Conference
Strengthening children from an early age
How can attachment and autonomy be supported in early childhood? What helps to enable children to grow up healthily? These questions will be addressed at the 30th annual conference of the Society for Mental Health in Early Childhood (GAIMH), which will take place in Wuppertal from 6 to 8 March. // Photo Colourbox
Lectures, workshops and discussions will focus on the following questions: How can attachment and autonomy be supported in early childhood? What helps to enable children to grow up healthily? Different perspectives will be examined: Contributions from academia on attachment and autonomy research, contributions from professionals from different perspectives, including those focussing on fathers, mothers and partnerships.
A meeting of science and social media familiarities
"What is special about the conference is the first-time meeting of science and bestselling authors and social media celebrities from the parenting guide and parenting blogger scene," explains Anna Ruppelt from the organisation team, adding: "Scientific findings can be brought to the general public much faster through popular science books and social media activities and thus benefit parents and children."
The speakers are Prof. Dr Fabienne Becker-Stoll (psychologist, Director of the State Institute for Early Childhood Education), Prof. Dr Guy Bodemann (University of Zurich), Prof. Dr Mary Dozier (Professor of Psychological and Neuroscience at the University of Delaware, USA), Prof. Dr Enno Hermanns (Institute for Systemic Family Therapy, Supervision and Organisational Development), Dr Michael Schieche (Psychological Psychotherapist, Munich) and Prof. Dr Peter Zimmermann, developmental psychologist at the university of Wuppertal and scientific director of the conference.
Exciting panel discussion
Prof Dr Marjan Alemzadeh (Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences), Fea Finger (childhood educator), Inke Hummel (educator, author, family counsellor, parenting consultant), Susanne Mierau (qualified educator, family counsellor, author, speaker) and Nicola Schmidt (Artgerecht Projekt, author) will also be discussing the question of how to make scientific findings accessible to parents. Johannes Büchs will be the moderator.
The conference is being organised in cooperation with the Winzig Foundation, Diakonie Wuppertal and PEKiP e. V. It is aimed at professionals from the fields of therapy, counselling, support, psychology, education (including educators and childminders), social sciences and medicine. The interested public is also welcome.
Further information on the programme can be found in the conference flyer (link leads to a PDF file).
Registration is possible on the conference website.
Background
The annual conference is co-organised by PEKiP e. V. The PEKiP concept (Prague Parent-Child Programme) was developed in the 1970s by Prof. Dr. Hans Ruppelt, who taught at the (then) Gesamthochschule Wuppertal and now the University of Wuppertal, where it was scientifically tested for the first time in relation to child-child contact.
PEKiP is well-known and popular throughout the German-speaking world in parent-child group work in the first year of life (approx. 65,000 parents take part every week).
