Words of Welcome

Welcoming address
by the Federal Minister of
Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth,
Dr. Kristina Schröder
on the occasion of the World Congress of the
World Association for Infant Mental Health
from 29th June to 3rd July 2010 in Leipzig

Reports on the fate of children who are brutally abused, or neglected, never fail to shock us time and time again. The physical injuries, on their own, are serious enough to warrant effective child protection measures. We may not, however, lose sight of the fact that a child's psyche is just as much in need of protection. Stable relationships and bonds, recognition and appreciation are basic needs without which a child becomes emotionally stunted.

Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, Dr. Kristina Schröder

This is why I am very grateful to the WAIMH for repeatedly directing attention to these needs from various perspectives. Experts from all over the world are coming together at this year's world congress in Leipzig to discuss 'Infancy in Times of Transition'. You are all aware of the formative significance that the first years of life have on a child, and the effect that social changes have on our children's development.

I would like to wish you, during your stay in Leipzig, exciting discussions and good results which will help us continue to improve all aspects of child protection. I am sure we all agree that care and affection, a feeling of security and possibilities for healthy development may not be privileges reserved for the children of strong parents!

Dr. Kristina Schröder

Dear colleagues

It is with great pleasure that we invite you to participate in WAIMH's forthcoming world congress, to be held in Leipzig, Germany from June 29 to July 3, 2010. It will be the first WAIMH congress to be held in Germany and we are proud to organize this event in Leipzig, the city of Bach, Mendelssohn and Wundt. The central theme of the Leipzig congress will be "Infancy in Times of Transition". Transitions are essential to the lives of young children.For the individual infant, there are transitions from intra-uterine to extra-uterine life, from early forms of relatedness to more specific object relationships,
from the pre-verbal to the verbal self, and many others. Within the family, there are transitions from dyads to triads and to broader family relationships. And there are many other social and cultural transitions of particular importance for infants.
The city of Leipzig, where I live and work, has seen a major transition of the political system over the last 25 years, from the collective system of a communist dictatorial state to a free market economy and democracy. This change was hard won by the people, but it has also brought some insecurity into family lives. Young children are the first to be influenced by these kinds of social transition. And we, as mental health professionals, try to help families and infants to cope with these changes, which involve opportunity and risk at one and the same time.
We are looking forward to welcome scientists and infant mental health experts from all over the world, in an exchange of scientific research, clinical experience, theoretical thinking and social political ideas. And we promise: because of its great tradition of liberal openmindedness and scientific curiosity, Leipzig will be a good place to meet.
We look forward to seeing you soon
Kai von Klitzing, MD Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Leipzig
Chair of Local Organizing Committee
Welcome to Leipzig ! GAIMH is the world's largest WAIMH affiliate society, with more than 400 members. And WAIMH is the world's largest collection of experts in the field of clinical programs, psychopathology, diagnostic classification, teaching, assessment and prevention in infancy. So it was about time WAIMH had its worlds congress in Germany, in the heart of a pacified and more and more unified Europe, invited by GAIMH, which gathers German speaking affiliates from Austria, Germany and Switzerland. It was about time because German speaking colleagues are expert clinicians,very active, productive and original
researchers. Germany has some of the oldest universities in the world, and Leipzig is one of the most renewed ones, founded 1409! And what a place for a congress on early mental health! Leibnitz, philosopher and mathematician, Fechner, Weber and of course Wundt, the father of scientific psychology. Wundt insisted that psychology was the science of facts of consciousness, and therefore studied attention processes; Wundt made a plea in favor of direct observation, rather than speculative psychology, and this is still a good theme of discussion for our works in this congress. Leipzig is a place which has always been in the center of scientific, cultural, religious and commercial life, with Bach and Mendelssohn and Schumann, with the reformation, with the mother-of-all-trade-fairs; Goethe made his studies here and Wagner was born here. Here in Leipzig a church was dynamited to build the Karl Marx University, but the fall of the wall sort of started in St Nicholai church and on the Leipziger Ring. So this is definitely a good place for a living and thriving association to meet and think and work about the effect of social and political changes on infants and parents, and a good place to exchange, trade and catch up with colleagues and friends. So thank you to the LOC, to Pr Dr Kai von Klitzing, to GAIMH president, to Dr Karl-Heinz Brisch and Dr Heidi Simoni and to the program committee, for hosting us in Leipzig!
Antoine Guedeney, MD Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Hôpital Bichat Claude Bernard, Paris President of WAIMH
An Invitation from the Program Committee The World Association of Infant Mental Health is no longer in its infancy. At our last Congress in Yokohama, more than 2000 clinicians and researchers from across the globe mingled in the land of the rising sun. Since the Yokohama congress, the seat of operations for WAIMH has moved from North America to Scandinavia and our organizational structure has shifted so that input from our affiliates across the globe can guide us through toddlerhood. Our international board (with representatives from 9 countries) represents multiple disciplines and perspectives.
Our theme for this congress, Infancy in Times of Transition, is apt. And the city of Leipzig, a model for growth and change in uncertain times, is the perfect venue to celebrate our own transition.
WAIMH now walks with confidence. The disciplines that inform infant mental health are maturing too. As research on the neurobiology of development translates into advances in clinical approaches, we are reminded of how knowledge informs practice. What better way to share knowledge and enhance practice than to come together for an exchange of ideas?
Our program committee is bolstered by review panels representing more than 50 practitioners from across the globe. The program will bring you many perspectives, balancing research and clinical approaches to enhance practice. You will have time to explore, to mingle and to learn. Come to Leipzig. Share in our growth.
Neil W. Boris, MD Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Tulane University, New Orleans Chair of the Program Committee
It is our pleasure to cordially welcome you, on behalf of the German Speaking Association of Infant Mental Health (GAIMH), to the International WAIMH conference in Leipzig. We hope it will provide opportunities for picking up many interesting impulses, meeting delegates from the German-speaking countries and making friends and professional connections that will continue after the conference.
Heidi Simoni, PhD Marie Meierhofer Institute, Zürich President of the German speaking Association for Infant Mental Health (GAIMH) Karl Heinz Brisch Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Munich Vice President of the German speaking Association for Infant Mental Health (GAIMH)