ISSA Conference 2024 Program

Below please find an overview of this year's conference program.

To view the most UP-TO-DATE program details, including all plenaries, concurrent sessions, abstracts, and speaker details, click here or DOWNLOAD THE APP

For a downloadable version of the program, click here for the short version (without abstracts) or the long version (with abstracts). But please always check the above link for the very latest information on sessions, speakers, times, and locations. 

A conference app will also soon be available to download and schedule your favorite sessions. Follow along on our ISSA Conference LinkedIn Group for updates and to join the conversation.

For satellite events, explore the following pages: 

• pre-conference events 
• post-conference site visit options
• social events
• sightseeing options

Program Overview 

October 22

9:00 - 18:00  Pre-conference events: View the list of pre-conference events and social events.

19:00 - 21:30 Welcome reception, including an address by Ivaylo Ivanov, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and by Vassil Terziev, Mayor of Sofia Municipality 

October 23

8:00 - 18:00 Registration and Information Desk open

9:00 - 9:30 Opening ceremony, including an address by Professor Galin Tsokov, Bulgarian Minister of Education and Science

9:30 - 10:15 Plenary session: Keynote from James Cairns, Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University

10:15 - 10:30 Change rooms

10:30 - 12:00 Concurrent sessions 1

12:00 - 12:30 Coffee break

12:30 - 13:30 Concurrent sessions 2

13:30 - 14:15 Lunch break

14:15 - 14:45 Networking session

14:45 - 16:15 Concurrent sessions 3

16:15 - 16:45 Coffee break

16:30 - 17:00 Driving change from the global level - ECDAN and Act for Early Years

17:00 - 18:00 Plenary session: Policy panel discussion on pathways to effective cross-sectoral coordination in Early Childhood Development (ECD) policy design and implementation

19:00 Conference dinner

October 24

8:00 - 18:00 Registration and Information Desk open

9:00 - 10:30 Concurrent sessions 4

10:30 - 10:45 Change rooms

10:45 - 11:30 Plenary session: Keynote from Mathias Urban, Early Childhood Research Center (ECRC) at Dublin University (DCU), Ireland

11:30 - 12:00 Coffee break

12:00 - 13:30 Concurrent sessions 5

13:30 - 14:15 Lunch break

14:15 - 15:15 Plenary session: Panel discussion on creating an enduring movement for democratic Early Childhood Education - The legacy of the Step by Step Program

15:15 - 15:30 Change rooms

15:30 - 16:30 Plenary session: Panel discussion on the power of networks in catalyzing and sustaining system changes for ECD

16:30 - 16:45 Coffee break

16:45 - 17:45 Concurrent sessions 6

17:45 - 18:00 Change rooms

18:00-18:30 Closing ceremony

19:00 Dinners at various restaurants (optional by registration)

October 25

9:00 - 18:30 Site visits (optional, registration required) - View post-conference site visit options. 

9:00 - 18:30 Sightseeing and more (optional, registration required) - View site-seeing options.