The 19th WAIMH World Congress in Toronto, Canada, taking place 2-6 October 2026, is approaching with the theme “Harmony in Diversity: Nurturing the Youngest Minds Around the World.”
WAIMH received 1,311 submitted abstracts for the Congress, of which 52% were scientific abstracts and 48% were clinical abstracts.
The Scientific Program Committee met in Tampere, Finland, from 12-14 March 2026 to assess the peer‑reviewed abstracts. A total of 135 peer reviewers contributed across 15 review panels, and their extensive work is deeply appreciated. All abstracts were reviewed blindly by at least two reviewers, and the final assessment was completed by the Program Committee.
The abstracts submitted were distributed across the following presentation categories:
- Brief Oral Presentations: 372
- Poster Presentations: 222
- Poster Workshops: 44
- Symposia: 198
- Interactive Workshops: 182
The Chair of the Scientific Program Committee is Holly Brophy-Herb, with Elisabeth Hoehn serving as Past Chair. Other committee members include Sheri Madigan, Julia Torquati, Reija Latva, and Warren Kapashesit. Kaija Puura and Neea Aalto represented the WAIMH Central Office in the meeting. The Chair of the Local Organizing Committee, Chaya Kulkarni, together with Stefanie Watmough from the Infant and Early Mental Health Promotion (IEMHP) team and Anthony Santelices from the Professional Congress Organizer Smartlink provided invaluable and efficient support during the meeting.
The high number of submissions ensures that the Congress will offer days filled with new scientific and clinical knowledge, rich discussion, and a wide range of information on infant and early childhood mental health interventions, practice, and emerging theory. WAIMH warmly thanks all submitters for their interest and contributions.
Acceptance notifications will be sent out at the end of March 2026.
