15th Annual Health Equity Summit
About this Event
The Annual Health Equity Summit, hosted by Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA), is dedicated to addressing health disparities that disproportionately affect marginalized communities, with a particular focus on South Asian and other racialized groups. This highly anticipated event serves as a platform for key stakeholders, including experts, community leaders, policymakers, healthcare professionals, and advocates, to come together and collectively work towards achieving health equity.
The year’s 15th Annual Health Equity Summit, titled Growing Up Online: AI & Digital Technology in Shaping Child Health, Learning, and Development, will take place on Tuesday, November 17, 2026, from 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM at Humber Polytechnic (North Campus) – Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation (BCTI).
The Summit will focus on the growing impacts of artificial intelligence and digital technologies on child health, learning, and development. It will examine how rapidly evolving digital environments are shaping children’s experiences across physical health, mental health, cognitive development, and social well-being, with implications for equity and population health.
Participants will explore how digital environments influence children’s development across learning, emotional regulation, physical activity, sleep, and social connection. The discussions will also consider how these impacts may differ across populations, including children with neurodevelopmental differences, and how digital environments may reproduce or amplify existing inequities.
Through keynote presentations, a policy panel, and breakout sessions, the program will examine emerging evidence and system-level responses across health, education, policy, and technology sectors, highlighting both risks and opportunities associated with AI and digital technologies in childhood. The summit emphasizes coordinated approaches to support healthier, safer, and more equitable digital environments for children.
Agenda
🕑: 09:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Registration, Breakfast, & Networking
🕑: 10:00 AM - 10:20 AM
Opening Remarks
Host: CASSA
🕑: 10:20 AM - 11:00 AM
Keynote Presentation
Host: Dr. Elia Abi-Jaoude
Info: Always Plugged In: How AI and Digital Technologies Are Reshaping Learning, Attention, Mental Health, and Child Development
🕑: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Plenary Session
Host: Dr. Ripudaman Singh Minhas
Info: Rewiring the System: Policy, Systems Change, and Child Health in AI and Digital Environments
🕑: 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM
Lunch & Networking
🕑: 12:45 PM - 02:00 PM
Breakout Session: On Autopilot
Host: Mahtab Laghaei
Info: How AI and Digital Environments Affect Children's Learning, Attention, and Independent Thinking in the Classroom
🕑: 12:45 PM - 02:00 PM
Breakout Session: Mind in the Cloud
Host: Dr. Biruntha Sritharan
Info: How AI and Digital Environments Affect Children's Mental Health, Neurodevelopment, Emotional Regulation, and Social Connection
🕑: 12:45 PM - 02:00 PM
Breakout Session: Running on Low Battery
Host: Hina Ali
Info: How Digital Environments Affect Children's Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour, and Cardiometabolic Health
🕑: 02:00 PM - 02:20 PM
Mindfullness Break
Host: Fahad Zahid
Info: Led by Sukoon Cares
🕑: 02:20 PM - 02:50 PM
Breakout Debriefing Session
🕑: 02:50 PM - 03:00 PM
Closing Remarks
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
CAD 27.96 to CAD 107.83
