With the theme “All Families Can Be Better,” the city of Guadalajara in Jalisco state, Mexico, will host the International Congress of Families (CIFAM) from March 1–3.
CIFAM 2024, an opportunity for meeting, learning, and intersectoral and interreligious collaboration, seeks to unite and equip leaders, organizations, and families to affirm, celebrate, and strengthen the family institution as the natural foundation of society.
The purpose of the event is to give continuity to the experience lived at the XIV World Congress of Families held in Mexico City in 2022.
The president of the congress in Mexico, Fernando Milanés, announced at a Jan. 31 press conference that the event will provide a time for “learning and collaboration to strengthen” the family.
Milanés recognized that families face innumerable challenges and thus CIFAM aims to “equip them so that they can be a source of security and comprehensive health, identity and belonging, planning, and purpose.”
Lupita Venegas, owner of Valora Radio and a spokesperson for the congress, highlighted the importance of addressing the various ailments that affect families, such as infidelity, depression, and domestic violence. She emphasized that CIFAM 2024 represents an opportunity to strengthen families and “change the world one family at a time.”
Karen Ahued, another spokesperson for CIFAM, focused on women and said that the congress will provide an opportunity to “improve our relationships with our children” and to seek “personal reconciliation and heal many wounds that are hard to bear and difficult to accept.”
The event will have four programs: general, youth, adolescents, and children. Among the prominent specialists will be Dr. Catherine L’Ecuyer, a world leader on the impact of technology on education, and the psychologist Isabel Rojas Estapé. International popularizers and specialists in family and education will also be presented, such as Dr. María Calvo and Dr. Rafael Guerrero.
CIFAM 2024 will have renowned speakers from Mexico, including Dr. José Medina Mora, national president of COPARMEX (Employer Confederation of the Mexican Republic); Dr. Julia Borbolla, a specialist in children and adolescents; and Dr. José Antonio Lozano, president of the governing boards of the Pan American University and its business school. The youth program will also include recognized talents and influencers such as Minesweeper and Rorro Echávez.
In addition, the event will feature the Family Expo, a space with more than 120 booths where various institutions will offer programs, activities, products, and services for families.