Bebo Unveils Speaker Line-up for 'No To Knives Coalition' Symposium, July 7 in London

Social innovation to take centre-stage at Regent's Park event

London, UK, June 24, 2009 -- AOL-owned Bebo today announced the line-up of guest speakers at the UK's first event to address the use of social media as a conduit for tackling societal issues that diminish young people's quality of life.

The No to Knives Coalition, of which Bebo is a founding member, has been tasked by the Prime Minister with delivering campaigns that will positively influence young people's behaviour. Social networks can be a tremendous force for good in the lives of young people, by offering access to independent, expert advice from support organisations and helping them to acquire the collaborative skills needed to become engaged citizens.

Dr Rachel O'Connell, chief safety officer, Bebo said: "We're proud to be organising this event, which will explore how social networks can be effectively and creatively harnessed through initiatives designed to meet a whole range of young people's social, educational and wellbeing needs."

As an initial step towards establishing a holistic approach for helping abate knife crime in the UK, the Symposium, the first of a series, will explore social innovation - where technology and individual or organisational altruism meet to combine resources and expertise - for bringing collective 'actioning' power to the UK's most pressing societal problems.

Bebo will be joined by a cross-section of subject experts and No to Knives Coalition members, including the following speakers:

* Martina Milburn, Chief Executive, The Prince's Trust and Co-Chair of the No to Knives Coalition www.princes-trust.org.uk
* Dr. Rachel O'Connell, Chief Safety Officer, Bebo
* Alistair Morgan, Director of Programming, Bebo
* Steve Moore, Founder and Director, Policy Unplugged www.policyunplugged.org
* John Carr, Internet Safety Advisor, Children's Charities' Coalition on Internet Safety
* Amy Sample Ward, Global Community Builder, NetSquared www.netsquared.org
* Stephen Greene, CEO, RockCorps www.rockcorps.com
* Jonathan Nicholas, CEO, Inspire Foundation, Ireland
* Emma Healey, Beat www.b-eat.co.uk
* Efrem Buckle, and Robert Prendergast, co founders, Urban Mission www.urbanmission.org.uk

Event Date and Location

The Symposium will be held on 7 July 2009 at Regent's College, Inner Circle, Regent's Park, London, NW1 4NS.

Event Registration

Attendance at the Symposium is free, by invitation-only and on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information go to: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/369462071.

Source: Bebo