Conference to focus on extreme life circumstances among the world’s children

A multi-disciplinary group of scholars will present The Undefended Childhood: a Global Perspective conference April 3-4 at the Kellogg Conference Center. Dr. Judith Mbula Bahemuka, High Commissioner of Kenya in Ottawa, Canada, will give the keynote address. The conference will focus on issues of vulnerable children around the world; specific conference tracks include child labor, child education,indigenous education, indigenous children’s rights, world health, HIV/AIDS, refugee/immigrants, children in conflict, poverty, identity/well-being, and language/culture.

The conference is part of a larger project at MSU, entitled The Undefended Childhood in a Global Context: Structural Challenges to Schooling, Health, and Well-Being among the World’s Children. Participating researchers are exploring the complex societal and interrelated factors that impact a child’s ability to obtain the most fundamental rights: the right to be educated, to be safe, and to be healthy.

The conference is presented by the School of Social Work, the Department of Family and Child Ecology, and the Department of Anthropology and sponsored by the College of Social Science and the Office of Outreach and Engagement.

For more information about international and domestic participants, presentation titles, and registration, visit the project web site or contact or contact Linda Hancock or DeBrenna Agbenyiga.