International Developmental Pediatrics Association (IDPA) is an international platform where professionals working in the field of child development and disability come together to share ideas, experiences and research.
The IDPA Congress aims at exchanging and discussing scientific information, evidence-based practices, policies as well as sharing experiences, visions, passions and dreams of professionals from pediatrics and a multitude of other disciplines.
Message From the IDPA Congress 2021 President:
Ghassan Issa
Dear Colleagues,
As we commemorate December 3rd, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, I invite you to the 4th International Developmental Pediatrics Association (IDPA) Congress in December 2021 which will be entirely online and will be hosted by the Arab Network for Early Childhood Development, Beirut, Lebanon.
The IDPA Congress is held every two years on or around the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, December 3rd, in a low or middle-income country.
We are continuing the legacy of the three previous congresses held in Istanbul, Turkey (2015), Mumbai, India (2017) and Manila, Philippines (2019) where delegates shared the most recent developments across the field of developmental pediatrics which included promotion of early child development and the continuum of developmental differences in childhood, children at risk and developmental disabilities as well as models in transdisciplinary intervention.
Message From the IDPA Congress 2021 President
Dr. Ghassan Issa
Dear Colleagues,
As we commemorate December 3rd, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, I invite you to the 4th International Developmental Pediatrics Association (IDPA) Congress in December 2021 which will be entirely online and will be hosted by the Arab Network for Early Childhood Development, Beirut, Lebanon.
The IDPA Congress is held every two years on or around the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, December 3rd, in a low or middle-income country.
We are continuing the legacy of the three previous congresses held in Istanbul, Turkey (2015), Mumbai, India (2017) and Manila, Philippines (2019) where delegates shared the most recent developments across the field of developmental pediatrics which included promotion of early child development and the continuum of developmental differences in childhood, children at risk and developmental disabilities as well as models in transdisciplinary intervention.
2020 has been a particularly challenging one because of the COVID 19 pandemic. A United Nations brief (2020) has stressed that “children are not the face of this pandemic but they risk being among its biggest victims.” This universal crisis affects all children, of all ages, and in all countries, with the most damage done to the poorest, most disadvantaged and vulnerable. It is therefore very timely that the theme of the 2021 IDPA Congress is ‘Nurturing Children in Crisis’.
The 2021 IDPA Congress will continue the tradition of past Congresses in serving as a platform that will bring together clinicians, researchers and policy makers working for child development and disabilities from around the world to step up in international solidarity so that we work together and strengthen our commitment to nurture and invest in children, our most valuable resource.
At the 2021 IDPA Congress, you will be part of a group of participants from around the world sharing their research and country experiences and discussing the impact of COVID 19 and the effect of other crisis for children and families. We hope to see professionals from a multitude of disciplines including pediatrics, family medicine, public health, child mental health, physical medicine and rehabilitation, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, child development and education, early intervention, special education, social services and other specialists working to nurture children and their families in this time of crisis. The Congress will host presentations on how we have addressed the challenges presented by the pandemic to the development of children in low and middle-income countries, and help us imagine a positive future for all children, together.
We look forward to meeting you, virtually at the 2021 IDPA Congress!
Warm regards,
Ghassan Issa
Congress President
The vision of IDPA is to achieve equity in developmental pediatrics and related services for children and families around the world.
The core values of IDPA are:
Science and partnership for equity
Holistic, family-centered, strengths-based, community oriented, transdisciplinary capacity building
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities
The IDPA congresses are held every two years to discuss and spread knowledge about developmental disabilities and early intervention.
As we commemorate December 3rd, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, I invite you to the 4th International Developmental Pediatrics Association (IDPA) Congress in December 2021 which will be entirely online and will be hosted by the Arab Network for Early Childhood Development, Beirut, Lebanon.
9 to 12 December
The next IDPA Conference is kicking off in the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines. Abstracts on Interventions, ECD, neurodevelopmental disabilities and risk factors for developmental disabilities will be presented.
7 to 10 December
2 to 5 December
The first IDPA Congress was held in Istanbul in 2015. More than 600 professionals from 50 countries participated and represented diverse disciplines (developmental and general pediatrics, therapists, psychologists, policy makers and advocates).
