Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Unit

The Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Unit is an initiative by the Student Association of the academic year 2020-2021 to promote an inclusive culture that provides opportunities for all the students to learn, explore, and grow, personally, professionally, and intellectually. The EDI Unit will lead, coordinate, and guide all the clubs, cells, societies, and other initiatives that focus on critical issues concerning equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Objectives

• To build an active peer community of future leaders and budding activists and advocates
• To create a platform for interdisciplinary conversations and to serve as an important adjunct to course work through various student-initiated activities
• To facilitate holistic and collaborative learning by creating opportunities for developing creative and critical thinking

Equality Committee

The Equality Committee elected once every year will be responsible for coordinating the activities of all the cells, clubs, and societies within the department that focuses on various aspects of equality, diversity, and inclusion. The committee will consist of two faculty coordinators, the president of the student association, and 3 EDI coordinators representing BA, MA, and MSW programmes. The Sociology and Social Work Association will be responsible for initiating elections each year to elect the representatives from each cluster. The Equality Committee will lead on the planning, development, and delivery of various activities organized under the EDI Unit.

Responsibilities of the EDI Coordinators

• Work collaboratively with the various clubs functioning within the EDI Unit, to increase participation and develop robust knowledge sharing mechanisms
• Work in conjunction with the club coordinators for setting objectives, initiating activities and projects, and ensuring the principles of equality, diversity, and inclusion are embedded and informing all undertakings of the clubs
• Oversee the conduct and documentation of all the activities of the club and function as the point of contact for the Association and the Department

Cells and Club within the EDI Unit

The Student Association of the academic year 2020-2021 initiated three clubs/cells within the EDI Unit.

Gender and Sexuality Cell

The Gender and Sexuality Cell under the Sociology and Social Work Association is an initiative to contribute to the achievement of SDG Goal 5 - Gender Equality.

The UN explains that gender equality is not only a fundamental human right but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. The activities of the cell are aligned with the 9 Targets and 14 Indicators for SDG 5. The cell creates forums for discussions on gender equality, queer rights, violence against women, reproductive and sexual health, gender-responsive policy analysis and evaluation, empowerment through technology, etc. The cell aims to give profound importance to creating opportunities for members and the student community to voice against long-standing inequalities and organize awareness campaigns and programmes.

The club committed its activities for its first academic year 2020-2021 to organizing activities that initiated discussions on some of the crucial issues in establishing a sustainable pathway toward achieving gender equality.

Objectives

• To facilitate a platform for discussions on the importance of gender equality in achieving sustainable development
• To encourage individuals to take action that redresses long-standing inequalities by organizing awareness campaigns and programmes
• To document, analyze, and understand gender data on COVID19 (objective specific to the current academic year)

Environmental Justice Club

The concept of environmental justice is not yet fully integrated into the language and spirit of the SDGs. This club is based on the premise that “many ‘environmental’ problems are, by their very nature, problems of justice.” Committing to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals - Agenda 2030, the Environmental Justice Club will initiate discussions and debates to understand the intersection of environmental and social issues. The club will provide a platform for students to transform into environmental justice leaders and advocates for those affected by ecological injustice.

SDG 10 calls for reducing inequalities in income as well as those based on age, sex, gender, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion, economic or any other status within a country. The Environmental Justice club proposes to facilitate activities such as campaigns for environmental literacy, a sustainability champion programme to recognize the various initiatives and efforts of the students, and so on. SDG 12 discusses responsible consumption and production. In this regard, the club aims to initiate small-scale projects within the university campus to promote environmental sustainability and contribute to the university's effort to build and sustain a green campus. The club will also organize discussion forums and pitch competitions to encourage innovation and creativity to contribute to the SDG goal of ensuring clean water and sanitation for all.

Objectives

• To facilitate a platform for interdisciplinary conversations on environmental justice and raise awareness of environmental justice issues
• To train students to become advocates for environmental justice issues
• To promote sustainability on campus and actively support the efforts taken by the administration, faculty, and student community in sustaining a green campus

Human Rights and Social Justice Cell

The Human Rights and Social Justice Cell aims at operationalizing the commitment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to Leave No One Behind (LNOB). All the activities of the cell will emerge from the core belief that we cannot hope for sustainable development without realising human rights and strengthening social justice.

Human rights and social justice are an intrinsic part of sustainable development. The cell aims at training budding leaders and advocates to develop a human rights-based approach to policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation. The cell will create platforms for the discussion of the human rights dimensions of the 2030 Agenda and contemporary issues in human rights and social justice by bringing together students, academicians, researchers, advocates, and other experts.

Objectives

• To create a platform that promotes sensitization and awareness regarding various aspects and issues concerning human rights and social justice
• Operationalise the commitment to Leave No One Behind (LNOB) by initiating various activities such as awareness campaigns, workshops, discussions, lectures, research, and competitions that address the intersectional experiences and the root causes of inequalities
• To encourage and train individuals to understand and adopt a human rights-based approach to research, advocacy, and programming