North American Invitational Summit:
Bonding and Attachment in the Family—
Addressing the Root Causes of Social Problems at the Earliest Stages of Life 
Santa Barbara, CA
March 27-30, 2003

Sponsored by the Alliance for Transforming the Lives of Children and the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute, this unprecedented gathering will bring together leading-edge organizations and individuals who are dedicated to strengthening the level of bonding and attachment in families. Co-sponsors include The Association for Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health, Attachment Parenting International, the Global Maternal/Child Health Association, Mothering Magazine, and Touch the Future Foundation, The Summit will be held March 27-30, 2003, at La Casa de Maria Retreat Center, a beautiful retreat facility overlooking Santa Barbara.
This is a highly participatory event. We meet as peers, each bringing our insight and experience so that together, we can create a practical plan for the ongoing work of transforming the lives of children (details at <atlc.org>). At the conclusion of the Summit our collective knowledge and plans will be harvested and seed  a broad-based social movement to improve the quality of bonding and attachment across all levels of society.
The Alliance for Transforming the Lives of Children is dedicated to protecting and enriching the wellbeing of our children and the future of our world. At a time when families are facing unprecedented challenges, aTLC supports parents and professionals in making informed choices about consciously conceiving, birthing, and nurturing children. aTLC gathers and disseminates wisdom from many diverse sources, recommends standards, and inspires research. It links and supports many diverse organizations and individuals promoting innovative and progressive educational programs, services, products, and public policies that will collectively transform the lives of children. aTLC’s Proclamation and evidence-linked Blueprint for Transforming the Lives of Children synthesize scientific research with ancient wisdom into specific Principles and Actions that promote children’s optimal growth and development.
The Alliance is a consensus-based, interdisciplinary, not-for-profit coalition of over 100 organizations and individual health care professionals, caregivers, scientists, educators, artists, parents, and children who envision a world where:
•	Every child is wanted, welcomed, and valued.  
•	Every family is prepared and supported in the art and science of nurturing children.
•	Adults honor childhood and respect each child’s whole being.
•	Children joyfully participate in the vital life of family and community.
This unique Summit represents the first major outreach of aTLC to put forth the Principles embodied in its Blueprint. Participants will leave the Summit with a deeper understanding of the issues and with practical ideas on how to implement changes in their communities and profession. They will have made significant contact with others equally passionate. The Summit is limited to 150 invited participants and will be organized around five plenary sessions, each followed by creative work in small action-focused “pods.” Renowned thinker-author Joseph Chilton Pearce will give a keynote presentation and receive a special aTLC Lifetime Service Award. Waterbirth pioneer, Michel Odent, MD. will give the closing address.
The registration fee before February 25, 2002 is $435 and includes 3 lunches and 3 dinners at the Summit site, thereafter the cost is $485. Some partial scholarships are available. 
See  <www.atlc.org> for details, including schedule and registration form.

aTLC • 901 Preston Ave. • Suite 400 • Charlottesville • VA 22903 • (206) 666-4301 • (888) 574-7580 • info@atlc.org