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The World Health Assembly (WHA) is an annual gathering of Ministers of Health, health leaders and delegations from all 194 United Nations Member States. In addition to official WHA plenary and committee meetings, there are also many events held on the sidelines of WHA.

World Health Assembly

The State of Development Discourses – #CohesiveDevelopment with Prof Koen De Feyter on Shifting Conceptions of Development in International Law.

Center for Human Dignity and Development (CHDD), IMPRI Impact and Policy Research Institute and Centre for Development, Communication and Studies (CDECS), Jaipur invites you to IMPRI – #WebPolicyTalk

The State of Development Discourses – #CohesiveDevelopment

Shifting Conceptions of Development in International Law
Details of the #WebPolicyTalk:
Date: June 23, 2021
Time: 12 PM IST
Platform: Zoom and Facebook Live

Speaker:
Prof Koen De Feyter
Professor, Public International Law; Spokesperson, Law and Development Research Group, Law Faculty, University of Antwerp Belgium

Moderator:
Prof Sunil Ray
Former Director, A. N. Sinha Institute of Social Studies, Patna; Advisor, CDECS and IMPRI

&nbsp;

Impact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI)

Shifting Conceptions of Development in International Law

Building evidence for transforming agricultural innovation systems under climate change

The fifth in a series of webinars to set a path for transformation in agricultural innovation systems, in the lead up to COP26.

The session will provide an opportunity for participants to question and discuss the estimates, and also share their views on the highest priority areas for investment. How far is global investment in innovation today from where we need to be to support a transformation in the agricultural system to meet the SDGs and climate goals? This session will provide the latest global, regional and country estimates of the ‘investment gap, by experts from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)’ and the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture Intensification (CoSAI).

CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)

What Investment in Innovation is Needed for Transforming Agricultural Systems in the Global South?

Invisible Women, Invisible Problems

The loss of a partner is devastating. For many women around the world, especially in developing countries, that loss is magnified by a long-term struggle for their basic needs, their human rights and dignity.

The pandemic has just worsened the situation during the past several months with a devastating human loss, and one that is likely leaving tens of thousands of women newly widowed at just the time when they are cut off from their usual socio-economic and family supports.

Experience from past pandemics, for example HIV/AIDS and Ebola, shows that widows are often denied inheritance rights, have their property grabbed after the death of a partner, and can face extreme stigma and discrimination, as perceived ‘carriers’ of disease. Worldwide, women are much less likely to have access to old age pensions than men, so the death of a spouse can lead to destitution for older women. In the context of lockdowns and economic closures, widows may not have access to bank accounts and pensions to pay for healthcare if they too become ill or to support themselves and their children. With lone-mother families and single older women already particularly vulnerable to poverty, this is an area that needs urgent attention.

There are an estimated 258 million widows around the world, and nearly one in ten live in extreme poverty. But, the actual number is likely to be much higher and to grow further as the coronavirus and its related effects on health continue to rage around the world. As women they have specific needs, but their voices and experiences are often absent from policies that impact their survival.

Towards Progress for Widows

The United Nations observes 23 June as International Widows Day (<a href="http://undocs.org/A/RES/65/189" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolution A/RES/65/189</a>) since 2011, to draw attention to the voices and experiences of widows and to galvanize the unique support that they need.

Now more than ever, this day is an opportunity for action towards achieving full rights and recognition for widows. This includes providing them with information on access to a fair share of their inheritance, land and productive resources; pensions and social protection that are not based on marital status alone; decent work and equal pay; and education and training opportunities. Empowering widows to support themselves and their families also means addressing social stigmas that create exclusion, and discriminatory or harmful practices.

Furthermore, Governments should take action to uphold their commitments to ensure the rights of widows as enshrined in international law, including the <a href="http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women</a> and the <a href="https://www.unicef.org/crc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Convention on the Rights of the Child</a>. Even when national laws exist to protect the rights of widows, weaknesses in the judicial systems of many States compromise how widows’ rights are defended in practice and should be addressed. Lack of awareness and discrimination by judicial officials can cause widows to avoid turning to the justice system to seek reparations.

Programmes and policies for ending violence against widows and their children, poverty alleviation, education and other support to widows of all ages also need to be undertaken, including in the context of action plans to accelerate achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

In post-conflict situations, widows should be brought in to participate fully in peacebuilding and reconciliation processes to ensure that they contribute to sustainable peace and security.

And in the context of COVID-19, widows must not be left out of our work to “build back better”. Let us ensure that our recovery prioritizes their unique needs and supports societies to be more inclusive, resilient and equal for all.

United Nations

International Widows’ Day 2021

In global higher education research, making decisions about whether to attend higher education and which course and institution to choose are widely recognised to be impacted by intersecting factors such as gender, ethnicity and social class. India is no exception, with caste also featuring as an important factor in higher education choice. This presentation focuses on a specific setting, namely the state of Haryana in North India, but relates the findings on higher education choice to global discourses relating to access to higher education. The findings are drawn from a five-year project primarily funded by the Fair Chance Foundation, on gender and access to higher education in the North Indian state of Haryana. The key sites for this project are government colleges, which are relatively low cost, localised institutions providing higher education in India. The presentation is based on Phase I from this project, namely a mixed methods case study of three colleges in three districts of Haryana, and Phase II, an in-depth qualitative study of the involvement of family in higher education decision making. We construct higher education choice as a spatial practice which is gendered according to contextual cultural practices relating to the protection of feminine honour and chastity, the development of breadwinner-style masculinity, and where gendered expectations of young people translate into spatial restrictions on higher education access and choice.

Project Twitter: @FCF Haryana

Project website: www.warwick.ac.uk/haryana

Speakers:
<ul>
 	<li>Emily Henderson, Associate Professor, Department of Education Studies, University of Warwick, UK (Twitter: @EmilyFrascatore)</li>
 	<li>Nidhi S. Sabharwal, Associate Professor, Centre for Policy Research in Higher Education, National Institute for Educational Administration and Planning, India (Twitter: @01Nidhi)</li>
 	<li>Anjali Thomas, Doctoral Candidate, Department of Education Studies &amp; IAS Early Career Fellow, University of Warwick, UK (Twitter: @AnjaliThomas001)</li>
</ul>
Bios:

Dr Emily F. Henderson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Education Studies, University of Warwick. Emily's research lies in the areas of gender and higher education; the academic profession, academic mobility and conferences; poststructuralist and feminist theory and research methodology. Emily's current research projects include a 5-year project on gender and higher education in Haryana, India. She is also She is co-editor of the academic blog<a href="https://conferenceinference.wordpress.com/"> Conference Inference: Blogging the World of Conferences</a> and author of Gender Pedagogy (Palgrave, 2015) and Gender, Definitional Politics and 'Live' Knowledge Production (Routledge, 2020), and co-editor of Starting with Gender in International Higher Education Research (Routledge, 2019) and Exploring Diary Methods in Higher Education Research (Routledge, 2021).

Dr. Nidhi S. Sabharwal is currently an Associate Professor and the In-Charge at the Centre for Policy Research in Higher Education (CPRHE), National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), New Delhi, India. Dr Sabharwal has previously served as the Director at the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies, New Delhi. Dr. Sabharwal's current research projects include a multi-state study on student diversity and social inclusion in higher education institutions; an evaluation study of the coaching programmes for the socially excluded groups such as the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, the other backward classes and the minorities in Universities and Colleges and is key research partner in a 5-year project on gender and higher education in the state of Haryana, India. She is the co-author of Caste, Discrimination, And Exclusion in Modern India (Sage, 2015), co-editor of Bridging the Social Gap: Perspectives on Dalit Empowerment (Sage, 2014), and co-editor of India Higher Education Report 2016: Equity in Higher Education (Sage, 2018).

Anjali Thomas is a PhD candidate at the Department of Education Studies at the University of Warwick, United Kingdom, and an Early Career Fellow in the Institute of Advanced Study. Her PhD is being funded by the Fair Chance Foundation and the University of Warwick. Her PhD research has informed the Fair Chance for Education Project on gendered pathways to educational success in Haryana, India. Her doctoral research explores the role of families in the gendered educational trajectories of undergraduates accessing Higher Education in Haryana. She has also worked with CORD (Collaborative Research and Dissemination) and ICRW on a qualitative research project. She is interested in exploring researching gender and educational choices.

This seminar is part of the open research series, 'Education, the global South, and Beyond', at the Department of Education. It is being held Thursdays lunchtime, 1 to 2 pm, in the Zoom meeting room. This series aims to create an interactive space for postgraduate students, doctoral and early career researchers, scholars, research practitioners and faculty to meet in a relaxed, supportive and collaborative environment to discuss topics of international education, development and related issues. A Zoom link will also be shared on the Diversity, Equity and Education Collective (DeCol) webpage.

DeCol is a network of international scholars, mostly doctoral, postdoctoral and early career researchers working on issues of education and development. It will aim to expand research and practice in education and beyond by inclusion of multi-disciplinary perspectives, creative approaches, and contextualised understandings of multiple lived realities and experiences in diverse international contexts.
Everyone warmly welcome!

Brunel University London

Seminar: Gendered catchment areas for higher education choice in Haryana, India

We are pleased to invite you to save the date and <a title="//www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/fish-passage-2021-tickets-148714040699. Click or tap if you trust this link." href="https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eventbrite.co.uk%2Fe%2Ffish-passage-2021-tickets-148714040699&amp;data=04%7C01%7Ckmulligan%40usgs.gov%7Cecf302c3193c49e88f0708d8f9a19d02%7C0693b5ba4b184d7b9341f32f400a5494%7C0%7C0%7C637533819819942161%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=g2SptXaT8scuCugEi6amneSRcYUK%2BTZRLhV4%2BkxjxD4%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">register</a> for Fish Passage 2021 hosted digitally from June 21 - 24!

The theme of this year’s four-day international webinar is Global Solutions for River Connectivity Issues. Now is the time to come together as a community to focus on the future of river connectivity.

Fish Passage experts will present the best international showcase projects and research from across the world, covering a wide range of globally relevant fish passage topics. Over the course of 4 days we will organize 2.5 hours sessions each day, making sure to give people from all continents the opportunity to attend.

We are still working on the exciting program, hosted in The Netherlands at the Fish Migration River and Haringvliet sluices. We will have live on-site interviews from around the world, messages from our sponsors, discussion panels, and would like to invite you to nominate a keynote for this conference.

We are looking for people who can give us powerful talks covering a range of inspiring case studies and topics from across the world. If you know of a person or project that fits this criteria - please <a title="//forms.office.com/r/BWYpTF6ZLg. Click or tap if you trust this link." href="https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fforms.office.com%2Fr%2FBWYpTF6ZLg&amp;data=04%7C01%7Ckmulligan%40usgs.gov%7Cecf302c3193c49e88f0708d8f9a19d02%7C0693b5ba4b184d7b9341f32f400a5494%7C0%7C0%7C637533819819952117%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=37vBQfHCVQqdyvMYD4TVpMA6aAqqj06b574OMbNYbfs%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">nominate them here</a>. (deadline: 23 April).

For any questions, contact the event coordinator Kerry Brink (World Fish Migration Foundation) at <a href="mailto:kerry@fishmigration.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">kerry@fishmigration.org</a>.

World Fish Migration Foundation

Fish Passage 2021

Join us for a special event organised by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) ,Government of India &amp; Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations, New York on Flag of India’s efforts to achieve 2030 Agenda.

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India

Accelerating Citizen-Centric Energy Transition: India's 2030 Agenda | UN High-Level Dialogue on Energy 2021

YouthLead Ambassadors will discuss the current state of access to quality education in their countries and what can be done to improve.

As we continue to strive for a world where all youth around the globe have access to a quality education, we must advocate for equitable access as a basic human right as well as address societal inhibitors to universal education. Join two YouthLead Ambassadors from India and Venezuela on Friday, June 25, 2021 to discuss the current state of access to quality education in their countries and what can be done to improve upon them.

With one of the largest populations in the world, India is experiencing a growing inequity gap that is leaving many youths who cannot afford a private education underserved. Shirya Shankar will describe the unique challenges faced by India that began in 2009 with the introduction of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE) that is driving a gap between children being educated at public schools and those whose families can afford to send them to private schools. Shirya Shankar will explore how several nonprofits are working to address this issue—including her own, the Project Sitara Foundation, which provides inclusive and accessible education to children from underserved communities in Karnataka, India.

In Venezuela, three out of 10 school-aged people are excluded from the education system, and those students who are enrolled face a dearth of reliable transportation, study areas, and scholarships—all of which are contributing to a high rate of student desertion. At the same time, teacher dropout is high, reflecting working conditions that are among the worst in Latin America. Paola Martinez Landrian will explore how the decline of Venezuela’s educational system has been affected by larger systematic pitfalls and their driving factors, and propose specific policy recommendations for these issues.

YouthLead

Education as a Human Right: Insights from Venezuela and India

A two day online conference focusing on developing prosocial games as a means for violence prevention in India, Jamaica, Uganda and the UK.

Play. Talk. Change. is a youth-led initiative from the globally pioneering None in Three Research Centre.

Ni3 takes its name from the statistic that 1 in 3 women worldwide will experience gender-based violence (GBV) in their lifetime. Ni3's mission is to make this 0 in 3. They do this by bringing together social science researchers with game developers to create innovative, interactive, anti-violence computer games.

At the heart of Ni3's work is the certainty that young people have the power to change the world. By working together with the next generation we can build a future free from GBV.

Through Play. Talk. Change. they are empowering young people to speak against violence and to share their insights on the processes, the challenges and the potential of creating research-driven, prosocial computer games to end violence.

PTC will take place online on Thursday 24th &amp; Friday 25th June.

None in Three

Play. Talk. Change.

2021 campaign - Fair Future for Seafarers

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, seafarers found themselves both on the front line of the global response and subject to difficult working conditions surrounding uncertainties and difficulties around port access, re-supply, crew changeovers, repatriation, etc.

In light of this, the 2020 Day of the Seafarer campaign focused its message around urging governments to recognize seafarers as key workers and ease travel restrictions for them to facilitate crew changes.

The 2021 Day of the Seafarer campaign will continue to encourage governments to support seafarers amid the pandemic but will expand its message, calling for a fair future for seafarers.

The campaign will discuss issues that will still be relevant to seafarers after the pandemic, such as fair treatment of seafarers, fair working conditions (in line with <a href="https://www.ilo.org/global/standards/maritime-labour-convention/lang--en/index.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ILO's Maritime Labour Convention</a>), fair training, fair safety, etc.

International Maritime Organization

Day of the Seafarer 2021

Torture seeks to annihilate the victim’s personality and denies the inherent dignity of the human being. Despite the absolute prohibition of torture under international law, torture persist in all regions of the world. Concerns about protecting national security and borders are increasingly used to allow torture and other forms of cruel, degrading and inhuman treatment. Its pervasive consequences often go beyond the isolated act on an individual; and can be transmitted through generations and lead to cycles of violence.

The United Nations has condemned torture from the outset as one of the vilest acts perpetrated by human beings on their fellow human beings.

Torture is a crime under international law. According to all relevant instruments, it is absolutely prohibited and cannot be justified under any circumstances. This prohibition forms part of customary international law, which means that it is binding on every member of the international community, regardless of whether a State has ratified international treaties in which torture is expressly prohibited. The systematic or widespread practice of torture constitutes a crime against humanity.

On 12 December 1997, by <a href="http://undocs.org/A/RES/52/149" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolution 52/149</a>, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 26 June the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, with a view to the total eradication of torture and the effective functioning of the <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CAT.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment</a>.

26 June is an opportunity to call on all stakeholders including UN Member States, civil society and individuals everywhere to unite in support of the hundreds of thousands of people around the world who have been victims of torture and those who are still tortured today.

Recovering from torture requires prompt and specialized programmes. The work of rehabilitation centres and organisations around the world has demonstrated that victims can make the transition from horror to healing. The <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Torture/UNVFT/Pages/Index.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture</a>, administered by the <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Pages/Home.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UN Human Rights Office in Geneva</a> is a unique victim-focused mechanism that channels funding for the assistance to victims of torture and their families. The UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture <a href="http://donatenow.ohchr.org/torture.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accepts donations</a>.

Why do we mark 26 June?

The UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on 26 June marks the moment in 1987 when the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, one of the key instruments in fighting torture, came into effect. Today, the Convention has been ratified by 162 countries.

What constitutes torture?

"[T]he term 'torture' means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions." — Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984, art. 1, para.1)

Legal standards and instruments

In 1948, the international community condemned torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in the <a href="http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Universal Declaration of Human Rights</a> adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. In 1975, responding to vigorous activity by non-governmental organizations(NGOs), the General Assembly adopted the<a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/DeclarationTorture.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.</a>

During the 1980s and 1990s, progress was made both in the development of legal standards and instruments and in enforcement of the prohibition of torture. The <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Torture/UNVFT/Pages/Index.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture</a> was established by the General Assembly in 1981 to fund organizations providing assistance to victims of torture and their families.

<a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CAT.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment</a> was adopted by the General Assembly in 1984 and came into force in 1987. Its implementation by States parties is monitored by a body of independent experts, <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/cat/pages/catindex.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Committee against Torture</a>.

The<a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Torture/SRTorture/Pages/SRTortureIndex.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> first Special Rapporteur on torture</a>, an independent expert mandated to report on the situation of torture in the world, was appointed by the Commission on Human Rights in 1985. During the same period, the General Assembly adopted resolutions in which it highlighted the role of health personnel in protecting prisoners and detainees against torture and established general principles for the treatment of detained persons. In December 1997, the General Assembly proclaimed 26 June United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

The United Nations has repeatedly acknowledged the important role played by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the fight against torture. In addition to lobbying for the establishment of United Nations instruments and monitoring mechanisms, they have made a valuable contribution to their enforcement. Individual experts, including the Special Rapporteur on torture and the <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Women/SRWomen/Pages/SRWomenIndex.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Special Rapporteur on violence against women</a>, and treaty monitoring bodies such as the Committee against Torture rely heavily on information brought to their attention by NGOs and individuals.

International Day in Support of Victims of Torture 2021

Small businesses, including those run by women and young entrepreneurs, are being hit hardest by the economic fall-out of the pandemic. Unprecedented lockdown measures enacted to contain the spread of the coronavirus have resulted in supply chain disruptions and a massive drop in demand in most sectors.

To continue playing their crucial role in creating decent jobs and improving livelihoods, small businesses depend more than ever on an enabling business environment, including support for access to finance, information, and markets.

Let's not forget that these enterprises, which generally employ fewer than 250 persons, are the backbone of most economies worldwide and play a key role in developing countries.

According to the data provided by the International Council for Small Business (ICSB), formal and informal Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) make up over 90% of all firms and account, on average, for 70% of total employment and 50% of GDP.

That is why the General Assembly <a href="http://undocs.org/A/RES/71/279" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declared</a> 27 June Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day, to raise public awareness of their contribution to sustainable development and the global economy.

Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day 2021

Sayfty Trust &amp; Villoo Poonawalla Foundation are co-hosting a two-day virtual summit for women (including those who identify as transgender) and other non-binary people in India focussed on “self-care during the COVID-19 pandemic”. The Consulate General Of Canada in Mumbai will co-host Day 2 of the summit with sessions focussed on mental health. Benetton India, and Juicy Chemistry, to assist in providing 100 self-care kits to women working on the front lines during this pandemic.

‘243 million women and girls aged 15-49 have been subjected to sexual and/or physical violence perpetrated by an intimate partner’ in the 12 months preceding the pandemic. (UN Women, 2020). There is a heightened sense of isolation and loneliness. Stay-at-home orders in 2020-21 (to contain the spread of COVID-19) further force vulnerable groups to be isolated with violent partners and unable to access help. Moreover, the pandemic has intensified women's mental health, unpaid care and domestic workloads.

The Self-Care Summit is your space to focus on your mental and physical health. You can heal, connect, &amp; engage with a community. Sessions focussed on nutrition, finding happiness, fitness and dance, yoga and mindfulness, beauty, and art therapy will be hosted by experts.

“When it comes to self-care, women often put themselves last. With the pandemic, an increasing number of women, transgender, and other non-binary people are dealing with health worries, restrictions on movement, financial insecurity, and cramped living conditions. Now, more than ever, we as women need to focus on self-care. The summit is a dedicated and safe space for the same”. - Dr. Shruti Kapoor, Founder, Sayfty Trust

Speakers

Keynote speakers include Natasha Poonawalla, Deirdre Kent &amp; Dr. Shruti Kapoor.

Sayfty

Sayfty Self-Care Summit

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About this Event

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The next round of Can You Poet seeks to explore identity, history, heritage and diaspora deriving from the South Asian region.

With poets and storytellers charting heritages from both the Global North and the Global South incuding Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Britain, Sri Lanka, Uganda and more, the South Asian diaspora is massive and this round of Can You Poet will discuss some of the experiences of people that identify as South Asian.

I am really looking forward to learning from this eclectic mix of people from both the Global North and Global South. Hosted by the North of England's-own Shabnam Anam with a TBC guest speaker, this looks to be another belter of a line-up that you won't want to miss.

https://www.facebook.com/events/811046523123110 #canyoupoet

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Tre Ventour

Can You Poet: South Asia Speaks

Brooklyn Raga Massive is proud to announce the beginning of our Social Justice Series. This series of concerts, events, and activities is a platform for the voices of artisan communities and a place to share valuable resources on how to be better allies through decolonized art and critical activism.

The first season of the Social Justice Series will be dedicated to the contributions and influences of tawaifs: often reductively defined as courtesans, tawaifs are female-identifying entertainers who served as community authorities on art and adaab (etiquette). They were also teachers, innovators, and revolutionaries who lent their talents to India’s first gramophone recordings and movies as well as countless musical, dance, and literary compositions. Due to British-styled social reformism and the erasure of non-dominant-caste women’s artistic contributions in both post-colonial India and Pakistan, however, the profession of tawaif became stigmatized with matrilineal tawaif communities nearing extinction today.

Registration is for all 4 events. We will send email reminders

May 14, 7pm EDT Screening of "Pakeezah" (1972)

We open the series with a timeless Bollywood classic and an invitation to consider how tawaifs are understood in the post-colonial Indian imagination. Pakeezah tells the story of a tawaif living in Lucknow at the turn of the 20th century. Considered the masterpiece of director Kamal Amrohi, the movie features a gorgeous Hindustani-inspired soundtrack and the legendary actress Meena Kumari.

May 21, 7PM EDT Screening of "The Other Song" (2009)

In contrast to the dramatized Bollywood narratives in Pakeezah, this documentary by director and author of Tawaifnama, Saba Dewan, explores the contemporary history and musical traditions of matrilineal tawaif communities in Varanasi, Lucknow, and Muzzafarpur, India.

June 17, 1PM EDT Reading Group for Tawaifnama by Saba Dewan (2017)

An elaboration on Dewan’s “The Other Song,” Tawaifnama is a beautifully written and detailed ethnography on tawaif communities in Varanasi, Lucknow, and Muzzafarpur, India. Given the length of the book, participants are encouraged to focus on the chapters “Ibtida,” “Dharmman Bibi,” “Pyaari Bai: Radio Singer,” “The Law,” and “Kab Tak Mere Maula.”

June 29, 8PM EDT Panel Discussion

The series will culminate in a panel discussion featuring artists, activists, and scholars who can speak to strategies for uplifting tawaifs’ contributions to the arts as well as avoiding the erasure of artists on the basis of their gender, occupation, and faith.

Brooklyn Raga Massive

Tawaif: Gender and Power in South Asian Arts | Panel Discussion

The Global Education Summit: Financing GPE 2021-2025 will be a key moment for the global community to come together and support quality education for all children.
A centerpiece of the summit will be the opportunity for leaders to make 5-year pledges to support GPE's work to help transform education systems in up to 90 countries and territories.

Registration

The Global Education Summit: Financing GPE 2021-2025 will take place on July 28 and 29, 2021. The summit will use a hybrid format, with participants attending live sessions on our virtual platform and a small in-person event in London, if travel restrictions allow.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta will co-host the summit.

Details on the summit program, speakers and event logistics will be available here soon.

See also our frequently asked questions about the summit.

Campaign launch

Watch Prime Minister Johnson, President Kenyatta and others at the launch of the financing campaign on October 12, 2020: https://youtu.be/xVYr0OyCU0A

Show your support

To show world leaders that education matters, take part in our campaign and raise your hand for education.

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