The colloquium Transformation for Sustainability: Gender and its intersections within participation in higher education was held in Kolkata on the 10^th-11^th February 2020, co-convened by Dr Nandita Banerjee Dhawan (Director of School of Women’s Studies, Jadavpur University) and Dr Dina Zoe Belluigi (School of Social Science, Education and Social Work, QUB). Twenty-five key scholars, activists and practitioners in gender studies, higher education studies, and/or sustainability from across India contributed to seven panel discussions during the intensive event, in addition to a facilitated screening of the short films of the Counter // Narratives of Higher Education project (Dr Belluigi in collaboration with Analogue Eye: Video Art Africa), and the Katha (Monologues) films (directed by Debalina Majumder). Included in the event was Dr Satish M Kumar (Geography, QUB) and Dr Grace Ese-osa Idahosa (University of Johannesburg; Visiting scholar at QUB for 2019-2020).

Framing the discussions was the question of the fitness-for-purpose of higher education to drive the Sustainable Development Goals and ‘in what ways may a feminist vision and praxis contribute to the transformation of higher education, its sustainability in terms of gender equality, peace and justice?’.  The event was funded by RUSA 2.0 (Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India). It ran parallel to a research project currently being undertaken by Dr Dhawan, Dr Belluigi and Dr Idahosa which considers the nature of academic participation and citizenry within Indian and South African institutions - two post-colonial contexts which have seen substantial policy interventions to address legacies of exclusion.

Read full colloquium booklet