In partnership with the Janusz Korczak Association of Canada and British Columbia’s Representative for Children and Youth, the UBC Faculty of Education presents the Dean’s Distinguished Lecture and the Janusz Korczak Medal and Statuette for Children’s Rights Advocacy Awards Ceremony.

Colonialism entrenched inequality as a lived reality for many Indigenous peoples around the world. This presentation talks about what colonialism is, how it birthed multi-generational inequality and what can be done, including academically, to achieve justice in change-resistant environments.

Event Description

The Faculty of Education is pleased to partner with the Janusz Korczak Associationof Canada (JKAC) in presenting the Dean’s Distinguished Lecture. The distinguished lecture series highlights the ongoing work of those who seek to advance children’s rights in Canada and is presented in partnership with the JKAC as a way of continuing the legacy of Janusz Korczak, a Polish-Jewish doctor and educator, who in 1942 perished in Treblinka along with nearly 200 orphans in his care.

Following the Distinguished Lecture, Directors of the JKAC presented the Janusz Korczak Scholarship in Children’s Rights and Indigenous Education, Janusz Korczak Association of Canada Statuette, and the Janusz Korczak Association of Canada Medal.

Distinguished Speaker

Dr. Blackstock is a member of the Gitksan First Nation with over 25 years of social work experience in child protection and Indigenous children’s rights. Her research interests are Indigenous theory and the identification and remediation of structural inequalities affecting Indigenous children, youth and families.

An author of over 50 publications and a widely sought after public speaker, Dr. Blackstock has collaborated with other Indigenous leaders to assist the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in the development and adoption of a General Comment on the Rights of Indigenous children. Recently, she also worked with Indigenous youth, UNICEF and the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to produce a youth-friendly version of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child. Her promotion of culturally-based and evidence-informed solutions has been recognized by the Nobel Women’s Initiative, the Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, Frontline Defenders and many others.

Dr. Blackstock is the 2017 recipient of the Janusz Korczak Medal.