In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, inequality is on the rise, but so is grassroots activism. More and more individuals and groups are taking action and using their voices to tackle the growing social and economic inequalities.
Social movements and activists engage with, challenge, and seek to shape policy processes and wider political transformations to tackle inequalities through forms of mobilisation as well as everyday forms of action and resistance. From racial justice to climate emergency and women’s rights, they are imagining and building more equal, just, and sustainable societies all across the world.
Looking beyond just forms of resistance, this panel will discuss the role of activists and social movements in today’s world and examine their agency in imagining utopian futures and creating change. How are social movements providing creative spaces for not only challenging inequalities but also coming up with alternative ideas for solutions to address the problems they are fighting against? And how and to what extent are these ideas informing policy changes?
Speaker
Professor Armine Ishkanian
Armine Ishkanian is the Executive Director of the Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity programme and Professor in the Department of Social Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her research examines the relationship between civil society, democracy, development, and social transformation.
Speaker
Georgia Haddad Nicolau
Georgia Haddad Nicolau is an Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity and a civil society professional, activist, cultural manager and creative professional. She is also a researcher, trained facilitator and consultant in the fields of social organisations, culture and arts, human rights, innovation, development and creative industries. She is the Co-founder and Director of Brazilian commons-based organisation Instituto Procomum.
Speaker
Dr Faiza Shaheen
Faiza Shaheen is the Program Head for the Inequality and Exclusion Grand Challenge of the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies at the Center on International Cooperation at New York University. Faiza is an economist, writer, and commentator. She is the author of a range of materials and publications covering the most salient social and economic debates of our times, including inequality, austerity, immigration, youth unemployment and social mobility. Faiza has over 15 years of experience researching the trends and consequences of inequality, as well as designing policies and campaigns to address the causes of inequality and exclusion.
Chair
Dr Maël Lavenaire
Maël Lavenaire is a Research Fellow in Racial Inequality at the Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity programme where he contributes to fellowship curriculum development, teaching, and mentoring. He also undertakes research on the AFSEE/III research programme Politics of Inequality.
Banner Image: Photo by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash