The last lecture in the “How to Love a Child” the Janusz Korczak Lecture Series took place on Wednesday, April 6, 2016 at the Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre at UBC.
The lecture series was a great success and will be continued in the fall, starting with the Dean’s Distinguished Lecture, as announced by the Dean of the Faculty of Education, Prof. Blye Frank.
The event was preceded by two exhibitions to acknowledge the publication of two new books: Taking Root: My Life as a Child of Janusz Korczak- the Father of Children’s Rights by Shlomo Nadel and White House in a Grey City by Yitzchak Belfer. The exhibitions features the original artistic works by Shlomo Nadel and Itzchak Belfer.
The lecture, moderated by Dr. Charles Ungerleider, started with the introductions by Dr. Krzysztof Olendzki, Ambassadeur Titulaire, Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Vancouver; Dr. Blye Frank, Dean and Professor, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia; and Jerry Nussbaum, President of the Janusz Korczak Association of Canada.
Nicole Ptinis, the executive assistant to Irwin Elman, the Ontario Advocate for Children and Youth, launched the new books. Each member of the audience was presented with Itzchak Belfer’s memoirs.
Melanie Mark, MLA, was presented with the inaugural Janusz Korczak Medal for Children’s Rights Advocacy by Jerry Nussbaum, the president of the Janusz Korczak Association of Canada and Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, BC Representative for Children and Youth.
The keynote speaker, Professor Jim Anglin from the University of Victoria presented some of his own insights into the character of Janusz Korczak and the significance of his life and work for us today, focusing on the fact that for Korczak, rights were simply the foundation for respectful and effective action; they were not an end in themselves. He also summarized some of the key themes and insights offered by the previous speakers and panels in the series.
Following Prof. Anglin’s presentation, a panel of lecture series attendees representing various disciplines and backgrounds shared their impressions of the series and implications for future advocacy and initiatives in support of the rights of children in British Columbia and beyond. The panelists were: Kit Krieger, Executive Director of the BC Principals’ and Vice-Principals’ Association; Dr. Ziba Vaghri, Assistant Professor at the University of Victoria. Co-Chair of the Global Reference Group on Accountability to Children; Dr. Curren Warf, Head of the Division of Adolescent Health and Medicine of the Department of Paediatrics of BC Children’s Hospital and UBC; and Jules Wilson, Executive Director for the Federation of BC Youth in Care Networks.
The video recording of the session is available here.