Call for Abstracts
ASI 2018 will feature many opportunities for you to share your experience and knowledge and to learn from others, and we invite you to submit an abstract (short description) of your project. We welcome submissions that include various types of evidence: research, best practices and lived experience. Researchers, educators, community and workplace leaders, and youth leaders and changemakers are invited to submit an abstract.
The submission deadline has been extende to Friday, May 25, 2018. Abstracts will be reviewed by a panel and decisions will be communicated by June 5.
The Call for Abstracts is for three different types of sessions, described below. We invite submissions that provide evidence related to policies and programs that address universal (for all) and targeted (vulnerable groups and those at higher-risk) approaches to promoting child and youth mental health across diverse sectors and in key settings including: home, schools, colleges, communities, workplaces, online, and health services.
August 20: Atlantic Community Showcase
Innovative programs that demonstrate collaborative practices, policies, and research – and hope to expand their impact – are of great interest to people who promote child and youth
mental health. Leaders of these promising and emerging practices are invited to submit an abstract.
Selected presenters will showcase their projects to all delegates at the Opening Ceremony on August 20th with a 2 minute sales pitch on stage, and then invite Forum participants to view a table top or poster presentation to share information and problem solve any challenges.
Presentation materials will be prominently displayed during the reception after the Opening Ceremony, and for the duration of the Forum (August 20-22).
August 21: Concurrent Sessions
Updating the Evidence: Presentations and conversation
These concurrent sessions will share evidence that complements and adds to our understanding of child and youth mental health promotion. Community-based or academic researchers are invited to present evidence from diverse sources such as traditional research, evaluation of promising practices, and narratives of lived experience.
Five concurrent sessions will be offered in thematic areas (to be determined based on the abstracts submitted). Each session will feature three presenters who will have 15 minutes to present their findings, followed by general discussion on the questions:
- How does this work fit into and advance the 2017 Call to Action?
- What are the implications for upstream investment and a whole society approach to mental health promotion?
Results of these discussions will contribute to advancing the Call to Action during ASI 2018.
August 21: Concurrent Workshops – Skill Development
Skill development in key areas that promote child and youth mental health through the life course
Building on evidence, five workshops will be offered to enhance skills in the use of tools and methods for practice and policies that support population child and youth mental health promotion. We are seeking workshops in areas of:
- Creating supportive environments that protect people (children, caregivers, teachers) from known risk factors and provide a positive, mentally healthy situation in homes, schools, workplace, etc.
or
- Providing resources and programs that enable people — especially children and youth — to become resilient, with the skills they need to manage life’s ups and downs
Researchers, educators, community and/or workplace leaders, as well as youth leaders and changemakers are invited to submit.
The workshops must be interactive with attendees taking away new skills. Workshops will be scheduled for 75 minutes with 15 minutes reflection to close the session.