Image of Dr. Avatthi Ramaiah
Hokenstad International Lecture—Saturday, November 12
The challenges of multi-cultural societies like India and USA are many and often complex. Despite having a well laid down protective and development policies, and legal and administrative mechanisms in place, caste and race based discriminations and human right violations have been a reality in these nations even today. It therefore becomes a necessity to know what have been the contribution thus far of social work profession—a humane profession based on universal ideals—towards bringing about social change and protecting the human rights and dignity of excluded communities such as the Dalits of India and the African Americans of USA. Such ascribed identity based violence could be mitigated effectively if a sense of oneness and we-feeling and a desire for dignified and peaceful co-existence could be infused and nurtured gradually among all citizens of these nations. Is the social work profession willing and capable of undertaking such a project? If yes, what kind of challenges the profession and the professionals like to encounter? This lecture will focus on answering these and other related questions.About the Speaker
Dr. Avatthi Ramaiah is the Dean, Equal Opportunity Centre, and a Senior Professor at the Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai, India. Coming from a social work academic background, he also contributed to shaping an anti-oppressive framework in social work curriculum nationally and internationally. He was a Senior Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University and was a visiting fellow at the Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation, University of Hull, UK. He was also a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics in 2013. He has delivered numerous lectures and keynotes in reputed Universities and Institutions of higher learning both within and outside India. He is a great thought leader and has published extensively in the areas of social exclusion, social policies, and human rights. Dr. Ramaiah will present "Nurturing a Desire for Dignified and Peaceful Co-existence Among Citizens of Multi-Cultural Societies" during the 2022 APM.