NCFR Fellow Bahira Sherif Trask, Ph.D. was an invited presenter at a side event of the 52nd Session of the Commission on Population and Development, held April 4, 2019, at the United Nations (U.N.). Dr. Trask serves as one of NCFR's representatives to the U.N., along with Mihaela Robila, Ph.D., CFLE. 

The program, Positive Parenting and Social Inclusion: Vulnerability of Families with Children, was sponsored by the International Federation for Family Development. Dr. Trask's presentation was on Promoting Strong Families Through Parenting Education.

The objective of the event was to discuss how to help families with children in vulnerable situations, that through a closer dialogue between researchers and practitioners, the complexity of issues can be understood and provided to policymakers with improved evidence-based recommendations.

Parenting education is noted in the program discussion points as a "key component for the cohesion, sustainability and inclusion of every family unit." Further, that parenting education "improves early childhood development and empowers children [to learn how] to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty." 

Dr. Trask is the professor and chair of the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Delaware, and recently served as the NCFR 2018 Conference Chair. Her current research focuses on the relationship between globalization and family change in Western and non-Western contexts. Primarily she concentrates on economic changes, work and gender roles, and policies that can assist and strengthen low income families. Dr. Trask hopes to promote the development of better policies and programs that strengthen families and communities.

Read more about the program

View Dr. Trask's presentation