The Zukunftsforum Familie e.V. / Forum for Progressive Family Policy (ZFF) was founded in 2002 on the initiative of the Workers’ Welfare Association (AWO) as a family policy association. Since then, the ZFF has been working on behalf of our members to ensure that family policy is oriented toward solidarity-based and democratic goals and does justice to all generations, population groups and lifestyles. In cooperation with associations, organizations and self-help groups, Zukunftsforum Familie advocates a future-oriented family policy.
The central starting point is a broad concept of family, which ties in with and shapes the social change of families. Family is diversity and family policy should support and strengthen this diversity – this is how the goals of the ZFF can be summarized in a few words. Family policy is thus both a specialized and a cross-sectional policy. It must be oriented toward democratic and solidarity-based goals and do justice to all population groups and family lifestyles.
Our understanding of family
The bourgeois family ideal with the male sole breadwinner and the housewife who looks after the children developed in the 19th century. Today, there is a broad debate about whether this model can still be the guiding principle for individual life plans, legal regulations and social status. At the same time, social realities looked and look different. Diverse forms of family cohesion have always existed. Today they differ, for example, in
- sexual identities (hetero-, homo-, bi- and transsexuality)
- different couple relationships (single parents, possibly with a new partner, marriages, non-marital cohabitation)
- economic situation (low-income households, middle class, affluent families)
- ethnic origin (families with migration background, bi-national families, families without migration history)
- size of the family (families with several children, families with only one child, couples without children).
All of these families have one thing in common: people take lasting responsibility for each other, care and give attention. Our goal is to define the concept of family and thus to shape family policy today in such a way that no form of family is discriminated.Zukunftsforum Familie (ZFF) is a legally independent, registered non-profit organization. Members of the Zukunftsforum Familie can be
- Member associations of the Arbeiterwohlfahrt
- Associations as well as their institutions and services, which deal with families and family policy.
- Self-help groups
In addition, individuals, companies, municipalities and other public corporations can become paying supporting members. These can participate and e.g. take part in the general meeting, beyond that they have no further rights and duties.