5th Annual BME Children & Young People’s Conference

Our conference this year will again centre BME children and young people, highlighting the disproportionate harms they experience from the discrimination and inequalities they continue to face from various sectors including mental health, education and social services.

Importantly, they will again advocate for the changes that they would like to see, based on their own lived experiences of being young, black and growing up in London. Central to their experiences is the lack of protection, care, and support when they and their families are in difficulties or hardships- our statutory organisations have been largely absent in responding to the multiple risks and crisis that they face.

Our Conference will ask Why? and What Next?

Over the last 5 years of the Conference, highlighting the gross disproportionality of black children in mental health services and across childrens social care, does not seem to have moved out statutory agency to act. It appears, that they have normalised the fact that black children are least protected, and at a greater risk of experiencing harms, and incapable of developing solutions to safeguard children in ways that are demanded, by our children and young people themselves, as well as from our families and communties.

This year, we will coproduce the Conference with Children Services, together presenting what the current services offer, and working alongside young people from across our communties, and partcipants to the conference, to examine these servces, what any gaps may be, and what good looks like. Together, we will develop a list of priorties, co owned with young people, and develop a plan to implement and improve services.

We will be joined by Dr Rochelle Burgess ( UCL) and Ana Popovic ( Director Children Services) as well as freinds and colleagues from across services, and our communties- to do the work.

Please join. Lets be the change we want to see.

This years conference will also help launch our week of events and activities on 'Mental Health Inequalities and the Black Communty in South West London'- a programme looking to examine the racism and inequalities that continue to impact on the health , well being, and life outcomes of our communities, culiminating with the Recall of our 'Healing our Broken Village Black Mental Health Conference' on the 18th April

For more information please contact [email protected] or call 0207 720 9110

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

St John Bosco College, Parkham Street, London, United Kingdom