UNESCO Dual Seminar - Day 2 - Dr Maria Luiza Tanure Alves & Professor Asha Banu Soletti

IAS Visiting Fellows Dr Maria Luiza Tanure Alves and Professor Asha Banu Soletti each deliver a seminar on their research -

Dr Maria Luiza Tanure 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. Transforming the reality of disabled people in PE requires a transformation in how we understand PE and how we define inclusion within it. The starting point for this transformation is the recognition of the intersectional identity of disabled people in PE and sport, grounded in the understanding that a reality can only be transformed once its existence is recognized.

Lunch will be available from 1pm to 2pm inbetween these two talks.

Professor Asha Banu 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. In this co-construction process, the journeys and stories of resilience within communities become central to understanding health and well-being, while digital storytelling emerges as a meaningful approach to documenting lived realities, amplifying community voices, and fostering collective reflection and engagement.

Arrivals from 11:45 am for a 12:00 noon start. For those joining in-person, lunch will be served after the first seminar from 1:00pm to 2:00pm. The second seminar will start after lunch.

This event is hybrid format, please use the required booking button at the bottom of the page to choose either in-person or online attendance.
(Please note that in-person spaces are limited and booking is required, so we can manage numbers for catering and also the space in the seminar room)

By booking a place at this event, attendees agree to behave in a respectful manner such that everyone feels comfortable contributing as they wish. The IAS reserves the right to eject anyone who does not abide by this policy.

IAS seminars are typically recorded, minus any Q&A sessions at the end, again to encourage contributions. The recordings are then uploaded to our website on a Fellows bio page and/or Programme page, along with our IAS YouTube Channel. If you are not able to attend a seminar live, please do still register as we will email everyone who registered to let them know once the recordings are made available.