18th Meeting of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development in Ghent, Belgium in July, 2004

by Peter F. Titzmann

In July, 11th – 15th 2004, the 18th meeting of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD) was held in Ghent, Belgium. The good atmosphere at the conference was enhanced by the large number of renowned international scientists, large diversity of geographical areas, diverse fields of research covering the whole life span and participants from all stages in their careers.
A new format at the conference was a ‘young scholars' initiative’ organized by Deepali Sharma (India). This was of particular interest to young researchers such as doctoral students. During the session small groups of about eight doctoral students had the chance to discuss their research with a senior expert. In Ghent the young scholars’ initiative focussed on current cross-cultural research issues in which young scholars from multidisciplinary and multiethnic backgrounds are involved. This form of discussions between senior and junior scholars could make conferences (such as the EARA or SRA meetings) even more stimulating for young scholars.
The conference also profited from being held in the beautiful setting of Ghent’s medieval city centre and from the great organization by Leni Verhofstadt-Denève. For instance the ISSBD “Daily Mirror”, a conference newspaper, announced the Poster of the Day and a saxophone player notified the end of breaks. These gave the conference a personal note.