Schedule
Cutting Edge
We’re looking forward to you being part of our online Cutting Edge conference.
Here is the schedule.
If you haven’t registered yet - for your free place - please do so now by completing the registration form. Please note, the schedule is subject to change.
Day One - Tuesday 1st July
Main Plenary Session
Time: 9am - 11am and 4pm - 6pm (British Summer Time)
These are two, identical, two-hour sessions that will include speakers, panelists and discussion groups. Choose the time that works best for you!
-
Speaker: Menchit Wong (Lausanne Movement)
Bio: Menchit Wong has dedicated her life to advocating for children. For 30 years, Menchit served with Compassion International as both country director for the Philippines and as the international child advocacy director. She was a catalyst for the Lausanne Children-at-Risk Network, and now serves as co-vice chair of the Lausanne Movement’s international board. She is also part of the leadership team of the relaunched 4:14 Movement. Menchit has an MBA and is a Gallup-certified Strengths Coach. As an executive coach and a leadership development trainer, she is equipping managers working in various industries and companies in the Philippines.
-
Description: This year, funding for the global aid and development sector has experienced a seismic shift. What has really happened? What is the impact? And how might churches and Christian organisations respond?
Presenter Bio: Dr. Winnie Fung is the Chief Executive of CEDAR Fund, an independent Christian relief and development organisation in Hong Kong. She is a development economist with a PhD in Business Economics from Harvard University and an MA in Biblical Studies from Wheaton College. Her expertise is in food security, famine and malnutrition, smallholder farming and agricultural policies, as well as anti-human trafficking. Her passion lies in poverty alleviation, integral mission, and faith-based relief and development. Prior to joining CEDAR, Dr. Fung was an Associate Professor of Economics at Wheaton College and Academic Head at Lumina College.
-
Description: We will be exploring:
> How to strengthen families intergenerationally.
> Positive parenting.
> Economic strengthening.
> What we can learn from those strengthening families in refugee settlements.Speakers:
Pastor Matthew Ling (Family Challenge – World Evangelical Alliance)
Pastor Matthew Ling was the Senior Pastor at Calvary Family Church in Malaysia for 20 years before stepping down in 2013 to focus on serving churches in developing effective family ministries. A Certified Family Life Educator who completed postgraduate studies in Family Life Education at Concordia University in the USA in 2008, Matthew is a professional member of the National Council on Family Relations and a licensed trainer with the Family Friendly Partners Network ministry in Michigan, USA.
Matthew provides global leadership to the Family Challenge of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) and chairs the Family Life Commission of the Asia Evangelical Alliance. He also leads the family ministry development in the Transform World and the 4-14 Window movements.
Santa Lamunu
Santa Lamunu is the Director of Women Rising for Humanity and Development, a women-led organisation focused on protecting vulnerable populations in both host and displacement settings. Previously, Santa worked with UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, supporting communities in building their capacities to prevent, mitigate and respond to violence against women and children. She promotes community-led protection and is skilled in behaviour change approaches. Santa also served as Women's Protection and Empowerment Manager at the IRC, where she championed resilience, economic empowerment and leadership for survivors of gender-based violence. Santa is a passionate facilitator/trainer.
Carol Talima
Caroline Talima serves at CRANE (Children at Risk Action Network) as the Children in Safe Spaces Programs Manager. In this role, she offers management and oversight of projects that create and maintain a secure and supportive environment for children to thrive. She previously worked as a partnership facilitator with Compassion International, where she provided consultation and technical advice to implementing partners and built their capacity to achieve effective, holistic child development. As a Child Development Officer and Project Director at a Compassion-assisted Project at Kampala Baptist Church, she was involved in the day-to-day affairs of supporting over 600 children to ensure that they excel holistically.
-
Description: Dr Susan Hillis will share the story of how God has placed her at the intersection between church, science/academia, government, and missions, to improve the lives of millions of children.
Presenter Bio: Dr. Susan Hillis serves at Oxford University and Imperial College London as senior research officer and co-chair of the Global Reference Group on Children Affected by Crisis. She was previously a career officer and senior scientist at the US Government’s Centers for Disease Control and has more than 150 scientific publications. She was a co-author of World Health Organization’s landmark publication, ‘INSPIRE: Seven strategies for Ending Violence Against Children.’ Susan is an adoptive mother of 11 children and serves a senior technical advisor for the World Without Orphans movement.
Workshop Sessions
Times: See below.
These are optional workshop-style sessions. Participate in them all, or none - it’s up to you. These will include presentations, opportunities to learn from one another, and space to ask questions.
-
Description: Learn from those with experience of strengthening families and share how you approach family strengthening in your work.
Laurie Markle will be showcasing Parenting for Lifelong Health’s digital tools.
Caroline Talima will be providing example of how CRANE (Children at Risk Action Network) in Kampala, Uganda strengthen families through positive parenting training and economic strengthening programmes.
Santa Lamunu will be exploring what we can all learn from her work strengthening families in refugee settlements. -
Description: Learn from networks CARNet Nepal, Viva Network Peru, Red Viva Costa Rica and Viva Network Zimbabwe about successful models of informal educational support, how they are reducing the risk of school drop-out and supporting children to increase educational goals. In this workshop, we will discuss the importance of a holistic approach engaging multiple community actors and how they build effectiveness for young people and sustainability of impact and programme longevity.
-
Description: Parents and caregivers play a critical role in supporting children during crises. When caregivers are equipped with self-care and emotional regulation skills, they are better able to find hope to sustain their own wellbeing, giving them the capacity to better support the children in their care. Find out how ‘Hope Groups’ are making this possible.
-
More information to follow soon.
Informal Meet Up Sessions
Arrive early and/or stay late, because between each session there will be the opportunity to informally meet with other conference participants. Including opportunities to ask presenters questions.
Day Two - Wednesday 2nd July
Main Plenary Session
Time: 9am - 11am and 4pm - 6pm (British Summer Time)
These are two identical, two-hour sessions that will include speakers, panellists and discussion groups. Choose the time that works best for you!
-
Presenter Bio: Julie Kamya is an experienced inclusive education consultant currently working on programmes in a leading initiative that builds the resilience of education systems to identify and include learners with special educational needs at all levels. Prior to this, she led the CRANE (Children at Risk Action Network) team for over 10 years in delivering the UKAID-funded Girls’ Education Challenge, increasing access to education for 10,923 marginalised girls, including direct support to girls with disabilities. Her management skills have also been used in roles with ChildFund and Chum International, and her practical knowledge and experience complement her academic qualifications, which include two Master's degrees.
-
Description: AI is rapidly reshaping many aspects of everyday life. Whether you approach AI with eager anticipation about its positive possibilities or with fear and trepidation, it is going to have significant implications for us all in the years to come. This presentation will explore how AI, if used well, could enhance how we care for children – including children who have experienced trauma.
Presenter Bio: Dr Rob Hall is the President of Global Trauma Alliance, a division of Trauma Free World. Dr. Hall leads a team dedicated to innovation and alliance-building, using AI to massively scale mental health, personal wellness, and trauma-care initiatives. Its AI Large Language Model is poised to radically scale access to trauma-informed caregiver resources “to anyone, anywhere; on any device; in the learner’s first language; for free to the user.” With a doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Kentucky, an M.Ed. in Counseling from Xavier University, and a B.S in Biblical Studies from Cincinnati Bible College, Dr. Hall’s educational and professional background provides a unique blend of knowledge, innovation, and people-helping skills.
-
Description: Our expert panel of Julie Cooper from Trauma Free World, Barbara Clarke from Resilient Kids South Africa, Heather McNiel from Anchored Hope and Ruth Stephens from Join the Dots will discuss the importance of practitioners prioritising trauma-informed care with practical examples of how Connect Network in South Africa are supporting churches and organisations on their journey to becoming trauma-informed. From this session, we hope you will come away encouraged that the challenges you face are shared and with a connection to further ideas for action.
Speakers:
Julie Cooper (Trauma-Free World)
Barbara Clarke (Resilient Kids South Africa)
Heather McNiel (Anchored Hope)
Heather is Connect South Africa’s gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) Project Director and coordinates their trauma-informed initiatives. She has been working with survivors of GBV, child sexual violence, and other forms of trauma since 2001. Heather serves on the board of Kibwe Kids Children’s Homes and is the director of Anchored Hope, an organisation that builds initiatives in partnership to offset the impact of intergenerational trauma. She holds a Master's Degree in Intercultural Studies (2000) and is a graduate of the Institute for Transformational Leadership. Heather has served as a lecturer for the Cornerstone Institute and is currently an assessor and lecturer for the African Leadership Institute for Community Transformation. She is passionate about seeing followers of Jesus take hands and supporting local leaders to cultivate wholeness in the most challenging communities.
Ruth Stephens (Join the Dots)
Ruth founded the charity Join the Dots, which serves to equip those whose Christian ministry involves supporting people who have experienced adversity, by providing training, resources and consultation. She has been involved in church leadership for many years and is a registered Occupational Therapist specialised in working with children with a trauma background. She also holds an MSc in Attachment studies and a Counselling certificate.
-
Description: Bolivia’s first female football (soccer) referee will share her story and the part Red Viva Bolivia played in it.
Presenter Bio: Red Viva Bolivia referee
Workshop Sessions
Times: See below.
These are optional workshop-style sessions. Participate in them all, or none - it’s up to you. These will include presentations, opportunities to learn from one another, and space to ask questions.
-
More information coming soon.
-
More information coming soon.
-
More information coming soon.
-
Find out more about Viva’s vision, mission and approach - and how you could get involved.
Informal Meet Up Sessions
Arrive early and/or stay late, because between each session there will be the opportunity to informally meet with other conference participants. Including opportunities to ask presenters questions.
Day Three - Thursday 3rd July
Main Plenary Session
Time: 9am - 11am and 4pm - 6pm (British Summer Time)
These are two, identical, two-hour sessions that will include speakers, panelists and discussion groups. Choose the time that works best for you!
-
Description: “Everything interesting happens at the edge.” It’s at the edges where things intersect and we will begin the final day of this conference thinking about how finding solutions to big problems will require us to work with people we never expected to, and bring together sectors and ideas that might not naturally align.
Presenter Bio: Phil Green has been CEO of Viva since 2022 and has more than 20 years of experience supporting churches and organisations to work together to have more impact on the lives of children and young people. He is the co-catalyst for the Lausanne Movement's Children at Risk issue network, a member of the Global Reference Group for Children Impacted by Crisis, and a member of the leadership council for the Homecoming Project – a UK-based campaign promoting family-based care. He is on the board of World Without Orphans – Europe. -
Description: Climate change is having, and will continue to have, a significant impact on vulnerable children and their families. What will some of the impacts be? Why must we act immediately? And, what might some of those actions be?
Presenter Bio: María Alejandra Andrade Vinueza is an Ecuadorian theologian, sociologist and childhood specialist, with a passion for issues related to spirituality, faith and justice. She has spent over 15 years accompanying Christian communities in their engagement with justice and development in different places around the world. Her current research areas include environmental justice, migration, gender and decolonial theologies. She currently serves as Tearfund’s Theology and Network Engagement Global Lead.
-
Description: Our expert panel involving speakers from Philippines Children’s Ministries Network (PCMN), ECPAT Latin America, SafeToNet and International Justice Mission (IJM) Philippines will help to unpack the difficult but critical topic of online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC) and how each of us has a part to play in prevention and response. We’ll learn more about current global trends and issues, be inspired by emerging solutions, and focus on learning from how PCMN have modelled an approach bringing together young people, grassroots organisations, international non-governmental organisations and the government to address this issue collaboratively, and consider how we could apply this approach in a global context. We’ll also hear from youth advocates on their perspective on this issue.
Speakers:
Maria Cristina Jurado (PCMN)
Fabio Gonzales Florez (ECPAT)
Fabio González Flórez is the Regional Coordinator for Latin America at ECPAT International, the largest global network dedicated to combating child sexual exploitation around the world, headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand. He coordinates articulated action among experts in the fight against sexual exploitation of children and adolescents in fourteen countries in the region, leading advocacy actions between bodies such as the United Nations and the Organization of American States. A psychologist from the Universidad de los Andes, he serves as an international advisor on matters related to the promotion and protection of children's and adolescents' rights, supporting governments, police authorities, and civil society in developing regulatory frameworks and public policies.
-
Description: Rob Lilwall is a NatGeo TV adventurer who speaks extensively on what he learnt - and what we can too - from his expeditions, on bicycle and foot, over 50,000km.
Workshop Sessions
Times: See below.
These are optional workshop-style sessions. Participate in them all, or none - it’s up to you. These will include presentations, opportunities to learn from one another, and space to ask questions.
-
More information to follow soon.
-
Widlack (Viva Network Zimbabwe)
Description: Child participation can be challenging for children in intolerant or oppressive environments. Hear real-life examples about how Viva Network Zimbabwe successfully helped children overcome cultural, religious, and systemic barriers that silence children’s voices—especially in traditional and high-control contexts - and helped them become influential contributors.
Bio: Widdlack is the director of Viva Network Zimbabwe (VNZ) and a leading voice in child protection, transformative leadership, and community empowerment. With deep experience in research, pastoral training and social justice engagement, he equips civil society organisations and faith and community leaders to challenge harmful practices and elevate children as active participants in shaping their futures.
Fe A. Foronda (PCMN)
Description: Drawing from experiences in the Philippines, Fe will give practical examples of participatory practices, particularly sharing the story of one child who engages in child participation in governance in her village.
Bio: Fe A. Foronda, the National Director of the Philippine Children's Ministries Network (PCMN), is a child rights advocate whose tireless work with local governments and various stakeholders improved the child protection mechanism and instituted policy reforms in various cities of the Philippines, sustainably keeping children safe from abuse and exploitation.
Armi A. Martinez(Share an Opportunity – PCMN)
Bio: Armi A. Martinez, a mother of three, and a grandmother to three adorable children, is the Executive Director of Share An Opportunity Philippines, a member organisation of Viva’s partner network Philippine Children Ministry Network (PCMN). She supports child-mindful community transformation processes.
Maritza Sibila (National Alliance - RENACSENIV Network)
Bio: Maritza is the director of the children's department of the National Alliance in Venezuela, and they implement programmes through the RENACSENIV Network in partnership with VIVA. She is a pastor in Caracas with extensive experience in the development, implementation, and evaluation of projects for the comprehensive care of children and adolescents. She works in partnerships with national and international churches and non-governmental organisations.
-
More information coming soon.
Informal Meet Up Sessions
Arrive early and/or stay late, because between each session there will be the opportunity to informally meet with other conference participants. Including opportunities to ask presenters questions.
-
Shared Vision
Connect with people passionate about making more impact in the lives of children and eager to see churches and organisations working better together.
-
Learning
Use this opportunity to learn from academics, theologians and practitioners – and that includes other participants having the opportunity to learn from you.
-
Practical Action
Be inspired, and equipped, to take practical steps to make a bigger, better and longer-lasting impact in the lives of children.
-
Intersections
It’s at the edges where things intersect. Join us at this conference and gather with people from different sectors who have various expertise and experiences.
