General Information

The 2008 Welcome the Children – Celebrating Cultural Harmony Conference is the third annual conference on culture sponsored by Partners for Inclusive Communities, a program of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) www.uams.edu/partners.

Conference planning sponsors include:

Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) – the Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education

UAMS Partners for Inclusive Communities

University of Arkansas at Little Rock

AR Head Start State Collaboration Office 

UAMS Head Start

This conference is targeted to Individuals who work with children and families from diverse cultures or who want to learn more about working with diverse families, including: 

• Childcare Teachers, Owners and Administrators
• Early Childhood Professionals
• K-12 Educators/Administrators
• Higher Education Faculty and Students
• Community Based Organizations/Disability Service Providers
• Mental Health Professionals
• Social Workers
• Therapists (Speech, Occupational and Physical)
• Health Care Providers
• Representatives of National, State and Local Government
• Individuals representing various cultural and ethnic groups  

The Welcome the Children – Celebrating Cultural Harmony Conference will help you to:

• Explore your own culture by looking at history and culture
• Promote positive cultural relations
• Understand the impact of socioeconomic factors
• Understand the differences between race / ethnicity and culture
• Network with other professionals and experts on cultural issues

Conference presentations and exhibits may address these “cultural communities”:

• Latino Cultures
• Asian / Pacific Islander Cultures
• African American Cultures
• White Ethnic Cultures
• American Indian / Native American Cultures
• Disability Diversity (disability specific topics as well as how different cultures view disability, including Deaf Culture)
• Migrant Families
• Homeless Families
• Economically Disadvantaged Families

You will be able to choose workshops with topic areas such as:

• Immigration

• Model inclusive programs for children

• National, state and community resources

• Available professional development programs and training

• Cross cultural communication strategies

• Effectively using interpreters and translators

• The effects of homelessness and poverty on children

• Race, ethnicity and disability

A total of 13.5 professional development contact hours will be available if you attend the entire Conference. The training hours will be verified through the AR Early Childhood Professional Development System Registry. Verification of contact hours will be available for submission to various disciplines including social work and speech pathology. AR Dept. of Education professional development hours (K-12) and ARNA nursing hours have been approved for the Conference.  General Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are approved for the conference. Forms will be available at the conference to request general CEUs and to verify contact hours of training.