David Morley spoke at the second annual Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Lecture: Janusz Korczak, the Father of Children’s Rights: Turning Rights into Action.

The event, moderated by Kit Krieger, started with welcoming remarks by Prof. Mark Beauchamp, Associate Dean Research at the Faculty of Education, and was followed by presentations by Bernard Richard, the BC Representative for Children and Youth, Jerry Nussbaum, the president of the Janusz Korczak Association of Canada (JKAC) and Lillian Boraks-Nemetz, author and a board member of JKAC. The keynote lecture, How we can make Canada a great country for kids, by David Morley and a Q&A period closed the evening.

A recording of this event will be available soon.

Click for The Jewish Independent report.

Lecture Abstract:

UNICEF has published fourteen Report Cards on the state of children and youth in high-income countries over the past seventeen years. The comparative analyses focus on why countries with similar resources and capacities achieve different outcomes for young people. Over time, a pattern has emerged that has become more and more alarming. Canada is losing momentum to improve outcomes for children and youth, and losing ground relative to our peers. Lagging outcomes and persistently wide gaps between children in health, violence and their own sense of well-being show up in the statistical evidence. Why do we rank 25^th out of 41 rich nations in the latest UNICEF Report Card? How can we move the needle?

David Morley, President and CEO of UNICEF Canada, will share new insights from UNICEF’s research and discuss the areas where Canada is performing well, where we’re falling behind and where we must actively turn our attention to cultivate better, more equitable outcomes for children and youth.

About the Speaker:

David Morley is the President and CEO of UNICEF Canada, a leading humanitarian organization dedicated to helping children around the world survive, thrive and reach their full potential.

A prolific international speaker, commentator, human rights advocate and mobilizer, David has more than thirty years of experience advancing children’s rights and sustainable development on the world stage.

David is a passionate voice for the world’s most vulnerable citizens, who has dedicated his career to improving the lives of children and communities in Canada and around the world.

Under David’s leadership, UNICEF Canada has played a key role in driving Canadian efforts to advance global child survival and mobilized Canadians across the country in an unprecedented response to the Syrian humanitarian crisis.

Prior to joining UNICEF Canada, David served as Executive Director of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors without Borders Canada, as President and CEO of Save the Children Canada and was the founding Executive Director of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship.

A recognized leader in the field, David currently teaches at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, and is the Chair of the Canadian Partnership for Women and Children’s Health. He has also served on the Board of Directors for several prominent organizations, including the Stephen Lewis Foundation and the Canadian Council for International Cooperation and has acted as a mentor with the Trudeau Foundation.

David completed his Master of Education from the University of British

Columbia and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Carleton University.