Echoes of War: Bodies, Voices, Minds
"Never before have there been so many armed conflicts across the globe," reported the Uppsala Conflict Data Program in 2024, stating that the number of state-involved conflicts in 2023 had reached 59—the highest recorded since data collection began shortly after World War II.
With this rise in the number of armed conflicts, have come widespread attacks on healthcare, media and education which are protected under both domestic and international law. How can we prepare and reinforce critical services in the face of rising global instability?
In the Cambridge Festival CRASSH Healthcare in Conflict series, Echoes of War: Bodies, Voices, Minds we explore what the current trajectory of violence tells us about the world we live in today, how we process and make sense of the escalating crisis and the intersections of security, vulnerability, and required resilience within healthcare, education, and the media. By bringing together academics, researchers, and practitioners, we examine the threats these sectors face and discuss what must be done to protect them.
Events
Bodies
Wed 2 April 5.30 - 8 pm
Protecting Healthcare Under Attack – an interdisciplinary response
Venue: Arts Picturehouse, 38-39 St. Andrews Street, CB2 3AR.
Free entry but registration required.
Film: Doctors Under Attack (55 mins) (working title), Basement Films.
Doctors Under Attack tells the story of healthcare workers in Gaza and the risks they endure to deliver care. The film screening will be followed by a discussion with an expert panel:
Panellists:
• Ben De Pear Executive Producer Basement Films, former editor of Channel 4 News and the executive producer for Oscar nominated For Sama.
• Professor Paul Hunt, University of Essex, Law School and former UN Special Rapporteur on the right to the highest attainable standard of health and Chief Human Rights Commissioner, New Zealand government
• Professor Nick Maynard, upper GI consultant surgeon, awarded Humanitarian Medal by King Charles for his teaching of medical students and conducting surgery in Gaza.
• Muhammed Alzebda, Gazan medical student and co-founder of NGO Children Not Numbers.
• Dr Iain Overton - Director of Action on Armed Violence, multi-award-winning investigative journalist, human rights campaigner and author.
Chair: Dr Saleyha Ahsan – convenor CRASSH Healthcare in armed conflict, International Health Systems Group, Dept of Engineering, University of Cambridge.
Voices
Thu 3 April 5.30 - 7pm
Keeping the Storytellers Safe in War – a panel discussion
Venue: The Cambridge Union Society, Keynes Library, 9a Bridge Street, CB2 1UB.
Free entry but registration required.
Panellists:
Tim Singleton Head of International News at Sky News
Dr Mark Grant Vice President of Global Safety, Risk and Resilience Associated Press
Vanessa Bowles Award winning London-based Lebanese/British documentary producer-director.
Elena Cosentino Director of International News Safety Institute (INSI) Former journalist, current affairs documentary filmmaker CNN, ITN, BBC
Welcome by Dorothy Byrne, President of Murray Edwards College, former head Channel 4 news and current affairs.
Chair: Dr Saleyha Ahsan
Minds
Fri 4 April 5-7pm
Delivering Education in Armed Conflict and Telling the Story
Venue: Wolfson College, Gatsby Room, Barton Road, CB3 9BB.
In Collaboration with the Wolfson Global Health Hub, Cambridge Global Challenges, and the Centre for the Study of Global Human Movement/Cambridge Refugee Hub.
Free entry but registration required.
Film screening of BBC Panorama Special: Saving Syria’s Children (55min) followed by panel discussion and Q&A.
Panellists:
Ian Pannell : ABC Chief International Correspondent and reporter for Saving Syria’s Children.
Darren Conway : Emmy and BAFTA award winning filmmaker and cinematographer and director of Saving Syria’s Children.
Natalia Popova: Advisor on humanitarian issues from Kharkiv. After getting her family to safety she remained in Kharkiv to coordinate civilian evacuation and has been involved in numerous educational projects for children in Ukraine.
Mohammed Assi: Syrian student who suffered severe burns on attack on Syrian school, education advocate on behalf of students impacted by war.
Dr Rola Hallam: British/Syrian Former consultant anaesthetist, humanitarian doctor featured in Saving Syria’s Children.
Professor Pauline Rose: Professor of International Education and Director of the Research for Equitable Access and Learning (REAL) Centre, Faculty of Education.
Dr Eolene Boyd-MacMillan Social Psychologist, Co-Director of IC Research, Cambridge Public Health, Co-founder, IC-ADAPT Consortium, University of Cambridge
Chair: Dr Saleyha Ahsan