Outspoken Sex Ed presents a panel discussion…
Doing It Like The Dutch: tips for parents from Holland’s world-class sex ed
Why are Dutch teenagers the happiest in the world? How do the Dutch talk to their children about sex and relationships? And what happened when YouTuber Mimi Missfit took seven British teenagers to Holland on a sex-ed fact-finding mission for the BBC?
Our expert line-up:
- Amsterdam-based journalist Mark Smith
- Primary-school relationships and sex education teacher Jonny Hunt
- Producer of the BBC series Mimi On A Mission: Sex EdIda Bruusgaard
gives parents Netherlands-knowledge insight into how to talk openly with their children about sex and relationships. Expect lively debate on everything from “curving” to consent, and eye-opening video clips, as the panel helps Brits buckle up for some frank conversations.
Mother Pukka founder and Insta-Mum phenomenon Anna Whitehouse, herself half-Dutch, is looking forward to this refresher course on progressive ways of parenting: “The timing couldn’t be better – sex education is in the air, and we’re all trying to figure out how to talk to our children about tricky stuff”
A panel discussion on 12 November at 6.45pm in the Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL
- To book go to brownpapertickets.com/event/4411606
- Early bird tickets £13 (or £15 on the door) – including glass of wine
- Presented by Outspoken Sex Ed: getting parents talking openly about sex, love, pleasure and relationships outspokeneducation.com
More information…
- Outspoken Sex Ed is a social enterprise dedicated to getting parents talking openly about sex and relationships. Outspoken is developing an interactive website, sends out an informative newsletter and delivers topical, inspiring live events to give parents the language, knowledge, skills and confidence they say they need. Established in 2018, it is led by parents Sophie Manning, Yoan Reed and Leah Jewett, who among them have children ranging from toddlers to teenagers to young adults. Ultimately Outspoken is aiming to change the conversation around sex, love, pleasure and relationships – and to work towards a culture that prizes respect, inclusivity and openness
- Parents are the missing link in their children’s relationships and sex education. Talking openly at home reinforces safeguarding, improves mental health and strengthens the parent-child connection.
- How do we know that Dutch sex education is the best in the world?
- Relationships & sex education has been compulsory in all schools from primary age upwards as of 2012. Dutch sex ed is sex-positive and emphasises diversity, safer sex and communication. The internationally renowned Rutgers institute has developed a holistic relationships and sex education curriculum which it exports around the world
- Holland has the lowest teen pregnancy rates in Europe and low teen abortion rates. Under-25s account for only 10% of STIs
- A 2013 Unicef report labelled Dutch children the happiest in the world (with a score
of 8.4 out of 10) and Dutch kids topped the wellbeing charts in 2017 - Dutch teenagers tend to have delayed, and pleasurable, first-time sex
- The Netherlands is one of the world’s most gender-equal countries
- Biographies of our three speakers:
- JONNY HUNT is an independent sex education consultant who creates and delivers workshops for children and trains professionals. All About Me – the sex-education programme he developed for Warwickshire primary schools – is inspired by Spring Fever, the Dutch relationships and sex education (RSE) programme for young children. Jonny specialises in delivering inclusive RSE with a sex-positive approach, encouraging both adults and young people to explore their attitudes and values towards
sex and relationships. Why, he asks, can’t sex and relationships be fun and empowering? - IDA BRUUSGAARD is the executive producer of the BBC series Mimi On A Mission: Sex Ed and managing director of Peggy Pictures, which focuses on discovering young, diverse onscreen talent and telling factual-TV stories that reflect the lives of under-25s. Originally from Norway, Ida won
a gold medal at the New York Festival’s International Broadcast Awards for assistant-producing
Dogs That Changed the World. She has also directed high-rating primetime programmes for Channel 4 (Sharon Horgan: How to be Married) and BBC1 (Heir Hunters, Village SOS). The second series of Mimi On A Mission – about mental health and happiness – will be released in spring 2020 - London-born, Amsterdam-based MARK SMITH is a freelance journalist and editor whose features about life in the Netherlands have seen him canoeing through canals and interviewing extremely tall people for titles including The Times, The Sunday Times, Observer Magazine and The Guardian.
He has edited COS magazine, the Soho House members’ magazine and Time Out Amsterdam.
In his March 2019 Times pieceWhy Dutch youngsters are the world’s happiest teenagers he profiled five adolescent locals and explored the Dutch concept that “no question about bodies or emotions should be off limits”. Mark co-parents a daughter with his husband and their best friend in Holland - Chaired by Outspoken Sex Ed director SOPHIE MANNING
- Funds raised through this event will go towards the development of Outspoken’s new digital resource: a go-to website where parents can access information
and expert advice. It features a series of Mayday Moments – tricky situations parents can find themselves in, ranging from “My toddler finds my tampon” to
“I see that someone has sexted my child” – with responses from our panel of experts
- Please visit outspokeneducation.com
