Leading childhood commentators deliver Edge Hill anniversary lecture

Two of the country's leading commentators on children and young people will deliver a provocative free lecture to mark Edge Hill University's 125^th anniversary this year.

Camila Batmanghelidjh, founder of the high-profile London-based charity The Kids Company and said to be the inspiration behind David Cameron's ‘Hug a Hoodie' campaign, will visit the Ormskirk Campus on Monday 14 June 2010. 

She will be joined by Edge Hill Chancellor, Government adviser and renowned TV psychologist Professor Tanya Byron as she delivers the lecture entitled Betrayals or Solutions: What's on offer for the vulnerable children of Britain?

The event, which is part of the University's anniversary events series Shaping Futures, will be one of the first post-election public discussions to take place on child protection and intervention issues.

Camila said: "With more than half a million children referred to the child protection register each year, I will identify a need for a new paradigm shift on intervention and safeguarding our children, exploring what a potential new model could offer in terms of solutions."  

Camila Batmanghelidjhis a trained psychotherapist and high-profile social entrepreneur, founding the Kids Company - a charity she set up in 1996 that supports children with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties in inner-city London. She won Social Entrepreneur of the Year in 2005 and was awarded Woman of the Year in 2006. She is a prominent media commentator on the social and psychological well-being of children and young people.

The event takes place at 5pm on the Ormskirk Campus, with Camila speaking at 6pm, followed by refreshments. To book a place, email the Corporate Events team on corporateevents@edgehill.ac.uk

The theme of children and young people continues at Edge Hill University later that week with a selection of free conferences aimed at education and health practitioners.

Tuesday 15 June 2010 sees the first Childhood and Adolescent Emotional and Psychological Wellbeing Conference entitled Getting it Right From the Start. Professor Tanya Byron will deliver a keynote speech at the event which will identify the challenges that face the children and young people's workforce in promoting emotional wellbeing. For information and bookings email CAHMSconf@edgehill.ac.uk.

On Wednesday 16 June 2010 the University's renowned annual Early Years Education conference takes place entitled Let Me Be Me: Conversations about the Unique Child.  Following on from last year's ‘Playfulness' theme, the focus this year is the need for children to have space, time and freedom to explore their own unique responses to the world, which in turn, creates imaginative and independent learners and thinkers. Keynote speakers include Professor Pat Broadhead from Leeds Metropolitan University and Sarah Argent, a freelance children's theatre director. For information and bookings, email eyps@edgehill.ac.uk.