View: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | At-a-glance

7:30 AM – 8:30 AM
BREAKFAST AVAILABLE (Ballroom A)

9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
PRE-CONFERENCE SESSIONS
Sponsored by Healthy Child Manitoba

Breaks at 10:15 AM and 2:30 PM

Lunch from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM (Ballroom A)

Session1 - The Nuts and Bolts of EDI Implementation
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM | Campaign B

The morning of the session will cover the basics of the EDI project, including a review of the School Readiness to Learn concept, the EDI instrument, EDI implementation and administration, the electronic EDI, best practices and lessons learned.  This session will be beneficial to those coordinators new to the project or those who require a refresher.

The afternoon of the session will be devoted to the interpretation of EDI results and meaningful statistics.  A walk through the Offord Centre reports, steps to successfully mapping EDI results and adding context will also be covered.  The conclusion will feature a discussion and examples concerning the dissemination of EDI results and conveying messages to different audiences.   

Facilitator: ASHLEY GASKIN, Offord Centre for Child Studies (Ontario)

Session 2 - EDI in Manitoba
9:00 AM -12:00 PM | Ballroom A

With special presentations by Drs. Rob Santos and Mariette Chartier (Healthy Child Manitoba Office), and Dr. Marni Brownell (Manitoba Centre for Health Policy), this session illustrates the key role that the EDI serves in evaluating, monitoring and steering the Provincial Healthy Child Manitoba Strategy. This session will be of special interest to those representing Manitoba’s parent child coalitions, school divisions, child care community and government partners.

Facilitator: TERRA JOHNSTON, Healthy Child Manitoba

Session 3 - So What? Making Sense of EDI Results
1:00 PM – 4:00 PM | Campaign A

This session will focus on providing tools and strategies for the dissemination and use of EDI results.  How do you interpret the results to provide meaning for communities and policy makers? What does it mean to be vulnerable? What can communities do to take action to reduce vulnerability?  What are some effective program responses? Participants are encouraged to bring their own examples of successes and challenges in having EDI take root in your community.

Facilitator: JOANNE SCHROEDER, Council for Early Child Development and the Human Early Learning Partnership (British Columbia)

Session 4 - The Australian Story
1:00 PM – 4:00 PM | Ballroom A

This session will tell the story of the development of the Australian EDI from its beginnings to its widespread application in every community in the country.  Content will include consideration of its use in Indigenous and language-other-than English populations.  There will be discussion of the parallels and differences between the learnings in Australia and Canada and consideration of how we can continue to share our experiences.

Facilitator: SALLY BRINKMAN, Telethon Institute for Child Health Research (Australia)

Session 5 - Youth Network for Early Child Development
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM | Alberta and Victoria

This session will focus on youth engagement around early child development research, policy and practice. Participants will receive information on early child development and health outcomes, an overview of the Council for Early Child Development, and the importance of monitoring child development. This session is open to youth only.

Presenters: CLYDE HERTZMAN, Council for Early Child Development and the Human Early Learning Partnership (British Columbia); MIA ELFENBAUM, Red River College (Manitoba)

5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
MULTICULTURAL ENTERTAINMENT & FOOD STATIONS (Ballroom A & B)

Official Welcome and Entertainment Introduction
STRINI REDDY, Chair, Healthy Child Manitoba Advisory Committee

Delegates can network with others while enjoying the food and entertainment of the diverse cultures of Manitoba.

6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
A CELEBRATION OF DAN OFFORD (Ballroom A & B)

Introduction
DR. MAGDALENA JANUS, Associate Professor, McMaster University; Offord Centre for Child Studies (Ontario)

Reminiscence of “Dr. Dan”
HON. MARGARET NORRIE MCCAIN, Co-Chair Early Years Study (video)
DR. ROB SANTOS, Scientific Director and Senior Policy Advisor, Healthy Child Manitoba

Keynote Speaker: DR. FRASER MUSTARD, Founders’ Network (Ontario)
The Early Development Instrument was developed by the late Dr. Dan Offord ten years ago.  This session will honor the leadership of Dr. Offord and reflect on the history of the instrument and its impact throughout Canada and the world.  Dr. Mustard will share his reflections on these years and how the EDI has been critical to advancing the Early Years agenda in Canada.

Stand by Me, a short video about “Dr. Dan”