Lecture Series
The Allen Lane Foundation has been holding Lectures since 1979, often on an annual basis.
Many have taken place at the impressive Ismaili Centre in South Kensington, and more recently at The Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn.
The most recent Lecture was held on 4th October 2024 at Gray’s Inn to a wide and varied audience. Trustees were delighted that our Lecturer was Dr Alison Frater. The Lecture was titled ‘Health, Arts and Justice: Women in the Criminal Justice System’ A transcript is available here: 2024 Allen Lane Lecture Transcript alongside the accompanying slides here: 2024 Allen Lane Lecture Presentation.
Alison is an advocate of ‘Arts for All’. From being chair of the National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance for six years and chairing Clean Break Theatre Company, an organisation working to enable women to reach their full potential free from criminalisation, she became aware of how arts organisations working in prisons transform lives. She is a consultant in public health and returned to front line practice to work on the impact of Covid-19, including on domestic abuse. Throughout her career, Alison has fought for women’s rights with leadership roles working to tackle health inequalities. She is an experienced Director of Public Health having held posts in Bristol, Hampshire and London also working in the voluntary sector, as Chief Officer at the Brook Advisory Centres. She is currently public health lead researcher on a probation based mental health study at UCL with men who have committed serious violent crimes . She writes on arts, health, and justice in the scientific, medical and general press most recently in a Fabian booklet on creating strong social justice systems for women.
Past Lecturers have included Mary Robinson, former President of the Irish Republic, The Bishop of Oxford the Rt Rev Richard Harries, and Helen Bamber OBE.
The 2018 Allen Lane Foundation Lecture was held on Thursday 4th October by Neil Jameson CBE, the Lead Organiser and Executive Director of Citizens UK. The Lecture was titled “Citizens are made not born: putting democracy into action”. The text of the Lecture can be found here. Trustees were deeply saddened to hear the news that Neil had passed away in 2023.
2016 marked the 50th anniversary of the Foundation. The anniversary Lecture was given by Dame Anne Owers, Chair of the Independent Police Complaints Commission and Clinks. The Lecture was entitled “Inside Out – Pathways to Rehabilitation”. You can access a copy of the Lecture here.
The 2014 Lecture was given by Danny Kushlick of Transform Drug Policy Foundation and titled “Improving Social Justice by Ending the War on Drugs”.
In 2011, Maurice Frankel gave a Lecture entitled “Freedom of Information: requiring decisions to be taken in the public interest”. The text of the Lecture can be found here.
2009’s Lecture was given by Kathleen Duncan OBE. “Hard Times but Great Expectations – The Current Financial Climate and The Third Sector” The text can be found here.
The Rt. Hon. Frank Field MP spoke in 2008. “Acceptable Behaviour Contracts for the Super Rich” The transcript can be found here.
In 2007, Claire Morpurgo, daughter of Sir Allen Lane gave the Foundation’s 40th year anniversary Lecture: “Allen Lane, the man and his Foundation” Text can be found here.
Steven Burkeman gave the 1999 Allen Lane Lecture, and we are pleased to have a copy of the text of the Lecture here in celebration of its 20th year anniversary. Steven Burkeman lecture
