Cairns Early Years Digital Symposium 2021

The Early Years Conference (EYC) promotes the wellbeing of children and families by advancing collaboration and evidence-based practice and provides a platform to reflect multiple perspectives to improve early childhood development. In May, a digital symposium was held with the theme of ‘from theory to practice’ and in four ninety-minute sessions over two days, valuable opportunities were provided to share knowledge, network and gain professional development.

The symposium took a cross-sector approach and was relevant for many professionals working with children from birth-12 years including early childhood educators, healthcare professionals, child protection professionals, family support workers, child and family counsellors, community workers and program managers.
Day 1 featured presentations from Prof Sharon Goldfeld from the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute (MCRI) and from Mr Nathan Wallis of New Zealand’s X-Factor Education. Day 2 featured Mr Joseph Coyne; from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) followed by Prof Amanda Third from Western Sydney University’s (WSU) Institute of Culture and Society.

Having delivered a successful symposium, the EYC committee plunged into planning mode in June for the 2022 face to face conference (pictured below). The 2022 conference will be held May 5-6 at the newly refurbished Cairns Convention Centre.