Family

This volume is a compilation of key papers presented at the global conference titled "In Defence of the Family: Family, Children and Culture," held in Bangkok in June 2011. The event marked the 25th anniversary of the Service and Research Institute on Family and Children (SERFAC), headquartered in Chennai, India. SERFAC was established by Dr Catherine Bernard, MBBS, MS, and collaborators from diverse backgrounds from India and around the world, committed to ensuring the well-being of families so as to address the contemporary moral, spiritual, institutional and technological crises affecting families, children, communities, nations and global society.An internationally registered non-governmental organization, SERFAC, which enjoys Special Consultative Status with ECOSOC (the Economic and Social Council) of the UN, works towards creating awareness and sensitizing society to the fact that a healthy family life and its allied institution of marriage constitute the most important resource base and natural environment for the well-being of its members, particularly children.Families and children across the world face a multitude of ever-changing challenges in an increasingly internationalized culture due to globalization.It is vital for society to respect the autonomy, integrity, solemnity and sacredness of every unborn child, of every person, individual and family, and for every nation to work towards a meeting at different levels. A dialogue must occur to enrich and celebrate this diversity of family, children and cultures, in order to make the world a more humane and civilized place in which to live. In this way, we can ensure a promising future for humanity.The Service and Research Institute on Family and Children has made a start in this reversal process by identifying and working with the smallest, yet, at the same time, the most potent social unit - the Family.