This year’s BookTrust Cymru Early Years Practitioner Conference brings together high-profile voices including children’s authors and illustrators, early years organisations and practitioners, as well as other important figureheads working in the world of children’s books. It will explore why equality, diversity and inclusion are vital in reading for pleasure and what we can do in the Early Years to give young children the opportunity to feel represented and empowered.

We know that learning about the world, your identity and those around you starts in the Early Years, and that books, stories and rhymes are powerful tools that can be used to help children understand their lived experiences. When we talk about diversity, we are championing the need for inclusion in all areas, so that all children and families are represented and valued.

More can be done to ensure that all children are able to see themselves in the books that they are exposed to from an early age and also to provide access to books for all children so they can experience the transformative powers of reading for pleasure.

The conference takes place as a series of online webinars spread over 4 days. These webinars will be in the format of a panel discussion, 2 workshops and 4 practice sharing sessions, with contributions and insights from:

• Dapo Adeola, Children’s Author and Illustrator, and BookTrust’s most recent Writer in Residence

• Connor Allen, Children’s Laureate Wales 2021 – 2023

• Jo Bowers, Early Years Reading for Pleasure Specialist

• Margaret Holt, Bookstart Coordinator, Cardiff Libraries

• Natalie Jerome, Deputy Chair of Literature Wales

• Jeremy Miles MS, Minister for Education and Welsh Language

• Ruth Morgan, Award Winning Primary Practitioner and Children’s Author

• Lucy Owen, Presenter and Author

• Cymraeg i Blant, Progamme Supporting Families with young children to bring the Welsh Language Into their Homes

• Books Council of Wales, National Charity Supporting the Publishing Industry in Wales

• BookTrust, the UK’s largest children’s reading charity

When registering for the conference you will receive links to attend each of the webinars detailed below. We would encourage you to attend each webinar but if this is not possible, recordings will be made available soon after the event.

The first 450 attendees to register will receive a BookTrust Cymru Superbox containing a printed Conference Handbook which explores the themes of the event, as well as a collection of 20 early years books to use within your setting and share with families. These will be sent via post soon after the event.

A digital version of the Conference Handbook will also be made available online.

All webinars will take place online via Zoom.