'Children of the World: Risk and Hope' Conference April 5-8 on the Ohio University Campus
Contact: Dwight Woodward, (740) 593-1842 or woodward@ohio.edu, or you can find information on the conference Web site at: www.ohiou.edu/~intsdept/cwrh.htm
Editors: To arrange an interview with any of the experts listed in the schedule below, contact Dwight Woodward, (740) 593-1842 or woodward@ohio.edu; to attend the conference visit the conference Web site at: www.ohiou.edu/~intsdept/cwrh.htm
ATHENS, Ohio (March 29, 2001) -- Child slavery, street children, genital mutilation, child prostitutes and malnutrition are among the topics to be discussed at the Center for International Studies' "Children of the World Risk and Hope" conference April 5-8 on the Athens campus of Ohio University.
Short films for children produced in England, Iran, Israel, Mexico, Japan, Namibia and Australia -- plus a panel of child refugees from Kosovo and Sierra Leone -- are among the highlights of the conference.
The African Girl Child Symposium kicks off the conference Thursday with Dr. Nawal Nour, director of the African Women's Health Practice, Boston, Mass., speaking on "Community Outreach: Caring for the Girl Child" at 7 p.m. in Irvine Auditorium. Sessions on the African Girl Child will run all day Friday in Morton Hall.
An international dinner featuring food from Africa, Latin America and Asia will be served in Irvine Hall lobby at 6 p.m. Friday, Apr. 6, for $3.
Bruce Harris, director of Casa Alianza, a Latin American organization that works with street children, will give the keynote address on "The Faces of Innocence Lost: Central America's Street Children" at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Apr. 6, in Irvine Auditorium. Saturday and Sunday sessions in Irvine Hall will be devoted to children's issues worldwide. Conference topics of local interest include child development, education, conflict resolution, children's health, poverty, domestic violence, public policy and other topics.
"We hope children's advocates, counselors, researchers, teachers, parents -- anyone involved with the welfare of children -- will attend the conference," said Cat Cutcher, of the Center for International Studies. "This is an opportunity to hear from experts doing cutting edge research on children's issues around the world. Many of the issues facing children worldwide are right in our backyard."
