Annual Meeting 2026
«Growing Up in Challenging Contexts»
You can now register as a participant. Registration is open until 17 December 2025!
This year's meeting will take place on 2nd and 3rd February, 2026 in Fribourg. The conference will be organised by the University of Fribourg. Location: Pérolles PER21 Bd de Pérolles 90,1700 Fribourg
On the first day, there will be a keynote speech and parallel sessions, including a poster session, symposia, and an Alliance Enfance session.
The second day will begin with a keynote speech, followed by a poster session and two parallel sessions offering a great variety of symposia and workshops. At the end, you can look forward to an engaging discussion with top experts from research and practice, as well as the traditional Poster Award ceremony.
Networking Opportunities
Across both days, you will have many opportunities to network during coffee breaks, lunch, and the apéro.
If you would like to engage in in-depth exchanges on a specific topic, don’t miss the meetings of the SSECR Special Interest Groups (SIGs).
The SSECR Junior Network also invites all juniors registered for the workshop “The Art of Delivering a Talk” to a shared dinner on the evening before the conference.
CME credits
Attention medical professionals: Earn 10 CME credits and connect with scientists from various disciplines in early childhood research as well as professionals working in the field.
Practicalities
Registration opens: 1st November 2025
Registration deadline: 17th December 2025
Discover Membership Benefits
SSECR Members benefit from lower registration fees and exclusive opportunities, such as participation in the Special Interest Groups.
Fees
| SSECR Full members | 200 CHF |
| SSECR Junior members | 100 CHF |
| SSECR Associated members | 200 CHF |
| SSECR Non-members | 250 CHF |
| BA and MA students | 30 CHF |
Why “Growing Up in Challenging Contexts”?
From both a global and local perspectives, children's upbringing is characterised by multiple challenges, crises and vulnerabilities. Such challenging contexts always arise against specific socio-political, economic, ecological, social, psychological, or medical backgrounds. These contexts hold different meanings for individuals, groups, specific milieus, entire societies or the world as a whole, such as the climate crisis, armed conflicts or massive inequalities. How children, their families, early childhood professionals, and researchers experience, perceive and deal with these challenging contexts is at the centre of this year's annual meeting. Therefore, researchers, scholars, students, professionals, and policy makers from all areas of early childhood are particularly invited.
Keynote Speakers
We are delighted to announce two internationally renowned and interdisciplinary researchers Prof. Dr. Shazly Savahl and Dr. Stephanie Simon as keynote speakers for the conference, who will share some aspects of their broad research on children's subjective well-being, inequalities, health risks, poverty, racism, discrimination, and global social justice.
Organizing Committee