START
Fri, May 22, 2020 at 09:30am
END
Fri, May 22, 2020 at 10:30am
NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED
9:30–10:30 AM EST // 6:30–7:30 PM PKT // 7:00–8:00 PM IST // 7:30–8:30 PM BST
Venue: Virtual via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83985695617
This event will also be streamed on Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/MittalInstitute/
Moderator
- Zainab Qureshi, LEAPS Director, Evidence for Policy Design (EPoD), Harvard Kennedy School
Panelists
- Asim Ijaz Khwaja, Director, Center for International Development; Sumitomo-Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development Professor of International Finance and Development, Harvard Kennedy School
- Fernando Reimers, Ford Foundation Professor of Practice in International Education; Faculty Director, International Education Policy
COVID-19 has shut down traditional education programs throughout South Asia, from primary education to higher education. This panel will discuss the unique challenges the region is facing in the education sector, such as access to technology and the potential long-term effects of distance learning. Additionally, the panelists will address two pressing questions:
- What will be the short- and long-term effects of this disruption to education?
- How are countries responding and preparing to mitigate these effects?
START
Thu, May 14, 2020 at 09:00am
END
Thu, May 14, 2020 at 10:30am
9:00–10:30 AM EST // 6:00–7:30 PM PKT // 6:30–8:00 PM IST // 7:00–8:30 PM BST
Venue: Virtual via Zoom: https://harvard.zoom.us/j/95936810474
Speakers
- Jacqueline Bhabha, Professor of the Practice of Health and Human Rights, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
- Lucicia Ditiu, Executive Director, Stop TB Partnership
- Purnima Menon, Senior Research Fellow, Poverty, Health, and Nutrition Division, International Food Policy Research Institute
- Poonam Muttreja, Executive Director, Population Foundation of India
- Vikram Patel, Pershing Square Professor of Global Health, Harvard Medical School
Discussant
- Paul Farmer, Kolokotrones University Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Co-Founder and Chief Strategist, Partners In Health
START
Fri, Jun 12, 2020 at 09:00am
END
Fri, Jun 12, 2020 at 10:30am
NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED
9:00–10:30 AM EST // 6:00–7:30 PM PKT // 6:30–8:00 PM IST // 7:00–8:30 PM BST
Venue: Virtual via Zoom: https://harvard.zoom.us/j/99118872916
This event will also be streamed on Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/MittalInstitute/
Moderators
- Dr. Elora Chowdhury, Professor, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, University of Massachusetts, Boston
- Dr. Durba Mitra, Assistant Professor, Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, Harvard University
Speakers
- Taslima Akhter, Photographer and Organizer, Bangladesh Garments Sramik Shanghati
- Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua, Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh
- Dr. Seuty Sabur, Associate Professor, Department of Economics and Social Sciences, BRAC University, Bangladesh
- Dr. Dina Siddiqi, Clinical Associate Professor, Liberal Studies, New York University
- Dr. Nafisa Tanjeem, Assistant Professor, Global Studies and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Lesley University
The global apparel industry is currently facing an unprecedented crisis resulting from the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Major fashion retailers in the Global North are closing their stores and laying off workers. The same brands that demonstrated strong public commitment for protecting the safety and security of Bangladeshi garment workers after the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013 are not hesitating to cancel or suspend orders or delay payments. Thousands of workers are currently out of work and facing a unique livelihood, as well as a health threat.
Bangladeshi local labor rights organizers are urging the garment factory owners and the Bangladesh government to stop laying off workers, pay the unpaid salary, and enact health safety protocols at the workplace. On the other hand, Bangladeshi garment factory owners and international labor rights groups are exclusively targeting the global brands and asking them to take responsibility for the workers. What is missing in the local and global COVID-19 organizing initiatives is an understanding of how focusing exclusively on either the global brands or the local Bangladeshi actors – such as the government and the factory owners – creates an unfortunate disjuncture between local and global labor organizing priorities and fails to address global capitalism’s creative ways of feminizing and racializing garment workers’ bodies and labor across the supply chain.
By bringing together labor rights organizers and critical scholars, this webinar addresses: How can we move beyond the spotlight approach of focusing on one actor of the apparel supply chain at a time? How can we engage in dialogues and organizing across borders to simultaneously hold the global retailers, governments, and factory owners accountable for ensuring workers’ safety and wellbeing? What does a transnational resistance that is mindful of the power differences between labor organizers in the Global North and the Global South look like?
START
Thu, Apr 16, 2020
END
Sat, Apr 18, 2020
More information here: https://bylc.org/resiliencesummit2020/
Facebook Live: facebook.com/youthleadershipcenter
South Asia, home to more than one-fourth of the world’s population, is set to be one of the hardest hit regions in the world by COVID-19, as the region endures prolonged lockdowns. The economic impact here is likely to be greater than the health impact, as countries in the region do not have the fiscal space or safety nets for flattening the curve by halting production and economic activity.
To facilitate a conversation on the adaptation that will be required to address the current crisis, Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC) is organizing the South Asia Youth Resilience Summit 2020, on April 16-18, to be hosted live on Facebook. On each of the three days, we will have a moderated conversation with a global expert for an hour on how youth in South Asia can build resilience and navigate the complexities of present times caused by COVID-19. In addition, there will be panel discussions on each of the three days on issues ranging from youth leadership, entrepreneurial ecosystems in South Asia in a post-pandemic world to staying resilient in times of crisis.
START
Fri, Apr 24, 2020 at 09:00am
END
Fri, Apr 24, 2020 at 10:30am
NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED
9:00–10:30 AM EST // 6:30–8:00 PM IST
Venue: Virtual via Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/97716400365
Moderator:
- Dr. Jennifer Leaning, Professor of the Practice of Health and Human Rights at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Panelists:
- Dr. Caroline Buckee, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
- Dr. Sheila Jasanoff, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies, Harvard Kennedy School
- Dr. Victoria D’Souza, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University
This panel will provide a deeper understanding of the science behind the COVID-19 virus. Panelists will explore the place of science in the COVID-19 response, as well as transmission of the virus throughout South Asia using mobile network data.
Additional Resources:
Please note that there will be a maximum attendance capacity to the above Zoom session. A link to the session will be provided on our website, social media platforms, and to our mailing list the day prior to the event.
START
Fri, Apr 17, 2020 at 09:00am
END
Fri, Apr 17, 2020 at 10:30am
NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED
9:00–10:30 AM EST // 6:30–8:00 PM IST
Venue: https://zoom.us/j/95140903915
Moderator:
Dr. Vikram Patel, Pershing Square Professor of Global Health, Harvard Medical School
Panelists:
Dr. Richard Cash, Senior Lecturer on Global Health, Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Dr. Sabina Faiz Rashid, Dean and Professor, BRAC James P. Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University
Dr. Shamika Ravi, Senior Fellow of the Governance Studies Program, Brookings Institution
Dr. Srinath Reddy, President, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI)
What has been the impact of the policy response to COVID-19 on the ground in South Asia? Were these policies proportionate and appropriate? What consequences might they have? This panel will offer an overview of the varied in-region responses to the virus and their impact on the health system and social sector.
START
Thu, Feb 20, 2020 at 05:00pm
END
Thu, Feb 20, 2020 at 07:00pm
The panelists will discuss India’s recent legislation on citizenship and what it means for the nation’s future.
This event is hosted by the Harvard University Asia Center and co-sponsored by the Mittal Institute.
Speakers:
- Suraj Yengde, Dalit scholar, activist, and postdoctoral fellow, Harvard Kennedy School
- Esha Meher, Lawyer, Supreme Court of India
- Hemanth Bharatha Chakravarthy, Sophomore, Harvard College
Moderator:
- Sugata Bose, Gardiner Professor of Oceanic History and Affairs, Harvard University
START
Tue, Feb 25, 2020 at 05:00pm
END
Tue, Feb 25, 2020 at 07:00pm
In South Asia, the current debate around issues of citizenship has ignited divisions and unrest; however, the roots of these issues stretch back much further. This interdisciplinary panel will explore the post-Partition history of citizenship in the region, legal and constitutional developments, and the issues at play on both sides of recent legislation and counter-movements.
Panelists
- Sana Aiyar, Associate Professor of History, MIT
- Kalyani Ramnath, Prize Fellow in Economics, History, and Politics, Harvard University
- Sahana Ghosh, Postdoctoral Fellow in International and Public Affairs, Brown University
- Suchitra Vijayan, Founder and Executive Director, The Polis Project
Moderator
- Rohit De, Associate Professor, Yale University
Related Reading
Ashu Varshney gives testimony at USCIRF Hearing on Citizenship Laws and Religious Freedom
