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The 7th International Conference on Children’s Spirituality, in Winchester, UK, July 23-27, 2006, provides the opportunity for the launch of an Association for Children’s Spirituality. This is a new initiative following the success of the International Journal for Children’s Spirituality and the conferences themselves.

Aims
The aims of the association are:

1. To promote research and practice in relation to children’s spirituality.
2. To promote effective communication and the distribution of information between those involved in the development of  research and practice focuses on children’s spirituality.
3. To promote the importance of children’s spirituality as an important educational focus within wider contexts.

Development
ACS is being set up to:

• Bring together researchers and practitioners who are focusing on this area of educational thinking
• Promote the development of theory around children’s spirituality
• Encourage, support and connect research and practice
• Raise awareness of the need for attention be given to children’s voices, experiences and relationships
• Encourage holistic approaches to children’s spirituality and personal development
• Develop policy and practice across disciplines, professions, organisations and communities

Management
Dr Jack Priestley of Exeter University has been asked to be President of the Association. Jack has contributed to the cause of children’s spirituality throughout his career and has been a leading figure in its promotion. He is recognised as such through his influential research and publications.

The Children and Worldviews Project (Clive Erricker, Jane Erricker and Cathy Ota) will initially organise the management and development of the Association. It is intended that it will develop through the University of Winchester, UK and the University of Brighton as a central location for its operation and involve other centres worldwide focusing on children’s spirituality for the Association’s development mirroring the development of the international conferences on children’s spirituality and that of the International Journal of Children’s Spirituality.

Membership
Membership of the association will cost £50 per annum, payable in January each year through to December.

The association aims to provide ongoing correspondence and interactive information between conferences which is supplementary to the research published in the journal.

Members are encouraged to submit information on:

• events/ conferences
• professional posts and research studentships advertised
• research in progress
• publications
• practitioner reflections and examples of good practice
• children’s narratives and responses and commentaries

The subscriptions to the association areas of the website will be used to ensure its development since they will provide remuneration for a dedicated member of staff at the University of Winchester to maintain and develop this facility according to the association’s needs.

To find out more and become a member, please visit our membership area by clicking here.