HT Correspondent
TEZPUR, April 28: Department of Social Work, Tezpur University organised a consultation workshop on Wednesday based on the theme – ‘Towards Gender Diverse Inclusivity in Higher Educational Institutions’ at the university under the broad umbrella of Sustainable Development Goal 5 of United Nations i.e. gender equality.
Prof Chandan Kumar Sharma, head, department of Social Work delivered the welcome address. Prof Farheena Danta, dean, Humanities and Social Sciences, inaugurated the programme. Dr Namami Sharma, assistant professor, department of Social Work introduced the purpose of the workshop. Key faculty representatives from schools of sciences, engineering, humanities and social sciences, management and staff members from administration, Internal Complaints Committee Members, student volunteers from across disciplines, Nutrition and Community Action Resource Centre (NCARE) project team members, Tezpur University alumni and research scholars from department of Social Work actively participated during the workshop. Gender diversity was thoroughly maintained while conceptualizing, including the voices of the students, faculty and staff members during this workshop.
Crucial interdisciplinary perspectives were shared during this workshop which ranged from addressing gender diverse inclusivity beyond the binary genders to curriculum diversity, conducting gender audits and creating gender inclusive campuses. The interactive deliberations of the resource persons, students, faculty members and university officials made the consultation workshop very engaging and insightful.
An esteemed panel of experts from curriculum, research, policy and practice verticals were present on the occasion. Prof Vibhuti Patel, former professor at Tata Institute of Social Sciences & SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai, Prof Polly Vauquline, department of Women’s Studies, Gauhati University, Dr Rakhee Kalita Moral, head, Center for Women’s Studies, Cotton University, Dr Kaustav Bakshi, associate professor, department of English, Jadavpur University, Arpana Choudhury, member, Transgender Welfare Board, Sonitpur district and co-founder of Xobdo Foundation, Dr Mousumi Mahanta, assistant professor, Centre for Women’s Studies, Tezpur University were part of the esteemed panel.
The organisers of the workshop hoped that the event would raise awareness about the importance of gender equality and encourage participants to take action in their communities.
