IAS/UNESCO Dual Seminar Day 2: Dr Maria Luiza Tanure Alves & Professor Asha Banu Soletti

IAS Visiting Fellows each deliver a seminar on their research: 

Dr Alves - Critical Perspectives on Disability and Inclusion in Physical Education

Physical Education (PE), as part of the fundamental right to education, should be understood as the first setting in which children and young people systematically learn about their possibilities within physical activity and sport. However, research developed over recent years has highlighted a reality permeated by ableist assumptions, resulting in the exclusion and silencing of disabled students in PE and, subsequently, their distancing from sport. The theoretical recognition of ableism has shed light on the power relations that shape practices and, consequently, determine rights to exist within PE and later within sport. As an evolving field supported by critical theories such as Black feminism, current research has increasingly questioned the meaning of inclusion and the ways in which this fundamental right is also constituted through relations of domination and power among social groups. 

Read more about the topics included in the seminar on the event webpage.

Professor Soletti - Co-constructing Well-being in Ecologically Marginalized Tribal Landscapes in rural Maharashtra

Situated within the reserved forest, nearby the Thansa Lake reservoir in Maharashtra, tribal communities continue to live amidst layered ecological and social vulnerabilities despite their proximity to vital natural resources. Chronic water crisis, climate stress, precarious livelihoods, seasonal migration profoundly shape community health and well-being. Women bear disproportionate burdens of care often walking miles for water while navigating fragile household economies and disrupted support systems. The Pragati initiative emerged from the realization that health cannot be understood outside the ecological and social realities within which communities live. Moving beyond fragmented biomedical responses, the project re-envisioned community health through participatory, context-sensitive, and equity-oriented approaches grounded in lived experiences and collective resilience. This presentation is a reflection on Pragati’s evolving praxis and argues for community well-being frameworks that foreground ecological realities, structural inequities, and community agency in shaping sustainable and socially just health futures. 

Read more about the topics included in the seminar on the event webpage.

Arrivals from 11.45am for a 12pm start. Lunch will be served after the first seminar from 1pm to 2pm. The second seminar will start after lunch.