Olivia Bentley and Johnny I’Anson join Are Kids Still Part of the Plan?

Birth rates are falling fast across the developed world. On the final day of LIFI26, a panel at Leeds Playhouse asks why, and what it means for the societies we’re choosing to leave behind.

Two new names have joined that conversation.

Olivia Bentley, TV personality and mental health advocate best known for Made in Chelsea, joins Are Kids Still Part of the Plan? on Saturday 10 October, 2pm to 3.30pm in the Courtyard Theatre.

She is joined on the panel by Johnny I’Anson, broadcaster and BBC Radio 5 Live presenter, bringing a male perspective to a conversation too often framed as a women’s issue.

Hosted by Laura Hamilton, the panel also features Dr SJ Beard, Yousra Samir Imran and Betty Mukherjee, examining the cultural, economic, scientific and emotional forces reshaping modern parenthood, from the cost of living and career pressure to fertility treatment and the value we place on freedom.

It is a frank conversation about a decision more and more people are making, or putting off, or having made for them. Expect it to get personal.

Are Kids Still Part of the Plan?

Saturday 10 October, 2pm to 3.30pm | Courtyard Theatre, Leeds Playhouse

Host: Laura Hamilton Panel: Dr SJ Beard, Olivia Bentley, Johnny I’Anson, Yousra Samir Imran, Betty Mukherjee

Tickets on sale now at leedsintfest.com. LIFI newsletter subscribers get exclusive subscriber pricing on selected events.