DSPI members played a leading role at the first-ever Global Caregiver Forum held in Madrid on 15-16 January 2026 – a milestone event aimed at strengthening support for caregivers and families.
Co-hosted by the Government of Spain, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization and attended by Her Majesty Queen Letizia of Spain, the Forum brought together global leaders, NGOs, researchers and practitioners to develop a roadmap for universal caregiver programmes worldwide.
DSPI was represented by colleagues from the Global Parenting Initiative (GPI) and Parenting for Lifelong Health (PLH) teams, who brought extensive experience in scaling evidence-based parenting interventions across diverse country contexts.
Professor Frances Gardner, Professor Child and Family Psychology at DPSI, delivered the keynote speech, emphasising the robust global evidence for parenting programmes.
“Parenting programmes are effective across the world for reducing violence and improving child and parent mental health,” Professor Gardner noted. “We have the evidence, we have the means - now we need to mobilise systems to take them to scale.”
Professor Jamie Lachman, Professor of Child and Family Global Health at DSPI, contributed to multiple sessions and led ministers and policymakers in singing the 'ABCs of positive parenting', highlighting the power of sustained, connected parenting support when research, policy, and practice align.
Several panels were organised and moderated by other DSPI colleagues including Dr Isang Awah, who also acted as Master of Ceremonies on Day 1, and Dr Zarina Muminova. DSPI students and alumni were also strongly represented including Dr Amanda Sim, Dr Zuyi Fang, Dr Afnan Najjar and Dr Amalee McCoy, alongside GPI partners and colleagues from PLH.
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