Experts to talk at ‘Empowering Loving Parents’ seminar

Miri – 17 May 2012 – Three experts on parenting and family matters will be the speakers at a seminar for parents organised by a team of student ambassadors from the John Curtin Leadership Academy (JCLA) of Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak) on 26 May 2012.

They are Cathy Livingston, Clinical Director, DaySpring Residential Treatment Centre (RTC) Singapore; Ruth Liew, Trainer and Examiner, Montessori World Educational Institute, USA; and Alan Yeo, registered counsellor and founder of Balanced Consulting, Singapore.

The seminar, entitled ‘Empowering Loving Parents Seminar’, will be held from 10.00 am to 5.30 pm in the university’s Harry Perkins Lecture Theatre.

Organised as part of the JCLA ambassadors’ Rainbow Family Project, it aims to enrich the institution of the family by educating parents in ways to build closer relationships with their children and equip them with improved parenting skills which will enable them to better understand and communicate with their children. It also aims to share useful knowledge and methods that can be used to nurture moral values in children.

“It can be difficult building a family. Some parents may be too preoccupied with their careers or pursuing material gains to spend time with their children, or are too authoritative or strict with them, leading to a lack of supervision or understanding. All these can result in fractures in family ties,” said Albert Marzuki, project director of The Rainbow Family Project.

He added that, through the seminar, the JCLA ambassadors and experts hope to empower parents with the knowledge and wisdom to build and sustain harmonious families.

Cathy Livingston was born and raised in Texas and has spent the past 25 years investing in the lives of teenagers. She began working with youth in 1983 as a volunteer for Young Life, an organisation based in America. She moved to Singapore in 2000 and in 2009, along with a team of women, established the DaySpring Residential Treatment Centre (RTC), the first centre in Singapore to provide specific and targeted intervention to help abused teenage girls. Cathy has appeared on numerous radio programmes to share her expertise and views on topics concerning parents and teenagers.

Ruth Liew, meanwhile, is a graduate in child development and teaching from Michigan State University. She has extensive working experience in the field of early childhood care and education. She has managed and taught at preschools, nurseries and day care centres, as well as worked as a consultant and trainer to many early childhood education programmes. In addition, Liew has run a successful chain of kindergartens and nurseries known as Educare for 10 years.

With over 25 years of experience working with families and young children, Liew has also conducted Montessori training, programmes for children with special needs, as well as workshops and seminars that emphasise child development and behaviour management. She appears regularly on radio and television to impart her knowledge and experience and is also an accomplished writer with four books under her belt.

Alan Yeo has been running his own consultancy service since 2003, conducting workshops on counselling skills and wellness, as well as sharing ideas drawn from Solution-Focused Brief Therapy principles. He is a registered counsellor and an assistant honorary secretary of the Singapore Association for Counselling, a life member of the Singapore Psychological Society, and a consultant to the Canadian Council of Professional Certification.

Yeo’s corporate clients include the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) Singapore, Singapore Police Force, National University of Singapore, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (Singapore Campus), Unilever and other organisations.

He holds a bachelor degree (honours) in psychology from the University of East London, United Kingdom, and a Masters degree in experimental psychology from the University of Arkansas, USA. He also holds a specialist diploma in counselling and guidance, a postgraduate diploma in Solution-Focused Brief Therapy from The Brief Family Therapy Centre, USA, and a certificate in Eriksonian Psychotherapy & Hypnotherapy from The Milton H. Erikson Foundation, Inc., USA.

Registration for the seminar is now open and those interested to attend can register with Leslie Ng at 019-888 2801 or by e-mail to rainbowfamilyproject@gmail.com. A fee of RM20 will be charged per person. Registration can also be done at a booth set up by the JCLA ambassadors at the foyer of the Harry Perkins Lecture Theatre at the university.

The JCLA ambassadors are currently seeking sponsorship from interested individuals or organisations for the Rainbow Family Project. For more information on sponsorship, contact Oscar Ngu at 019-816 2709 or email rainbowfamilyproject@gmail.com.

The Rainbow Family Project team members posing at one of their publicity booths in Miri.