Back in August, I attended the 31st EECERA conference held in Estoril, Portugal. This was my second in-person conference, but it was the first time I would present as part of a symposium group. 

After registering at the conference front desk, my experience of the conference started with a drop-in networking session for first-time attendees. Whilst this was my second in-person conference, I really struggled with networking and speaking to others during my previous conference and thought this would be helpful. I spoke to a few people during this session and it was a friendly welcome to EECERA.

This session was followed by a welcome reception where we were welcomed to the conference by Chris Pascal (the EECERA president), Luis Alberto Ribeiro (the conference chair), Carlos Carreiras (Mayor of Cascais) and entertained by a performance from the Ana Mangericão dance school, which was followed by a drinks reception.

The first full day of the conference was packed full with a keynote address from Catherine L'Ecuyer talking about The Wonder Approach, followed by symposiums, a poster session and 'PED'agogical talks.

I attended a range of symposium presentations during the day and really enjoyed looking at the posters on display in the afternoon. However, spending a whole day listening to presentations, whilst really interesting, is mentally challenging. There is so much to listen to and to take on board, which meant that I did not make it to the 'PED'agogical talks which was a shame.

The symposiums that I attended focused on Agency and children's perspectives and ECE gender perspectives - children's experiences and adult roles. 

The second full day of the conference was the day that I had been looking forward to and dreading at the same time!  This was the day that I was presenting as part of a symposium group and presenting a poster.

Prior to the symposium set where I was presenting, I met up with the other two presenters who were part of the self-organised symposium (my PhD supervisor and another academic from our department). We all added our presentations to the same document so that we could each present in turn without messing about finding and opening separate files. We then talked about how we were going to set up the room for the symposium and how the session was going to run.

Then during the refreshment break prior to our symposium, we went to the room and set it up, and then it was just a case of hoping people would turn up to listen to our presentations around participatory research methods with young children.

About 20 people attended the symposium and the presentations all went well. As much as I was dreading presenting, I did manage to calm myself and once I had calmed down started to enjoy the experience. After the three of us had presented the audience were able to ask questions. I was worried that I would be put on the spot and asked a question that I was unable to answer, but actually, I was able to answer confidently. 

As the symposium wrapped up and the audience started going to lunch, a couple of the attendees stayed behind to speak to me about my research in a bit more detail.  If I had been concerned that people wouldn't be interested in my research, this reassured me, people are interested in my research and wanted to know more.

After lunch I played hooky, well to be fair, I joined my fellow presenters outside in the sun with a glass of wine to relax and celebrate after our symposium (more on the food later). 

Then it was time for my poster presentation. I had displayed the poster on the wall of the conference centre when I had arrived in the morning and added a display pocket holding A5 versions of my poster that people could take with them. I needed to refill the A5 handouts as they had all been taken, and then I stood by my poster and talked to people who were interested.

This was a busy session and I spoke to lots of different people who had questions about my research and findings.

The final day of the conference was a half-day with two keynote speakers. The first was Jóhanna Einarsdóttir who was talking about children's sense of belonging in early childhood education. This was an interesting session which included a sub-focus on the challenges faced when undertaking participatory research with children.

The second keynote speaker was Ferre Laevers who spoke about children's curiosity, involvement and learning. This keynote was really interesting and whilst it lasted for over an hour, Ferre Laevers was a fascinating and enthusiastic presenter who held everyone's attention for the whole time.

The conference then wrapped up with the closing ceremony and the launch of the 2024 conference with the announcement of the location - Brighton, UK.

The conference venue was really welcoming and the staff were helpful. All of the keynote presentations were shown in the main auditorium, but also streamed to two other spaces within the venue so that as many people as wanted to could watch. This was great because it meant that it was easy to find a space to sit and listen. 

During the conference day the venue ensured that we stayed fed and hydrated. Mid-morning and mid-afternoon refreshments included cakes, pastries and sandwiches, tea, coffee, water and fruit juice. However, as nice as these refreshment breaks were, lunch stood out - a couple of different hot dishes and a variety of vegetable options and salads, followed by individual cakes and pasties, with your choice of wine, coke, lemonade, fruit juice, water or a hot drink.  Additionally, the venue had water fountains around the venue so that attendees could refill a water bottle.

So based on my experiences at the conference, would I recommend PhD students attend a conference?

Yes, the experience was so worth it! 

Whilst I found the thought of presenting in front of an academic audience scary, everyone was so friendly and supportive. I made connections with other PhD candidates and academics who have similar research interests to me, as well as listening to presentations from academics from all around the world which focused on different contexts and experiences of early childhood education.

So, having said all of that, the big question on my mind at the end of the conference was - what can I present in Brighton next year????