SMC host international family conference

Family support charity Scottish Marriage Care (SMC) will host the 54th International Commission on Couple and Family Relations (ICCFR) conference, which starts in Edinburgh tomorrow.

The Rt. Hon. George Grubb, Lord Provost of Edinburgh will open the conference at Heriot Watt University on Tuesday afternoon and Minister for Children and Early Years, Adam Ingram, MSP, will be guest of honour at a glittering evening reception at Edinburgh Castle on Tuesday night.

Academics, service providers and policy makers from about 20 counties will attend the event, which runs from the 5th to the 8th of June. The conference will look at a variety of subjects including the changing nature of relationships, the impact of labelling and overcoming barriers to access.

"SMC is thrilled to be hosting this year's ICCFR international conference. SMC is committed to raising awareness of issues relating to families and sharing those issues with an international audience in an attempt to bring about positive changes," said SMC Chief Executive and event host Mary Toner.

"The conference is an opportunity for individuals and organisations involved in couple and family counselling, family-related legislation and relationship education to come together and share knowledge, research and recent innovation from across the world."

The ICCFR was established in 1953 by the International Union of Family Organisations. Its annual international conferences are dedicated to making an innovative and contemporary contribution, which address the issues and challenges couples and families face throughout the world. The Commission sustains a groundbreaking interdisciplinary dialogue about couple and family relationship and the support provided for them by the professions.

Keynote speaker at this year's event is Professor the Honourable Alastair Nicholson from Australia. Professor Nicholson was Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia from 1988 until his retirement in 2004, and is patron of a number of organisation including Children's Rights International.

Other speakers at this year's conference include Dr Roland Edgar Mhlanga, from Nelson R. Mandel School of Medicine, South Africa, Dr Patricia Van Horn, an expert in child trauma and children's advocacy and Dr Indu Balagopal, a medical doctor who has worked for more than two decades with underprivileged children.

"The keynote speakers at this year's conference are experts in their chosen fields with many years of experience. They have a plethora of knowledge to impart and anyone attending this year's conference will be greatly enriched," said Mary Toner.

For further information, please contact:

April Mitchinson, Research and Communications Manager
Scottish Marriage Care, 72 Waterloo Street, Glasgow G2 7DA

Phone:0141-222 2166
Fax: 0141-222 2144
E-mail: Info@ScottishMarriageCare.org

Press Release Menu | National Office