Overview
In 2013 the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care (OCBCC) and the Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario (AECEO) embarked on a project, supported by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, to “promote the value of licensed child care and trained early childhood educators to communities across Ontario”.
This provincial conference was the culmination of that work. Shaping Our Future aimed to bring together many of the people with whom we have connected through the project as well as welcoming new voices – part of our effort to be constantly widening our reach, expanding our networks and strengthening our connections. Shaping our Future began with the vibrant local innovation and leadership practices that happen daily in ELCC programs across the province – families and early childhood educators coming together to co-create spaces rich in potential. Early learning and child care shapes the future of our communities.
But too often the very people who create that future feel divorced from the politics of early learning and care; we feel frustrated by policy decisions that impact us but over which we feel little control. The Shaping Our Future conference created a space where we could all come together and build our collective power. It’s through leadership and advocacy that we can shape the future of early learning and child care.
This conference was an exciting opportunity to exchange transformative ideas, share skills, learn about current developments and to connect with other professionals, leaders and advocates across our province and beyond. It allowed us to empower one another by acknowledging and celebrating our work, sharing our stories and learning together.
Our keynote speaker Erika Shaker shared some thought provoking and inspiring words with our delegates. Erika's speech will be published in the Fall issue of the AECEO eceLINK, via OCBCC member update, and on the OCBCC and AECEO websites.
The conference offered many opportunities to learn about innovative practices around the province through our innovation showcase and informative workshops led by some of Ontario’s leading practitioners and faculty from across Canada.
This conference would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the OCBCC and AECEO’s staff teams and Boards of Directors, volunteers from Algonquin College and the Early Childhood Education Faculty Forum who helped in developing the conference themes, and the talented presenters who made the conference come to life. Special thanks to the Ontario Trillium Foundation for supporting this work.
The Provincial Conference in Ottawa was a huge success thanks to all who attended and participated in the event. We are pleased to offer our members and delegates access to the conference materials shared with us on our website.