On this International Day of Families (15-05-2013) I call on governments, civil society, families and individuals to support initiatives that bring people together across generations toward building a healthier world for all.

Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General

OMAEP, the World Organisation of Prenatal Education Associations, a federation of 22 national associations, works to raise awareness, inform and educate as well as affect social development and policies by implementing important scientific discoveries on the prenatal period. It is during the preconception period, the nine-months of gestation and during birth, that the life-long physical, emotional and mental health of a human being are largely determined. Prenatal Education is both the educating on prenatal life and the education that the mother gives and her child receives during gestation, be it consciously or not!

It is vital that the link between these early stages of human development, their long- term impact and the current global challenges be known. The state of our planet depends on the state of human-beings. A child that is conceived, gestated and birthed in violence is far more likely to be violent than someone who has received love and caring since the onset of their life at conception. Prevention has always been better than cure!  It is imperative that we become collectively conscious of the not so "secret life of the unborn child" and act upon this knowledge from grassroots to national and international policy making in order to preserve life on this planet and begin to thrive.

9 Months to Save the World The successful OMAEP panel event during the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20 has blossomed into The Global Prenatal Initiative (GPI). The GPI is gathering support from both civil society and governments and preparing events that will take place throughout 2014.

Major and grassroots events will take place around the globe during the 2014 United Nations 20th Anniversary of the International Year of Families (IYF). Events will focus on the major UN themes for this year:

- Confronting family poverty

- Ensuring work-family balance

- Advancing social integration

- Inter-generational solidarity

The GPI invites individuals, associations, NGO's, civil society, the United Nations agencies and governments to partner in this global awakening as we discuss the importance of the family and bring forth the vital importance and impact of the prenatal period on human and global sustainable development. Prevention and empowerment are major keys for the immense task of reaching the UN goals.

All events are independent and OMAEP is not responsible for the content of events.

Opening and Closing Ceremonies 2014:

The GPI will begin at sunrise on January 1st in New Zealand, the first major nation to start the year. In a spirit of unity and community the ceremony will honour families and call upon the peoples of the world to focus on the UN priority themes and include the importance of the prenatal period. The closing ceremony will be held in Hawaii in the "Spirit of Aloha" on December 31st as the sun sets with the reading of a joint Declaration. People from around the world are invited to participate in these ceremonies. We invite media to take an active interest in the GPI.

Pre-requisites for partner events:

To qualify, events must be organised by legal organisations, must have "prenatal" content and include the UN themes as stated above. However, small "family meetings" are welcome, too.

To organise an event in the GPI:

Please fill out the following form: PartnersEvents.pdf / PartnersEvents.doc

The GPI was launched and has been gathering support at:

October 25 - 28th 2012

Mid Pacific Conference on Primal Health and Birth (Primal Health Research) - Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. Workshop + announcement

November 15 - 18th 2012

International Congress (Association for Prenatal Perinatal Psychology and Health -APPPAH) - San Francisco, California, USA. International Panel

November 23 - 25th 2012

Humanization of Birth - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. OMAEP/ANEP Brazil Round Table

December 7- 9th 2012

World Family Summit - Fos de Iguazu, Brazil. Success Stories.

March 4th – 15th 2013

UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW57) in New York

Joint Panel Event: Preventing all forms of Violence: Peaceful Beginnings

April 21 – 28th 2013

Global Inspiration Conference – Bhimtal, India

Keynote address

August 7 - 8th 2013

Colloque International - Cotonou, Benin, Africa

All year 2013

Year of preparation for 2014 events: Contact with national organisations for the IYF 2014, preparation of grass root and major events, opening and closing ceremonies, cyber events and photography and music competitions.

OMAEP Partners:

Official:

Others:

PHR       Primal Health Research

Organising Committee:

OMAEP - Commission ECOSOC/English

Project Director: Julie Gerland, Chief UN Representative for OMAEP

Co-Director: François Gerland, UN/NY Representative for OMAEP

Secretariat: Volunteers needed

Media & Internet Director: Natalie La Fontaine

Secretariat:

Providence, 09100 Bonnac, France  Tel: +33 (0) 561 60 38 99

Contact us

Global Events (as of May 2013) and contact people for events (working list): Please contact julie@naturalprenataleducation.com for list of key contact people.

Provisional Calendar of Major Events:

January

Opening Ceremony at Sunrise in New Zealand

February

UCLA, Los Angeles USA (to be confirmed)

Los Angeles Hilton: Conscious Life Expo

March

Participation in the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women/CSW58 in New York

May

ANEP France/OMAEP - Montpelier, France

June

Korea

July

Canada - Concert by Raffi/Centre for Child Honouring

August

India  "Perinatal Imprints Congress": Opening by HH Dalai Lama

September

NYC/UN OMAEP Conference/GPI Summit

October

Cameroon OMAEP International Summit on the African Family (English/French)

Brazil - Rio de Janeiro

November

APPPAH Conference

December

World Family Organisation Summit - China + GPI Summit

India: National Summit on the Indian Family Bangalore District, S. India (TBC)

Closing Ceremony: December 31st in Hawaii

Film:

We would love to have these events plus interviews filmed and available via live streaming or rapidly up-loaded to the website.

Cyber Events:

Free Tele-Conference/Webinar Series via internet : Pioneers share their knowledge with the public. All conferences are recorded, archived and then made available for download.

International Music "Prenatal Music/song" Competition:

International Photo Contest: 9 Months to Save the World : Exhibition/s of winning photos/Prize

Petition via either Causes or Care2 : To be created

YouTube channel : Uploading and sharing of “Voices of Families.”

Media and Promotional activities: TV and Radio shows, Press Releases, Articles in Midwifery Today, Juno... etc.

Film showings & Festivals

Promotional materials: T. shirts, bags, pens... etc.

Creation of a Finance Committee to raise funds through:

- Individual donations

- Organisation donations

- Fee for partnership status

- Sponsors (to be included in programmes, banners, announcements during events)

- Grants for projects and Award Prizes for the Photo/Music Competition

- Fundraising for projects on Catapult or similar! http://www.catapult.org  

- Fundraising events

- Others

Donations can be made via PayPal or Bank transfer to the account of the GPI main sponsor: Association Suryoma. Every GPI donation will be used for the sole purpose of the Global Prenatal Initiative. Please click here to donate

Volunteer your Support!

To participate and/or volunteer your help in any of these ways please contact: Email: info@naturalprenataleducation.com

Social Media:

Facebook: Global Prenatal Initiative (moderators needed)

Twitter :  volunteers needed to set up and use tweets for the events

To participate and/or volunteer your help in any of these ways please contact us

To create an event please use the online form: PartnersEvents.pdf / PartnersEvents.doc and Facebook page to share your ideas and to gather support.

Newsletter

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Civil Society Declaration to the United Nations:

OMAEP encourages family oriented NGO's and organisations to sign the Declaration of the Civil Society on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the International Year of Families: http://www.family2014.org/declaration.php

Conclusion:

An outcome document for the GPI will be made and given to the United Nations at the end of 2014.

Your help is needed to make this an exceptional year around the globe to bring the attention to the vital role that families play in meeting the goals of the United Nations through "Prenatal Education."

Please contact us, join the Facebook group and participate!

Make your donation here ($/€5, 10, 50....): every amount is welcome and needed! (Link to come soon): Please click here to donate

“Peace is too important to entrust to States alone ...non-governmental organizations are now considered full participants in international life." opening address by Secretary-General of the United Nations, DPI/NGO Conference 1994, International Day of Peace http://www.family2014.org/declaration.php

See the OMAEP Call to action Here