The Selection Committee for World Congress of Families V met at the Army and Navy Club in Washington, D.C., July 28 and 29 and recommended Amsterdam as the site for the next World Congress of Families. On August 1, its recommendation was accepted by the WCF Management Committee. Past Congresses have been held in Prague (1997), Geneva (1999), Mexico City (2004) and Warsaw (2007).

The Selection Committee consisted of: Ignacio Arsuaga (HazteOir.org, Madrid), Chuck Donovan (Family Research Council), Don Feder (World Congress of Families), Farooq Hassan (Pakistan Family Forum), Jesus Hernandez (The Family Network, Mexico), Marie-Claire Hernandez (Family & Society, Mexico), Randy Hicks (Georgia Family Council), Robert Knight (Culture and Media Institute, Media Research Center), Ewa Kowalewska (Human Life International, Europe), Gwendolyn Landolt (REAL Women of Canada), Yuri Mantilla (Focus on the Family), Dorothy Patterson (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary), Austin Ruse (Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute), Mary Ellen Smoot (Relief Society, LDS Church), Jennifer Swim (GFC Foundation) and Father Jaroslaw Szymczak (Institute of Family Studies, Poland). The meeting was ably chaired by Gwen Landolt.

The evening of July 28, The Heritage Foundation hosted a reception for the Selection Committee, national delegations and other guests.

Five countries made formal bids to host WCF V – Nigeria, the Netherlands, Latvia, Bolivia and Russia. The following delegations made presentations – Nigeria: Theresa Okafor (Chief Executive, Life League) – The Netherlands: Simon Polinder (Chairman, LOC, Amsterdam) – Latvia: Marika Bertule (Founder, Family Association) – Bolivia: Miguel Moreno (Trinity Foundation) – and Russia: Lech Kowalewski, representing Fr. Maxim Obukhov (President National Russian Pro- Life Movement).

Allan C. Carlson, WCF International Secretary, who was present at the meeting as a facilitator, commented: “We were gratified by the quality of the proposals and the caliber of the presentations. It wasn’t easy for the Selection Committee to reach a decision. Ultimately, it recommended Amsterdam based on the thoroughness of its proposal, the enthusiasm of the local organizing committee and its supporters, the ability of the LOC to fully fund the Congress, location and venue, and a desire to support the budding Dutch pro-family movement.”

While unanimously proposing Amsterdam as the site of WCF V, the Selection Committee also resolved that a prep-con (preparatory conference) should be held in Nigeria before WCF V and that the Amsterdam Congress should include a panel reporting on the Nigeria meeting.

The Committee also recommended the following:

Latvia – That Latvia consider hosting an interparliamentary meeting (to share its experience with pro-family policies). Also, WCF would like to be involved in events at the Latvia Family Day celebration held each May.

Bolivia – That Bolivia host a prep-con or Latin American Summit in anticipation of submitting its bid for WCF VI in 2011.

Russia – The Committee is willing to help and advise Russia with speaker selection for a possible Family Summit at the Kremlin in 2010.

All of the countries which weren’t chosen as the site for WCF V were invited to submit bids for WCF VI, whose location will be chosen before the next Congress.

World Congress of Families V will be held at the Amsterdam RAI Convention Centre, August 10-12, 2009. The theme recommended by the LOC is “Family: More Than the Sum of the Parts.”

The RAI Centre can accommodate as many as 4,000 delegates in one hall, with smaller rooms available for breakout sessions for anywhere from 100 to 700. The Centre is well equipped for audio-visual, Internet, media and catering.

Built in 1893, the newly renovated RAI is the site of over 1,000 national and international conferences and cultural events each year, attracting more than 2 million visitors.

Amsterdam has over 300 hotels and approximately 110 within 20-25 minutes of the RAI – most are four- and five –star, but there are also a wide range of budget hotels as well as youth hostels.

Amsterdam is a popular tourist destination, with 40 widely known museums, as well as restaurants, shopping and historical sites, like the Anne Frank House.

Carlson observed: “Now that we have a location for World Congress of Families V, the real work will begin. Sometime in the next few months, the International Planning Committee – composed of the Selection Committee and three to five members of the LOC – will meet to begin the process of choosing topics and speakers. The rest – fundraising, publicity, media, publications, recruiting volunteers and networking with pro-family groups all over the world – will easily occupy the next 12 months.”

World Congress of Families Partners will play a key role in “Amsterdam 2009.” To date, 21 pro-family groups – including the largest in the United States – have chosen to formally affiliate and work with the Congress, and help us to build a truly international pro-family movement.

The bid process for World Congress of Families V was established at the October 2007 WCF Bermuda meeting.

The Management Committee, which has ultimate oversight of the Congress, consists of Allan Carlson, Janice Crouse (Senior Fellow, Beverly LaHaye Institute, Concerned Women for America), Paul Mero (President, Sutherland Institute), William Saunders (Senior Fellow & Human Rights Counsel, Family Research Council) and Christine Vollmer (President, Latin American Alliance for Families).