The full programme for IHEU’s World Conference on Untouchability has been published. The conference will be held at the Conway Hall Humanist Center, London, on 9 & 10 June 2009. To register for the conference, visit http://www.humanism.org.uk/june2009.

9 June 09

Session 1
Inaugural Session 09.00 am – 10.30 am
- Welcome, Sonja Eggerickx, IHEU President
- Introduction to the Conference, Babu Gogineni
- 13 minute film Untouchability (CNN)
- Keynote Address, Lord Meghanad Desai, UK
- Key Note Address, Lord Avebury, UK
- Binod Pahadi, Member Constituent Assembly, Nepal
Coffee Break

Session 2
Untouchability Worldwide 11.00 am – 1.00 pm
- Why Untouchability? Amarjit Singh, UK
- Untouchability and the Caste System in Nigeria, Leo Igwe, Nigeria
- Untouchability in Japan, Sam Ayache, Japan
- Untouchability in Sweden in the 1300s, P.K. Mahanandia, Sweden
- The Untouchables of Bangladesh, Jamil Iqbal
- Question and Answer Session
- Chair’s Concluding Remarks

Lunch Break

Session 3 2.00 pm – 2.30 pm
Fighting for Dalit Rights in the US
- Tina Ramirez, US Congressional Fellow on International Religious Freedom

Session 4 2.30 pm – 4.00 pm
Untouchability in the Indian Sub-continent and the Diaspora
Chair: Prof. B.D. Desai
- Caste and Politics in Contemporary India, V.B. Rawat, India
- Caste and Class Violence in India: Dr. Sudhir Hindwan, India
- The Caste System and the Asian Community in the UK, Bhagwant Singh, UK
- Reservations: the Asian Rationalist Society’s views, Navdeep Singh, UK
Coffee Break

Session 5
Lessons from Social and Constitutional Intervention 4.15 pm – 6.00 pm
Chair: S. Anand
- Dalit Women, Democracy and Empowerment, Swati Kamle, Netherlands
- Reservations and the Youth, Vikas Gora, India
- Jeremy Corbyn, MP

EVENING 6.30 – 8.30 pm Jabbar Patel’s famous film on AMBEDKAR or India Untouched, a film produced by Drishti Media, Arts & Human Rights

10 June 09

Session 5: 9.00 am – 9.30 am
The Legacy of Dr. Ambedkar
S. Anand, British Council Award Winning Publisher

Session 6:
Our Response to Untouchability 9.30 am – 11.15 am
- SUPERSTITION KILLS, premier of a 30 minute film by Henrik Thome, Sweden
- Work of the Social Development Foundation: V.B. Rawat
- Kathmandu village KAMIGAON PROJECT, Mr. Binod Pahadi, SOCH Nepal
- IHEU’s Adopt a Dalit Village Project, Veeraswamy

Session 7:
International Response: A Panel Discussion 11.30 am – 01.00pm
Chair: Roy Brown
- Lobbying Internationally for Dalit Rights: A Historical Overview, Yogesh Varhade
- The Work of the International Dalit Solidarity Network, Meena Verma, UK
- IHEU’s Representatives at the UN: Matt Cherry, Keith Porteous Wood and Leo Igwe
- Towards a Global Initiative, Babu Gogineni and Prof. Desai