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A two-day international conference on global childhoods was held at University College Cork on the 7^th and 8^th April, 2011. The overall aim of the conference was to deepen understanding of children’s lives in developing country contexts, drawing attention to early childhood development in the majority world and the importance of including local traditions, culture and knowledge in professional practice. Current discourses on early childhood in a global context were examined and debated. In particular, the conference explored the localised contexts of childhood and challenge the euro-centric perspective which current research and practice largely offers. Researchers, policy makers and practioners came together to build on their experiences and knowledge and to contribute to current debates on appropriate polices and professional practices in Early Years Care and Education.

 Keynotes Speakers:

• Professor Helen Penn, Professor of Early Childhood Studies, University of East London
• Dr Hasina Banu Ebrahim , Discipline Leader for Early Childhood/Foundation Phase Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
• Dr Karen Wells, Senior Lecturer and Programme Director International Childhood Studies,  Birkbeck College, University of London
• Dr. Angela Veale, Department of Applied Psychology, University College Cork
• Dr Paromita Chakravarti, Department of English, Jadavpur Univeristy, Kolkata, India

Papers and posters were invited, but not limited to, the following areas of interest:  

• Gender roles and practices in early years
• Incorporating global childhood into teaching on Early Years and Childhood programmes
• Early years care and education in developing countries
• The role of early years in achieving the Millennium Development Goals
• Challenges of child labour
• Child migration
• Children living with HIV/AIDS

Organising Committee:
Deirdre Horgan, Shirley Martin, and Jacqui O’Riordan , School of Applied Social Studies, College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences, University College Cork.

The conference organisers are currently preparing a peer-reviewed publication based on  a selection of the conference papers which is due for publication in 2012.

Email  questions to ecdwcic@ucc.ie

This conference was funded by the School of Applied Social Studies, University College Cork and The Irish Aid Development Education Unit