ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the International Foundation for Human Sciences in the context of the International Symposium on 'The New Citizenship of the Family: Comparative Perspectives' held in Granada in early October 1997. Representatives of family organizations often claim that the best policy for children is a good set of family policy measures; and similarly, feminist leaders argue that good women's policies are the best prerequisite for the well-being of children. Childhood in modern society is affected by many sociocultural, -economic and -political trends. Growing conceptual autonomy of childhood, a number of societal trends concerning childhood as well as the main thrust of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child demand also for a radical shift in the political paradigm. Authors' way of arguing is predominantly influenced by authors' affiliation with the European Programme on Childhood, in particular with the research project 'Childhood as a social phenomenon'.
