Youth meetings & conferences

 2012 Prevention of Youth Substance Abuse in Rural Communities: Reaching Out to Missing Partners

August 1-3, 2012 University of South Carolina Lancaster in Lancaster, South Carolina

2012 Prevention of Youth Substance Abuse in Rural Communities: Reaching Out to Missing Partners is a training conference that emphasizes the unique challenges of conducting youth prevention in rural communities. The conference was founded by one of the most successful prevention coalitions in the country, in hopes of raising awareness of the plight that many rural communities face with regards to the growth of youth substance abuse.

Hosted by: USC Lancaster

This year’s conference is hosted by the University of South Carolina Lancaster in Lancaster, South Carolina. Historic Lancaster is located 30 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina.

5th Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights

September 19-22, 2012 Windhoek, Namibia

The 5th Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights is being hosted by the Namibia Planned Parenthood Association (NAPPA), an affiliate member of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) under the auspices of the African Federation for Sexual Health and Rights. The conference theme is “Sexual Health and Rights in Africa: Where are We?”

This conference will interrogate the status of sexual health and rights in Africa and in particular focus on women, girls, adolescents and youth. Efforts will be made to ensure that many constituent groups and stakeholders engage in learning exchange around policy and programme management including financing for sexual health.

Objectives
- To take stock of responses to sexual health and rights on the continent since ICPD
- To explore sexual health and rights of women, girls, adolescents and youth in Africa

The conference presentations, papers and posters will explore the conference theme and the sub-themes “Sexual and Reproductive Rights-Legal, Policy and Programme Issues (including financing sexual and reproductive health)” and “Sexual and Reproductive Rights of Adolescents and Youth” through the following thematic areas:

- Adolescent and Youth Sexuality

- Women’s and Girls Sexuality

- Disabilities and Sexual Rights

- Sexual Rights and Sex Work

- HIV/AIDS and Sexuality

- Sexuality, Culture and Religion

- Sexual and Reproductive Rights (Legal, Policy and Programme Issues- financing, equity, access, implementation, enforcement and redress)

- Sexual Orientation, Sexual/Gender Identity and Sexual and Reproductive Rights

- Capacity building and Knowledge Management

Desired Outcomes
- Alliance building, capacity enhancement and learning exchange for improved Policy, Legal and Programme management on sexual and reproductive rights.
- To disseminate relevant international declarations, charters and guidelines to civil society organizations to enhance their role in promoting sexual and reproductive rights.
- To plan and conduct a communications strategy, around the conference in order to produce dialogue on issues of sexuality, sexual health and sexual rights.
- To produce a conference technical report/publication that can be publicized for use by various institutions working in the field of sexual and reproductive rights.

Expected Participants
The conference is expected to be attended by policy makers, civil society organisations, academia, educationists, media, development activists, sexual health and rights advocates, women, girls, adolescents and youth. The conference offers a unique opportunity to further seek ways of mobilizing actions for improved understanding of sexuality and promotion of sexual health and well-being of all peoples on the African continent.

Conference Host
Namibia Planned Parenthood Association
P.O. Box 10936
Windhoek, Namibia
Tel: +264 61 230250
Fax: +264 61 230251
Email: conference@africasexuality.org
www.nappa.com.na

Seventh World Conference on the Promotion of Mental Health and Prevention of Mental and Behavioral Disorders

October 17-19, 2012 Perth, Australia

Mental health promotion and wellbeing strategies are urgent public health concerns and the need for the promotion of mental health and wellbeing has now become a feature of government policy within many countries throughout the world. During the last decade we have seen rapid developments in the field and if we are to develop new and innovative policies and programmes for a 21st Century approach to Mental Health we need to

share information about on-going research and successful programmes, policies and organisational models;
collaborate on the development of new knowledge and the implementation of programmes and strategies;
make the most effective use of scarce resources.

This conference provides the opportunity for delegates to address these issues by engaging with international leaders and experts from a wide range of related disciplines:

to explore how effective partnership working can assist in disseminating and implementing effective promotion and prevention strategies,
to influence policy makers and administrators
to help mental health promotion and wellbeing take its rightful place on the health and social care, economic, cultural and political agendas.

Participants are therefore invited from:

policy makers and policy administrators in local/national government;
professionals and clinicians in health and social care;
service users and carers;
researchers and scientists;
representatives of institutional settings, e.g. political, education, legal and judicial and labour.

Relational Selves and Families in Medicine: Gender Perspectives

Conference Dec 10-12, 2012, Linköping, Sweden

In many cases, there is only one patient in the patient-health care professional encounter. This, however, is not always the case. As some examples, two individuals may seek medical assistance in order to conceive a child together and more individuals may be involved if a sibling donates egg or sperm to a family-member and her/his partner.

Many other examples can be given of encounters and treatments that involve more than one patient and one health care professional. When the patient is a minor child, parent(s) may face difficult treatment decisions as regards medical treatment for their children. If two parents are involved in the decision, they may not always agree on what is the best treatment for their child. And what say does the child have in terms of treatments? As yet another example, cases of sibling organ donation where a sibling donates an organ to a brother or sister highlight how intimately family members can become involved in each other’s medical treatment. Finally, the topic of families in medicine can be pertinent in relation to aging and health care needs in later life, where relatives can become thoroughly involved in this care and where gender roles can feed into this care work.

Still, comparably little attention has been given to the role of families in medical encounters, treatment decisions, care work and illness experiences.

The aim of the conference

Relational selves and families in medicine: Gender Perspectives is to bring together scholars who examine the role of extended families, parents, siblings, children, and close friends in medicine, and this with a gender perspective. We welcome contributions from scholars with interdisciplinary and various disciplinary backgrounds within the social sciences and the humanities. We specially invite contributions that focus on (but are not limited to):

Assisted reproductive technologies, surrogacy, egg-, sperm- and embryo donation, adoption and other ways of becoming parents

The welfare of the child in medicine

Conceptions and norms of parenthood in medicine

Corrective measures: what is ‘corrected’ and why, in children’s and teen-agers’ bodies?

Ageing and care in later life

- Relational conceptions of selves and relational autonomy

- The interplay between self and others, and how this can inform the illness experience as well as experiences of hope, strength and health.

Registration

Deadline for registration is October 15, 2012. Conference fee (100 Euro) covers one conference abstract booklet, coffee in pauses and one conference dinner. Register by sending an e-mail to conference.genderandhealth@gmail.com in which you state name, affiliation, allergies/food preferences. The conference fee is to be submitted using one of the alternatives below.

Participants with a Swedish bank account: Please use the account Bankgiro 743-8609 (Danske Bank). The reference nr: 8831030001, your name and affiliation must be included in the payment.

Participants with an international bank account: Please use the account: 8901-1 924 339 671-1. Address: Swedbank, S-105 34 Stockholm, Sweden, BIC: SWEDSESS, IBAN: SE34 8000 0890 1192 4339 6711. Please note that the reference nr: 8831030001, your name and affiliation must be included in the payment.

Any questions and enquiries can be sent to conference: genderandhealth@gmail.com

2012 National Transition Conference

The 2012 National Transition Conference will take place from May 30-June 1, 2012 in Washington D.C. This conference will bring together partners in the transition community, including young adults and family members.

This important conference will provide a forum for the development of an action agenda, bring together critical partners in the transition community to exchange innovative ideas and approaches; demonstrate knowledge gained from policy implementation; share transition practices and research findings; and promote and facilitate the development of networks and relationships.

This exciting national conference will bring together:

Youth and young adults
Family members/advocates/caregivers
Educators
Vocational rehabilitation professionals
Employment and training professionals
Researchers
State and federal officials
Leaders in the transition community
Disability service staff
Student development personnel
Behavioral health professionals
Independent Living Community

Don't miss this opportunity to access the latest information available in the field that can be used to improve the transition from school to adult life for young adults with disabilities.

Obesity 2012

30th Annual Scientific Meeting

September 20-24, 2012 San Antonio, Texas

The Obesity Society’s Annual Scientific Meeting has grown to be one of the world’s largest gatherings of obesity professionals at all stages of their careers, including leading obesity scientists presenting cutting-edge research. The meeting brings together the leading players in the field of obesity from world-renowned speakers, researchers and clinicians to educators, advocates, policymakers and practitioners. The meeting provides essential educational and networking opportunities and is a forum for increasing knowledge, stimulating research, and promoting better treatment for those affected by this disease.

The Obesity Society
8757 Georgia Avenue, Suite 1320
Silver Spring, MD 20910

Phone (301) 563-6526
Fax (301) 563-6595

International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation 2012 Annual Conference

October 20-22, 2012 Long Beach, California

ISSTD will explore this theme of Integrating Science and Practice: Moving forward together in the field of Trauma and Dissociation. Come be a part of the conference. Submit your proposals to explore this idea together.

Conference objectives

1. Learn about the most recent research on Complex Posttraumatic Disorders, Dissociative Disorders, Developmental Trauma Disorder, and their relationships with one another.

2. Describe the central role of dissociation in posttraumatic reactions and disorders.

3. Increase knowledge about the assessment and treatment of trauma and dissociation in children, adolescents, and adults.

4. Identify the subjective symptoms and objective signs of dissociation, learn how best to understand these phenomena, and how to conduct methodologically sound research on dissociation.

5. Develop an appreciation for, and engage in dialogue about, the roles and forms of dissociation in different cultures and geographic regions.

6. Learn about the diagnosis, treatment, and developmental needs of children and adolescents who have been repeatedly traumatized, abused, and/or neglected.

7. Learn about assessment, diagnosis, theories, and treatment approaches for adults with complex posttraumatic symptoms and disorders

8. Describe the relationships among trauma-driven symptoms, posttraumatic disorders, and other common mental disorders (especially anxiety and depressive disorders).

9. Identify the core clinical areas of competence for clinicians who work with complex trauma and dissociation.

10. Learn new treatment techniques and pharmacological interventions for complex trauma and dissociation.

11. Identify ways that treatment can go wrong for patients with complex posttraumatic and dissociative disorders, learn how to avoid these pitfalls, and learn how to resolve these impasses should they occur.

12. Describe and successfully manage the complex interactional dynamics (transference and countertransference reactions) that routinely characterize the therapy of persons with complex trauma-related disorders.

Questions?

International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation
8400 Westpark Drive, 2nd Floor
McLean, VA 22102 USA
Phone: 703-610-9037
Fax: 703-610-0234

2012 International Conference on Special Needs Offenders

August 26-29, 2012 Ottawa, Canada

Turning Vision into Action for youth and women offenders

The International Institute on Special Needs Offenders identifies areas of focus for each conference, and for the 2012 conference the focus will be on youth and women offenders with mental health and/or developmental disabilities who are in conflict with the law. Research has indicated that the incident of mental health disorders for both women and youth offenders is high and they frequently overlap with their needs in the social services and for youth in the education systems.

Conference and Events Organizer:

Erica Townson, Town Events Management
etownson@specialneedsoffenders.org
209 Scarboro Crescent
Toronto, Ontario M1M 2J6
Tel: (416) 694-9713
Fax: (416) 694-9726

2012 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals

September 3-5, 2012 Las Vegas, Nevada

Annual Meeting Theme: Beyond Boundaries

The 2012 Annual Meeting will focus on cutting edge and innovative strategies to promote and achieve successful outcomes following SCI/D. It is essential for the professionals working in SCI/D to stay current with recent advances and technology. This conference will provide a venue to promote optimal quality of life as it relates to SCI/D medicine and rehabilitation.

Educational topic categories include:

• Basic Science/ Bench to Bedside
• Changing demographics and etiologies in SCI
• Non-traumatic SCI/D
• SCI Across the Lifespan (Pediatrics, Veterans, Aging population)
• Participation/ Adapted Sports and Recreation
• Violence/ Abuse after Spinal Cord Injury
• Other

Target Audience
The Academy’s Annual Meeting includes healthcare professionals representing a variety of specialties involved in the management of spinal cord injury/disorder (SCI/D). Professionals attending include, but are not limited to: physicians, basic scientists and clinical researchers, physician assistants, nurses, psychologists, social workers, rehabilitation counselors, physical and occupational therapists, as well as residents, fellows, and students from various professions.

Questions/Contact information: Joan McMahon, MSA, BSN, joan.academyscipro2012@gmail.com or Amy Cheatham, MS, acheatham@firminc.com.

2012 National Transition Conference College and Careers for Youth with Disabilities

May 30–June 1, 2012 Washington, DC

This important conference will provide a forum for the development of an action agenda, bring together critical partners in the transition community to exchange innovative ideas and approaches; demonstrate knowledge gained from policy implementation; share transition practices and research findings; and promote and facilitate the development of networks and relationships.

This exciting national conference will bring together:

•Youth and young adults
•Family members/advocates/caregivers
•Educators
•Vocational rehabilitation professionals
•Employment and training professionals
•Researchers
•State and federal officials
•Leaders in the transition community
•Disability service staff
•Student development personnel
•Behavioral health professionals

Don’t miss this opportunity to access the latest information available in the field that can be used to improve the transition from school to adult life for young adults with disabilities.