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Registration is Open!

Save the Dates: July 22 – 24, 2026

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At the Jimmy Pratt Foundation, our vision is that all children and youth in Newfoundland and Labrador will thrive, regardless of their circumstances. We are dedicated to promoting equitable and inclusive community services.

Join us in St. John’s from July 22-24, 2026, for The Jimmy Pratt Foundation Inclusion Summer Symposium entitled “Placing Children at the Centre in the Early Years: Inclusion, Belonging, Play, and Wellbeing: A gathering for sharing, sense-making, practice, and systems change grounded in children’s rights.”

The symposium will focus on universal and equitable inclusion in the early years, examining human rights, policies, and practices that ensure the safety and sense of belonging for all children.

We will host moderated discussion panels, presentations, play-focused workshops, and opportunities to learn from each other – while keeping the needs of children always at the centre. This symposium offers a range of choices, including our Play or Inclusion streams of learning.

Our Play Stream will join an extended full-afternoon workshop, specially designed to help us see that Play IS the language of childhood—and fluency in that language is essential for inclusive practice. Our Inclusion Stream can choose from parallel learning sessions to help us unpack authentic inclusion practices, policies, and the future of care for children and their families. We will also gather to consider – What is a rights-led focus when helping children feel included and safe? We have also created a way for Childcare Centres to join us online for a powerful day of Professional Learning for Early Learning Staff and Administrators.

We have gathered researchers, advocates, child-focused interventionists, land-based play leaders, disability rights change-makers, ableism disruptors, exclusion challengers, and lived-experience storytellers.

Feel how systems can change from within and how authentic, holistic inclusion can change the trajectory of our most vulnerable children and their families.