National Adoption Week 2023
This year, National Adoption Week brings together adopted people from different generations to celebrate how adoption has evolved.
Watch our short, emotional and life the changing film about modern adoption. See how those adopted in more recent years have a much greater understanding of their heritage and are able to be more open about their family history and relationships.
Modern adoption encourages families to explore and celebrate their family history, enabling them to form a positive sense of identity and belonging.
Reasons to adopt
It’s important for adopted people to be able to celebrate their unique life stories.
Key points
- Modern adoption is changing and puts children and their sense of identity at the heart of the adoption journey.
- In adoption today, there is a greater emphasis on the openness of adoption, helping children understand their history and maintain connections with their birth family, when it is safe and appropriate to do so.
- Ongoing relationships with birth relatives or friends can be crucial for adopted people to understand their identity.
- Over the last five years, there has been a 23% decrease in the number of children being adopted.
Can you provide a family home?
National Adoption Week 2023 Photography.
To celebrate National Adoption Week a group of adopted people — from baby boomers to Gen Z — have come together to share their story as part of a powerful new photo series.
Royal, fashion and portrait photographer Philip Sinden, who was adopted, captured the collection of portraits featuring those adopted between the 1960s and 2010s.
Each individual portrait features a backdrop of emotive and poignant words that bring to life how adoption has shaped, and continues to shape, their lives and highlights how adoption has changed over the years.
Philip said:
“It was such a pleasure and privilege to photograph such a wonderful group of people for national adoption week, and hear each of their unique stories of how adoption has shaped who they are today. I was adopted in the 1970s and unfortunately didn’t know much about my history growing up, but more recently have been on a journey to find out more about it. It is encouraging to see and hear from some of the stars of our portraits about how positive they feel about their experiences and how much adoption has evolved.”
