The First 1000
Days in the
Nordic Countries

Supporting a Healthy Start in Life

Nordic Conference on Mental
Health and the Early Years

June 27th 2022 in Reykjavik, Iceland
Nordic Conference on Mental Health and the Early Years

Welcome

This inspiring conference on mental health and the early years is the final event of a three-year Nordic collaborative project, The First 1000 Days in the Nordic Countries, which was launched under the 2019 Icelandic Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The project centers on the first 1000 days of a child’s life, from the prenatal period until the age of two, and focuses on how the Nordic countries:

  • Promote mental health and well-being during pregnancy
  • Support positive parent-child relationships at the beginning of life
  • Identify and respond to early risk factors among parents, infants and toddlers
  • Support mental well-being among the youngest children in daycare and preschool

The conference will share knowledge and good practices acquired during this unique project and bring in internationally recognized speakers to present on the current state of knowledge for supporting children‘s healthy start in life. The focus will be on how we can move forward into the 21st century with awareness of the importance of the early years and how welfare states can apply existing knowledge on mental health and the early years to support social and economic sustainability.

The conference will be in hybrid form offering a chance to participate either in person or online. Both options will be free of charge to participants.

We look forward to welcoming you in Reykjavik during the magical time of summer solstice!

About

The Project

The First 1000 Days in the Nordic Countries is a three-year collaborative project that focuses on the mental well-being of infants, toddlers and their parents from pregnancy until two years of age. It is funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers and was launched by the Icelandic presidency in the Nordic Council in 2019.

The project is managed by the Directorate of Health in Iceland with partners from the Norwegian Directorate of Health and the Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health East and South (RBUP Øst og Sør) in Norway, the Danish Health Authority (Sundhedsstyrelsen), the Public Health Agency of Sweden (Folkhälsomyndigheten), and the Itla Children’s Foundation and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) in Finland.

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✨ The entire programme from our inspiring conference on #mentalhealth and the #EarlyYears, The First 1000 Days in the Nordic Countries: Supporting a Healthy Start in Life, can now be viewed on youtube! 👉 www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZNmAPcu_sk... Slides from all presentations and workshops can also be found here: first1000days.is/slides-recordings/ Check it out and feel free to share!! 👶👣🧸🌿 ... See MoreSee Less
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📣 Registration deadline for on-site participation at our exciting conference, The First 1000 Days in the Nordic Countries: Supporting a Healthy Start in Life, is less than 3 weeks away! ✨ Don't miss this opportunity to attend this FREE full-day event with internationally recognized speakers and experts on mental health health and the early years during the magical time of summer solstice in Reykjavik, Iceland! 🌿🌞 🇮🇸👉 Register now at: first1000days.is/registration/ ... See MoreSee Less
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Meet our speakers!Kari Slinning is head of section for Infant and toddlers mental health at the Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Eastern and Southern Norway. Slinning holds a doctoral degree in clinical child psychology. She has many years of clinical work with young children and families and her research has focused on developmental effects of fetal drug exposure and parental mental health related to pregnancy and birth, including maternal depression.Slinning is involved in the evaluation and/or implementation of assessment methods and interventions such as the Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB), Ages & Stages Questionnaire (ASQ), the Newborn Behavioral Observation system (NBO), Circle of Security- Virginia family model (COS-VF), Attachment Biobehavioral Catchup (ABC) and Mamma Mia.In her talk, 'What is it We Cannot Do Alone? The Added Value of Nordic Collaboration', Dr. Slinning will discuss the value of Nordic collaboration and lessons learned during the 3-year project, The First 1000 Days in the Nordic Countries. What is it that the Nordic countries can benefit from working more closely together? What implications could stronger collaboration within the Nordic region have for the knowledge we depend on, the services we provide, the wellbeing of our children and the future of our societies? ... See MoreSee Less
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Meet our speakers!John Lavis supports policymakers and stakeholders to use evidence to address societal challenges. He is co-lead of and lead report writer for the Global Commission on Evidence to Address Societal Challenges, as well as co-lead of the COVID-19 Evidence Network to support Decision-making (COVID-END) and Rapid-Improvement Support and Exchange (RISE). John is the Director of the McMaster Health Forum and Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Evidence-Informed Policy. He is a Professor in the Department of Health Evidence and Impact at McMaster University and the Canada Research Chair in Evidence-Support Systems, as well as Adjunct Professor at the Africa Centre for Evidence at the University of Johannesburg. He holds an MD from Queen’s University, an MSc from the London School of Economics, and a PhD (in Health Policy) from Harvard University.In his talk, 'How to Make Change Happen: Bridging the Gap Between Evidence and Policy', John will discuss approaches that can be used to support policy action based on reports like The First 1000 Days, as well as approaches that can be used to support ongoing learning and improvement as these policy actions are pursued.Drawing on insights from the Global Commission on Evidence to Address Societal Challenges, he’ll also discuss how midwives, teachers, social workers and others can help or hinder efforts to ensure that evidence is an important consideration – among many others – in policy decisions and policy implementation. ... See MoreSee Less
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Welcome to the Nordic Conference on Mental Health and the Early Years

We look forward to seeing
you in Reykjavik on June 27th 2022

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Dr. Alain Gregoire

Dr. Alain Gregoire is a Consultant Perinatal Psychiatrist who has led multiple award winning specialist perinatal mental health services in the United Kingdom for over 30 years. He has contributed extensively to the development of policy, strategy, guidance and clinical services in parental and infant mental health in the UK and across the world. 

Dr. Gregoire is the founder and current president of the UK Maternal Mental Health Alliance, a coalition of over 110 organisations in the United Kingdom committed to improving maternal mental health care and outcomes for mothers and infants. The coalition has successfully campaigned for government funding for perinatal mental health services across the UK and launched the 2013 cross-party manifesto, The 1001 Critical Days, which sets out a vision for the provision of services in the UK for the period between conception and age 2.

In 2016, Dr. Gregoire launched the Global Alliance for Maternal Mental Health with similar aims worldwide which now includes over 25 international member organisations.