RJ Week event: Meet the speakers
This is a blog by our Communications and Campaigns Manager, Keeva Baxter.
We are honoured to be joined by three exceptional speakers for our event this Restorative Justice Week. The event, ‘Damage and Repair: The voices of Restorative Justice’ will offer an insight into the minds of people who have been through the Restorative Justice process on all sides. It is a free, online event taking place on the 20th of November.
For the past year and a half, Why me? have been curating an archive of stories, recording 20 years of Restorative Justice in the UK. Through oral history interviews, we have gathered the experiences of a range of people who have been harmed by crime, people who have caused harm and professionals working in the sector. The collection will be archived in the British Library for decades to come, but this launch event will offer a chance to hear a selection of these powerful stories for the first time. We will be joined by a panel of speakers who have been involved in both Restorative Justice and the ‘Damage and Repair’ project.
Who is on the panel?
Jo Berry
Jo Berry, CBE is a UK-based international speaker, peacebuilder, and founder of the charity Building Bridges for Peace. Her work emerged from a deeply personal tragedy: in 1984, her father, Sir Anthony Berry MP, was killed in the IRA bombing of the Brighton hotel. Out of this loss, Jo embarked on an extraordinary journey of reconciliation that led her to meet Patrick Magee, the man responsible for planting the bomb.
Their groundbreaking dialogue—documented by the BBC in Facing the Enemy and featured in the film Beyond Right and Wrong and the play The Bomb—has become a symbol of the transformative power of empathy and forgiveness. Through their ongoing work together, Jo demonstrates how even the most profound conflicts can be healed through compassion and courageous conversation.
Jo’s message of hope and human connection has reached audiences worldwide, from Lebanon to South Korea. She regularly speaks at international conferences and contributes to global discussions on peacebuilding, restorative justice, and conflict transformation. Her insights are used in academic and professional training on reconciliation and peace studies across the world.
Beyond speaking, Jo designs and facilitates workshops on conflict resolution, difficult conversations, and navigating uncertainty—helping individuals, organisations, and communities move from division toward understanding.
A trained Restorative Justice facilitator, Jo advocates nationally for restorative approaches as a foundation for healing and justice. In recognition of her exceptional contribution to peace and reconciliation, she was awarded a CBE in the King’s Honours.
Khamran Uddin
Khamran Uddin is an ex-offender who served a custodial sentence in 2012 for a violent crime. Once deeply entangled in gang culture, drugs, and street violence, his path to transformation began while he was still behind bars.
Although Restorative Justice wasn’t part of his sentence plan, Khamran made the courageous decision to take part voluntarily – a choice his co-defendants didn’t share. He completed the programme in two different prisons yet continued to feel a deep need to make amends. Years later, with the support of his probation officer, he finally met one of his victims face to face – a moment that would redefine his understanding of accountability, empathy, and healing.
Today, Kam is a respected public speaker and a passionate advocate for rehabilitation and change. His story inspired the acclaimed play The Listening Room by Harriet Madeley, and he has shared his experiences with audiences at youth clubs, Manchester University, the BBC One Show, BBC Radio 4, NPR Radio, the National Arts & Alliance Conference, and the CFT Conference in Birmingham.
Having recently launched his new podcast, The Inner Voice, Kam is also finalising his debut memoir – a powerful reflection on the effects of an unstable home, childhood trauma, and the long road from self-destruction to self-discovery. Through his story, Khamran offers not just insight, but a blueprint for change – showing that no matter how far one has fallen, redemption is always within reach.
Wendy Mclean
Since 2019, Wendy has volunteered as a Restorative Justice facilitator with Resolve West in Bristol, and for the past two years she has been an RJC-accredited Advanced Practitioner. Before this she had a long and varied career in the media. Wendy was a volunteer interviewer for our Damage and Repair project, travelling the country to interview people who had been through the restorative process, using an oral history interview technique. Wendy will bring her expertise from facilitating complex cases, and her journey across the course of the project to the panel, to discuss the impact she has seen Restorative Justice make to the people involved, the importance of effective communication and the power of spoken stories.
