The International Center for Human Sciences (CISH) – UNESCO, Byblos is organizing in Partnership with UNESCO MOST Progarmme and Dhillon Marty Foundation, the third Roppongi Dialogue on January 20, 2022 from 20:00 to 22:00 PM (Tokyo Time) / 13:00 to 15:00 (Beirut Time).

This Dialogue will focus on the definition of Family. The social sciences define many concepts that are basic to the understanding of the family. The key concept in the social sciences, and especially in demography and sociology, is that of the family. The family is globally perceived as a major social institution that created the person’s social activity. It is a social unit created by blood, marriage, or adoption (parents and children) or extended (encompassing other relatives).

With today’s challenges, the modern family has undergone significant transformations in its structure. The societal changes affected the percentage of classical “typical” families, which were replaced by different “new forms of families”. Regardless all these changes, the concept of the family remained as a functional social institution.

There is no definition of the family under international human rights law. According to the Human Rights Committee, “the concept of family may differ in some respects from State to State, and even from region to region within a State, and that is therefore “not possible to give the concept a standard definition.” Similarly, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has stated that the concept must be understood “in a wide sense” and “in accordance with appropriate local usage.” Other international human rights mechanisms have expressed similar views.

The aim of this third Roppongi Dialogue is to elaborate with experts from different ethical, social and leadership institutions, the definition of the family, its formation and its role in raising agents of positive change in the future.

Moderator: Dr. Darina Saliba Abi Chedid – Director of the International Center for Human Sciences (CISH) – UNESCO, Byblos

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82227556859?pwd=L0ZuOVNkek5uVXJpOVlrcHh6enJkdz09#success