As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Early Childhood Inclusion Institute, join us for a global conversation on advancing inclusion for young children with disabilities. This special panel features early childhood special education leaders from Australia, Singapore, Sweden, and Greece, who will highlight progress, challenges, and key lessons from their countries, and reflect on how U.S. leadership—particularly the work of the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute—has inspired change worldwide. Together, we’ll discuss how we can continue to work together as a global community to ensure every child with disabilities belongs and has opportunities to learn, grow, and participate.
PANEL
John Forster
CEO, Noah’s Ark Australia
John Forster has been CEO of Noah’s Ark since 2000, championing better services and educational outcomes for children with disabilities and their families. A national leader in early childhood intervention, he has served as National President of Early Childhood Intervention Australia and is a founding Director of Professionals and Researchers in Early Childhood Intervention (PRECI). He has also advised government, including as a member of the Victorian Disability Advisory Council and the Victorian Government NDIS Implementation Taskforce.
Eva Björck
Professor Emerita, Jönköping University
Eva Björck’s research focuses on Early Childhood Intervention. As a member of the WHO task force on children and youth, she has participated in producing the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health for Children and Youth, ICF-CY. She is involved in research projects where the ICF-model and ICF-CY is central and in research focused on special education and early intervention in the preschool and habilitation context.
Sylvia Choo
Senior Consultant, KKH Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore
Dr Sylvia Choo Henn Tean is a paediatrician practising at the Department of Child Development, KK Women’s & Children’s Hospital, Singapore. Prior to this, she worked at the Department of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine at the Singapore General Hospital. Her interests are in family-centred care, working with parents including parent-mediated intervention, and the integration and right-siting of care and early intervention for children with developmental needs.
Elena Soukakou
Honorary Research Fellow, University of Roehampton, UK
Elena P. Soukakou is an Honorary Research Fellow in the School Education, University of Roehampton, United Kingdom. She is also a visiting Professor at the Department of Early Childhood Education of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Dr. Soukakou’s research and professional work focus on effective classroom practices that support inclusion in early childhood, quality assessment in inclusive programs, and models of professional development in early childhood. She is also the author of the Inclusive Classroom Profile (ICP), a classroom assessment measure designed to assess and support the quality of inclusive practices in early childhood settings.
MODERATOR
Chih-Ing Lim
Senior Technical Assistance Specialist, FPG Child Development Institute
Co-Chair, International Early Childhood Inclusion Institute