Heart-Mind 2013: Helping Children Thrive

For three days this week, Vancouver plays host to Heart-Mind 2013, a one-of-a-kind conference that looks at how we can help children thrive.

Organized by the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education, Heart-Mind 2013 (Thursday, May 9 - Saturday, May 11) features some of the leaders in child development and contemplative practice who will attempt to answer the Dalai Lama's question: "How can we educate the hearts of children."

The theme of Heart-Mind 2013 is mindfulness and its role in helping children thrive physically, socially and emotionally.

"Teaching children to be mindful will help insure a better future for them and for the world," says Goldie Hawn, founder of MindUp and keynote presenter at Heart-Mind 2013.

What you can expect from this year's conference:

• Presentations – from leading scientists, practitioners and thought-leaders.
• Evidence – findings from the latest research, studies and classroom programs.
• Activities – to engage and provide you with first-hand experience.
• Conversations – providing valuable insights and answering key questions.
• Examples – innovative and powerful demonstrations of mindfulness in action. 

Held at the Old Auditorium at the University of British Columbia's Point Grey Campus, Heart-Mind 2013 features:

Goldie Hawn
Academy Award winning actor, producer, director, best-selling author, and children’s advocate. She is the founder of The Hawn Foundation, the organization that developed the MindUP program with a mission to equip children with the social and emotional skills they need to lead happier, healthier and smarter lives.

Shawn Achor 
Author of The Happiness Advantage, a blogger for the Harvard Business Review and one of the world’s leading experts on the connection between happiness and success. 

Adele Diamond, PhD
One of the world’s leading researchers in developmental science,  Dr. Diamond is a neuroscientist, a psychologist, and an educational innovator  who has led the way in studying how executive functions can be modified by the environment, modulated by genetics and neurochemistry, become derailed in certain disorders, and can be improved by effective programs and interventions

Linda Lantieri 
Internationally known expert in social and emotional learning, conflict resolution, and crisis intervention. One of the founding board members of the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL), she also serves as the Director of The Inner Resilience Program with a mission to cultivate the inner lives of students, teachers and schools by integrating social and emotional learning with contemplative practice.

Rob Roeser, PhD 
Prominent American psychologist who focuses on issues of human development and education - specifically, ways in which organizational features of schools, classroom teaching practices, and qualities of teachers affect the social, emotional and identity development of adolescents and emerging adults.  

Clifford Saron, PhD
Internationally-renowned pioneer in the scientific study of the benefits of meditation in daily life. His research shows that intensive contemplative training sharpens and sustains attention, enhances well-being, and leads to more emphatic emotional response to the suffering of others.  

Kimberly Schonert-Reichl, PhD 
Author, award-winning teacher and researcher; expert in the science and practice of the ways in which schools, families, and communities can promote children’s positive human qualities, including empathy, compassion, and kindness.

Paul Tough 
Author of How Children Succeed and a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine. Tough argues that non-cognitive skills – or, character – are better indicators of success: curiosity, conscientiousness, optimism, self-control, and grit. 

Roy Henry Vickers 
Legendary Canadian artist, carver, recognized First Nations leader, and author. Storytelling with Roy Henry Vickers is an elevating experience that transcends all cultural boundaries and brings a sense of peace and wonder to all who are fortunate to enjoy his many tales of life.

The Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education is a Vancouver-based secular and charitable organization co-founded in 2005 by the Dalai Lama, in his words, to "Educate the Hearts" of children.

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