The Congress, which commemorated the 20th anniversary of the UN’s International Year of the Family, included plenary and parallel workshop sessions, paper readings and poster presentations.

Fuster gave the talk “A Model for Family-Centric Care in Paediatric Hospital Settings: Tool Validation”. Vilarrubias addressed the topic “Family Care Following Perinatal Death in the Delivery Room: A Qualitative Study of Parents’ Lived Experiences and Perceived Needs”. Marian de Juan presented a piece she had written with four other scholars, “Resilient Senescence: Re-examining the Literature”.

The Congress aimed to reveal the key role the family plays in sustainable development. It presented the argument that the family is indispensable to achieve the millennium development goals proposed by the United Nations, which include eradicating poverty, providing universal education and reducing infant mortality. The family also occupies a central position in the European Commission’s Europe 2020 Growth Strategy, which includes education, social inclusion and employment among its goals.