Over 200 nurses from around the world attended the conference which addresses the opportunities and challenges for nursing and nurse education, against the backdrop of a changing world.
Conference papers are being presented by participants from Norway, Finland, Wales, England, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Ghana, Australia, America, South Sudan, Morocco, Belgium, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Serbia, Tunisia, Lebanon, and Malta. A small number of Maltese nurses engaged in the clinical fields, nurse academics, and post graduate students are also presenting papers on each day of the conference.
The conference opening address is by Prof. Mary Gobbi, a well-known European nurse education expert and researcher with a focus on nurse education standards and quality assurance, competency based professional education and professional accreditation and regulation.
Other important addresses include those by Prof Judith Schamiam, whose term as president of the International Council of Nurses, the largest international nursing entity, now comes to an end; Dr Nuhad Dumit, addresses the conference as president of the Order of Nurses in Lebanon, while a leading Maltese nurse academic, Dr Joanna Depares, speaks about cross border care and education; Prof. Cecil Begley, who chairs the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the Trinity College, Dublin in Ireland speaks about advanced practice in nursing.
Prof. Joseph Cacciottolo, University of Malta Pro-Rector, and the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Dr Roberta Sammut, addressed the conference, alongside the Hon. Dr Clifton Grima, Parliamentary Secretary within the Ministry for Education and Employment, the Hon. Mr Chris Fearne, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health, and the Hon. Dr Deo Debattista, Parliamentary Secretary for V18 and Consumer protection.