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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
“Protecting Our Children, Protecting Our Future”: Members of the National Child Protection Council are in Calgary, Alberta, Canada attending the 21st International Congress for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect which opened Monday. The contingent has a full week of sessions, meetings and exhibitions ahead of them. The Congress is hosted by the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) and the University of Calgary, Faculty of Social Work. Pictured (from left) are: Mrs. Zenovia Mills; Dr. Novia Carter; Dr. Nicole Sherren, PhD., Scientific Director, Palix, Canada; Mrs. Lorraine Duvalier; Miss Jasmine Harper; and Pastor Gil Maycock. (BIS Photo/Matt Maura)
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CALGARY, Alberta, Canada – National Child Protection Council (NCPC) members hit the ground running here in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, attending a Master Class Session as the 21st International Congress for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect got underway.
Hosted by the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) and the University of Calgary, Faculty of Social Work, the Master Class covered a vast range of topics including preventing child abuse and child maltreatment across the lifespan of a child; preventing bullying in schools; adolescent dating violence; the prevention of abusive head trauma through the Shaken baby Syndrome; empowering communities to protect babies and young children; child sexual abuse prevention and education; promoting positive parenting; and the effects of early adversity on brain development, learning and health of children/adolescents.
The Master Class Programme provides delegates with an opportunity to spend a day with leaders in the field of child abuse and neglect, and to hear their extensive and seasoned experiences on a spectrum of topical areas that can assist in formulating and implementing best practices.
Other key areas to be covered during the Congress include juveniles and justice, innovative interventions, addressing specific issues in child protection in developing countries; online child sexual exploitation utilizing pornography, “sexting” and internet luring, empowering communities to protect babies and young children, and child abuse prevention and education: best practices, among others.
Leading Child Protection experts from around the globe, world renowned scholars, researchers, medical doctors and healthcare professionals and scientists from around the globe, are meeting with social services, health (including mental health), law enforcement and criminal justice professionals and others representing non-governmental agencies.
The 2016 Congress is being held under the theme: “Protecting our Children, Protecting our Future.”
“The programme merges theory and practice and we hope it will lead to rich conversations about where child intervention practice is now, and where it needs to go in the coming years,” said Dr. Jackie Sieppert, PhD., Professor and Dean of Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary.
“Within this thematic framework, the organizing committee has woven into the discussion three critical issues that we believe are central to achieving significant progress in the prevention of child abuse and neglect – restoring indigenous families and communities; incorporating social determinants of health into ending intergenerational violence; and promoting interdisciplinary and community collaborations.”
The Bahamian contingent is headed by Pastor Gil Maycock, Chairman of the National Child Protection Council and Dr. Novia Carter, Deputy Chairperson, NCPC. Members -- Lorraine Duvalier, Zenovia Mills and Jasmine Harper are also attending the Congress.
Dr. Carter applauded the organizers for their “detailed efforts” in ensuring that as many topics relative to what may be happening in both the Developed as well as the Developing countries are covered during the 2016 Congress.
“We are extremely excited about being involved in this Congress because it allows us to meet with world leaders in many of the fields relative to our work in The Bahamas and to compare notes and best practices as to what is going on in the Developed Countries and other Developing Countries,” Dr. Carter said.
“From what we have heard and seen so far, we know that we are on that right path. We know that we are ‘on point’ with what we are doing in The Bahamas and that in some instances we may be even further ahead than some of the other countries.”
One such area is the ‘Say No, Then Go’ Programme that was created, developed and written by Dr. Carter. A Say No, Then Go Educational Colouring Book has been published and distributed to thousands of Bahamian primary school students in Grades 3-5 throughout the Commonwealth in conjunction with the National Child Protection Council.
The colouring book teaches children about what constitutes abuse, about safe touches and unsafe touches, provides them with an understanding of what are healthy, respectful relationships; their rights as children under the United Nation’s “Rights of the Child Convention”; in addition to informing them of where and how to get help.
The Book has been developed into a Personal Safety Curriculum that consists of five modules, which instruct children/students on the skills they need to prevent their becoming victims of child abuse.
“It was exciting to hear that they have a programme here in Calgary that is similar to what we are doing with the ‘Say No, Then Go’ Programme in The Bahamas,” Dr. Carter said. “It was even more fulfilling to hear the recommendation made to focus efforts on children in Grades 3-5, which provided further evidence to us that we are on the right track.”
© Copyright 2016 by thebahamasweekly.com
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