ECSC Inclusion Conference - Mary Shalhoub, Former Director, Bankstown Handicapped Children's Centre

Cultural inclusion involves more than theory application. Take advantages of day-to-day inclusion opportunities. This is my kind of inclusion. The challenges facing our educators today is to think outside the box, to be pro-active and practical in supporting the children to appreciate their culture, while also appreciating the culture diversity in the child care centre and the community at large. Throughout the year, educators should strive to ensure that cultural activities - like sharing ethnic food or displays - are meaningful and are inclusive and not just tokenistic."
Mary is a professional educator, trainer and consultant in Disability, Child and Aged care. Mary has more than twenty years experience in these fields holding senior positions in both the private and public sectors. Mary has an associate diploma in Habilitation, a Certificate in IV in Training and Assessment and a Master degree in Social Administration majoring in public policies with particular interest in Multiculturalism. Mary's passion, qualifications, extensive research and professional experiences are what form the basis of all her workshops.
For real life experiences, Mary is never short of examples to illustrate a point of view. one never knows who will inspire her or whose behaviour she will anonymously of with consent portray in her case studies.