From the Commissioner

I am delighted to welcome Dr Michael Ungar as the third Thinker to share his expertise with parents, educators and professionals working with children and young people.

Each Thinker brings to Perth considerable experience and insight and works with organisations and individuals across sectors to offer a new perspective on a particular issue, challenge how we tackle it and inspire lasting change.

Dr Ungar’s focus on resilience complements the discussions of previous Thinkers – Paul Collard who explored unlocking children’s creative potential and Dr Stuart Shanker who focused on encouraging self-regulation.

Through workshops, forums and meetings, Dr Ungar will discuss what we can do across the community to better support vulnerable children and young people, and how the ‘overprotection’ of children can be detrimental to their wellbeing, including strategies to avoid this.

I would like to acknowledge and thank project partners for their assistance in bringing Dr Ungar to Perth.

I look forward to a successful Thinker program and discussing how Dr Ungar’s work and world’s best practice can be applied here in WA to strengthen the resilience of our children and young people.

Jenni Perkins
Acting Commissioner for Children and Young People WA