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SAI Event Type : Panel

Extreme Urbanism: A View on Afghanistan, Session 3

START
Sat, Oct 24, 2020 at 10:30am

END
Sat, Oct 24, 2020

VENUE
Webinar

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Session 3: Contemporary Architecture and Urbanism in Afghanistan

This event belongs to a 3-part series. 

Join via Zoom: https://harvard.zoom.us/j/97722356429
Join via YouTube: https://youtu.be/6o0LnWj2Qsc

Our final session in our Extreme Urbanism series will explore modern and contemporary architecture and urbanism in Afghanistan.

Until recently, Afghanistan was omnipresent in global news for the past two decades for all of the wrong reasons. As part of the Option studio, Extreme Urbanism VII: Imagining an Urban Future for Ishkashim, offered at the Harvard GSD in the fall of 2020, this workshop/lecture series aims to propose to interested audiences the opportunity to get an updated, informed view on the country.

Addressing primarily architectural, urban, and territorial aspects of Afghanistan, this cycle of talks aims to create a platform where varied topics ranging from vernacular architecture and building traditions to infrastructure and cultural specificities are discussed in conjunction with issues related to historic settlements and contemporary planning in Afghanistan. The speakers will include academics from Harvard University and Kabul University, in addition to global experts, and practitioners working in or on Afghanistan.

Chair
  • Rahul Mehrotra, Professor of Urban Design and Planning, Harvard Graduate School of Design
Speakers
  • Ajmal Maiwandi, Director, Aga Khan Trust for Culture
  • Anne Feenstra, Founder and Principal, Sustainable Mountain Architecture, Kathmandu; Former Dean of Architecture, CEPT University, Ahmedabad
  • Koukaba Mojadidi, Architect and Founder, Wingspan Architects
  • Ramin Sadiq, Head of Urban Planning and Design Department, Kabul University

This series is organized by the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute at Harvard University, the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat.


Gandhi’s Gift: Successful Mass Nonviolence and India’s Decolonization

START
Fri, Nov 20, 2020 at 12:00pm

END
Fri, Nov 20, 2020 at 01:30pm

VENUE
Webinar

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Register for the event: https://bit.ly/3ixS06q

Rikhil R. Bhavnani, Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, will discuss his latest work exploring the structures and history of non-violent civil disobedience during the Indian struggle for democratic self-rule.

In this presentation, Bhavnani will focus on his joint work with Stanford’s Sumitra Jha, which you can read here “Gandhi’s Gift”.

Rikhil R. Bhavnani is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and a faculty affiliate at the La Follette School of Public Affairs, the Elections Research Center and the Center for South Asia.

Professor Bhavnani’s research and teaching focus on inequalities in political representation, the political economy of migration, and the political economy of development. His research is particularly concerned with causal identification, and is focused on South Asia. Bhavnani is the co-author, with Bethany Lacina, of a book on the backlash against within-country migration across the developing world, published by Cambridge University Press. His articles have been published or are forthcoming in the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, World Politics, the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, and other outlets.

Prior to starting at UW–Madison, Professor Bhavnani was a visiting fellow at the Center for the Study of Democratic Politics at Princeton University. He has worked at the Center for Global Development and the International Monetary Fund, and received a PhD in political science and an MA in economics from Stanford University, and a BA in political science and economics from Yale University.

This seminar series is co-sponsored by the Watson Institute at Brown University, the MIT Center for International Studies, the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, and the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University.

More Info: http://southasianpolitics.net/


The Border Crisis and the Future of India-China Relations

START
Mon, Sep 28, 2020 at 11:00am

END
Mon, Sep 28, 2020 at 12:30pm

VENUE
Webinar

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Register here to join the webinar.

Join Shivshankar Menon (Brookings), Tanvi Madan (Brookings), and Taylor Fravel (MIT) to discuss recent conflicts surrounding the border between China and India.

Chair: Vipin Narang, MIT

Shivshankar Menon is Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Institute of Chinese Studies, New Delhi, and a Distinguished Fellow of Brookings International. He has been a Richard Wilhelm Fellow at MIT and Fisher Family Fellow at Harvard. Menon was National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of India from January 2010 to May 2014. Menon was previously Foreign Secretary of India from October 2006 to August 2009. He has served as Ambassador and High Commissioner of India to Israel (1995-7), Sri Lanka (1997-2000), China (2000-2003) and Pakistan (2003-2006). He was also a member of the Atomic Energy Commission, 2008-14.  A career diplomat, he served in China (thrice), in Japan, and in Austria in the Embassy and the Mission to the IAEA and UN. His professional experience included India’s relations with her neighbours, atomic energy and disarmament issues, and India’s relations with the major powers. 

Tanvi Madan is a senior fellow in the Project on International Order and Strategy in the Foreign Policy program, and director of The India Project at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC. Madan’s work explores India’s role in the world and its foreign policy, focusing in particular on India’s relations with China and the United States. She also researches the intersection between Indian energy policies and its foreign and security policies.

M. Taylor Fravel is the Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science and Director of the Security Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Taylor studies international relations, with a focus on international security, China, and East Asia. His books include, Strong Borders, Secure Nation: Cooperation and Conflict in China’s Territorial Disputes, (Princeton University Press, 2008) and Active Defense: China’s Military Strategy Since 1949 (Princeton University Press, 2019). 

Please go to the Watson Center website to register for the webinar.

This seminar series is co-sponsored by the Watson Institute at Brown University, the MIT Center for International Studies, the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, and the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University.

More Info: http://southasianpolitics.net/


Rediscovering Partition from New Perspectives

START
Tue, Sep 1, 2020 at 10:00am

END
Tue, Sep 1, 2020 at 11:30am

VENUE
Webinar

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Partition Webinar Poster
10:00 AM EDT  |  3:00 PM BST  |  7:00 PM PKT  |  7:30 PM IST
Join via Zoom: https://harvard.zoom.us/j/95706117879

The impact of the 1947 Partition still ripples throughout South Asia, 73 years later. However, our knowledge of this historic event is constantly being reevaluated by academics and researchers who have continued to illuminate the details of what occurred. This panel will explore how new research efforts help us understand the full depth of the history and legacy of Partition.

Moderator

  • Jennifer Leaning, Professor of the Practice of Health and Human Rights, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Speakers

  • Ian Talbot, Professor of History and Director of the Centre for Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies, University of Southampton
  • Yaqoob Bangash, Assistant Professor, Information Technology University, Lahore

Registration not required. This event is co-sponsored by the Harvard Club of India and the Harvard Club of Pakistan.


Maintaining Peace in China-India Relations: Discussion and Book Launch

START
Thu, Sep 3, 2020 at 08:30am

END
Thu, Sep 3, 2020 at 09:30am

VENUE
Webinar

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The China-India relationship is one of the keys to international security, the future of Asia, and the well-being of nearly 3 billion people. Since early May 2020, border tensions between the two powers have underlined the potential for conflict. In 2017, their armies faced off for 73 days. At the same time, they have built a system of engagement designed to manage conflict and their larger rivalry. Their leaders meet regularly, they hold talks on the border quarrel, they have a series of confidence building measures, and they trade and invest with each other. They also cooperate multilaterally.

What are the drivers of the relationship? How can they manage conflict and rivalry? Are there cooperative steps forward, now and looking ahead? Two years ago, the Centre on Asia and Globalization in the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, set out to answer these and other vital questions by working with Routledge UK to produce the Routledge Handbook of China-India Relations. The book was published earlier this year. It assembled experts from China, India, Singapore, other parts of Asia, Australia, Brazil, Europe, and the United States and has 35 chapters on a range of China-India issues.


Caste in Tech Town Hall

START
Sat, Aug 22, 2020 at 11:00am

END
Sat, Aug 22, 2020

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Register: http://bit.ly/casteintech

In this webinar, the speakers will explore the many dimensions of caste discrimination in tech, from recruitment, hiring and workplace dynamics to sexual harassment and limited HR policies. They will also discuss the ways workers are addressing casteist workplaces and the larger movement to add caste as a protected category across the United States in the battle to end caste in the US.

Moderator:

  • Thenmozhi Soundararajan, Executive Director, Equality Labs

Speakers:

  • Maya Kamble, Ambedkar Association of North America
  • Ajantha Subramanian, Professor of Anthropology and South Asian Studies at Harvard University, Author of Caste in Merit
  • Sam Cornelius, Founder of Ambedkar International Center
  • Sareeta Amrute, Research Director of Data and Society
  • Anil Dash, CEO of Glitch and Technologist

 This event is co-sponsored with Equality Labs, Co-worker.org, and Data and Society.


Webinar: Science, Business, and Vaccine Development to Combat the Pandemic

START
Wed, Jun 10, 2020 at 08:30am

END
Wed, Jun 10, 2020 at 09:45am

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Panelists

  • Tarun Khanna, Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor, Harvard Business School & Director, Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, Harvard University
  • Gagandeep Kang, Executive Director, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute & Vice Chairperson of The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations
  • Umang Vohra, Managing Director & Global Chief Executive Officer, Cipla Ltd.
  • David E. Bloom, Clarence James Gamble Professor of Economics & Demography, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Through the lens of a contemporary case study, Harvard Business School Professor Tarun Khanna will share the geo-politics of how vaccines are developed, the funding and distribution methods that are critical to the effort, and the global alliances that facilitate this in the world today. He will speak with Dr. Gagandeep Kang, Executive Director, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute & Vice Chairperson of The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations; Umang Vohra, Managing Director & Global Chief Executive Officer, Cipla Ltd, and Dr. David E. Bloom, Clarence James Gamble Professor of Economics & Demography, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in a discussion on the South Asia context.

The objective is to share the mechanics and commerce of vaccine development and the critical role that science and business can play in combating pandemics such as COVID-19. The intent is to foster a collaborative and synchronous effort among science, business, and government to find synergies and solutions as they navigate the current challenges. How does one forge worldwide alliances in healthcare? How can science, business, government, and society collaborate on healthcare imperatives? How does one resolve the logistics and equity of vaccine distribution, and how can credibility and trust be built? This interactive conversation will be presented via Zoom web-conference. 


Webinar: Entrepreneurs and the COVID-19 Global Reset in South Asia

START
Fri, Jun 5, 2020 at 09:00am

END
Fri, Jun 5, 2020 at 10:30am

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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/95880357744

This event will also be streamed on YouTube: https://youtu.be/NhcBsgX5C0M

Panelists

  • Tarun Khanna, Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor, Harvard Business School; Director, The Mittal Institute
  • Rajeeb Samdani, Co-Founder and Trustee, Samdani Art Foundation; Managing Director, Golden Harvest Group
  • Osman Khalid Waheed, CEO, Ferozsons Laboratories Limited; Founder and Chair, Lahore Biennale Foundation

Enterprises have found themselves caught in the COVID-19 maelstrom across South Asia. This webinar will explore the extent to which entrepreneurs have been able to work with both the state and civil society to limit the damage and distress caused by the pandemic, but also to begin exploring new opportunities that a possible “global reset” has opened up to the developing world. 


Webinar: Educational Responses to COVID-19 in South Asia

START
Fri, May 22, 2020 at 09:30am

END
Fri, May 22, 2020 at 10:30am

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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?

 


Webinar: The Neglected Epidemics in India: How Will COVID-19 Affect Them?

START
Thu, May 14, 2020 at 09:00am

END
Thu, May 14, 2020 at 10:30am

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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

Webinar: The Labor of Fashion, the Global COVID-19 Crisis, and the Politics of Resistance in Bangladesh

START
Fri, Jun 12, 2020 at 09:00am

END
Fri, Jun 12, 2020 at 10:30am

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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

Virtual via Zoom: https://harvard.zoom.us/j/99118872916
Stream via YouTube Live: https://youtu.be/JgegRQEm1UY

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 M. 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?


Webinar: The Science Behind COVID-19

START
Fri, Apr 24, 2020 at 09:00am

END
Fri, Apr 24, 2020 at 10:30am

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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.