To address the growing international concerns surrounding intercountry adoption and the need to reduce corruption and human trafficking while maximizing the best interests of children, the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada is hosting a first-ever Intercountry Adoption Summit.

This Summit has two goals:

1. To bring together the most influential countries of origin and receiving countries involved in intercountry adoption to share research, practices, experiences, and current status related to intercountry adoption.

2. To bring together the top researchers in intercountry adoption from around the world to share findings and explore ideas in an interdisciplinary format.

The Intercountry Adoption Summit is essentially two distinct, but connected international gatherings held during one 4-day event from September 23 - September 26, 2010 in Stratford, Ontario. The Summit brings a global and interdisciplinary perspective to the conversation about intercountry adoption.

The first gathering brings influential countries involved in intercountry adoption together to discuss the current and future state of intercountry adoption. This first gathering is by invitation only but the public is invited to their closing session on September 24, 2010 where their recommendations for the future of intercountry adoption will be presented. 


The second gathering brings researchers and scholars from around the world together to showcase their research in intercountry adoption and is open to the general public. Scholars from 14 major disciplines involved in intercountry adoption research will be attending. Visit About the Summit and Confirmed Attendees to find out who they are. 


Call for Papers:

As part of the second gathering, we are posting a Call for Papers. Papers should address intercountry/international adoption through the conduct of original research, broadly defined. Traditional and innovative methodologies, interdisciplinary works, and/or creative works containing scholarly and/or theoretical content, quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, literature reviews, theoretical and/or meta-analyses, and working papers are all encouraged to submit. We especially encourage graduate students and junior faculty members to apply and join in the conversation at the Summit.

To submit your paper or work, please provide a 500-word double spaced description of your paper and work (about 2 pages) in either Word or PDF format to bballard@uwaterloo.ca. In your description, please describe the paper/work, its disciplinary home(s), its contribution to intercountry/international adoption research, its theoretical perspective (if applicable), its methodology, its findings, and what you think the paper/work contributes to the conversation occurring at the Summit. Please note if you need any media or technology needs. Submit your description via email to Robert L. Ballard, bballard@uwaterloo.ca in Word or Pdf format. Please put "Intercountry Adoption Summit submission" in the subject line of the email. Deadline for submissions is July 9, 2010. You will be notified by July 30, 2010 of acceptance.

If accepted be prepared to present your paper/work in about 10-12 minutes on Sunday, September 26, 2010. Also, if accepted, you will be responsible for all registration and travel expenses.

Registration Information:

Registration fees for the Summit are: $150 CAD for students; $280 CAD for early bird registration and accepted paper presenters rate; $380 CAD regular rate. You can find out more about registration here.

Registration includes: Attendance at all academic and scholarly sessions (September 24-25, 2010), lunch on Friday, September 24th where country recommendations will be presented; dinner on Saturday, September 25th, continental breakfast and all refreshment breaks on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; DVD/CD of all academic and scholarly sessions; and eligibility for discount tickets to Stratford Shakespeare Festival.

 

For more information, the call for papers, and registration, visit http://adoptionsummit.uwaterloo.ca. Any questions can be directed to Robert Ballard (bballard@uwaterloo.ca).