March 2004

Conference on early childhood to focus on new ideas

More than 500 delegates, including overseas visitors, will attend the 3rd annual Critical Early Childhood Years national conference hosted by the Queen Elizabeth Centre on October 1 and 2.

Under the banner Rethinking Current Interventions and Strategies, conference themes are care and education in early childhood, new understandings of early childhood, high-needs families and high-risk infants, prevention and early intervention for parents and children and early parenting education.

The conference targets academics and policy-makers and practitioners in the fields of child care, child protection, children’s community and acute health services, early education, family and children’s court, family services, foster care, infant mental health, midwifery, paediatrics, parenting, psychology and social work.

International keynote speakers will include co-director of the Winnicott Research Unit in London Professor Lynne Murray and Director of the Centre for Parent and Child Support at Guy’s Hospital Professor Hilton Davis.

Professor Murray is an international leader in the fields of postnatal depression and parent/child relationships.

She recently co-authored one of the world’s most important infant/parent communication books The Social Baby: Understanding Babies Communication from Birth.

Professor Davis is an international expert in home visiting practices and the parent adviser/partnership model for early parenting education.

He will provide a one-day workshop on the model.

The deadline for the call for abstracts is April 16.

• For further information contact Gini Solutions on 9859 5508, email ginisolutions@bigpond.com or visit www.qec.org.au.