Around 250 large families from all over Spain met on the weekend of 2 and 3 November in Donostia/San Sebastian, as part of the 14th National Congress of Large Families, organised by the Spanish Federation of Large Families (FEFN) together with the Federation of Large Families of the Basque Country (Hirukide), to raise awareness of the reality and needs of families with 3 or more children, to highlight the value of these families and to ask for support and recognition for what they contribute.
The conference was opened by the Deputy Mayor of Donostia/San Sebastián City Council, Nekane Arzallus, together with the Councillor for Welfare, Youth and Demographic Challenge, Nerea Melgosa, and the Deputy for Care and Social Policy of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, Maite Peña, who accompanied the President of the FEFN, José Manuel Trigo, and the President of Hirukide, Íñigo Abreu, at the opening of the conference.
This meeting of large families, which is held at national level every two years, aims to highlight the social contribution that these families make to society in the form of human capital, through their children, a fundamental element for economic and social development, which benefits society as a whole. At the Congress, this social contribution was highlighted, for which they ask for recognition and adequate economic and social protection, with family policies that take into account their special needs and do not leave out any of their children.
Minors and screens
The Congress, which had the slogan ‘disCONNECT in the family’, focused on the family, but also on a subject of great interest to parents: new technologies and the use that minors make of them, with consequences that have set off alarm bells and have led to a social and political debate due to the devastating effects they are having on mental health, school performance and the affective-sexual development of children and adolescents.
Marc Masip, a psychologist and expert in addictions to new technologies, was one of the first professionals to warn of the danger of the indiscriminate use of screens at an early age, who gave a talk entitled ‘The heroin of the 21st century’ due to the damage it is causing to many minors and their families. Masip was clear in speaking to parents about his clinical experience with boys and girls with health problems derived from the use of screens. The writer and education researcher Catherine L’Ecuyer also spoke on this issue with the paper ‘How to educate in a world with more screens than windows’, analysing in her case the effect that new technologies have on the intellectual and emotional development of children, and the importance of wonder for attention and learning.
The conference, designed for the whole family, included activities for children of all ages, from babies to young people over the age of 20, who were able to enjoy sessions on the use of new technologies adapted to their language and needs. Marc Masip, creator of a therapeutic programme called ‘Desconecta’, which treats hundreds of minors with mental health problems derived from the use of screens, spoke to them about what the abuse of mobile phones or video games can cause them in a session that they followed with great attention, and Iker Legardón, a non-commissioned officer of Studies and Support of the Ertzaintza, gave them a talk on cybersecurity, dangers and crimes on the Internet, about the consequences of misuse of the Internet and networks, which was also very interesting for the teenagers and young people who attended the Congress.
Support from companies and institutions
The Congress was sponsored by Ubica, Opel, Mainpaper and El Diario Vasco, and has the support of the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030, the Basque Government, Basquetour, the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa and the City Council of Donostia/San Sebastián. Many other companies also collaborated with different contributions, which helped to make the day more enjoyable. Among them, El Corte Inglés, which donated 600 bananas for the children’s snacks, Tuc Tuc, which gave 600 backpacks for the little ones and in which they could put many other little gifts, socks from Urban Planet, notebooks donated by Material Escolar, ‘panties’ for the neck from Finetwork, tissues from Renova or the T-shirts for the volunteers sponsored by UNIR.
In addition, some lucky families went home with a prize, with one of the 10 magnificent gifts from the raffle that closed the Congress, shopping vouchers, a stay in a flat in Formigal, travel vouchers, etc. donated by Viajes El Corte Inglés, Eroski, Apartamentos 3000, Azulmarino New Travel, Boboli, Décimas, Puy du Foy, Sendaviva and Podoactiva.
Family weekend
The slogan chosen for this Congress, ‘disconnect as a family’, was a wake-up call about the hyperconnection to screens, but at the same time, an invitation to families to disconnect and spend time together. Therefore, once the conferences in the Kursaal were over, the family meeting was extended throughout Saturday afternoon with a family plan with leisure activities, such as a visit to the Aquarium or a boat trip around the bay of La Concha beach. The children had also enjoyed various outdoor activities organised by age group, such as a visit to the Science Museum, ice skating or a visit to Estado Arena, Real Sociedad’s home ground. The families who stayed until Sunday were also able to enjoy the Monte Igueldo amusement park, with one of the best views of the city.