Dear colleagues,

We are delighted to invite you to attend the 8th ISPCAN Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, incorporating the 12th Australasian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, which will be held in Perth, Western Australia from the 15th to 18th November 2009.

The Conference is being organised by the National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect Australia (NAPCAN) in collaboration with the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect® (ISPCAN). The Conference coincides with International Child Abuse Prevention Day 2009.

The Conference theme is 'Child Abuse and Neglect: Looking Through the Lens of Prevention' in recognition of the need to focus attention on the creation of holistic approaches that engage children and families, communities, professionals, business and governments in preventing child abuse.

The Conference provides a unique opportunity to engage researchers, policy makers, practitioners and others from Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region in creating effective child abuse prevention systems and to explore innovations in prevention - from community-based, community-led programs to therapeutic health and family interventions to statutory child protection services and criminal justice responses.

The Scientific Program will be based around six themes reflecting a focus on developments in prevention research and practice, international or cross-national issues in child abuse prevention and child protection and exploration of the particular issues facing indigenous peoples, while considering advances in statutory child protection responses.

We look forward to welcoming you to Perth and to what will prove to be an unforgettable event.

Yours sincerely

Dr Adam Tomison (Australia) Chair Organising Committee and NAPCAN Director

Maree Faulkner (Australia) Co-chair & CEO, NAPCAN

Dr Tufail Muhammad (Pakistan) Co-chair & ISPCAN representative