Lyrebird singing, by Karen Maber
Paint the Town REaD (PTTR) Ltd, together with our co-host, Paint the Blue REaD, head our Sixth National Early Literacy Conference in May 2017 at The Carrington Hotel in Katoomba. We met on Darug and Gunungurra traditional lands.
Conference keynote speakers
Aunty Jacinta Tobin, Songlines and Singing
Aunty Jacinta is a Darug Elder, Songwriter and Singer. She has worked in preschools to universities using music and her community worker background to educate all on Darug Language, songs and local Darug stories. Aunty Jacinta holds a Masters in Social Ecology.
Dr Marina Kalashnikova, Mother-infant interactions and language development in the first years of life
BA (Summa Cum Laude) Linguistics, MA Linguistics (University of Texas at El Paso), PhD Psychology (Lancaster University). Marina currently holds the position of Researcher in Infancy Studies and MARCS BabyLab Leader. Her work focuses on the projects Seeds of Literacy and HEARing CRC where she investigates perceptual and linguistic development in infants and children who are at risk for developing sensory (hearing impairment) or cognitive (dyslexia) impairments.
Kerrie Dominish, Music and Singing to Support Language Development
Kerry is the CEO of EarlyEd Early Childhood Intervention Service and a Speech Pathologist with many years of clinical practice using music and singing.
Dr Amanda Howard, Asset based community development and early literacy. Where to from here?
Amanda Howard is the Program Convener for Social Work at the University of Newcastle. Her areas of research include community development, with a particular focus on strengths or asset based approaches. Her PhD thesis was focused on the emergence of Asset Based Community Development as a new practice framework on the Central Coast, NSW. She is currently on sabbatical.
Conference Workshops
There were over twenty workshop options for Aboriginal colleagues and community, librarians, early childhood educators, child and family workers, community development workers and policy makers and researchers. The overview of the conference workshops can be downloaded here.
Pre-conference Symposium
In partnership with MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, there will be a pre-conference symposium 9.30–11.30 am on Wednesday 3 May 2017 at the Kingswood Campus, Western Sydney University. It will be a morning of rich content led by a group of post doctorate and senior PhD students on topics ranging from babies and hearing, to language and SES/home environment and song. This program is being facilitated by Prof Kate Stevens, Director of Research and Engagement, MARCS Institute.