The Confidence Poem Animation Launch Event Hosted by Professor Dawn Edge, Academic Lead for EDI (Race, EthnicIty, Religion and Belief) Please join us for the launch of The Confidence Poem animation! This event will showcase an animation aiming to boost children's confidence, while taking culture, diversity and individuality into consideration. Invitation We are honoured to invite senior leaders, headteachers, governors, teachers, parents, carers, and the university community to the launch event of The Confidence Poem animation. This event is an excellent opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions about fostering confidence in children while acknowledging our individual roles in embracing different cultures and diversity in the approach. Event Highlights: An introduction to The Confidence Poem and its journey to becoming an animation. Insights into the importance of fostering confidence in children. Exploration of taking culture and diversity into consideration when fostering confidence in children. Opportunity to provide feedback and comments. Please note that this is an adult-only event, as we value your feedback and comments on the animation. Event Schedule: Welcome Opening remarks and introduction. Introduction to The Confidence Poem Animation An overview of the importance of building confidence in early years. Animation Creation Background Presentation by Kofi Owusu on the creation process of the animation. Student Testimonial A student shares their personal experience related to confidence-building Animation Screening Viewing of the animation. Comments and Feedback Open floor for comments and feedback from attendees. Closing Remarks Final speech and request for consent to contact for follow-up feedback. We look forward to your participation in this special event to help us create an impactful animation that nurtures confidence in every child. Biographies: Laverne Condappa-Ward I am a self-published author passionate about capturing the essence of self-esteem and confidence through my writing including poetry, drawing inspiration from my unique lived experiences. Born in one country and raised in another, my multicultural background has deeply influenced my writing. My previous career in Childrens Services within the Local Authority has heightened my understanding and commitment to the "Every Child Matters" approach, emphasizing the importance of early years development. With years of experience in Administration at the Local Authority and current experience in Education Services at the University of Manchester, my skills have been developed in creating an environment that supports growth and learning. In addition to my professional endeavours, I have actively contributed to the advancement of equality and inclusion. As a previous Chair of the BAME Staff Network and an Equalities Union Representative, I have led initiatives to support and empower underrepresented communities. My volunteer work as a Coach at the University of Manchester focuses on closing the awarding gap for Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic students, reflecting my dedication to promoting equity in education. My journey is one of advocacy and creativity, driven by a belief that early development shapes futures and that every voice deserves to be heard and celebrated. Kofi Owusu I am a Senior Systems Architect (Digital Systems) in the Faculty of Science and Engineering at the University of Manchester with over twenty years experience in software development, virtual reality (VR), animation and games development, hardware, geographical information systems (GIS) and various areas of computing and IT. These interests have been shaped by an engineering, business administration, and computing background. As a member of the Faculty's Computing, Robotics, and AI team, I have co-responsibility in IT matters for the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences with some teaching, and is also the Computing Manager of the North Africa Research Group (NARG) where I lead a small but dedicated team to build a geospatial database holding over 25 years of geological research data. I have previously held research positions at the University of Manchester, the Manchester Metropolitan University and Edge Hill University.