Posted Wed, 06/09/2010 - 09:46 in Dalhousie-related

Dal’s Resilience Research Centre to host second international conference

Dalhousie University’s Resilience Research Centre – part of the School of Social Work – will host speakers from around the world from June 7-10. The conference will examine how people and groups of various cultures can overcome adverse conditions and thrive. Two public events are planned during the otherwise registration-based conference.

Key Points:

Dr. Michael Ungar is the principal investigator with the Resilience Research Centre and the official name of this year’s conference is “Pathway’s to Resilience II: The Social Ecology of Resilience.” The Resilience Research Centre’s main focus is the study of social and physical ecologies that make resilience more likely to occur.
Presenters will explore aspects of resilience including clinical interventions and social programs; healthy family, school and community relationships; cultural traditions that support children's well-being; the design of schools to help vulnerable learners; child and youth-friendly social policy; peace, social justice and citizenship for children.
The Polling for Justice Project is one of two public events. The group is concerned with young people's experiences with education, public health and criminal justice. This group will perform on June 8. Based at the City University of New York's Graduate Center, the program is run by faculty, graduate students and teens who share key survey results with youth through theatre and music.
Halifax's Concrete Roots - a group of motivated and like-minded "bboys/bgirls" - will open for the Polling for Justice Project. Concrete Roots aims to use the physical activity of "bboying" as an expressive outlet while promoting a hip hop culture that is positive and inclusive.
Citadel High School will host a public presentation by Dr. Kenneth Hardy, Director of the Eikenberg Institute for Relationships in New York City. Dr. Hardy specializes in working with traumatized and oppressed populations. He is co-author of Teens Who Hurt: Clinical Interventions for Breaking the Cycle of Youth Violence and the title of his presentation on June 9 is Reconnecting with Our Children: Pathway to Stronger Bonds and Meaningful Connections.

Pull Quotes:

"This is a tremendous opportunity to network with people, thinking about resilience across cultures and contexts; different sorts of communities, people facing different sorts of challenges like social and economic marginalization." - Dr. Michael Ungar, Professor in the School of Social Work at Dalhousie.
"We have (presenters) from a dozen different disciplines (like) sociology, nursing, child and youth care, education etc; a very broad range of people from diverse backgrounds,” says Dr. Ungar. “Not just academic, but government people and people working on the front lines of practice. What we’re really trying to do is create a dialogue.” – Dr. Michael Ungar, Professor in the School of Social Work at Dalhousie."
"I think there's an obligation on the part of universities to share knowledge in ways that are useful to our communities. We have people here who are world leaders and are innovative, interesting people. We thought it would be great to share some of that innovation with people who might not be able to attend a full conference, but who want to share in the ideas." - Dr. Michael Ungar, Professor in the School of Social Work at Dalhousie."
"What we are trying to do is to think about resilience as more than just an individual's capacity to overcome problems, but also all the things that person needs to make it more likely that they will overcome the odds stacked against them. It really is then about good social policy, social programming and intervention that make a difference in people's lives and make it more likely they will be more resilient." - Dr. Michael Ungar, Professor in the School of Social Work at Dalhousie.
"The mandate is not to put everything through me. I'm not trying to be the hub of a wheel. We create networks for people that are sustainable on their own." - Dr. Michael Ungar, Professor in the School of Social Work at Dalhousie.

Images:


Drs. Liebenberg and Ungar Dr. Linda Liebennerg, Director of Research for the RRC and Dr. Michael Ungar, Principal Investigator. Download Hi-Res	Meeting in China Dr. Michael Ungar (second from left) and Co-Principal Investigator Dr. Tian Guo-Xiu (fourth from left) at a meeting in Beijing. Download Hi-Res	Students in Brazil Brazilian students in Tabinga where some of Dr. Ungar's research has taken place. Download Hi-Res