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home > Best Start > Best Start Conference - Partnership in Practice March 2007
Best Start Conference - Partnership in Practice March 2007
 Office for Children and Best Start Partnerships hosted the conference, Partnership in Practice, on Monday 19th and Tuesday 20th March at the Jasper Hotel, Melbourne.
The conference provided a unique opportunity for those leading the implementation of Best Start, to come together to focus on the directions of Best Start. The conference provided practical tools to support participants to drive changes locally and to achieve positive outcomes for children and their families.
A working group representing Best Start Facilitators, the Victorian Aboriginal Community Services Association Limited and the Office for Children designed the conference based on feedback received from Best Start sites across the state.  The purpose of the conference was to develop a shared vision that inspired stakeholders to implement the next phase of Best Start within a culture of leadership and partnership utilising relevant tools and resources to achieve positive outcomes for children and families.
The key objectives for the two days:
- To develop a shared understanding of the directions for Best Start in the current Early Years context
- To strengthen the leadership skills of facilitators and partners to implement the Best Start approach
- To reflect on the learning’s of the Best Start Demonstration projects to inform the next phase of Best Start
- To provide practical tools, skills and resources for Best Start sites
- To create momentum for sustainable service system change
The topics discussed at the Partnership in Practice conference included: Best Start Evaluation, key outcomes and learnings; Positive Leadership in Best Start; Developing and sustaining partnerships in Best Start; Best Start Action Planning – realising outcomes for children; “Ready or Not?” assessing and implementing change in Best Start. The conference structure consisted of presentations by key speakers, workshop activities and plenty of networking!!
View the Best Start Conference - Partnership in Practice Conference agenda [PDF 311kb]
The feedback received from this conference has been very positive with delegates learning and developing their skills and knowledge to assist their Best Start projects, and in particular enjoyed the opportunity to network with fellow delegates to share experiences, knowledge and skills.
Best Start looks forward to hosting yet another successful conference in the near future to lead on from the success of past conferences to discuss ongoing and concurrent themes to aid Best Start’s achievements in Victoria.
For your interest, the conference presentations have been added for download:
View all the Presenters' Biographies [PDF 501kb]
If you require further information on past and future conferences and forums, please contact Louise Keramaris, louise.keramaris@dhs.vic.gov.au.
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