NICE Academy: "Equipping career guidance and counseling professionals to meet contemporary challenges in practice"

Liepaja, Latvia
August 23-26, 2023

The Liepāja Board of Education, the Latvian Career Development Support Association, Liepaja University and Euroguidance Latvia of the State Education Development Agency will be jointly hosting the academy. 

The conference will be held at Liepāja University and Liepāja State Gymnasium 1
Inquiries can be addressed to Mrs. Ilze Jansone, Euroguidance Program Manager at ilze.jansone@viaa.gov.lv

NEWS

• INFORMATION on venue and hotels available now, as well as tourist information on Latvia
  
• PROGRAM for NICE 2023 in Liepaja: click here
  
• CULTURAL EVENTS PROGRAM for NICE 2023 in Liepaja: click here .
• SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS and REGISTRATION for NICE 2023 in Liepaja is now open. Please both register and/or submit your proposals via https://www.conftool.com/nice-academy-2023 . The deadline for submitting your proposal is June 30, 2023; You will receive feedback by July 10, 2023. The deadline for registering to the NICE conference has been extended until July 31st, 2023.
  
• For conference participants applying for ERASMUS+ funding, please add the following information to your application documents:
  Name: LIEPAJA UNIVERSITY
  Erasmus code: LV LIEPAJA01
  Faculty/Department: International relations department
  Address: Lielā iela 14, Liepāja, LV 3401
  Country/ Country code: LATVIA / LV
  Contact person name and position: Ērika Lauberga -Sleže, Chief Specialist
  Contact person e-mail / phone: erika.lauberga@liepu.lv; +371 634 07762
  Size of enterprise: ☒<250 employees; ☐>250 employees
  

Theme of the Academy
Career planning for individuals can be hampered by a variety of personal, health, social, cultural, economic, environmental, and political factors, as well as the multicultural context of society. The role of a career practitioner is to develop and/or select and employ appropriate approaches and methods to reduce the impact of risk factors and thus support the realization of the potential of individuals. This task becomes increasingly complex, as individuals often face multiple challenges exacerbated by larger systemic upheavals.
Given that guidance professionals are also embedded in systems which may proscribe certain approaches, and prioritize certain types of outcomes, the practitioner can be faced with ethical and practical dilemmas in addition to the need to be aware of personal biases toward the client. The practitioner's role is also complicated by often unforeseeable events leading to changes in modality of service delivery, target groups, client needs and expectations, evaluation of services performed and one's own career trajectory, among others.
The aim of the 2023 Academy is to take stock of the resources available to guidance practitioners and to trainers of guidance practitioners in the pre-service and in-service periods to help increase confidence in the face of contemporary challenges, both in the role of service provider, and in one's personal career development.

Keynote speakers
Gideon Arulmani (Martin Luther Christian University; India)
Dace Briede-Zālīte (Latvian Career Development support association; LKAAA)
Nikos Drosos (European University Cyprus)
Scott Solberg (Boston University, Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, US)
Rie Thomsen (Aarhus University, Denmark)

Organizing Committee
Dace Briede-Zālīte (Latvian Career Development Support Association)
Yvor Broer (University of Bedfordshire)
Anne Chant (Canterbury Christ Church University)
Lea Ferrari (University of Padova)
Maria Cristina Ginevra (University of Padova)
Jana Grava (Liepāja University)
Emma Harrison (Canterbury Christ Church University)
Aelita Jankovska (Expert for Youth and Career Affairs , Liepāja Board of Education)
Ilze Jansone (Euroguidance program manager, State Education Development Agency)
Ērika Lauberga-Sleže (Liepāja University)
Inta Lemešonoka (Chair of the Latvian Career Development Support Association)
Renāte Meļķe (Head of Public Relations for Liepāja Board of Education)
Kristīne Lathere (Head of Liepaja Municipal Education Department)
Teresa Maria Sgaramella (FISPPA Department, University of Padova)
Laurent Sovet (University of Paris Descartes)

Scientific Committee
Anouk Jasmine Albien (University of Lausanne)
Rebeca Garcia Murjas (University of Santiago de Compostela)
Srećko Goić (University of Split)
Kimberly Howard (Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development)
Jaana Kettunen (University of Jyväskylä)
Nurten Karacan Ozdemir (Hacettepe University)
Lasma Latsone (Liepaja University)
Paola Magnano (Kore University of Enna)
Mary McMahon (The University of Queensland)         
Ilze Miķelsone (University of Latvia)
Siobhan Neary (University of Derby)
Rita Orska (Rezekne Academy of Technologies)
Inita Soika (Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies)
Ronald G. Sultana (University of Malta)
Asa Sundelin (University of Stockholm)
Peter Weber (University of Applied Labor Studies of the Federal Employment Agency)
Jan Woldendorp (Saxion University of Applied Sciences)

Supporting organizations
Liepāja Municipal Board of Education
Latvian Career Development Support Association
Liepāja University
Euroguidance Latvia at the State Education Development Agency

(1) Founders are registered supporters of the NICE Foundation, either individuals or representatives of institutional founders (eg, universities or professional associations). For an overview of the relevant bodies, please consult http://www.nice-network.eu/founders/
(2) The special discount is available for participants with very low budgets, eg, unemployed students or practitioners with relatively low incomes. Please contact the organizers via email for a special discount.

To download the detailed program NICE 2023:   click here

Cultural Events Program NICE 2023: click here