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,
We invite you to the 4th International Developmental Pediatrics Association (IDPA) Congress on December 2-5, 2021. IDPA and the Arab Network for Early Childhood Development (ANECD), Beirut, Lebanon, will together host this Virtual Congress.
The IDPA Congress is held every two years on or around the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, December 3, in a low or middle-income country. The 2021 IDPA Congress will be a virtual conference that continues the tradition of past Congresses held in Istanbul, Turkey (2015), Mumbai, India (2017), and Manila, Philippines (2019) by serving as a platform that will bring together clinicians, researchers, and policymakers working for child development and disabilities from around the world. It is indeed timely that the theme of the 2021 IDPA Congress is ‘Nurturing Children in Crisis.’ The pandemic continues to affect children of all ages in all countries and affects the poorest and the most vulnerable, such as those with chronic illness or disability, the most.
Message From the IDPA Congress 2021 President
Dr. Ghassan Issa
Dear Colleagues,
We invite you to the 4th International Developmental Pediatrics Association (IDPA) Congress on December 2-5, 2021. IDPA and the Arab Network for Early Childhood Development (ANECD), Beirut, Lebanon, will together host this Virtual Congress. The IDPA Congress is held every two years on or around the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, December 3, in a low or middle-income country. The 2021 IDPA Congress will be a virtual conference that continues the tradition of past Congresses held in Istanbul, Turkey (2015), Mumbai, India (2017), and Manila, Philippines (2019) by serving as a platform that will bring together clinicians, researchers, and policymakers working for child development and disabilities from around the world.
It is indeed timely that the theme of the 2021 IDPA Congress is ‘Nurturing Children in Crisis.’ The pandemic continues to affect children of all ages in all countries and affects the poorest and the most vulnerable, such as those with chronic illness or disability, the most. Millions of these vulnerable children that are already facing poverty and inequity are trapped in situations of violent conflicts, occupation, and displacement. The COVID-19 crisis and its recession have exacerbated their already dire situation, thus further violating their fundamental rights.
The Congress will cover Nurturing Children in Crisis within a framework that acknowledges the impact of families (particularly their mental health and wellbeing) and communities on the development of children. At the 2021 IDPA Congress, you will be part of a group of participants from around the world sharing their research, model programs, and country experiences. We will discuss the multilayer impact of the COVID 19 pandemic and its effect on other crises like displaced children and children in war zones.
Taking advantage of the online platform, we will run simultaneous discussion sessions in four languages spoken in many countries around the world - Arabic, English, Russian, and Spanish. This virtual Congress will soon be inviting abstracts on research and practice related to how we have addressed the challenges presented by the pandemic and other crises to support the development of children in low and middle-income countries.
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.
Join us online from 2nd to December 5, 2021 and let 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
Alexis Reyes - IDPA 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).
