Event

July 3 @1:00 – 2:30pm

This event has ended. You can find the recording here:

On the 3 July, our panel from Queen Mary University of London, Oxfam, and War Child Alliance discussed the psychological impact of war among children in Palestine. We discussed the potential interventions to address trauma over the short and longer-term, during this mental health crisis.

CHAIR

Dr. Saleyha Ahsan, emergency medicine doctor and PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge

Dr. Saleyha Ahsan is an emergency medicine doctor currently doing a PhD at the University of Cambridge, looking at clinical impacts of attacks against healthcare in armed conflict. She has an LLM in International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. Dr. Ahsan freelances as a filmmaker on content related to healthcare and conflict. Prior to medicine, Saleyha was a British Army officer.

 

SPEAKERS

Dr. Sevasti Foka, Senior Lecturer in Psychology – Queen Mary University of London

Dr. Foka is a senior lecturer in counselling psychology at Queen Mary University of London. Her research work focuses on the development of effective preventive measures for disadvantaged child populations. In 2018, Foka developed the “Strengths for the Journey” (SFJ) project which is based on a resilience-building intervention and designed specifically for war-affected children. Since 2018, the SFJ intervention has been delivered in humanitarian contexts in Greece, Lebanon and Kenya.

 

Bushra Khalidi, Policy lead for the Occupied Palestinian Territory –OXFAM

Bushra Khalidi has a background in advocacy, communication, campaigns, and media management. Prior to Oxfam, she worked at Save the Children Palestine and as a UK lawyer for asylum-seeking children, focusing on humanitarian issues affecting Palestinian youth and specialising in children’s rights advocacy. Bushra’s expertise includes leading international humanitarian advocacy efforts, implementing comprehensive strategies, and providing legal support to vulnerable children.

 

Kieran King, Head of Humanitarian – War Child Alliance

Kieran King is the Head of Humanitarian for the War Child Alliance, overseeing the organisation’s emergency programmes globally including the current response in Gaza. With an academic background in Psychology, Kieran has spent the past 15 years in humanitarian leadership roles across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, including two years in the occupied Palestinian Territory with Save the Children International.