Boris Cyrulnik

Boris Cyrulnik came forward to the general public - with the publication of numerous books often autobiographical (as "Un merveilleux malheur", 1999) or related case histories – due to the popularization of the concept of resilience. He gives numerous lectures, is in great demand to transmit his knowledge on radio and television networks. He is an Officer of the Legion of Honour. His lecture will focus on narrative resilience and culture.

Conference : Narrative resilience and culture   

Serban Ionescu

Emeritus Professor at the University Paris 8 and UQTR, holder of two honorary degrees (University of Timisoara, Romania, 1998 and U. of Liege, 1999), Serban Ionescu is the President of the International Association for the Promotion and the dissemination of research on resilience, Resilio. Psychiatrist and psychologist, he worked in the field of resilience for many years and developed a specific intervention method, assisted resilience. His "Traité de résilience assistée" published by Presses Universitaires de France (and translated in Romanian) is a basic book for people who want to intervene promoting resilience in various fields of practice. Co-president of the congress, he was already very involved in the two previous congress and led the edition of the 2nd Congress Acts. 

Conference : Assisted resilience and cultural context

Laurence Kirmayer

Laurence J. Kirmayer is a Professor and Director of the Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry at McGill University. He is the Chief Editor of the journal "Transcultural pscyhiatry". He is also Director of the Culture Research Unit and Mental Health at the Jewish Hospital in Montreal. He is well known for his research in the field of mental health in connection with the culture of immigrants and refugees, mental health of indigenous peoples and psychiatric anthropology. His lecture will focus on the cultural roots of resilience, in line with the congress theme.

Conference: Cultural roots of resilience: An ecosocial approach

Linda Theron

Linda Theron is professor in North-West University in Vanderbijlpark (South Africa). She has worked on resilience for a long time (her Masters in Education was on personal attributes which serve to anchor resilience). She has numerous research outputs: papers, chapters in books, conferences. She is member of International Scientific Committee of 3rd World Congress on Resilience. She will speak of African pathways of resilience.

Conference: African pathways of resilience: What do culture and context have to do with beating the odds?

Rachel Thibeault

Rachel Thibault is a professor in occupational therapy, rehabilitation specialist for vulnerable persons, resilience and peer support in extreme situations such as war zones. She will lead the public lecture of the congress because of her recognized skills in presenting effective strategies to cultivate resilience in everyday life. It must be emphasized that the work program development of Rachel Thibeault for trauma survivors has been repeatedly rewarded (Order of Canada for her work with vulnerable populations; Muriel Driver Memorial Award; Opening Congress speaker at the World Federation of Occupational Therapists; Diamond Jubilee Medal of Queen Elizabeth II; Official member of the International Association of Trainers in the Millennium Development Goals; National Capital Excellence in Teaching Award - Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation) .

Conference : Simple strategies, inexpensive, and based on the evidence, to build resilience daily

Michael Ungar

Michael Ungar is professor at the School of Social Work at Dalhousie University (Halifax, Canada). He is researcher in the field of social and psychological resilience and he has founded and codirect the Resilience Research Centre.

He works on multisite longitudinal research and evaluation projects, focused on resilience among youth facing adversity, with a lot of organizations (as The Human Development and Education Branch of the World Bank, The Red Cross, and national public health agencies). Michael Ungar has published many articles, chapters and books on the topic of resilience in different cultures. In 2012, Michael Ungar was the recipient of the Canadian Association of Social Workers National Distinguished Service Award.

Conference: The Social Ecologies of Resilience : Families, schools and communities

Adrian Van Breda

Adrian Van Breda is a professor in University of Johannesburg. He focuses his research on resilience theory - how people, particularly individuals and families, bounce back from adversity, or even thrive in the face of adversity. He began to study resilience of families having to deal with the repeated disruptions of family members travelling for work. Now, he works on processes that youth follow as they leave care and journey towards independent living. He published numerous publications. He will tell us about Resilience and culture from the South Africa insights.

Conference: Resilience and Culture: Insights from South Africa

Lisa Wexler

Lisa Wexler is a professor at University of Massachussetts Amherst (USA). Her research focuses on suicide prevention and resilience, both scientific and community priorities, and engages participants in all levels of the processs, responds to cultural and community priorities, and builds on and promotes personal and collective assets. She worked on multiple projects focused on culture and resilience, but now her major interest is in intergenerational dialogue to encourage cultural resilience.

Conférence: Understanding and Encouraging Cultural Resilience Through Intergenerational Dialogue Exchange and Action