How do you fight ignorance? HOW DO WE ADAPT IN A CHANGING WORLD? Does GOD make sense of Humans? COULD WE BUILD A HUMAN?
Can comedy play a role in managing mental health? . .IN THE NHS? IS THERE RACISM Does GOD make sense of Humans? COULD WE BUILD A HUMAN? EXPLOR E EXPRES S EXCEL
Will humans live on Mars?
Does society create criminals?
SECURITY 19TH - 20TH OCTOBER 2023 1
TO PARENTS AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE WIDER CANFORD COMMUNITY If you would like to attend a particular talk, please get in touch with Head of Enrichment Jamie Ings ji@canford.com, as he will be able to advise as to whether there will be space.
TO PUPILS You are expected to attend the events that are allocated to any groups to which you belong. You are extremely welcome to attend further events outside your regular school commitments/timetable. Day pupils are not required to attend evening events (beyond 6pm) but are most welcome to attend them.
TO CANFORD STAFF You are welcome to all events. If as a teacher you have a class attending a talk, please could you check that all the pupils are present.
THURSDAY 19TH OCTOBER 8.45AM - LAURA BUCKLE, MUSIC SCHOOL, SHELLS 9.00AM - COLIN STUART, ASSEMBLY HALL, SIXTH FORM 9.00AM - PETER WILLIAMS, LAYARD THEATRE, FOURTH AND FIFTH FORM 10.15AM - PETER RADFORD, MUSIC SCHOOL, SHELLS 10.30AM - DAVID CHERRETT, ASSEMBLY HALL, SIXTH FORM 10.30AM - CHARLIE WALKER, LAYARD THEATRE, FOURTH AND FIFTH FORM 11.30AM - SHAUN FLORES, MUSIC SCHOOL, SHELLS 12.00-1.00PM - CHARLIE WALKER, ASSEMBLY HALL, SIXTH FORM 5.00PM - TIM BOUVERIE, ASSEMBLY HALL, SIXTH FORM SCHOLARS AND FIFTH FORM HISTORIANS
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FRIDAY 20TH OCTOBER 8.45AM - SOPHIE MACLEAN, LAYARD THEATRE, FOURTH AND FIFTH FORM 8.45AM - HATTIE MILES, MUSIC SCHOOL, SHELLS 9.00AM - AMY PEAKE, ASSEMBLY HALL, SIXTH FORM 10.15AM - SOPHIE MACLEAN, LAYARD THEATRE, SHELLS 10.15AM - BELA HARTMANN, MUSIC SCHOOL, FOURTH FORM 10.30AM - JEREMY HUNTER, ASSEMBLY HALL, SIXTH FORM AND FIFTH FORM 12.00PM - SIXTH FORM SCHOLARS, MUSIC SCHOOL, SHELLS 12.00PM - EMMANUEL JAL, ASSEMBLY HALL, FOURTH, FIFTH, SIXTH FORM
WEDNESDAY 18TH OCTOBER Launch Event
Performances by:
A LEVEL MUSIC RECITAL
Lara Witter, Thomas Sparkhall
5.00PM, MUSIC SCHOOL, ALL WELCOME
Thomas Herbert, Ed Timberlake
Michael Campbell, Laura Edwards Lukas Svedberg, Charlote Kersey
The Lower Sixth A Level class are giving performances of scenes from “ The curious incident of the dog in the nighttime” at 7.15pm on Wednesday and 5.00pm on Thursday in the Layard Theatre. It lasts approximately 40 minutes.
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FESTIVAL THEME: SECURITY I’m often asked why we hold the annual Festival of Ideas and my answer is broadly the same each time. We want to foster a community of open minded, curious and forward thinking pupils at Canford and inviting such a vast array of speakers to the school each year is one way in which we are able to do so. The themes and talks covered at the festival require the audience to practise their open mindedness, which itself is a cornerstone of personal growth, effective communication, and social progress. The willingness to consider new ideas, perspectives, and experiences without prejudice or preconceived notions is valuable for so many reasons. Open mindedness nurtures intellectual curiosity and continuous learning. When we approach life with an open mind, we acknowledge that we don’t know everything, and there is always room for expansion. This mindset encourages us to seek out new information, challenge our beliefs, and adapt to changing circumstances, which ultimately leads to our own personal and professional evolution. In a world marked by diversity, openminded individuals are better equipped to navigate complex social landscapes and build meaningful connections. Approaching interactions with no predicted outcome allows us to genuinely listen to people and to build empathy and understanding. This growth of human connection as we listen to those with different opinions, cultures, and backgrounds, allows constructive dialogue to be generated and conflicts to be resolved. The theme for this year’s festival is ‘Security’, a term that resonates deeply with every individual, community and nation. While it often conjures images of armed guards and alarm systems, its meaning extends far beyond physical protection. In the contemporary world, the concept of security encompasses a broad spectrum of concerns, each interconnected and essential for the well-being of a population. Whether discussing the role of local heroes in ensuring the security of the allies in WW2, or witnessing the lack of insecurity needed to deliver a performance, the possibilities are extensive. The programme of lectures has been designed to cover many of these angles and each speaker will bring a unique slant to the term. I hope that all Canfordians will approach this year’s festival with the curiosity to embrace new ideas, the enthusiasm to share and discuss these ideas with their friends and teachers, and the resilience to have their ideas challenged in turn. Jamie Ings, Head of Enrichment
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THURSDAY 19TH OCTOBER Laura Buckle SECURING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY 8.45 - 9.45AM, MUSIC SCHOOL, SHELLS
I am an artist, researcher, educator and activist, whose practice focuses on the textile industry, in particular; textile waste. In my current research I am attempting to detangle the tightly knit problems interwoven into the global textile industry, and explore the intersectional issues of class and environment. The textile industry is one of the longest and most complicated industrial chains in manufacturing. Through deconstructing and reconstructing textile waste, my work aims to unpick the complexities woven into the textile industry and call to action those responsible. I am an environmentally focused working class artist, and I intend to generate awareness and action towards issues of global climate change.
This socially engaging art practice takes on many forms to encourage, and inspire change from both communities and individuals. Creating sustainable solutions to protect our planet, and changing perspectives through a material practice. I recently completed the MA Art and Ecology at Goldsmiths, University of London, a programme focussing on exploring all manners of ecological contexts, whilst researching and understanding how ecological challenges such as climate breakdown, are deeply connected with social justice. My artistic research has become strongly rooted in textiles and the injustices and inaccuracies surrounding the textile industry, focusing particularly on recycling and end of life.
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THURSDAY 19TH OCTOBER Colin Stuart Colin is a multi-award-winning astronomy author, writer and speaker who has talked to over half a million people about the universe, including schools, the public and businesses. His twenty books have sold more than 400,000 copies worldwide and been translated into 23 languages. He has written over 250 popular science articles for publications including The Guardian, New Scientist, The Wall Street Journal and European Space Agency.
ULTIMATE GUIDE TO TIME TRAVEL 9.00-10.00AM, ASSEMBLY HALL, SIXTH FORM Few people know that time travel isn’t just possible – it has already been done. In this mind-expanding talk, students will hear the stories of people who have travelled into their own futures and lived to tell the tale. And how you rely on the same physics whenever you use the map on your smartphone. We’ll also look at messy time travel paradoxes, from if it’s possible to kill a baby Hitler to the fact that the free will you think you have is probably a stubbornly persistent illusion. This is physics at its most interesting, guaranteed to get students thinking deeply and seeing the world anew.
HOW WE’LL LIVE ON MARS 12.00-1.00PM, LAYARD THEATRE, FOURTH AND FIFTH FORM The first person to walk on Mars is already alive. When Neil Armstrong became the first astronaut on the Moon he was 38 years old. Space agencies around the world are planning our first trip to the Red Planet in 30 years’ time. That means the first Martian is at primary school somewhere in the world right now. When I was working with the British astronaut Tim Peake he told me that “Mars is on for ten year olds”. This 45 minute interactive talk - packed full of stunning visuals - will inspire your students to dream about their future in the solar system while cementing many aspects of the KS2 science curriculum. With a 10 minute Q&A afterwards, they’ll also get all their burning space questions answered.
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THURSDAY 19TH OCTOBER Peter Williams MY LIFE AS A COLD WAR MILITARY SPY 9.00-10.00AM, LAYARD THEATRE, FOURTH AND FIFTH FORM
This talk examines the three Allied military liaison missions that operated as intelligence agencies in East Germany from 1946-90. It is based on my long involvement in the 1980s with these extraordinary Cold War organisations as one of their ‘licensed spies’. Major General Peter Williams is an accomplished speaker with an entertaining and humorous manner. His career focused on military intelligence and liaison, but was also spread across the spectrum from operational command to military diplomacy during and after the Cold War. After studying History at Cambridge University, Peter Williams spent over 30 years in the Coldstream Guards and enjoyed an unusually varied career. As an Infantryman he carried out ceremonial duties in London, spent two years with Baluchi soldiers in the mountains of Oman, served twice in Northern Ireland and commanded 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards in Germany. In the early 1990s he wrote speeches for the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, an American general.
During the Cold War he specialised in intelligence, serving first in Berlin from 1973 to 1975 as a Regimental Intelligence Officer. He then studied Russian and German before spending more than four years in the 1980s in Berlin and East Germany as a liaison and operations officer in the British Commanders’in-Chief Mission to the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (known as BRIXMIS), in effect working as a military spy. In 1983 he was awarded an MBE for his success as an intelligence collector and analyst.
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THURSDAY 19TH OCTOBER Peter Radford HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN THE MODERN WORLD 10.15AM - 11.15AM, MUSIC SCHOOL, SHELLS
Peter is an experienced public speaker, teacher, trainer and author of Love Teaching Keep Teaching. He has a wealth of experience of leadership, personal development and education. Peter founded Beyond This to work with schools in equipping students for the adventure of life and work, and helping leaders and teachers to develop the strategies and momentum to transform education and grow ground-breaking schools. Peter has worked in education for over 25 years and has particular experience in effecting change at a whole school level through addressing systems and mindsets that stifle progress. Peter has two schools to achieve the Unicef Rights Respecting School Award. His Free & Equal? national human rights conferences for secondary and sixth form students have reached tens of thousands. He now speaks and runs workshops for students and staff around the country inspiring change.
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THURSDAY 19TH OCTOBER David Cherrett GRETANOMICS, ENERGY & SOCIETY 10.30AM – 11.30AM, ASSEMBLY HALL, SIXTH FORM
David studied at Canford in the 80s before going on to read Modern History at Oxford, specialising in medieval theology. From there he, rather surprisingly perhaps, became a shipping analyst at shipbroker Clarksons, reporting on global trade, commodities and economics. He has carried on working in that field for the last 30 years, increasingly concentrating on energy trading and is currently head of analytics at a commodity fund. David’s talk with challenge common views on the future of national energy supply as well as some of Greta Thunberg’s public statements. As usual, there will be time to quiz David and debate the contents of the talk with him.
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THURSDAY 19TH OCTOBER Charlie Walker Charlie Walker is an explorer, writer who specialises in long distance, human-powered expeditions to develop an intimate understanding of the world’s most remote communities. This focus has taken him to places as varied as the Tibetan plateau, the Mongolian steppe, the Congolese jungle, Arctic tundra, the highlands of New Guinea and numerous deserts in between. He has travelled over 50,000 miles by bicycle, foot, horse, raft, ski and dugout canoe. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a 2021 Scientific Exploration Society Explorer Award winner, and a four-time recipient of the Transglobe Expedition Trust’s ‘Mad but Marvellous’ grant.
EXPLORING PAPUA NEW GUINEA 10.30AM - 11.30AM, LAYARD THEATRE, FOURTH AND FIFTH FORM In early 2019, Charlie undertook a two-month journey through the interior of Papua New Guinea. The challenges en route included dense virgin rainforest, monsoon rains, tribal violence, whitewater rapids, crocodiles, and some of the world’s most inaccessible places. The journey was a physical challenge as the only available means of travel in one of the world’s last true wildernesses is human-powered.
SIBERIA 2022 12.00 - 1.00PM, ASSEMBLY HALL, SIXTH FORM In February 2022, Charlie arrived in Yakutsk just three days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. His initial plan was to hike several hundred miles along the frozen surfaces of Arctic river. The aim was to reach remote settlements of the indigenous Sakha and Evenki peoples and witness their way of life in the harsh northern winter conditions. However, as the weeks passed and the war in Ukraine rumbled on, the old Soviet-era suspicions of outsiders gradually returned and Charlie was increasingly on the radar of the authorities. On arrival in Tiksi he was arrested and found guilty of ‘conducting journalism while travelling on a tourist visa’. The charges also included ‘photographing sensitive military sites’. Charlie spent 4 weeks locked in a Yakutsk detention centre before finally being deported in late May.
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THURSDAY 19TH OCTOBER Shaun Flores MY SEARCH FOR MASCULINITY AND LIVING WITH OCD 11.30AM - 12.30PM, MUSIC SCHOOL, SHELLS
Shaun Flores is an acclaimed speaker, upcoming author, and catalyst for change, renowned for inspiring countless individuals worldwide through the powerful narrative of transforming personal pain into purpose. Living with OCD & ADHD, Shaun navigates mental illness into a continuing mental wellness. Having confronted a life-altering moment at the tender age of six years old when his father died on Christmas Day, alongside a life-changing year in 2022 where his mental breakdown changed his life. Undiagnosed illness left Shaun, suicidal, hopeless, and depressed when a moment hit him “I am going to change the world”. Since then his mission has remained the same. Leave the world in a better place than you found it. Shaun gained profound insights into the mounting mental health challenges faced by millennials, igniting a fierce determination to address this critical issue. Shaun’s journey renders her a trusted advocate for diversity, inclusion, mental health, neurodiversity and overall wellbeing. Shaun’s remarkable story has graced illustrious stages across the globe, from 3 TEDx Talks, in schools, universities colleges and corporate clients. From a modelling and influencing background, he has written and spoken openly about, disordered eating and addiction, the misconceptions
of OCD, and how neurodiversity adds to the new upcoming world. Furthermore, Shaun serves as a valued advocate for many OCD charities helping to spread awareness on one of the world’s most misunderstood mental illnesses. He is a regular contributor and social commentator for many media outlets. Audiences have consistently described Shaun’s talks as mesmerizing, impactful, and life-altering. In the words of Carl Jung “No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell.” But in the case of Shaun Flores, you will always remember the profound emotions he evokes and the solutions he proposes.
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THURSDAY 19TH OCTOBER Tim Bouverie APPEASING HITLER 5.00PM, ASSEMBLY HALL, SIXTH FORM SCHOLARS AND FIFTH FORM HISTORIANS
Tim Bouverie is the author of ‘Appeasing Hitler: ‘Chamberlain, Churchill and the Road to War’ / ‘Appeasement: Chamberlain, Hitler, Churchill and the Road to War’. After graduating from Oxford University with a History degree, Timothy became a political journalist for Channel 4 News, where he covered all major political events between 2013 and 2017, including two general elections and the EU Referendum. He regularly reviews history and politics books, and has written for the Spectator, Observer, Mail on Sunday and Daily Telegraph. He has also for the last five years worked at the Chalke Valley History Festival as an interviewer.
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FRIDAY 20TH OCTOBER Sophie Maclean THE HIDDEN MATHS OF TECHNOLOGY 8.45AM - 9.45AM, LAYARD THEATRE, FOURTH AND FIFTH FORM 10.15AM - 11.15AM, LAYARD THEATRE, SHELLS
There are numbers all around us that make our modern lives possible. From rescuing your lost words in text messages, to taking selfies, maths is always there making things work. This session will show students the mathematics behind modern technology and emphasise the importance of learning maths for a career in technology. Sophie Maclean is a mathematician and experienced maths communicator currently studying for a PhD in Maths in London. When not discovering new maths, Sophie shares her love of maths with others by delivering talks and workshops all around the UK and beyond. She is a regular at Maths Inspiration events (having given talks to more than 700 school students) and has spoken about maths at the renowned Cheltenham Science Festival. Sophie was awarded her undergraduate degree in Mathematics from Trinity College, Cambridge, and has since explored many mathematical careers, having worked as both a Quantitative Trader and a Software Engineer. Sophie also enjoys writing about maths and has blogged at the Heidelberg Laureate Forum in Germany reporting on new maths research, and is a member of the team behind the mathematical Chalkdust magazine.
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FRIDAY 20TH OCTOBER Hattie Miles LOCAL HEROES 8.45AM - 9.45AM, MUSIC SCHOOL, SHELLS
You’ll hear the remarkable stories of heroes and heroines from WWI and WW2. There’s also a surprising story from the Victorian era and another brings us right up to the present day. Hattie Miles has studied local history for some years and runs a series of guided walks and illustrated talks about Bournemouth and the surrounding area. She’s lived in Dorset for nearly forty years. As a regional press photographer, she spent 24 years at the Bournemouth Daily Echo. Since 2011 she’s been a freelance photojournalist and also founded Bournemouth Walkingtalks that aims to give an interesting view of the town’s history and the many fascinating people connected to it.
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FRIDAY 20TH OCTOBER Amy Peake LOVING HUMANITY 9.00AM - 10AM, ASSEMBLY HALL, SIXTH FORM
In 2014 Amy picked up a magazine while waiting for her doctor’s appointment. In it she saw a photograph of Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus with 18,000 people queuing for food. In the foreground was a woman and Amy asked herself how on earth women cope with their periods in conflict zones? This question has led Amy on a journey through India, Kenya, Jordan, Sweden, Turkey, Switzerland and Holland resolute in her determination to find a solution to this problem. In 2016 she opened her first sanitary pad micro-factory in Zaatari refugee camp five miles south of the Syrian border. Working alongside UNHCR and the Norwegian
Refugee Council, they employed thirty of the most vulnerable women in the camp. In 2015 after the BBC covered her work, she was then inundated with requests from people around the world to set up micro-factories to help keep girls in education after starting their periods. The scale of the problem was too big to ignore with over 100 million girls dropping out of school in part due to the lack of a pad. Amy takes you on her journey of discovery, learning about worlds that she knew nothing about and introduces you to the people who have helped her on her way. She talks about love, fear, courage, resilience and so much more as she continues to work globally to address the inequality that arises as millions of girls drop out of education.
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FRIDAY 20TH OCTOBER Bela Hartmann PIANO RECITAL 10.15AM - 11.15AM, MUSIC SCHOOL, FOURTH FORM
Since becoming a semi-finalist at the Leeds International Piano Competition in 2000 Béla Hartmann has enjoyed a wide ranging career, performing in venues from New York (Carnegie Hall) and London (Wigmore Hall) to smaller venues across the UK and Europe. His London series of the complete Piano Sonatas of Schubert at Steinway Hall culminated in the release of his highly praised debut CD of Schubert Piano Works (Meridian), and his performances for the Beethoven Piano Society of Europe at St James’s Piccadilly featured Beethoven’s piano variations, including the monumental Diabelli Variations. Aside from that his repertoire includes contemporary works by composers such as Birtwistle, Boulez and Bussotti, and he gave UK premieres of works by Widmann and Petr Eben. His most recent CD features the early Piano Concerto in A Minor by Mendelssohn, recorded with the Keld Ensemble. Béla Hartmann is also a keen musical essayist and has published articles and reviews on a wide range of music-related topics.
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FRIDAY 20TH OCTOBER Jeremy Hunter DICTATORS, DESPOTS AND TYRANTS IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD 10.30AM - 11.30AM, ASSEMBLY HALL, FIFTH FORM AND SIXTH FORM
Jeremy Hunter is a UNESCO award-winning photo-journalist, writer, presenter. Professional Speaker on contemporary and global issues. He has worked in television news and current affairs over many years as on-screen reporter and documentary producer (NIR-TV Tehran, Granada TV, Spafax, BBC and C4) and has experience of working in seventy countries across five continents enabling him to produce a series of unique, First-Person highly visual, multi-media ‘docu-talks’ updated weekly. During the 15th century Niccolo Machiavelli the Italian politician and diplomat wrote: It is much safer to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both Fear has been the hallmark of the rise, survival, then downfall, of the Dictators and Tyrants featured in this contemporary mini-series. Over the past 40 years or so, unscrupulous politicians – in order to stay in power – have relied on military forces, secret police, spies, informants, interrogators and torturers to position themselves as the Supreme Leaders of their countries. There is no cult without fear so at the height of the 20th century, hundreds of millions of people across the globe were
required to ‘glory’ in their Supreme Leader’s authority and power. Failure to cry, cheer, shout on command or show the slightest disrespect carried heavy penalties, imprisonment or execution. And millions suffered this fate. This series uncovers the Cult of Personality in the 20th century: President Enver Hoxha/Albania President Nicolai Ceausescu/Romania Colonel Haile Mariam Mengistu/Ethiopia Emperor Jean-Bedel Bokassa/Central African Republic President Francois Duvalier/Haiti The Kim Cult/North Korea
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FRIDAY 20TH OCTOBER Canford Sixth Form Scholars 11.30AM, MUSIC SCHOOL, SHELLS
At Canford our Sixth Form scholars’ programme sees our talented scholars deliver talks to various groups of Canfordians on topics that interest them. In a first for the Festival of Ideas, three of our Upper Sixth scholars will speak to the entire Shell year group in a set of microtalks. JANAE: ARE WE TOO HARSH ON CRIMINALS? JIMMY: THE ENIGMA CODE WW2 BEE: NORTH KOREAN DICTATORSHIP
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FRIDAY 20TH OCTOBER Emmanuel Jal FROM CHILD SOLDIER TO AWARD WINNING MUSICIAN 12.00PM - 1.00PM, ASSEMBLY HALL, FOURTH, FIFTH AND SIXTH FORM
Emmanuel started his life as a child soldier in the war-torn region of Southern Sudan in the early 1980s. He was eventually rescued by a British aid worker Emma McCune and smuggled to Kenya where he overcame a huge number of struggles to become a successful and acclaimed recording artist and peace ambassador. He now lives in Toronto, Canada. Emmanuel has released seven award nominated studio albums. His live appearances have included Live 8, Nelson Mandela’s 90th Birthday Concert and the One Concert for his Holiness the Dalai Lama. He has collaborated and performed alongside artists such as Lauryn Hill, Xavier Rudd, Peter Gabriel, Nelly Furtado, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, Joss Stone, Ed Sheeran, Nile Rodgers and Alicia Keys.
Emmanuel co-starred with Reese Witherspoon in the Warner Brothers motion picture, The Good Lie which tells the story about the journey of four young Sudanese refugees (based on The Lost Boys of Sudan) who win a lottery for relocation to the United States. The film made its debut to rave reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival before being released in October 2014. Emmanuel has also appeared as the adult lead in the major motion picture Africa United; a Pathé, UK Film Council and BBC Films presentation in association with Warner Bros, released in October 2010.
Drawing on his personal experiences and background, he speaks and performs with a strong message of reconciliation and peace, and has addressed the UN, US Congress, the Carter Centre and the very highest level of several governments. In 2008 a full-length documentary on his life was released. The film, Warchild, won 12 prestigious film festival awards worldwide. In the same year, his autobiography, also called Warchild, was published by Little Brown.
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Canford School, Wimbor ne , Dor set, BH21 3AD 01202 841254 office@canford.com