Special education focus day on educating British-African kids with Diane Abbott MP, Olu Alake, President of 100 Black Men, Ron Belgrave, Professor Osita Okagbue and Richard Taylor OBE.

 The talks will take place between 11.00am and 2.00pm and will raise issues about raising African and African-heritage children in the UK. We want to celebrate the successes of our young people, but also address some of the challenges they face, and look at strategies to support them. Consider the children being born on May 12th. They’ll turn 18 in 2030. What can we do to ensure that they reach that stage of their lives with decent life chances?

One of the most pressing problems young people in London face is safety. We’ll start the day with a focus on this from 11.00 – 12.00. Ron Belgrave was the Head of Community Safety under both Mayors of London and worked with the Home Office and various regional agencies on a wide range of crime matters including the pivotal issue of youth violence. Ron was one of only two Black heads of crime in the UK.

Ron will provide an outline of available data on youth violence in London, an assessment of how it has been addressed to date and an insight into institutional responses do far. He will also provide some thoughts as to how we should move forward on this issue. There’ll be a Q&A with him after the presentation, then a discussion with the audience.

 

From 12.00 -2.00 various organisations discuss their work and strategies to overcome the educational and cultural challenges African-heritage kids face here in the UK.  

Jenny Okafor, President of NWIDLF

The talks will followed be a matinee performance of Pandora’s Box from 3pm-5pm, and  a post-show discussion on taking British-born kids back to Africa or the Caribbean, the subject of the play. This will feature parents who’ve made that choice for their children sharing their experiences and insights on the how and why of doing this.What are the pros and cons of schooling UK-born African-heritage kids in Africa or the Caribbean?

Entrance is free to people who have tickets for the matinee. 

Programme:
11.00 -12.00      Ron Belgrave on Community Safety –  Presentation and Q + A with Olu Alake
12.00 -1.00      Organisations – YACnCAY, Nigerian Women in Diaspora Leadership Forum, Richard Coker Foundation, Nigerian Youth Network, Black History Studies, Afruca, NNN and others

1.00 – 1.15       Break       

1.15 – 2.00       Audience discussion

2.00 – 3.00       Lunch
3.00 – 5.00       Matinee performance
5.00 – 6.00       1st panel discussion – Diane Abbott, Richard                           Taylor, plus parents
6.00 – 7.30       BREAK

7.30-  9.30       Evening performance
9.30-10.30        2nd panel discussion – Diane Abbott, Olu Alake,Professor Osita Okagbue, plus parents

Olu Alake, Ade Solanke, Ron Belgrave, Diane Abbott and Waryl Abrahams on post-show panel