Heart-Mind 2016: Review in Pictures

Heart-Mind 2016: Cultivating Resilience took place October 21-22 at the Bell Centre for Performing Arts in Surrey, British Columbia. As a conference dedicated to helping the adults who teach and care for children, this year was focussed on one of the key positive human qualities that promotes Heart-Mind well-being: resilience. Over the two days, over 650 attendees from all over the BC and from as far away as Brazil and the Netherlands - the largest audience to ever attend a Heart-Mind conference - participated in keynote presentations, workshops, musical performances, Connect and Reflect breaks, and mindfulness activities.

World-renowned experts on resilience such as Michael Ungar, Eli Puterman, Kim Schonert-Reichl and Monique Gray Smith presented a diverse array of scientific and educational knowledge on the subject, including the effects of stress on body and mind, what it means to be "at risk", and demonstrating the healing power of reconciliation. Other keynote presenters, including Shelley Moore, Linda Lantieri and Dzung Vo told personal stories and led the audience through bonding activities and meditation sessions.   

The Dalai Lama Center's conference team included Creative Director and conference Moderater, Maria LeRose, Event Manager Petrice Brett, and DLC staff members Angela Lee and David Samis, Kareen Hudson, Gemma Holland, and Fiona Douglas-Crampton. Our special thanks to Sukh Shergill and Maggie Karpilovski of the Surrey School District, who we worked with over many months to bring the Heart-Mind confernce to Surrey's Bell Centre for Performing Arts - the first time it has been held outside of Vancouver. 

We'd also like to thank our keynote sponsors, HopeLab and the Dilawri Group, along with the many other financial and in-kind donors, businesses, organizations and individuals who contributed to the production of the conference, including over thirty volunteers.

Below is a review of Heart-Mind 2016 in pictures. Please enjoy!

Alana Anderson opened the conference with a traditional blessing. (Photo: Robert Semeniuk)

 

Linda Lantieri warms up the audience with the first of several Connect and Reflect breaks (Photo: Robert Semeniuk)

 

Moderater Maria LeRose (left) discusses risk and resilience with UBC researcher Kim Schonert-Reichl (Photo: Bibigul Amirova)

 

Michael Ungar's presentation demonstrated how community impacts individual resilience (Photo: Bibigul Amirova)

 

Coffee break in the atrium (Photo: Robert Semeniuk)

 

The audience was treated to vocal performances by local youth (Photo: Bibigul Amirova)

 

LeRose chats with the youth panel about how resilience plays a role in their lives and art (Photo: Bibigul Amirova)

 

Dzung Vo provides insights on mindfulness and its relation to resilience. (Photo: Robert Semeniuk)

 

Health pyschologist Eli Puterman makes the case that healthy living decreases stress and increases happiness (Photo: Bibigul Amirova)

 

Connecting and reflecting, back-to-back (Photo: Robert Semeniuk)

 

Vancouver teacher, Trevor Mills, opened Saturday morning with his rap, "Evidence of a Struggle" (Photo: Bibigul Amirova)

 

Author Monique Gray Smith's stories of aboriginal reconciliation and resilience touched the hearts of everyone (Photo: Bibigul Amirova)

 

Heart-Mind 2016 had an audience of over 650 from British Columbia and beyond (Photo: Robert Semeniuk)

 

Shelley Moore explains how young people will become more resilient if the proper supports are in place (Photo: Robert Semeniuk)

 

Saturday afternoon featured professional development workshops and Big Conversation, Small Group sessions (Photo: Robert Semeniuk)

 

Final insights were provided by the keynotes during the closing plenary (Photo: Robert Semeniuk)

 

The final Connect and Reflect break of the conference revealed one last surprise (Photo: Bibigul Amirova)

 

Choir director Anna Baignoche leads the audience in song (Photo: Bibigul Amirova)

 

A final goodbye from Linda Lantieri (Photo: Robert Semeniuk)

 

Blog by David Samis