ADVOCATES
DIRECTOR, ADF INTERNATIONAL (UK)
Ryan Christopher serves as director of ADF International (UK) in London.
Ryan Christopher serves as director of ADF International (UK) in London.
In this role, Christopher leads the advocacy efforts of ADF International in the United Kingdom, and acts as a liaison for politicians, media, and other NGO allies working on shared mission issues. He also writes on the relationship between philosophy, law, and freedom of expression. Christopher is the founding member of the London office.
Christopher is a sought-after public speaker on issues involving philosophy, theology, and the public square and has made several media appearances, including BBC News at Ten, SKY News, and BBC radio.
Prior to joining ADF International, Christopher held positions of senior responsibility in Catholic schools.
Christopher has worked within the UK Parliament on equality legislation and is a trustee of the Christian Heritage Center at Stonyhurst. He maintains a passion for Christian education and is currently establishing a Common Good Scholarship to enable young people to serve as articulate Christian leaders in public life. Christopher is also a co-founder of the Humanum Institute, which specializes in anthropological philosophy from a Christian perspective.
Christopher studied philosophy at the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas, Rome and theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome. He obtained a BA (MA Cantab) in History from the University of Cambridge, UK, specializing in the history of political and religious thought.
Today, the Department for Education released a report titled “Higher Education: Free Speech and Academic Freedom”, which recognises the harmful effects of censorship at UK universities, and lays out new proposals to tackle the problem.
Are universities stifling students’ views? Midwifery student Julia Rynkiewicz believes so, and her newly-settled case provides one such example.
A midwifery student was forced to suspend her studies after facing a fitness to practise investigation over her involvement with a pro-life society. Julia Rynkiewicz, a final year midwifery student at the University of Nottingham, was subject to an almost 4-month long investigation after concerns were raised about her involvement with the “Nottingham Students for Life” society
A pro-life student society – “Nottingham Students for Life” – has been granted affiliation by the University of Nottingham Students’ Union after the initial decision to deny the group affiliation was challenged.
