Specialist center, guide, family portal – the Bremen Family Network is there for all citizens of the city of Bremen. For 20 years, we have been providing advice and information on all matters and questions related to family life. But that's not all: We offer all professionals who work for and with families a platform for professional exchange, information, and the necessary overview of the field in Bremen. Our 2024 annual report reveals further highlights and challenges of our work.
20 years of the Bremen family network
2023 was marked by our 20th anniversary: On October 5th, the conference "Family in Transition" took place in the Bremen Parliament to reflect on family education in the city of Bremen and to focus on key themes of our professional work. Together with managers and specialists from social work, members of the Bremen administration, and representatives from politics, various areas of work were examined.
More web visits, more personal consultations, more specialists
As the city's family portal, our website familiennetz-bremen.de information and family-friendly services from over 1,000 institutions, providers, and organizations digitally accessible. The comprehensive and editorially maintained website attracted over 241,000 visitors (+15% compared to the previous year) with more than 539,000 page views covering a wide range of topics.
The pioneering, personal consultation service reliably and comprehensively complemented this offering: We conducted 1,964 personal consultations by telephone or email (+18%). Whether parenting issues, financial worries, relationship conflicts, or other questions concerning family life – the Bremen family network, acting as a guide, provided individual support and, if necessary, was able to refer people to other relevant services in almost all cases.
As a specialist agency , we offer a point of contact for all those who work full-time or on a voluntary basis in the fields of family support, family education, and social work. In 2023, 56 percent of the average 164 consultations per month focused on professional exchange, networking, and advice for professionals from associations and institutions, organizations and companies, as well as from the media sector.
The focus of the Family Education Network "expert box ," offered all those who work with families, young people, and children, whether as volunteers or professionals, condensed and additional specialist knowledge, networking opportunities, and overviews of programs and events related to family education, early intervention, and the social support system.
Supporting parenthood from the very beginning
To support parenthood from the very beginning, there is the "Welcome to the Family" (WiF) folder . The folder, redesigned in 2021, not only delighted parents of newborns but also Bremen's pediatricians. 5,000 folders were distributed to over 27 practices throughout the city.
The Bremen Holiday Compass provides parents with a concise overview of supervised activities during school holidays and makes an important contribution to easing the burden on families, especially regarding the work-life balance and the challenges of everyday life. At the start of the 2023/24 school year, first-grade students in Bremen's primary schools received the Bremen Holiday Compass timetable free of charge.
To reach as many young parents as possible in their daily lives via social media channels , we expanded and improved the content of our Instagram account. In 2023, we published 110 posts and the profile had 1,520 followers. Mobile usage is becoming increasingly important for public perception: Around 71 percent of people now access familiennetz-bremen.de via a mobile device.