A family possesses essential roles in building qualities of human beings. According to a professor of Family Action Centre School Science of The University of Newcastle, Australia, Prof. Alan Hayes A.M., a family can create great young generation.

In a public lecture conducted by Department of Islamic Broadcasting and Communication of Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) on Wednesday (27/9) at A.R. Fachruddin B, Prof. Alan talked about family studies. He began his presentation by analogizing a family condition as a half-filled glass. “A half-empty glass shows a lot problems in a family, but the half-filled glass displays strengths in a family,” he maintained.

Prof. Alan asserted that two main issues examined in family studies are the roles of a father in a family and how a strong family bears strong children so that we can create strong community to confront bizarre future challenges. “We have a chatting group whose members are fathers. We often share how to take care of a baby. Not only a mother but also father has vital roles in a family,” he declared.

Besides, Associate Director at Family Action Centre of The University of Newcastle, Australia Dr. Deborah Hartman informed that family studies are applied sciences of psychology, communication, sociology, and others. She also explained that each family is different. “This circumstance is interesting to study and can be a consideration for strengthening a family so that the next generation is able to encounter challenges,” she stated. She also believed that Indonesia has good potentials to develop family studies since there are a lot of excellent Indonesian higher education institutions.

Indeed, Deborah invited all students to contribute to making this world to be a better place for families. “Even though it is hard to embody the hope, we can work together to make this world a better place,” she emphasized.