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Human Development &
Capability Association

Agency, Well-Being and Justice

Category Archives: HDCA event/news

This is meant for events that have permission to use the HDCA logo in their promotion. In practice, this will be limited to either the HDCA conference, or events organized by one of the HDCA’s thematic groups or regional networks.

WEBINAR – Capabilities in a Just Society: A Theory of Navigational Agency

The Foundational Issues in the Capability Approach thematic group invites you to a webinar on Rutger Claassen’s book

Capabilities in a Just Society: A Theory of Navigational Agency

Tuesday 12 February, 2019, 13.00-14-30 CET

This webinar will take the form of a book symposium on Rutger Claassen’s book Capabilities in a Just Society (CUP 2018) and feature comments by David Axelsen (LSE), Jessica Begon (Durham), Yuko Kamishima (Ritsumeikan University), David A. Crocker (Maryland), and Leticia Aparicio Soriano (UNAM).

In his book, Claassen asks: what sort of entitlements should citizens have in a just society? He sets out a theory of what he terms ‘navigational agency’, whereby citizens should be able to navigate freely between social practices. This shows how individuals can be at the same time free and autonomous in striving for their own goals in life, but also embedded in social practices in which they have to cooperate with others. He argues that for navigational agency, people need three sets of core capabilities: those which allow human empowerment in civil society, a decent level of socioeconomic subsistence, and political participation in democratic decision-making procedures. The idea of navigational agency, the book argues, provides an alternative to currently dominant versions of the capability approach to social justice, and strengthens its liberal foundations.

Rutger Claassen is Associate Professor of Ethics & Political Philosophy at the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies of Utrecht University where he is the Program Director of the new BA-program in Philosophy, Politics & Economics (PPE), starting in September 2018. His research is in the field of socio-economic justice, where he defends a version of the capability approach – pioneered by economist Amartya Sen and philosopher Martha Nussbaum, which focuses on the development of personal capabilities instead of material resources as the central criterion for a just society. Moreover, he is interested in economic ethics and investigates the moral value of central economic institutions such as markets, property and corporations. Currently he is the principal investigator of a research project funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) on Private Property & Political Power in Liberal-Democratic Societies. He has published in journals such as Economic & Philosophy, Inquiry, Law & Philosophy, Journal of Social Philosophy and Politics, Philosophy & Economics.

Participants must register to participate in this webinar. Details on how to participate will be sent to you a few days before the webinar. To register and for any question about the webinar, please contact Morten Fibieger Byskov at morten.byskov@warwick.ac.uk.

Webinar “Now I want to use it to learn more’: using mobile phones to further the educational rights of the girl child in Kenya”

HDCA Thematic Group on Children & Youth webinar:
"Now I want to use it to learn more': using mobile phones to further the educational rights of the girl child in Kenya"
by Dr. Ronda Zelezny-Green, Royal Holloway, University of London | Education Technology & Gender Expert | Digital Development & Technology Policy Specialist

************************************************

Friday, September 28
3 pm London Time; 4 pm Rome; 10 am New York; 19.35 New Delhi

Description:
The Kenyan Constitution states that all children have a right to education. However, over the past 15 years, girls in Kenya have been unable to exercise this right consistently particularly at the secondary school level. During this same period, there has been greater access to digital technologies within Kenya, and the use of mobile phones has increased exponentially. Girls have contributed to this uptake, using mobile phones for multiple purposes including leisure, socialising, and education. However, the Kenyan education policy landscape is fraught with tensions that often curtail the potential for girls to use mobile phones, thus impacting their access to various rights – including that of education. This webinar draws on eight months of data from a research study that focused on the after-school mobile media practices of a group of secondary school girls in Nairobi. It critically reflects on how government policies affect these experiences, and explores a creative approach to how girls can use mobile phones to realise their rights in a digital age.

Bio: Ronda Zelezny Green is an Honorary Research Associate at Royal Holloway, University of London who is passionate about the potential for women and girls to harness technology for self- empowerment and advancement. You can learn more about her and her work at www.rondazg.com.

Participants must register to participate in this webinar.
To register, visit: https://goo.gl/6NkbCx
Details on how to participate will be sent to you a few days before the webinar. For any question about the webinar, please contact Caterina Arciprete at caterina.arciprete@unifi.it

Webinar: Children’s Feeling of Security – A View from the Capability Approach

July 6th, 2018
10-11am New York, 11-12am Buenos Aires
3-4pm London, 7.30-8.30pm New Delhi
Featuring Graciela Tonon, Denise Benatuil, Damián Molgaray and María Juliana Laurito

CICS-UP, Master Program in Social Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, Universidad de Palermo, Argentina

This webinar shares the results of a research project conducted by the Social Sciences Research Centre (CICS-UP) of Palermo University (Argentina) dedicated to understanding and describing the views of children between 8 and 12 years old living in different contexts of the Metropolitan area of Buenos Aires. Starting from the theoretical introduction on children-security and capability approach, the speakers will describe the methodological design and the results.

The webinar will be moderated by Caterina Arciprete (CO-Coordinator of the TG “Children and the Youth”)
Participants must register to participate in this webinar.
To register, visithttps://goo.gl/EQ11yS
Details on how to participate will be sent to you prior to the webinar. For any question about the webinar, please contact Caterina Arciprete at caterina.arciprete@unifi.it

Education TG webinar on: “Wellbeing, Freedom and Social Justice. The Capability Approach Re-examined” – implications for education

June 7th at 3:30 pm Central European Time, 2.30 pm UK time

This webinar will be in the format of a  participatory discussion panel and therefore, there will be no leading speaker(s). Our aim is to discuss Robeyns’ conceptualisation of the Capability Approach in her most recent book and to brainstorm how those ideas can be taken forward for educational research. We are looking forward to your contributions.

The book is available at: https://www.openbookpublishers.com/product/682

Instructions to Join the Webinar
Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone. 
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/503579309 

You can also dial in using your phone. 
United States: +1 (224) 501-3412

Access Code: 503-579-309 

Joining from a video-conferencing room or system? 
Dial: 67.217.95.2##503579309
Cisco devices: 503579309@67.217.95.2

First GoToMeeting? Let's do a quick system check:https://link.gotomeeting.com/system-check

The webinar is expected to last an hour. Use your microphone and speakers (VoIP) - a headset is recommended.  If you have never used gotomeeting, you will be prompted to download the launcher file, which may take a minute or two.

If you have any question, please let us know. We look forward to this webinar!

Kind Regards,

Frederique, Melis, Merridy and Sandra

HDCA Summer School 2018

Registration is now open for the 2018 HDCA Summer School to be held in Buenos Aires ahead of the annual HDCA conference. For full details about the event and to book your place please visit the 2018 conference webpages and follow the link to 'HDCA summer school' in the menu on the right hand side of the page. The summer school is aimed at PhD candidates using a capability approach. For further enquiries please contact the HDCA Education Officer, Caroline Sarojini Hart at c.hart@sheffield.ac.uk

Webinar: Analysing Gender and Disability through Emancipatory Research in Palestine: Results and Methodological Issues

by
Federico Ciani, PhD and Prof. Mario Biggeri
Department of Economics and Management - University of Florence and ARCO (Action Research for CO-development)

Thursday, February 22nd, 2018
8am – 9.30am Eastern Standard Time
1pm – 2:30pm UK time
6:30pm – 8pm New Delhi time

Abstract:
The main point of Emancipatory Disability Research is to let Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) to get the full control on the knowledge production process about themselves. In other words, PwDs become researchers while the professional researcher become the facilitator of the research process. This research is framed within the International Cooperation Project “Particip-Action” funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. Therefore, the aim of this webinar is twofold. The first objective is to introduce ER as a methodology based on an emancipatory and participatory process able to produce high quality information on disability that are useful for the elaboration of policies and the planning of international cooperation activities. The second, but not less relevant, aim is to analyze the multi-dimensional deprivation of disabled women in the West Bank (Palestine) in terms of access to inclusive and effective education. All the activities included in the projects have been implemented by the Italian NGO Educaid with the cooperation of Local DPOs (Aswat, General Union of Person with Disabilities, Stars of Hope Society) and the Italian Network on Disability and Development.

Speaker’s Bio:
Federico’s research focuses on disability, resilience, rural development, and impact evaluation. He has coordinated several research projects in Italy and in developing countries such as Ethiopia and Palestine. He is assistant lecturer of Human Development and International Cooperation in the School of Economics and Management at the University of Florence. He also teaches impact evaluation methodologies in international residential schools in Italy and abroad. He holds a Ph.D. in the Politics and Economics of Developing Countries from the University of Florence.

Participants must register to participate in this webinar, by filling the following Google form: https://goo.gl/forms/S7ayxbQ2o4FNgJJw1

Please find more information in the attached file. Details on how to participate will be sent to you a few days before the webinar.
For any question about the webinar, please contact Andrea Ferrannini or Giulia Greco: andrea.ferrannini@arcolab.org; Giulia.Greco@lshtm.ac.uk

Democratic Capabilities Research: Introducing a participatory Capabilities-Based methodology

by Carmen Martinez-Vargas (University of the Free State, South Africa)

Monday, January 29th, 2018
15:00 to 16.30pm in Rome (CET)
20:00 to 21:30pm in New Delhi (IST)
9:00 to 10:30am in New York (EST)

Abstract: Participatory methodologies are grounded in a diverse set of theories and approaches, providing a wide variety of practices with significant variations. Moreover, participatory methods and methodologies, which are of interest in this project, have been drawing on a capabilities lenses in multiple development and educational interventions. Nonetheless, this capabilities research area is still under-researched and far from having reached its full potential despite its prospective frame to reconsider epistemic, methodological and operational issues.
This paper innovatively conceptualizes ‘Democratic Capabilities Research’ (DCR) developed in a Southern context as a form of participatory research, which introduces the capabilities approach, into critical participatory research movements, decolonization debates and epistemic justice issues. The paper outlines DCR as a reflexive and pedagogical space to advance more just practices, especially in the context of hierarchical knowledge practices in universities, and the marginalization of youth voices in knowledge projects. The ambition is to both, generate democratic and inclusive knowledge creation and advance social change and a decolonial methodology.

Speaker’s Bio: C. Martinez-Vargas is originally from Spain and is currently based in South Africa. She has extensive experience working with participatory research approaches within the global north and global south. Her PhD project focuses on the conceptualization and implementation of a participatory capabilities-based methodology to advance socially just higher education. Furthermore, her research interests problematizes intersections of decolonization and social justice in the context of human development.

To register and for any question about the webinar, please contact Andrea Ferrannini, Alejandra Boni and Krushil Watene: andrea.ferrannini@arcolab.orgaboni@dpi.upv.es; K.Watene@massey.ac.nz
Details on how to participate will be sent to you a few days before the webinar. 

Organized by HDCA Thematic groups on “Participatory Methods”, “Education” and “Indigenous People”

HDCA Webinar: Mixed Methods for the Study of Capabilities

Speaker:  Graciela Tonon

11 am Buenos Aires and Porto Alegre, 10 am New York, 3 pm London, 8.30 pm New Delhi

The decision to use a certain research methodology implies a philosophical, theoretical, political, and operational decision. Mixed-methods are a methodological strategy to complement and expand the combination of the quantitative and qualitative methods in which researchers can combine both at different stages of the project. In this sense, it is important to reflect on the use of mixed methods for the study of capabilities.

Speaker’s Bio: Graciela Tonon is  Director of the Master Program in Social Sciences and the Research Center in Social Sciences (CICS-UP)  and associate professor of Social Sciences Research Methodology  at  Universidad de Palermo, Argentina. She is also the Director of UNICOM, Social Institute of Universidad Nacional de Lomas de Zamora, Argentina. She is Secretary of the Human Development and Capability Association, previous being the Information Officer. She is the Guest Editor of the Special Issue "Communities and Capabilities" of the Journal of Human Development and Capabilities. She is also the Editor of the International Handbooks of Quality of Life Series.

Participants must RSVP at  ebenat@palermo.edu            .

Details on how to join the webinar will be shared after you RSVP.

The webinar will be moderated by Denise Benatuil, and it is expected to last an hour

Webinar: The Return of the Native: An ethnographic revisit to Sripuram in South India

The HDCA Thematic group on Participatory Methods invites you to a webinar  by Dr. L N Venkataraman (TERI University, India)

Tuesday, December 13th, 2016

12:00 to 13.30pm in Rome (CET)

16:30 to 18:00pm in Delhi

6:00 to 7:30am Eastern Standard Time

Abstract:
Caste system with its class dynamics bestows on India the dubious distinction of the highly stratified society in the World. In this backdrop, the present paper analyzes the ethnography of educational functionings of the poor. For this, theoretical strands of both Capabilities Approach and Social Capital theory have been consulted. The reflexive insights have been derived from a restudy of the Sripuram village in South India. This village has been studied by renowned Indian Sociologist Andre Beteille in 1960. The present research revisited Sripuram nearly after five decades to comprehend the qualitative changes in the field. This has successfully resulted into the examination of the methodological implications of ethnography and theoretical inferences of educational functionings on capabilities formation.

Speaker’s Bio:
Dr. L N Venkataraman (Laksh) is an academic with wide range of experience in research, teaching and consultancy works in Development Studies. His publications can be seen in high impact refereed journals like the Development in Practice; Indian Journal of Human Development; Economic and Political Weekly among others. He is closely associating with various academic leaders and actively delivering lectures and project presentations both in India and other countries. He is also an active member in various Academic Associations like the Human Development and Capabilities Association among others. He has a DPhil degree from the Universitat Bielefeld in Germany and Post-Doctorate from the University of the Free State in South Africa.

Participants must REGISTER to participate in this webinar. Details on how to participate will be sent to you a few days before the webinar. To register and for any question about the webinar, please contact Andrea Ferrannini and Bernhard Babic (andrea.ferrannini@arcolab.org; bernhard.babic@sbg.ac.at)

The webinar is expected to last one and a half hours. It will include the presentation by Laksh followed by an interactive questions and answers session. Andrea Ferrannini and Bernhard Babic will moderate the Q&A session.

Please JOIN the webinar by clicking on this link: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/333966813

 

Seminar: ‘Capabilitarianism and education’

Professor Ingrid Robeyns (Utrecht University)

Thursday 1st December, 2-4pm, UCL Institute of Education.

Venue: Upper Meeting Room, London International Development Centre, 36 Gordon Square London WC1H 0PD. (This is about 5 minutes walk from the IOE main building on Bedford Way).

In this talk, Ingrid Robeyns will present from her recent paper on 'Capabilitarianism' which offers a critique of Nussbaum's articulation of the capability approach, and suggests an alternative. She will highlight the consequences of her views for thinking about education. The presentation will be followed by comments from Elaine Unterhalter (Professor of Education and International Development, UCL Institute of Education) and Alejandra Boni (Associate Professor, Universitat Politècnica de València).

If you would like to read the paper, 'Capabilitarianism' beforehand, it was published in 2016 in the Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Vol 17 Issue 3, pp 397-414.

Please email Rosie Peppin Vaughan ahead of the event if you would like to attend, as space is limited (rosie.peppinvaughan@ucl.ac.uk).

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