On Saturday 2nd July more than 110 SDN staff members from centres, programs and Head Office came together to listen to and learn from a range of inspiring presenters at the 2011 SDN Conference. The theme for this year’s conference, belonging, allowed conference presenters to share their own stories of belonging to time, place and culture, and connect these with their perspectives of early education.
The conference began with a cleansing smoking ceremony by Uncle Max Eulo, followed by an awe-inspiring performance by Sydney’s leading acrobatic troop, Aerialize. Well-known Aboriginal actress, writer and director, Leah Purcell was announced as the new ambassador of SDN’s Aboriginal unit, Ngara Nanga Mai.
SDN’s CEO, Ginie Udy opened the plenary session by recounting her professional journey which began at Murrawina, an Aboriginal centre in Redfern. She shared her experience of establishing an early intervention service for children with disabilities in Lithgow. These experiences influenced her approach to early education and the commitment she has to integrated services.
Keynote speaker, Associate Professor, Joce Nuttall, Principal Research Fellow from Australian Catholic University, spoke about her research on integrated children’s services, which tied into SDN’s current organisational focus on integrating services with the high-quality care and education provided at centres. Joce’s charismatic presentation provided real-life examples of multiple services for children and families provided in the same place, such as integrating the expertise of early childhood educators with medical professionals.
Joce Nuttall’s conference presentation
After lunch, SDN’s President, Susan Salter shared her personal story of moving from Australia to England as a young child and the challenges she experienced loosing her sense of belonging when there was a shift in her place and culture.
The second keynote presentation by senior UTS lecturer and SDN Child and Family Services Board member, Sonya Pearce, addressed her current research on Aboriginal entrepreneurship, and the ways it can provide opportunities for Aboriginal peoples to achieve self-determination and remove themselves from situations of violence.
Throughout the day there were a range of interesting workshops, including Diana Dagg’s overview of the Governments Keep them Safe initiative; a workshop on finding the work-life balance; a photography lesson by Daily Telegraph photographer, Katrina Tepper; Joce Nuttall and Susan Edward’s session on professional practice and the idea of belonging, as well as a storytelling workshop by the funny and talented Leah Purcell.
The conference ended with the presentation of the Longevity Awards for 11 staff members who had been with SDN for more than 10 years.
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