Side-by-Side: Canadian Father Involvement Conference / Côte-à-côte : Conférence canadienne sur l'engagement paternel

Side-by-Side: Fatherhood Matters (the 3rd national father involvement conference in Canada) is an opportunity to be part of the future of father involvement in Canada. This will be a vital opportunity to Connect, Inform & Mobilize around what fatherhood means in this great country. In celebration of the 20th anniversary of Dad Central in 2020, we will be releasing a 20/20 Vision for Father Involvement in Canada. This conference will be a unique opportunity to be part of that.

As well, this year's theme of Fatherhood Matters in the Early Years will give us an opportunity to focus on supporting and engaging fathers with relevant and effective services, programs, or resources. Our goal is to help provide fathers with the knowledge and support needed around the healthy development of children. This conference will call together workers, clinicians, practitioners, managers, and researchers from across Canada to present and share their work with fathers. We will focus on things like:

• Prenatal experiences and support
• Early bonding and attachment
• Post-partum issues
• Mental health of the father, the family, and those around him
• Ways to support and encourage a diversity of male-caregiver roles such as grandfathers, step fathers, foster fathers and more Innovative services or programs for early years fatherhood
• Research into understanding the needs of early years fatherhood

Highlights:

• Keynote presentations by Dr. Stuart Shankar, Dr. Cindy-Lee Dennis, and Dr. Andrew Howlett
• Welcome presentations by Dr. Theresa Tam (Public Health Agency of Canada) and Mr. Matt Jeneroux (MP Edmonton Riverbend)
• The Dads Panel - a group of men sharing their experiences of new fatherhood
• An evening networking social hosted by The Movember Foundation
• Amazing workshops to inform and engage our work with fathers
• Discussion of a Canadian National Father Involvement Survey
• The Knowledge Forum Cafe and Exhibitors
• and more!

This is Fatherhood in Canada!