions Director Spoke at Annual Assembly for Life, Jan 21st
Steve Mosher Authors New Book, “Bully of Asia: Why China’s Dream is the New Threat to World Order
Ryan Anderson’s New Book, “When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Movement”

“For pro-family leaders…a project of the International Organization for Family, uniting and equipping leaders worldwide to promote the natural family.”

Movieguide’s 26th Annual Faith & Values Awards Gala, February 2nd

Movieguide (a World Congress of Families Partner) will hold its 26th Annual Faith & Values Awards Gala on February 2 at the Universal Hilton in Los Angeles. The Gala features Awards for the 10 Best Movies for Families, the 10 Best Movies for Mature Audiences, the Epiphany Prizes for Inspiring Movies & Television, the Grace Awards for the Most Inspiring Performances, the $30,000 Kairos Prizes for Spiritually Uplifting Screenplays and the Faith & Freedom Awards for Promoting Positive American Values.

Image result for movieguide 2018 awards

Nominees for the Best Movie for Families include: “The Boss Baby,” “Cars 3” “The Case for Christ,” “Despicable Me 3,” “The Emoji Movie” and “Smurfs: The Lost Village.” Among the nominees for Best Movie of 2017 for Mature Audiences are: “Darkest Hour,” “Dunkirk,” “Justice League,” and “Wonder Woman.”

The Grace Awards nominees include Erika Christensen for “The Case for Christ,” Kevin Sorbo for “Let There Be Light,” Terence Stamp for “Bitter Harvest,” and Oscar Isaac for “The Promise.” Among the actors/actresses nominated for the Grace Awards for TV are Tim Allen for “Last Man Standing,” Jenna Coleman for the PBS series “Victoria” and Tom Selleck for “Blue Bloods.”

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Movieguide’s Annual Awards Gala honors the best family-friendly movies and television programs honoring God and inspiring audiences with messages of Biblical faith, hope, goodness, justice, redemption, forgiveness and true Divine love.

Larry Jacobs, Managing Director of World Congress of Families will be attending this year’s Awards ceremony representing the International Organization for the Family. Jacobs praised MovieGuide’s founder Ted Baehr and their positive effect on the movie industry stating, “Since Movieguide began their awards gala, positive faith and family content has been increasing every year. Now, each year MovieGuide’s Report to the Industry shows that more than 80 to 90% of the top earning movies each year contain positive family and faith content. Being family-friendly is good for society and profitable for the movie industry.”

Read more. Movieguide/The Christian Film and Television Commission is a World Congress of Families Partner.

IOF Sustainable Development Goals Books Promoted at the United Nations, Jan 29-Feb. 7

The International Organization for the Family (WCF parent organization) will be at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City for the 56^th session of the Commission for Social Development, January 29 through February 7.

Image result for Family Capital and the SDGs: Implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals book IOF will have an exhibit offering complimentary copies of its most recent book, “Family Capital and the SDGs: Implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals,” and abridged versions of its previous book, “The Family and the MDGs: Using Family Capital to Achieve the 8 Millennium Development Goals,” in English, Spanish, French, Russian, Arabic, and Chinese.

All these books, which are also available online at www.familycapital17sdgs.org are essential resources helping governments, businesses, and NGOs to understand the indispensable role of family capital in achieving sustainable development.

WCF Coalitions Director Spoke at Annual Assembly for Life, Jan 21^st

World Congress of Families Coalitions Director and Coordinator of Regional Conferences Don Feder spoke at the Annual Assembly for Life in Worcester, MA. on January 21^st , on “The View From Sinai: a Jewish Perspective on Abortion,” on the revelation that shaped Western civilization.

The keynote speaker at this year’s Assembly was Father Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life.

Image result for Priests for life father frank pavone

Sponsored by Massachusetts Citizens for Life, the Assembly is held each year around the anniversary of Roe V. Wade. Usually held at historic Faneuil Hall in Boston, where the Sons of Liberty met prior to the American Revolution, this year’s Assembly will take place at Mechanics Hall in Worcester. Also on the program are Rev. John Daly of St. Nicolas Orthodox Church in Southbridge, MA. and Matthew Valliere of the Patients’ Rights Action Fund. The Master of Ceremonies is Margaret Russell, editor of the Worcester Catholic Free Press.

For More Information http://www.masscitizensforlife.org/2018assemblyforlife.

Steve Mosher Authors New Book, “Bully of Asia: Why China’s Dream is the New Threat to World Order”

Steven Mosher, President of Population Research Institute, was the first Westerner to expose China’s forced-abortion program in “Broken Earth: The Rural Chinese,” based in part on first-hand experience as a graduate student doing research in the People’s Republic. China retaliated by having him expelled from the doctoral program at Stanford.

Image result for steven mosher bully of asia His new book, “Bully of Asia: Why China’s Dream is the New Threat to World Order,” discusses the dangers of an increasingly militaristic, expansionist nation. Mosher also examines the ongoing the impact of China’s one-child and now two-child policy.

On January 17, Mosher will spoke at the Heritage Foundation. Population Research Institute is a World Congress of Families Partner.

For more information on the book, https://www.amazon.com/Bully-Asia-Chinas-Dream-Threat/dp/1621576965.

Ryan Anderson’s Authors New Book, “When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment”

The Heritage Foundation’s Ryan T. Anderson also has a new book, “When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment.”

Image result for book ryan anderson new book when Harry became sally Anderson writes: “America is in the midst of what has been called a ‘transgender moment.’ Not long ago, most Americans had never heard of transgender identity, but within the space of a year it became a cause claiming the mantle of civil rights.”

“But can a boy truly be ‘trapped’ in a girl’s body? Can modern medicine really ‘reassign’ sex? Is sex something ‘assigned’ in the first place? What’s the loving response to a friend or child experiencing a gender-identity conflict? What should our law say on these issues?”

Ryan Anderson is the William E. Simon Senior Research Fellow in American Principles and Public Policy at the Heritage Foundation.

For more information on the book visit www.amazon.com/When-Harry-Became-Sally-Transgender/dp/1594039615.

Calendar of Upcoming Events

January 19, 2018 – National March for Life, Washington, DC, USA, More information…
January 21, 2018 – Annual Assembly for Life, Worcester, MA
February 2, 2018 — Movieguide’s Annual Faith & Values Awards Gala & Report to the Entertainment Industry. Read more…
February 10, 2018 – Annual Youth Chastity Conference at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Nairobi, Kenya
February 16-17 – International Pro-Life Festival, Verona, Italy. Contact Toni Brandi at ProVita for more information…
February 20, 2018, 7pm — BYU Wheatley Institution Roundtable on Family, Keynote Speaker: Allan C. Carlson (IOF Senior Fellow),
Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center, Provo, Utah, USA, More information…
May 11-12, 2018 — WCF Family Forum, Lisbon, Portugal, and VIP Visit to Fatima and Porto, Contact Larry Jacobs for more information…
May 15, 2018 – Seizing the Future, Protecting the Family, WCF Regional Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, co-sponsored by Kenyan Christian Professionals Forum and Foundation for African Cultural Heritage, Contact for more information…
May 15-19, 2018 — Global Home Education Conference, Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, More information…
June 23, 2018 Saturday – 11:00 AM, March for Marriage 2018, Washington, DC, sponsored by National Organization for Marriage (WCF Partner), Freedom’s Journal Institute (WCF Partner) and IOF. Visit www.marriagemarch.org to register and sign up
September, 2018 — World Congress of Families XII (to be announced)
2019/2020 — World Congress of Families XIII – To Be Selected, Send proposals and hosting bids to ljacobs@profam.org

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Thank You To All of Our World Congress of Families Partners For Your Leadership and Support

World Congress of Families Partners

Latin American Alliance for the Family (Venezuela)

Associazione per La Difesa dei Valori Cristiani – Luci sull’Est (Italy)

CitizenGO

Foundation For African Cultural Heritage (Nigeria)

Freedom’s Journal Institute for the Study of Faith and Public Policy (USA)

Georgian Demographic Society (Republic of Georgia)

Touchstone Magazine: A Journal of Mere Christianity

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International Organization for the Family
934 North Main Street
Rockford, Illinois 61103phone: 815-964-5819email: info@profam.org

Uniting and equipping leaders
worldwide to promote the natural family!

profam.org

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 2018

Major Announcement – Moldova Selected for WCF XII

Dear Friend — I write to you from half-way across the world from a country with a deep history, beautiful culture, and abiding dedication to the family: Moldova. I just joined with President Igor Dodon to announce that the World Congress of Families XII conference will be held in Chisinau, Moldova from September 13-16, 2018.

Moldova President Igor Dodon and I hold a press conference announcing World Congress of Families XII conference in Chisnau, Moldova September 13-16, 2018.

At the press conference, President Dodon made clear his dedication to making the World Congress of Families XII a must-attend event for leaders, delegates, and activists from around the world. President Dodon has been a stalwart in support of the natural family and spoke at the World Congress of Families conference in Tbilisi, Georgia. What a blessing that President Dodon took time out of his busy schedule to meet together and to personally join me in announcing the next World Congress of Families.

Here are some additional photos from the press conference with President Dodon.

I urge you to save these dates and come to Moldova this September where you’ll meet with pro-family leaders and WCF Partners from around the world and get to know the people and places of Moldova. It will be a trip you will never forget.

By way of example, I just returned from an amazing excursion to Cricova Wine Cellars. Housed in a labyrinthine network of limestone tunnels that were excavated for the stones that built the city of Chisinau, the wine cellar is one of the largest in the world. What an experience to be 50 meters underground, eating a Moldovan feast, in a traditionally decorated hall that could have been built in a farmhouse in the last century. These are experiences you could have nowhere else.

Bordered by Romania and Ukraine, Moldova sits strategically between East and West as a crossroads of civilizations. There has been an increasing push to undermine the family in this country, but under the leadership of President Dodon there has been a rejuvenated spirit in defense of traditional values.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia

President Dodon has extended a personal invitation to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to attend, as well as a representative of Pope Francis. Patriarch Kirill has already accepted the invitation and will join us at WCF XII in Chisinau.

The World Congress of Families XII will be the premiere pro-family event in the world this year bringing together hundreds of scholars and experts to meet with thousands of activists and leaders. Putting on a conference of this magnitude is enormously difficult, requiring a substantial investment of resources. I ask you to consider making a generous financial gift to support our work.

I hope you can join with pro-family leaders from around the world in Chisinau, Moldova, September 13-16. We will be launching a website with the ability to register in the next few weeks. I will be updating you on my travels in Eastern Europe and the Caucuses over the next week.

God Bless,

Brian S Brown

Donate to IOF Today

International Organization for the Family Partners

Int. Organization for the Family 934 North Main Street Rockford, Illinois 61103phone: 815-964-5819 info@profam.org	Uniting and equipping leaders worldwide to promote the natural family!	profam.org Donate Forward to a Friend Subscribe
The International Organization for the Family (IOF) depends on voluntary contributions from individuals, businesses and organizations to support its work. IOF receives no government funding of any kind. IOF is an international network of pro-family organizations, scholars, leaders and inter-faith people of goodwill from more than 80 countries that seek to protect and promote the natural family as the fundamental social unit and the ‘seedbed’ of civil society (as found in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights).

World Congress of Families Leadership Memo: February 2, 2018

Moldova (Chisinau) Selected As Host for WCF XII, September 13-16, 2018
Allan Carlson Delivers Keynote at Wheatley Roundtable (BYU), February 20
40 Days for Life Begins February 14 in Kenya
ProVita International Festival for Life in Verona, Italy, February 16-17

“For pro-family leaders…a project of the International Organization for Family, uniting and equipping leaders worldwide to promote the natural family.”

Moldova Selected to Host World Congress of Families XII in Chisinau, September 13-16

World Congress of Families/International Organization for the Family President Brian Brown announced World Congress of Families XII in Chisinau, Moldova, September 13-16 (#WCF12Moldova). The announcement was made at a press conference with Moldovan President Igor Dodon.

President Dodon is a staunch ally and friend of the Congress, speaking at World Congress of Families X in Tbilisi in the Republic of Georgia in 2016. He was instrumental in organizing a WCF regional conference in Balti, Moldova in 2015.

Brian Brown noted: “Bordered by Romania and Ukraine, Moldova sits strategically between East and West at the crossroads of civilizations. There has been an increasing push to undermine the family in this country, but under the leadership of President Dodon there has been a rejuvenated spirit in defense of traditional values.”

World Congress of Families XI was held in Budapest, Hungary, May 25-28, 2017. Attended by more than 3,000 delegates from around the world, we were honored by the support and participation of Hungarian President Viktor Orban.

Other Congresses have been held in Prague (1997), Geneva (1999), Mexico City (2004), Warsaw (2007), Amsterdam (2009), Madrid (2012), Sydney (2013), Salt Lake City (2015) and Tbilisi, Georgia (2016).

For more information, visit www.wcf12.org or contact Larry Jacobs, ljacobs@profam.org.

WCF Founder Allan Carlson to Give Keynote Address at Wheatley Roundtable on The Family – February 20

Allan C. Carlson, founder and former International Secretary of World Congress of Families, will deliver the keynote address at this year’s Wheatley Roundtable on the Family at Brigham Young University’s Assembly Hall, February 20. Carlson will speak on “The Natural Family in Peril: Past and Present… and the Hopeful Future.

Allan Carlson Speaks at WCF XI Budapest Family Summit

Allan was International Secretary of WCF from its founding in 1995 until his retirement in 2015. He received a Ph.D. in European History from Ohio State University, has lectured at a number of colleges and universities, and was a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Politics and History at Hillsdale College in Michigan.

Carlson is the author of more than a dozen books, among them “Conjugal America: of Public Purposes of Marriage,” “The Natural Family: Bulwark of Liberty” and “Fractured Generations: Crafting a Family Policy for Twenty-First America.”

Allan Carlson is the John A. Howard Distinguished Fellow for Family and Religious Studies at the International Organization for the Family and Editor of “The Natural Family: An International Journal of Research and Policy.” In 1998, President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the National Commission on Children, a position in which he served until 1993. He’s a frequent guest on radio and television, including CNN, BBC, ABC, CBS, PBS and MSNBC.

The Wheatley Roundtable on the Family is an annual conference organized by the Wheatley Institution that gathers students from across the country to be instructed by and exposed to the best scholarship available on the topics of family, marriage, sexual integrity and the importance of children, with the goal to help students understand and articulate the most important ideas that sustain the family.

For more information visit http://wrof.byu.edu/.

40 Days for Life to Be Held in Nairobi, Kenya, February 14

The African Organization for Families and CitizenGo are sponsoring 40 Days for Life in Kenya, beginning on February 14. Both are World Congress of Families Partners.

While abortions are technically illegal in Kenya, a number of facilities perform them in the guise of providing other services (such as “women friendly reproductive health services”). Among most notorious are the Marie Stopes clinics, which might be called abortion-without-borders.

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For 40 days beginning on February 14, protestors will peacefully pray at the Marie Stopes headquarters along Ngong Road in Nairobi.

For more information visit https://www.facebook.com/FamiliesAfrica/.

ProVita’s International Festival for Life in Verona, Italy, February 16-17

The International Festival for Life will take place at the Gran Guardia in Verona, Italy, February 16-17.

On February 17, renowned academics and physicians will discuss their experiences and provide insights into various aspects of the abortion debate. There will also be presentations by women who’ve had abortions.

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The participants on the first day include: Gianna Jessen, who survived a saline abortion — Dr. Bernard Gappmaier, president of the World Federation of Doctors Who Respect Human Life — Prof. Giuseppe Noia, who specializes in prenatal and perinatal care — Dr. Xavier Dor, president of the Catholic Association “SOS Tout Petits,” who’s fought for the right to life in France for over 20 years — Dr. Antonio Oriente, who performed thousands of abortions but now fights for the lives of the unborn – and Riccardo Cascioli, director of Il Timone and La Bussola Quotidiana (moderator).

On February 18, there will be presentations on the best pro-life strategies. Participants will include: Verona Mayor, Federico Sboarina — Vice Mayor Lorenzo Fontana — State Duma Deputy Inga Yumasheva, who’s responsible for life, family and children at the Russian Duma — Dr. Roberto Brazzale, owner and CEO of Brazzale S.p.A., who promotes innovative corporate family policies — Dr. Elena Donazzan, councilor of the Veneto Region — Prof. Giuseppe Noia e dr. Alessandro Cecchi, speaking about hospice for children who need perinatal care — Prof. Massimo Gandolfini, neurosurgeon and president of the Committee ‘let us defend our children” (CDNF) which organized two family days in Rome with more than one million participants in each – and Prof. Tommaso Scandroglio, journalist, and professor of ethics and bioethics (moderator).

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Toni Brandi, President of ProVita Onlus

The Festival for Life is an international event organized by ProVita Onlus (a World Congress of Families Partner) and other pro-life/pro-family groups. Registration is free.

For more information send email to redazione@notizieprovita.it and visit https://www.facebook.com/provitaonlus/.

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Calendar of Upcoming Events

February 2, 2018 — Movieguide’s Annual Faith & Values Awards Gala & Report to the Entertainment Industry. Read more…
February 14, 2018 – 40 Days For Life, Nairobi, Kenya, Contact Ann Kioko for more information…
February 16-17 – International Pro-Life Festival, Verona, Italy. Contact Toni Brandi at ProVita for more information…
February 20, 2018 — BYU Wheatley Institution Roundtable on Family, Keynote Speaker: Allan C. Carlson (IOF Senior Editor and Fellow), Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center, Provo, Utah, USA, More information…
April 4-7, 2018 — Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation, Washington, DC, Visit www.endsexualexploitation.org/cesesummit2018/ for more information…
May 15, 2018 – Seizing the Future, Protecting the Family, WCF African Regional Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, co-sponsored by Kenyan Christian Professionals Forum and Foundation for African Cultural Heritage, Contact Ann Kioko for more information…
May 15-19, 2018 — Global Home Education Conference, St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia, Register here. More information…
June 21-22, 2018, Black Conservative Summit Leadership Conference: Black Families Matter II, at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC, organized by Freedom’s Journal Institute for the Study of Faith and Public Policy. Contact Dr. Eric Wallace, President of Freedom’s Journal Institute for more information…
June 23, 2018 Saturday – 11:00 AM, March for Marriage 2018, Washington, DC, sponsored by National Organization for Marriage (WCF Partner), Freedom’s Journal Institute (WCF Partner) and IOF. Visit www.marriagemarch.org to register and sign up
September 13-16, 2018 — World Congress of Families XII Moldova in Chisinau, Moldova (#WCF12Moldova), Contact Larry Jacobs for more information…
Fall 2018 — World Congress of Families Caribbean Regional Conference in Guyana, Contact Don Feder for more information…
2019/2020 — World Congress of Families XIII – To Be Selected, you must submit letter of interest, hosting bid, and full proposal. Contact Larry Jacobs for more information…

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Thank You To All of Our World Congress of Families Partners For Your Leadership and Support

World Congress of Families Partners

Latin American Alliance for the Family (Venezuela)

Associazione per La Difesa dei Valori Cristiani – Luci sull’Est (Italy)

CitizenGO

Foundation For African Cultural Heritage (Nigeria)

Freedom’s Journal Institute for the Study of Faith and Public Policy (USA)

Georgian Demographic Society (Republic of Georgia)

Touchstone Magazine: A Journal of Mere Christianity

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International Organization for the Family
934 North Main Street
Rockford, Illinois 61103phone: 815-964-5819email: info@profam.org

Uniting and equipping leaders
worldwide to promote the natural family!

profam.org

You can join us in urging the Postal Service to honor the dignity of every human life by signing our petition.

World Congress of Families Leadership Memo: February 19, 2018

“Choose Life” USPS Stamp Petition Launched by IOF, Heartbeat International, Human Life International, and Population Research Institute
March for Life in Nairobi, Kenya on March 24
2018 Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation Global Summit, April 4-7 in Washington, D.C.

“For pro-family leaders…a project of the International Organization for Family, uniting and equipping leaders worldwide to promote the natural family.”

IOF, Heartbeat International, Human Life International, and Population Research Institute Launch Petition for a “Choose Life” Commemorative Stamp

The International Organization for the Family (parent organization of the World Congress of Families) working with WCF partners Heartbeat International, Human Life International, and Population Research Institute, have launched a petition to ask the U.S. Postal Service to Issue a “Choose Life” Commemorative Stamp to honor the dignity of every human life and to counter the pro-abortion message in their “Family Planning” Commemorative Postage Stamp.

The petition, posted on CitizenGo reads:

The United States needs a “Choose Life” stamp to demonstrate that every human life has value, significance, dignity, and worth. The U.S, Declaration of Independence proclaims the basic rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” among humanity’s inalienable rights. Despite the Declaration’s clear affirmation of the “right to life” proclamation in the American founding, the United States is one of only seven countries along with North Korea, China and Vietnam to allow unnecessary late-term abortions. Thankfully, the majority of Americans choose to be pro-life and the majority of states support the message “Choose Life” (32/50 states have “Choose Life” license plates available).

A “Choose Life” stamp would celebrate and demonstrate the dignity and sanctity of every human life from conception to natural death in the midst our legal, cultural, and civilizational battle to protect the right to life and dignity of all human persons.

Additional background on the petition:

In the United States, recommendations for commemorative stamps are made by the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee, based in part on suggestions from the public. The Committee is appointed by the Postmaster General, who in turn receives its recommendations.

Each year, 30 to 40 new subjects are selected for commemorative stamps. There have been stamps celebrating love, peace and everything from Disney villains and “retro funny cats” to “frozen treats.”

On March 18, 1972 (the year before Roe v. Wade was decided), the United States Postal Service issued a stamp honoring “family planning” and seeking to promote abortion, birth control, and small families as a “social good.”

At luncheon with 300 members of the Planned Parenthood Federation present, J.T. Ellison, USPS spokesman, described what he considered to be the significance of the stamp. (“We hope… this stamp will serve as a reminder to all members of our society that a spiraling world population and the environmental and social ills that inevitably follow – is everyone’s concern.”) In other words, with this stamp, USPS endorsed the Malthusian myth of over-population, repeated by Paul Ehrlich in “The Population Bomb,” published four years earlier.

We need a Choose Life stamp that will serve as a reminder that worldwide, fertility rates have been cut in half since the late 1960s (in the United States, the fertility rate in 2015 was 1.84, well below the replacement level of 2.1), that each year there are 56 million abortions worldwide (900,000 to 1 million in the U.S. alone) and that the Declaration of Independence proclaims the rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” among humanity’s inalienable rights.

Symbolism is important. In 1972, USPS issued a stamp promoting “family planning.” It’s time to put America on record stating that we should choose and celebrate life.

To sign the petition visit: http://www.citizengo.org/en/signit/155218/view.

March for Life in Nairobi, Kenya on March 24th

The Kenya March for Life (with the theme – “Family: Centre of Love and Transmission of Life”), will take place in Nairobi on March 24, from 7 am to 1 pm. The principal organizer is the Kenya Christian Professionals Forum (KCPF) ) – a WCF Partner.

Image result for KCPF More than 800 participated the 2017 March. Among the key participants were the Kenyan Ministry of Health, Miss Tourism Nairobi, Matter Hospital, the World Youth Alliance, Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Human Life International, KCPF and Spina Bifida & Hydrocephalus Foundation.

Like many African nations, Kenya is under intense pressure from Western aid-givers (countries like Canada under the Trudeau government) to embrace the culture of death. Though currently illegal in Kenya, abortions are performed at the Marie Stopes clinics, under the guise of promoting women’s health care.

Among the other organizers of this year’s march are the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, National Council of Churches of Kenya, Evangelical Alliance of Kenya, Abstinence Kenya, World Youth Alliance, Protecting Life Movement Trust, Little Angels Network, Pearls and Treasures Trust and CitizenGo.

Image result for March for LIfe Kenya

KCPF is also an organizer of the May 15 World Congress of Families African Regional Conference in Nairobi (“Seizing the Future, Protecting the Family”). This will be our third regional conference in Nairobi since 2016. Details will follow in future Leadership Memos.

For more information on both the March and upcoming Nairobi Regional Conference, contact: KCPF at info.kcpf@gmail.com or vkimosop@sovereigninsight.com.

2018 Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation Global Summit, April 4-7 in Washington, D.C.

The 2018 Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation Summit (hosted by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation) will take place, April 5-7 at the Hyatt Regency near the Washington Dulles Airport. On April 4th, there will be a special NCOSE Summit event, “Day on the Hill,” taking place at various locations in Washington, D.C.

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Among the more than 50 speakers are: Chyng Sun, PHD (Clinical professor, New York University) “Naked Aggression: Pornography and Eroticized Violence” – Sharon W. Cooper, MD, FAAP, “New Definition of Trafficking and the Role of Pornography” – Peter Qualliotine (co-founder/director, Men’s Accountability Organization for Prostitution Survivors) – Shamere McKenzie (Director, Anti-Trafficking Program, Salvation Army of Central Maryland) “Best Practices for Working with Survivors of Human Trafficking” – Rev. Joseph Dennis (founder, One Million Men Porn Free) “Role of Faith Communities in the Battle Against Sexual Exploitation” – Valiant Richey (Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, King Co. Washington Prosecuting Attorney’s Office) “Addressing Demand as a Solution to Sex Trafficking” – Melinda Tankard Reist, “Why Sex is Not Work, Stories from the Sex Trade” –Dawn Hawkins (Sr. VP, National Center on Sexual Exploitation) “Making our Schools Exploitation-Free Zones” – Errol Naidoo (Founder and CEO, Family Policy Institute, South Africa) – Sharon Slater (President, Family Watch Int’l.) “Protecting Children from Pornographic Materials in Schools” – Patrick A. Trueman (President and CEO, NCSE) “Today’s Pornography: Not a Constitutional Right: Not a Human Right.”

Image result for coalition to end sexual exploitation summit

Besides general and break-out sessions, the Summit also includes:

Training on Exploitation Issues, Research & Messaging Strategies, Organization
Training on Fundraising, Communications & More,
Networking and Collaborating With The Leaders In The Movement,
Influencing Legislators & Government Officials with Day on the Hill Events,
Building a Community of Allies and More Resources for Your Efforts,
Creating a World Free from Sexual Exploitation Together

For the program and full list of speakers visit: https://endsexualexploitation.org/cesesummit2018/

Image result for coalition to end sexual exploitation summit

National Center on Sexual Exploitation is a World Congress of Families Partner, as are Family Watch International and Family Policy Institute (South Africa). Between 500 and 600 registrants are expected to participate in the Summit.

Registration Prices:

General Registration (w/ meals) $365 – ends 4/7

General Registration (no meals) $250

Full-time Student (no meals) $150 – ends 3/25

To register https://endsexualexploitation.org/cesesummit2018/#register18

WCF members receive a 10% discount by using the code Group 10

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Calendar of Upcoming Events

February 20, 2018 — BYU Wheatley Institution Roundtable on Family, Keynote Speaker: Allan C. Carlson (IOF Senior Editor and Fellow), Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center, Provo, Utah, USA, More information…
April 4-7, 2018 — Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation, Washington, DC, Visit www.endsexualexploitation.org/cesesummit2018/ for more information. To register https://endsexualexploitation.org/cesesummit2018/#register18WCF members receive a 10% discount by using the code Group 10
May 15, 2018 – Seizing the Future, Protecting the Family, WCF African Regional Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, organized by Kenyan Christian Professionals Forum, Contact KCPF for more information…
May 15-19, 2018 — Global Home Education Conference, St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia, Register here. More information…
June 21-22, 2018, Black Conservative Summit Leadership Conference: Black Families Matter II, at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC, organized by Freedom’s Journal Institute for the Study of Faith and Public Policy. Contact Dr. Eric Wallace, President of Freedom’s Journal Institute for more information…
June 23, 2018 Saturday – 11:00 AM, March for Marriage 2018, Washington, DC, sponsored by National Organization for Marriage (WCF Partner), Freedom’s Journal Institute (WCF Partner) and IOF. Visit www.marriagemarch.org to register and sign up
September 13-16, 2018 — World Congress of Families XII Moldova in Chisinau, Moldova (#WCF12Moldova), Contact Larry Jacobs for more information…
October 2018 — World Congress of Families Caribbean Regional Conference in Guyana. Contact Rebekah Ali-Gouveia, WCF Caribbean Coordinator for more information…
2019/2020 — RFP for World Congress of Families XIII – To be considered, please submit letter of interest with reasons for hosting and full proposal with budget. Contact Larry Jacobs for more information…

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Thank You To All of Our World Congress of Families Partners For Your Leadership and Support

World Congress of Families Partners

Latin American Alliance for the Family (Venezuela)

Associazione per La Difesa dei Valori Cristiani – Luci sull’Est (Italy)

CitizenGO

Foundation For African Cultural Heritage (Nigeria)

Freedom’s Journal Institute for the Study of Faith and Public Policy (USA)

Georgian Demographic Society (Republic of Georgia)

Population Research Institute

Touchstone Magazine: A Journal of Mere Christianity

United Families International

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International Organization for the Family
934 North Main Street
Rockford, Illinois 61103phone: 815-964-5819email: info@profam.org

Uniting and equipping leaders
worldwide to promote the natural family!

profam.org

You can join us in urging the Postal Service to honor the dignity of every human life by signing our petition here.

World Congress of Families Leadership Memo: March 16, 2018

Global Home Education Conference (Moscow & St. Petersburg) – May 15-19
WCF International Family Conference (Nairobi, Kenya) — May 15-16
Petition Against the Growing Intolerance of the Cultural Left Targeting Gov. Mike Huckabee
Uganda 2018 Conference on the Family — May 21-22 Uganda Christian University
Petition for Choose Life U.S. Commemorative Stamp Gathers Over 9,900 signatures

“For pro-family leaders…a project of the International Organization for Family, uniting and equipping leaders worldwide to promote the natural family.”

Global Home Education Conference 2018, to be held in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, May 15-19

The Third Global Home Education Conference (GHEC 2018) will take place May 15-19 at the Peterhof Hotel in St. Petersburg and the Holiday Inn Sokolonik in Moscow, Russia. The theme is “You CAN homeschool!”

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The theme is “You CAN homeschool!” Previous conferences featured discussions of home education as a human right. In Russia, home education is legal and supported by a growing movement. Topics will include homeschooling in conflict – how courts and legislatures are addressing the right of parents to homeschool — a look at home education around the world — issues for organization leaders — a robust research track looking at how home education is working in a number of countries — how to homeschool — and information for policy makers. There will also be opportunities for home-educating leaders from all over the world to network, share experiences and encourage each other.

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There are more than 75 invited speakers who are experts in the area of home education, policy makers, organization leaders, advocates, researchers, and others.

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Confirmed speakers include: Home School Legal Defense Association Senior Counsel and Director of Global Outreach Michael Donnelly, International Organization for the Family (IOF) President Brian Brown, IOF Senior Fellow and World Congress of Families Founder Dr. Allan Carlson — Russian Homeschooling pioneers Irina Shamolina and Alexey Komov (World Congress of Families Coordinator in Russia and the CIS) Founder of HomeschoolSupport.RU Guzel Gudrus — UK education leader Tim Vince — Senior Leader on the Family of the Russian Orthodox Church, Father Dmitri Smirnov — Dr. Paula Rothermel (Author, Speaker and Researcher on Home Education) — Author Andre Stern — Peggy Ployhar, SPED Homeschool Founder & CEO — Director of Judicial Affairs for National Brazilian Home Education Association Alexandre Moreira — Dr. Debra Bell Author, Researcher and Founders of online school — Classical Conversations CEO Robert Bortins & many more. HSLDA and Classical Conversations are both WCF Partners.

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For more information on GHEC 2018 speakers http://www.cvent.com/events/global-home-education-conference-2018/speakers-ba9619d2acb14e89bc45845c939bc0ff.aspx

Among the sponsors of GHEC 2018 are the International Organization for the Family (WCF parent organization), Classical Conversations, Institute for Excellence in Writing, Home School Legal Defense Association US, HSLDA Canada, Canadian Center for Home Education, Homeschool Foundation, Russian Homeschool Support Center, Alliance Defending Freedom and Apologia. This is the third GHEC. The others were in Berlin (2012) and Rio (2016).

For more information and registration: http://www.cvent.com/events/global-home-education-conference-2018/event-summary-ba9619d2acb14e89bc45845c939bc0ff.aspx

Stand With Huckabee! – Petition Against Growing Intolerance of Cultural Left That Forced Gov. Mike Huckabee to Resign from the Country Music Association Foundation Board

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National Organization for Marriage and The International Organization for the Family have launched a petition to stand with Mike Huckabee against the sexual radicals and cultural leftists that forced him to resign from the Country Music Association Foundation Board.

Here is some background on the petition:

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is widely recognized as a champion of life, marriage and the family. His daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, is White House press secretary.
He spoke eloquently at a rally following the first March for Marriage, sponsored by the National Organization for Marriage.
The Governor has expressed an interest in speaking at a future World Congress of Families.
Huckabee spent years advocating music for youth. As Arkansas Governor, he promoted legislation to give all school children access to music and arts programs.
The cultural left has launched an increasingly vitriolic campaign to stigmatize and ostracize individuals and organizations which dare to speak out against them – with growing success.
Jason Owen, co-president of Monument Records condemned Huckabee in an email to the CMA Foundation’s leadership. He and his “husband” say Huckabee has “made it clear my family is not welcome in his America.” Presumably, he has done this by continuing to advocate natural marriage – the union of one man and one woman.
Owen also charged that, “Huckabee speaks of the sort of things that would suggest my family is morally beneath his and uses language that has a profoundly negative impact upon young people all across this country.” Owen thus uses children as pawns in a political game.
Whitney Pastorek, who manages Kristian Bush of the band Sugarland, lambasted the CMA board: “What a terrible disappointment to see (the CMA Foundation’s) mission clouded by the decision to align with someone who so frequently engages in the language of racism, sexism, and bigotry.”
It’s all straight out of Marxist Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals,” the left’s playbook. Alinsky said leftists should never debate their opponents but ridicule, stigmatize and marginalize them. Sadly, for Alinsky’s intellectual heirs, it’s working.
Ironically, Donald J. Trump, who has views on life and marriage very similar to Huckabee’s, was elected president of the United States less than two years ago. The elite represents no one but itself.

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The Petition is posted on CitizenGo.org, and reads:

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is a stalwart supporter of life, marriage and the family.

Gov. Huckabee is a longtime advocate of arts and music for children and is himself an amateur musician who credits music with helping him overcome shyness as a child.

Country music has long been thought of as one of the last bastions of family values in an entertainment industry increasingly hostile to those values.

The Country Music Association (CMA) Foundation works to get children involved with music programs and provides access to musical instruments.

Gov. Huckabee was forced to resign from the CMA Foundation Board one day after he was appointed because some artists and producers were offended by his advocacy of natural marriage (between a man and a woman) and the sanctity of life.

The cultural elite, which takes its cues from sexual radicals, will do almost anything to silence social conservatives.

We the undersigned are outraged by the shabby treatment of a decent man for his brave adherence to values that our culture revered a generation ago and vow that we will not be silenced but will continue to defend those values in the public arena.

We thank Governor Mike Huckabee for having the courage to go against leftist domination of the culture.

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Sign the petition and stand with Huckabee against sexual radicals and cultural leftists, click here.

The International Family Conference 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya (May 15-16)

The International Family Conference 2018 (“Seizing the Future, Protecting the Family”) will take place in Nairobi at the Kenyatta International Convention Center, May 15-16. The conference is a World Congress of Families African Regional Conference.

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The organizer is the Kenya Christian Professionals Forum (KCPF), a World Congress of Families Partner, which is supported by the Government of Kenya.

The sponsors are Foundation CitizenGO, Hensa Solutions, and Mercy Health Services.

Partners include: Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) — National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) — Evangelical Alliance of Kenya (EAK) — World Youth Alliance (WYA) — Protecting Life Movement Trust — Little Angels Network — Pearls and Treasures Trust – and Abstinence Kenya.

This is the 4^th in a series of conferences organized by KCPF.

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The first, held in May 2015, in conjunction with the Kenyan Ministry of East African Community, Labor and Social Protection, and was opened by then-First Lady Margaret Kenyatta. The theme of the 2016 conference was “Nurturing and Strengthening Youth as Crucial Members of the Family.” The theme of the 2017 International Family Conference was “One Family, One Nation.” Also in 2016, another African Regional Conference was held in Nairobi, sponsored by the African Organization for the Family (a WCF Partner).

Although planning is ongoing, the Nairobi 2018 conference will include:

May 11 – A Deborah and Esthers’ Dinner for the women in positions of influence. The dinner will be hosted by KCPF in partnership with Kenyan Government, and include wives of Governors, parliamentarians, women judges and leaders in the church and corporate world. The goal is to activate more family champions. The targeted number of guests is 300.

Organizers report great excitement around this dinner, which they hope will become an annual event. There’s also the prospect of dinner for men next year.

May 14 – A town-hall type public forum on the family in a county neighboring Nairobi. The Kenyan Government is leading in this but KCPF will send professionals to address issues affecting the family.

May 15-16 – The African Regional Conference will run for the 2 days. Speakers and topics have yet to be announced.

May 17 — Organizers are discussing the possibility of having a symposium at Strathmore University, on the day after the conference ends, targeting students.

For more information on the International Family Conference 2018, contact info.kcpf@gmil.com

2018 Uganda Conference on the Family at the Uganda Christian University, May 21 -22

Uganda Christian University is organizing a Conference on the Family scheduled for May 21-22, 2018 at its campus in Mukono, Kampala.

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The theme is “THE FAMILY IN THE 21ST CENTURY: STRONG? IN CRISIS? CHANGING? What is the future of this foundational unit of life in community and nation?”

From the announcement of the organizing committee: “This conference will celebrate and affirm the declaration of 2017 & 2018 as the Year of the Family in Uganda (so designated by both the government and Anglican Church of Uganda). It is also strategically well-timed to continue and strengthen the spirit of the International Day of Families. It comes closely (just 6 days!) on the heels of the International Day of Families on May 15.”

John Senyoni, Vice Chancellor (President) Uganda Christian University

“The Conference is designed to provide an ideal opportunity for a good mix of key societal delegates – religious, political and governmental, non-governmental, and cultural leaders, researchers/educators, etc. – to come and reason together about the situation of the family (past, present & future) with focus on the African family, while drawing lessons from other cultures and histories. It will be an exciting and yet humbling time, an ideal opportunity, to listen, share, discuss and learn. More than 300 delegates are expected to attend. “

For more information: contact Mr. Hamilton B. Mbokureeba Conference Secretariat — hmbokureeba@ucu.ac.ug

Petition for a Choose Life Commemorative Postage Stamp Picks Up Speed

Thus far, over 9,900 signatures have been collected on a petition to U.S. Postmaster General Megan J. Brennan for a “Choose Life” commemorative stamp to to honor the dignity of every human life and to counter the pro-abortion message in the USPS “Family Planning” Commemorative Postage Stamp.

The “Choose Life Stamp” petition reads:

All over the world, fertility rates are plummeting. Worldwide, 56 million abortions are performed each year (900,000 to 1 million in the U.S. alone). The Declaration of Independence acknowledges the inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Without the right to life, no other rights are possible.

Our society goes to extraordinary lengths to preserve life, in times of natural disaster and through the efforts of first responders every day.

As President Donald Trump said at the 2018 March for Life, the movement to protect life “is a movement born out of love: you love your families; you love your neighbors; you love our nation; and you love every child born and unborn, because you believe every life is sacred, that every child is a precious gift from God.”

Background: The United States is one of only seven countries to allow late-term abortions. A fetal pain act was recently defeated in Congress.

Symbolism is important. In 1972, the United States Postal Service issued a stamp promoting “family planning” – the precursor to legalized abortion. It’s time to put America on record stating that we should choose and celebrate life.

The petition is sponsored by the International Organization for the Family (IOF), Heartbeat International, Human Life International and Population Research Institute, and CitizenGo and posted on the CitizenGo site.

As of Thursday morning, March 15th, the petition had 9,929 signers.

To sign the petition visit: http://www.citizengo.org/en/signit/155218/view

Please help us to circulate the petition to your friends and supporters. For more information, contact Larry Jacobs at ljacobs@profam.org

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Calendar of Upcoming Events

April 4-7, 2018 — Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation, Washington, DC, Visit www.endsexualexploitation.org/cesesummit2018for more information. WCF members receive a 10% discount by using the code “Group 10” to register online.
May 15, 2018 – Seizing the Future, Protecting the Family, WCF African Regional Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, organized by Kenyan Christian Professionals Forum, Contact KCPF for more information…
May 15-19, 2018 — Global Home Education Conference, St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia, Register here. More information…
June 21-22, 2018, Black Conservative Summit Leadership Conference: Black Families Matter II, at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC, organized by Freedom’s Journal Institute for the Study of Faith and Public Policy (FJI is a WCF Partner). Contact Dr. Eric Wallace, President of Freedom’s Journal Institute for more information…
June 23, 2018 Saturday – 11:00 AM, March for Marriage 2018, Washington, DC, sponsored by National Organization for Marriage (WCF Partner), Freedom’s Journal Institute (WCF Partner) and IOF. Visit www.marriagemarch.org to register and sign up
September 13-16, 2018 — World Congress of Families XII Moldova in Chisinau, Moldova (#WCF12Moldova), Contact Larry Jacobs for more information…
Fall 2018 — World Congress of Families Dominican Republic Regional Conference in Dominican Republic organized by Miguel Moreno, University of North America. Contact Rebekah Ali-Gouveia, WCF Caribbean Coordinator for more information…
November 2018 — World Congress of Families Guyana Caribbean Regional Conference in Georgetown, Guyana headquarters of CARIFAM. Contact Rebekah Ali-Gouveia, WCF Caribbean Coordinator for more information…
2019/2020 — RFP for World Congress of Families XIII – To be considered, please submit letter of interest with reasons for hosting and full proposal with budget. Contact Larry Jacobs for more information…

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Thank You To All of Our World Congress of Families Partners For Your Leadership and Support

World Congress of Families Partners

Latin American Alliance for the Family (Venezuela)

Associazione per La Difesa dei Valori Cristiani – Luci sull’Est (Italy)

CitizenGO

Foundation For African Cultural Heritage (Nigeria)

Freedom’s Journal Institute for the Study of Faith and Public Policy (USA)

Georgian Demographic Society (Republic of Georgia)

Population Research Institute

Touchstone Magazine: A Journal of Mere Christianity

United Families International

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International Organization for the Family
934 North Main Street
Rockford, Illinois 61103phone: 815-964-5819email: info@profam.org

Uniting and equipping leaders
worldwide to promote the natural family!

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