Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute

ENGAGING CANADA – ENGAGING INDIA: THE FRENCH CANADIAN CONTEXT

Event Date(s)

JUNE 11 & 12, 2012

Event Location

PONDICHERRY UNIVERSITY
PONDICHERRY, INDIA

Event Details

A MULTIDISCIPLINARY BI-NATIONAL AND BILINGUAL CONFERENCE

Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute and Pondicherry University are pleased to announce Engaging Canada – Engaging India: The French Canadian Context to be held on Monday and Tuesday June 11 & 12, 2012 at the Pondicherry University in Pondicherry, India. This is the first bi-national and bilingual conference of its kind being being organised by Pondicherry University in collaboration with Shastri Indo- Canadian Institute. Given the rich French heritage of Pondicherry and the strong academic presence of the Pondicherry University on the Indian academic scene, this conference promises to be highly beneficial to all participants. This event will be of special interest to all scholars and institutions from Quebec (French and English) as well as their Indian counterparts. Conference participation is open to all institutions across Canada and India.

The Conference objectives are as follows:

• To showcase important India focused individual and collaborative research in diverse fields taking place in Canada with special focus on French and English universities in Quebec.
• To provide opportunities for Indian scholars and researchers in the area of French Canadian Studies and other disciplines such as Science, Technology and Management to share their work with their French Canadian counterparts and others.
• To encourage French Canadian Studies participation from Canadian provinces other than Quebec.
• To provide networking opportunities for participating Quebec institutions for the purpose of further engagement with Shastri member institutions in India.

Information for Canadian Participants – Registration and Call for Proposals

Information for Indian Participants – Registration and Call for Proposals

Sarah Sidane
Program Officer
Shastri Indo- Canadian Institute
Tel. 403 220 5553
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
http://www.sici.org – Canada Office
http://www.sici.org.in – India Office

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ENGAGING INDIA: HUMAN AND SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - CLOSED

Event Date(s)

June 3 & 4, 2012

Event Location

University of Calgary
Calgary, Alberta

Event Details

It is our pleasure to announce that the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute will be organizing a national conference entitled Engaging India: Human and social Dimensions of Science and Technology to take place on Sunday and Monday June 3 and 4, 2012 at the University of Calgary.

CONFERENCE THEME

Scientific and technological research can and has contributed significantly to solving sustainability and development challenges in our world today. As an important complement to this research, a better understanding of the human and social dimensions of science and technology is essential in order to ensure that new scientific ideas are applied appropriately in diverse cultural contexts, and support improvements that are equitable among and within nations. It is therefore essential that the relationships between science, technology, and society be integrated into the broader sustainability and development research agenda.

The rapid changes that our contemporary societies are undergoing today in response to a series of distinct but interrelated dynamics, among which are advances in science and technology, offer the potential for social change conducive to peace, nonviolence, sustainable development, justice and respect for human rights. However, if pressures such as demographic change, urbanization, competition for scarce resources, migration and diversity are inadequately managed, they may also give rise to major challenges such as intolerance and conflict. In order to analyze such challenges, to make sense of their implications and to respond to them adequately, the resources of the social and human sciences are indispensable. Similarly, humanities studies, which have a crucial role in promoting critical thinking, have a major contribution to make to global, regional and national responses to contemporary social and ethical challenges faced by major strides of scientific and technological advancements.

CONFERENCE OBJECTIVES:

• To provide the opportunity for colleagues from humanities, social sciences, and science and technology disciplines to have dialogues on significant issues involving Canada-India research and scholarly collaborations around the major theme of the conference.
• To showcase the current India-focused research and scholarly activities being conducted by the faculty and researchers at Canadian Universities.
• To bring together representatives from Academy, Industry, Government, and Non-governmental Organizations to reflect on the strategic directions for Canada-India academic, economic, and business collaborations.

CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION:

Individuals interested in submitting a panel or paper proposal for presentation during the conference are requested to complete the attached form. Proposals are to be submitted by April 22, 2012. Panel and paper proposals are invited in the following areas:

• Religious and Cultural Perspectives on Science and Technology
• Humanities and Digital Media
• Art , Architecture and Environment
• Energy, Environment, and Sustainability
• Food Sustainability: Agricultural production, Food distribution, and Accessibility
• Water: Resource management for life sustainability
• Nano Technology: Critical Human and Social Issues
• Age, Gender and Health
• Education Technologies and Accessibility

EI-Individual_Proposal_Form_distributed.pdf
EI_-_Panel_Proposal_Form_1_of_2_-_Presentation_Information_distributed.pdf
EI_-_Panel_Proposal_From_2_of_2_-_Presenter_Information_distributed.pdf

Panels and papers that deal with contemporary India-related issues of human and social impact of scientific and technological knowledge on development and sustainability are particularly encouraged. Panel and paper proposals in other areas of India studies are welcome. All decisions on the acceptance of the panel and paper proposals will be made by a multidisciplinary National Program Committee.

Local hospitality including accommodation and meals will be provided by the conference to presenters and panelists. Canadian and Indian conference presenters will be responsible for their own local and international travel expenses. Subject to availability of funds, some modest travel subsidy may be available to graduate students and junior faculty whose proposals have been accepted and are to present at the conference for travel within Canada.

For further information about this conference please contact:

Sarah Sidane
Program Officer
Shastri Indo- Canadian Institute
Tel. 403 220 5553
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
http://www.sici.org – Canada Office
http://www.sici.org.in – India Office

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Innovations in Learning and Technology: Asia-Pacific Perspectives

Event Date(s)

April 10&11, 2012

Event Location

Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives
University of Victoria – Victoria, BC

Event Details

Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives invites papers from both expert and emerging researchers and graduate students to exchange expertise, experience, and resources. Conference provides opportunities to meet with other educators, students, and researchers to discuss ideas, reflect on the topics and issues from the sessions, and chart new directions and collaborations.

Suggested presentation categories but not limited to: – e-Learning policy development – Open and distance learning – Cross-broader education with ICT – Multicultural context in technology use – Computer supported collaborative learning – E-Assessment – Social networking tools for learning – Use of mobile technologies for teaching and learning
Any other relevant topic.

Papers presented at the conference will be published as book chapters in an edited book.
Before the conference an extended abstract of 500 words will be required for publication as conference proceedings. Please submit your abstract by Feb 27, 2012.
Authors of accepted papers will be required to submit the full paper by March 31 for publication in the book.
Discussion in the panel session will concentrate on identifying possible topics of collaborative research and preparing proposals.
Please register (by filling the online form) for the conference ASAP even if you are just participating as an attendee.

The conference is led by Madhumita Bhattacharya, CAPI’s Japan Program Chair, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
If you have any questions regarding the conference, please forward your queries to Ms. Fatima Johra at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Please see the following link for more details:
http://www.capi.uvic.ca/events/upcoming-conferences

Event Poster

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LECTURE - India in the 21 century: Development, Food Justice and the Empowerment of Women

Event Date(s)

March 26 & 27, 2012

Event Location

University of Winnipeg (in partnership with the University of Manitoba) and University of Calgary respectively

Event Details

Kanta Marwah Lecture 2011-2012 – by Dr. Ananya Mukherjee, Professor of Political Science and Development Studies at York University in Toronto

LECTURES OPEN TO THE PUBLIC – EVERYONE WELCOME!

India in the 21 century: Development, food justice and the empowerment of women
Hunger and food insecurity comprise two of the greatest concerns of 21st century India. It is the subject of a long, complex and ongoing debate, which has engaged several key actors in Indian society. At the center of the debate has been the Food Security Bill which proposes to uphold the right to food for India’s millions of food insecure citizens. The debate has unleashed many serious questions about the nature of justice in India today. Why, in such a fast growing economy, are the basic food rights of so many citizens continuously violated? Whose responsibility is it to address that violation? The talk will explore these questions, drawing upon some of the recent debates on justice, as well as the speaker’s own work with a unique women’s movement in Kerala, India.

About the speaker
Ananya Mukherjee is Professor of Political Science and Development Studies at York University, Toronto. She is the Founding-Director of the International Secretariat of Human Development (ISHD) at York University. Under her leadership, ISHD has collaborated with leading international institutions such as the International Labour Organization (ILO), Geneva; United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), Rome; United Nations Development Program (UNDP); and the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), Geneva. Ananya’s latest book Human Development and Social Power: Perspectives from South Asia is published by Routledge (London and New York, 2008). She also has a forthcoming co-edited volume entitled Business Regulation and Non-state Actors: Whose Standards? Whose Development? (Oxford: Routledge, Routledge Series in Development Economics, in press). Her previous publications include Corporate Capitalism in Contemporary South Asia: Conventional Wisdoms and South Asian Realities (Palgrave-Macmillan, UK 2003); Perspectives on India’s Corporate Economy: Exploring the Paradox of Profits, (Macmillan, UK 2001); and a number of articles in international journals. She has received numerous research awards from organizations such as the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada, the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada, the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (including its Millennium Development Research Grant 2011), amongst others. Her current research focuses on the development of democratic, alternative forms of collective enterprise amongst marginalized women in India. In 2009, she was Visiting Professor at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore.

Monday March 26, 2012
12:30pm-01:30pm
Eckhardt-Grammate Hall at the main campus
University of Winnipeg
Event is organized in partnership with the University of Manitoba

Tuesday March 27, 2012
12:00pm-01:00pm
CIBC Hub Room, Rozsa Centre
University of Calgary

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SYMOSIUM - Komagata Maru: Continuing the Journey - Simon Fraser University

Event Date(s)

Saturday, March 24, 2012 - 9:30am – 4:00pm

Event Location

Westminster Savings Lecture Theatre (room 2600)
SFU Surrey
250 – 13450 102nd Avenue, Surrey. B.C.

Event Details

SFU Library is pleased to invite you to a symposium on Komagata Maru: Continuing the Journey. The speakers and topics will revolve around a just completed website initiative based at the SFU Library and funded by the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada under the auspices of the Community Historical Recognition Program (CHRP).

(light lunch and refreshments provided)
Limited space. RSVP by March 19, 2012 to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Inquiries: 778.782.6704

Special Guest:
Hon. Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism

The symposium will include panel presentations on collecting South Asian Canadian history, artistic representations of the Komagata Maru incident, and the present day impact of the Komagata Maru. Confirmed speakers include: Dr. Gurcharn Basran, Sadhu Binning, Shushma Datt, Dr. Hugh Johnston, and Ajmer Rode. Content and other features of the just completed website, Komagata Maru: Continuing the Journey will be highlighted throughout the day. The symposium will conclude with a screening of Continuous Journey with the film’s creator, Ali Kazimi, joining via Skype for a question and answer session.

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Launching Komagata Maru website - Simon Fraser University

Event Date(s)

March 23 & 24, 2012

Event Location

Simon Fraser University
Vancouver Campus
British Columbia

Event Details

Simon Fraser University (SFU) will unveil an interactive website documenting the*1914 Komagata Maru incident* on Friday March 23 at the Vancouver campus and host a daylong symposium on the subject March 24 at the Surrey campus.

The site Komagata Maru: Continuing the Journey uses the incident, one of the most infamous episodes in Vancouver’s early history, to explore the struggles and contributions of the Indo-Canadian community.

The Japanese charter ship Komagata Maru brought 376 migrants from Punjab, India—almost all British citizens—to Vancouver in 1914. Officials refused to let them disembark and after two months the ship was forcibly sent back to India where British India police in Calcutta shot dead 19 of the passengers.

In 2008, both the Canadian and B.C. governments issued apologies for the incident.

Project director and librarian *Brian Owen *says the site aims to provide an objective, balanced account, including links to the stories of scholars, historians, community members, immigrants and their descendants.

SFU communication PhD student Milan Singh and alumnus Naveen Girn, a cultural researcher with the Vancouver International Bhangra Celebration, compiled and digitized the site’s content. Working with liaison librarian Moninder Bubber and other SFU project staffers, they sorted through countless papers, documents and photographs and conducted video interviews.

The federal government’s Community Historical Recognition Program funded the project.

SFU President Andrew Petter will speak at the Vancouver campus official launch, which features a website demonstration and talks by several Komagata Maru scholars. They include Hugh Johnston, a retired SFU professor and author of The Voyage of the Komagata Maru.

The SFU Surrey symposium will feature panel presentations on the website, designed by SFU’s Teaching and Learning Centre, and the screening of filmmaker Ali Kazimi’s film Continuous Journey, followed by a Q&A with Kazimi via Skype. For more information about this project please visit komagatamarujourney.ca.

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CALL FOR PROPOSALS - 7th Critical Multicultural Counselling and Psychotherapy Conference - U of T

Event Date(s)

June 1 & 2, 2012

Event Location

Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto
Toronto, Ontario

Event Details

The Centre for Diversity in Counselling and Psychotherapy (CDCP) at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto invite you to attend a Conference, 7th Critical Multicultural Counselling and Psychotherapy Conference- Integrating Asian Healing Traditions into Mental Health Care. The CDCP is an interdisciplinary centre dedicated to research and scholarship on the integration and intersection of multiculturalism and diversity within mental health contexts.

The CDCP centre has been actively involved in supporting and promoting the South Asian culture, spirituality, health and healing, within mental health contexts in Canada. We will be showcasing scholars and mental health practitioners who integrate Asian healing traditions and spirituality (including traditional healing practices of India) in their work. The conference encompasses both research presentations and workshops on traditional Eastern healing practices in counselling and psychotherapy and is an excellent opportunity for researchers, practitioners, university students and interested members of the community to come together to share interests, research and practices in the field.

We currently are holding a ‘call for abstracts’ for paper, poster or workshop session. Conference themes include:

• Traditional Eastern healers and healing practices (e.g. Meditation, Mindfulness, Yoga, Morita Therapy, Ayurveda, Unani, Acupuncture, Qigong, and more)
• Religious, spiritual, and cultural approaches
• Traditional healing and its contemporary formulation
• Integrating traditional Eastern healing practices into counselling and psychotherapy

For more details please see attached poster and visit the website

Two other projects that may be of interest are the CDCP India Book drive and the South Asian Healers book project. For the India Book Drive, the CDCP Centre collected over 500 mental health related books to support students pursing the counselling psychology program at Montfort Collage, Bangalore India.

For the South Asian Healers book project, we are currently collecting research articles from prominent researchers in South Asian healing traditions and counselling and psychotherapy, and developing a book on South Asian healers and healing practices in health and mental health care. This will be the fourth volume in the series on traditional healers and healing, produced by CDCP.

For more information regarding this conference please contact:
Rameet Singh and Na Zhu
Conference Coordinator, CDCP Toronto-India Coordinator
Centre for Diversity in Counselling and Psychotherapy
OISE, University of Toronto

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Understanding Minorities in India and Canada - Call for Papers

Event Date(s)

25 and 26 February, 2012

Event Location

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi

Event Details

The Banaras Hindu University is organizing a two day seminar on “Understanding Minorities in India and Canada”. This event is made possible by the Shastri Canadian Studies Development Programme funded by the Canadian International Development Agency.

Almost all societies are comprised of majority and minority groups distinguished on the basis of their number, language, religion, race etc. The differentiating features between the majority and the minority groups determine their position in society, polity, economy and their inter-group relations. In societies like India past historical experiences also play their role in shaping these relationships. But our experiences and researches show, that the well being of a society and its members largely depend on how well the minorities have been accommodated in the socio-economic, political and cultural life of a country. What is the attitude of the state towards these minorities? How the state looks at the issues concerning the minorities? What are the constitutional provisions to secure the educational and cultural life of the minorities in a Country? What is the process of national integration and nation building adopted by a country? What is their role in nation building process and development? The very security of a society and its members depend on how satisfied and integrated the minorities are in any society.

Both India and Canada are diverse, multicultural societies. In India where the Hindus constitute the majority, the minority group consists of Hindus, the Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, Bahai etc. In Canada the Canadian Christians constitute the majority but there are other visible minority groups who have migrated to Canada from different parts of the world, speak their own language and adhere to their religious faiths. As per the estimates of Statistics Canada by 2013 between 25% to 28% of the Canadian population would be foreign born. Thus, minorities play and are going to play important role in both India and Canada in nation building and national development in future. India has specifically mentioned in its constitution the cultural and educational rights of the minorities. The minorities in India have their own cultural autonomy and personal laws. Canada has officially adopted the policy of multiculturalism. But what is the actual position of the minorities in India and Canada? How are they treated at social levels in the two countries? These issues are not much understood empirically.

The proposed seminar will address issues related to minorities in India and Canada by inviting scholars from the field of humanities, law, medicine and social sciences. The broad objectives of the seminar are as follows:

(1) To examine the status of the minorities in India and Canada.
(2) To identify the needs, problems and progress of minorities in India and Canada
(3) To take stock of the steps taken by the Government and civil society for the betterment of minorities in India and Canada.
(4) To learn from the experience of India and Canada to manage social diversities.
(5) To suggest strategies for healthy group relations between majority and minorities in India and Canada.
Themes of the seminar for deliberations:
(i) Status of minorities in India and Canada
(ii) Needs and Problems of Minorities in India and Canada (Economic, Social, Educational, Health, Development needs etc.)
(iii) Impact of the Governmental and Non-Governmental Initiatives on the Development of Minorities in India and Canada
(iv) Minorities and National building in India and Canada
(v) Relationship between Majority and Minorities in India and Canada
(vi) To suggest strategies for promoting healthy relationship between the majority and minority in India and Canada.

The above themes are suggestive. You may choose the topic from the point of view of your disciplinary perspective. Scholars who will be in the area and who wish to contribute to this seminar are requested to kindly submit an abstract via email as a word document file by February 11, 2012 to the following e-mail address:

.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) / jharajani .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

For further inquires on how to participate please contact:

Prof. Rajani Ranjan Jha
Director
Canadian Studies Development Programme
C/o. Department of Political Science
Banaras Hindu University
Varanasi 221005

.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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National Seminar on “Diplomacy, Defence and Development: Canadian and Indian Perspectives”

Event Date(s)

18-19 February, 2012

Event Location

Berhampur University, Berhampur, Orissa

Event Details

This event is made possible by the Shastri Canadian Studies Programme Development Grant funded by the Canadian International Development Agency. Please stay posted for further details or please contact Prof. J.N.Mahanty .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

.

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International Conference on “Demystifying the Urban: Borderlands of Canada and India”

Event Date(s)

1-3 February 2012

Event Location

Jadavpur University, Kolkata

Event Details

This event is made possible by the Shastri Canadian Studies Programme Development Grant funded by the Canadian International Development Agency. Please stay posted for further details or please contact Prof. Suchorita Chattopadhyay at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
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