After walking thousands of miles on annual trips across Florida, activist Lauren Book tirelessly works to raise awareness of the heartbreaking problem of sexual abuse.
On Sunday, the children’s advocate, author and current state Senate candidate will travel thousands of miles more – to Oxford University, in fact. Book is visiting England to give a historic TED Talk on her personal journey from child sexual abuse victim to child protection champion.
In front of a worldwide audience of international media, Book will take the stage at the Oxford New Theatre starting 11:30 a.m. EST (4:30 p.m. in England) Sunday. Book will then tell her story to a standing-room-only crowd in Oxford’s largest venue.
For six years, Book was a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of a nanny. Since then, she has turned those experiences into a movement to prevent such abuse. Working from the premise that knowledge can stop most sexual abuse, Book founded Lauren’s Kids in December 2007 to help victims by “shining light in dark places” to “shed the shame.”
The theme of Book’s TED Talk will focus on “finding your why”– discovering significance in all experiences, even traumatic ones.
Sunday’s presentation will be live-streamed on LaurensKids.org. After the appearance, the video will be available on TED.com.
To commemorate Book’s appearance, Miami-Dade Republican Rep. Erik Fresen made a brief speech Wednesday to the Florida Legislature, honoring the bravery of the Lauren’s Kids founder:
Founded in 1984, TED – Technology, Entertainment, Design – has become a global phenomenon by way of its website and series of popular conferences and presentations that focus on “ideas worth spreading.” More information on Book’s TED Talk is available here.