Country:
Lebanon

Dear Colleagues,

As we commemorate December 3rd, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, I invite you to the 4 th 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.

The IDPA Congress is held every two years on or around the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, December 3rd , in a low or middle-income country. We are continuing the legacy of the three previous congresses held in Istanbul, Turkey (2015), Mumbai, India (2017) and Manila, Philippines (2019) where delegates shared the most recent developments across the field of developmental pediatrics which included promotion of early child development and the continuum of developmental differences in childhood, children at risk and developmental disabilities as well as models in transdisciplinary intervention.

2020 has been a particularly challenging one because of the COVID 19 pandemic. A United Nations brief (2020) has stressed that “children are not the face of this pandemic but they risk being among its biggest victims.” This universal crisis affects all children, of all ages, and in all countries, with the most damage done to the poorest, most disadvantaged and vulnerable. It is therefore very timely that the theme of the 2021 IDPA Congress is ‘Nurturing Children in Crisis’.

The 2021 IDPA Congress will continue the tradition of past Congresses in serving as a platform that will bring together clinicians, researchers and policy makers working for child development and disabilities from around the world to step up in international solidarity so that we work together and strengthen our commitment to nurture and invest in children, our most valuable resource.

At the 2021 IDPA Congress, you will be part of a group of participants from around the world sharing their research and country experiences and discussing the impact of COVID 19 and the effect of other crisis for children and families. 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. The Congress will host presentations on how we have addressed the challenges presented by the pandemic to the development of children in low and middle-income countries, and help us imagine a positive future for all children, together.

We look forward to meeting you, virtually at the 2021 IDPA Congress!

Ghassan Issa

Congress President

Alexis Reyes

IDPA President