Events

Border Crossings and Cultural Resistance: Diasporic Activism for Sustainable Change

Date: Tuesday 29 July 2025
Time: 11 AM-1 PM
Venue: Western Sydney University, Parramatta City Campus, Peter Shergold Building, Level 1 Room no. 6.21 (PC-01.6.21 (LS),
169 Macquarie Street, Parramatta NSW 2150

The Humanitarian and Development Research Initiative (HADRI) invites you to a talk on 'Border Crossings and Cultural Resistance: Diasporic Activism for Sustainable Change.' This is presented by Dr. Ahmed Abidur Razzaque Khan from the University of Liberal Arts (ULAB), Bangladesh.

This talk examines how diasporic communities use cultural production—such as performance, storytelling, and media—as strategic tools to challenge structural inequalities and promote inclusive development. It explores the links between diasporic activism, cultural resistance, and sustainable social change through a multidisciplinary and transnational perspective, informed by personal experience, cross-border engagement, and community-based creative practice. Grounded in a history that includes student activism in the Global South during the 1980s, professional work in theatre, film, and media, and academic research in humanitarian and development sectors, the session critically considers the role of cultural practices as instruments of resistance, resilience, and systemic transformation.

To register and learn more about the talk and Dr Khan, please follow this link.

This event facilitated by Professor Nichole Georgeou, Co-Director of the Humanitarian and Development Research Initiative (HADRI).

Past events

Advancing the Women Peace & Security Agenda in Cybersecurity and Protection of Civilians

The Humanitarian Advisory Group (HAG) organised a two-day workshop in Sydney on Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 June 2025 to delve into two thematic issues relevant to the WPS agenda, bringing together a range of groups, experts, thinkers and practitioners. Insights from this workshop will form the basis for reports that will identify opportunities and provide recommendations for Australian Government implementing agencies to strengthen NAP implementation.

HADRI’s Valentina Baú will join the Keynote Panel: The Cybersecurity-WPS Nexus. This session highlights how cyber threats intersect with peace and security efforts in the region and undermine women’s leadership in crises, exploring the complexities of mis and disinformation as well as initiatives to counter cyber threats.

Book Symposium on Structural Transformation as Development

On Friday 6th June 2025 we held the launch of the latest book from Emeritus Professor Anis Chowdhury, Associate Professor Zulfan Tadjoeddin and Associate Professor Yogi Vidyattama, on 'Structural Transformation as Development: path dependence and geopolitcs.' Delivered as a symposium and facilitated by Dr Nidhi Wali, this event will address geopolitical landscapes and structural transformation experiences across the developing World.

Urban Refugees and Digital Technology: Reshaping Social, Political, and Economic Networks 
by international scholar Dr Charles Martin-Shields 
(German Institute of Development and Sustainability - IDOS)

Charles Martin-Shields’ recent book Urban Refugees and Digital Technology explores how technology is reshaping the ways refugees contribute to social, economic, and political networks in urban areas. This talk will focus on how the book’s findings can be meaningfully used in everyday refugee support by community organisations, not only in middle-income urban areas in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, but also in cities like Sydney. Combining original interview and survey data from refugee communities in Bogota, Nairobi, and Kuala Lumpur with historical analysis of urban technology change and displacement since the start of the industrial revolution, the book shows how technological change shapes the way that refugees engage with host communities socially, politically, and economically in unexpected ways.
An interactive discussion of the book’s findings will focus on how refugee-supporting institutions, especially local-level aid and community organisations, can work with refugee communities to more effectively engage with refugees digitally and online.

International Association of Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) Pre-Conference
Communication as Co-Creation: Collaborative Expression through Engaged Media Practice

IAMCR main Conference’s theme of ‘weaving people together’ places emphasis on the power arising from people working in unison towards a shared goal. When mediated communication is built on common traits, the differences that may exist in multicultural contexts can be superseded. It follows that communication can also be regarded as a project in the hands, and influenced by the will, of the communicators. Explore these ideas through the presentations of first-hand case studies and novel theoretical frameworks related to related to participatory communication, alternative media, communication for development and social change, social movements, media literacies, and environmental communication.

The pre-conference was held at Western Sydney University, Parramatta City campus, on Thursday 27^th June 2024.
View the Conference program web page

The event was co-sponsored by Western Sydney University - Humanitarian and Development Research Initiative (HADRI), and Western Sydney University - School of Humanities and Communication Arts. It was also part of the activities of the Development Studies Association of Australia (DSAA) Creative Approaches and Practices in Development Studies group.

Development Studies Association of Australia (DSAA) Virtual Conference
Un/Doing Development

‘Un/Doing Development’ signifies both the practice or ‘doing’ of development and the many different ways in which we can think about development being or coming ‘undone’, including decolonising development.

The Development Studies Association of Australia (DSAA) conference (opens in new window), hosted by Western Sydney University, allows DSAA members and guests to consider the various ways in which development occurs and is contested.

The DSAA conference was held online 7-8 July 2022, with a HDR Research Day held on 6 July, 2022.

The Development Studies Association of Australia (DSAA) seeks to facilitate collaborations and engagement within and beyond the academy. As a community, we are committed to engaging the breadth of the dynamic field of development from the global through to regional, national, and local levels.

• View the Conference program web page
• Download the Conference full program (PDF, 3801.19 KB)(opens in new window)

State Responses to COVID-19: Migrants, the Pacific and South Asia

9 September 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the world, states responded with various measures: denial; contact tracing; social distancing; phone apps; lockdown; economic stimulus; closed borders—even those states where COVID-19 was not present have made preparations for its arrival. Building on a June 2020 report from over 70 authors that covered 43 states and 10 social issues, this symposium will focus on the management of public health and national economies in South Asia and the Pacific. A specific focus will be on the plight of migrant workers, including undocumented migrants, across the world during the pandemic.

Co-chaired by Dr Garry Stevens and Dr Melissa Phillips with a great line up of speakers — Professor Sagar Sharma (Kathmandu University, Nepal), Professor Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir (University Dhaka, Bangladesh), Dr Gordon Nanau (University of the South Pacific, Fiji), Dr Charles Hawksley (Wollongong University), Ms Nidhi Wali and Dr Sarah De Nardi (Western Sydney University)

The Global Compact for Migration: WHERE TO FROM HERE

6 March 2020

Symposium and Workshop: This event looks at how Australia, despite not being a signatory to the Global Compact for Migration (GCM), can continue to play a role in furthering improvements to international migration. The symposium and workshop will focus on a number of migration-specific issues, including: climate induced displacement; alternatives to detention; regularisation pathways; and migrants in vulnerable situations. Event will begin with a plenary followed by break-out sessions.

Digital Mapping Workshop

26 November 2019

Digital Mapping Workshop (PDF, 261.82 KB) (opens in a new window) Digital mapping and spatial analysis computer applications are becoming ever more diverse, versatile and accessible. There is now a sizable array of low cost and easy to use tools for spatial analysis applications in research. These tools range from simple mapping tools to very complex spatial and remotely sensed data analysis tools. This workshop will discuss different computer applications and explain how these tools can assist in and add value to research. Please see event details below and flyer attached for more details.

Facilitator: Associate Professor Awais Piracha (Geography and Urban Studies, School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Western Sydney University)

Research and practice in developing country context

26 June 2019

Research and practice in developing country context: An intensive workshop (PDF, 308.52 KB) (opens in a new window) The workshop aims to hone development skills and knowledge of WSU participants to assist them with their upcoming international field placements, and for HDR fieldwork.

Facilitator: Weh Yeoh (Faculty of health sciences at University of Sydney; Founder: OIC; Co-founder: Why Dev, Co-founder & CEO: UMBO)

Climate change and disaster preparedness and response in Nepal

Climate change and disaster preparedness and response in Nepal: A Public Lecture (PDF, 362.53 KB) (opens in a new window) This public lecture provides an overview of the context of interrelationship between climate change and disasters in Nepal, and reviews the lessons learned from past interventions and their implications for disaster risk reduction policy.

Speaker: Mr Madhu Sudan Gautam (National Disaster Risk Reduction Centre, Nepal and HADRI)

Australia and the Global Compact for Migration: opportunities for a new agenda 

12 November 2018

Australia and the Global Compact for Migration: opportunities for a new agenda - A Public Seminar (PDF, 124.53 KB) (opens in a new window) This public seminar brings together key policy makers involved in migration policy and planning at the highest level to consider how the Australian government and civil society actors can support, implement, monitor and review the Global Compact for Migration (GCM). The seminar aims to raise public awareness and understanding of the importance of the GCM.

Employment and Re-Industrialisation in Post Soeharto Indonesia

11 October 2018

Employment and re-industrialisation in Post Soeharto Indonesia: A Book Seminar ( PDF, 114.94 KB) (opens in a new window) This book studies the challenges for Indonesia, once a miracle economy, as it faces premature deindustrialisation, rising inequality, and domestic and external impediments impacting its export-oriented industrialisation.

Book presentation: Zulfan Tadjoeddin (HADRI) and Anis Chowdhury (HADRI)

Discussant: Professor Michele Ford (University of Sydney)

Humanitarian responses to the Syrian crisis: the growth of a diaspora movement

21 September, 2018

Humanitarian responses to the Syrian crisis: the growth of a diaspora movement ( PDF, 117.43 KB) (opens in a new window) A Public Talk & Photo Exhibition. This seminar discusses the role of local and international diasporas in responding to this conflict, and asks what more Australia can do to respond to the humanitarian need of refugees from Syria.

Speakers: Fadi Al-Dairi, (Hand in Hand for Syria), Rnita Dacho (Refugee Council of Australia), Graham Thom (Amnesty International)

A Public Seminar and discussion on “Investing for Development: a just transition to environmentally sustainable societies in Asia Pacific”

16 July 2018

Investing for development: a just transition to environmentally sustainable societies in Asia Pacific (PDF, 328.46 KB) (opens in a new window) An event involving speakers from International Labour Organization (ILO), European Commission and Nepali partners from Kathmandu University and ILO, Nepal. The event was opened by Dean, Professor Kevin Dunn and Mr Richard Howard, ILO Country Director Nepal.

Rohingya: Rights and Reality

23 June 2018

A photographic exhibition, film screening, and Question and Answer session at the State Library of NSW, Metcalfe Auditorium, Ground Floor, Macquarie Street Sydney.

Rohingya: Rights and Reality (PDF, 1376.66 KB) (opens in a new window) will showcase a film by WSU and University of Padova Joint PhD (Human Rights, Society and Multi Level Governance) candidate Ahmed Abid on human trafficking in the Bay of Bengal. The screening will be introduced by HADRI’s Dr Garry Stevens.

The event combines themes of contemporary relevance including gross human rights abuses of the Rohingya population (described by the UN as a ‘case study in ethnic cleansing’), as well as human trafficking, forced migration, economic migration, and the health and welfare of vulnerable populations in refugee camps.

The event forms part of Refugee week and is presented by: Metro Assist; Bangla Hub; Humanitarian and Development Research Initiative (HADRI), Western Sydney University; Films 4 Peace Foundation; and State Library of NSW.

Project Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation workshop

15 May 2018

The workshop will introduce participants to key aspects of project management important in the fields of humanitarian and development studies and other professions. It will cover project planning, project monitoring and project evaluation. Participants will also be equipped with hands on exposure to case studies.

Facilitators/instructors: Professor Andre Renzaho and Dr Zulfan Tadjoeddin

Seminar: “Diaspora Responses in times of disaster and other Crisis”

7 April 2018

Diaspora Responses in times of disaster and other crisis ( PDF, 235.2 KB) (opens in a new window) A seminar organised by the Diaspora Learning Network and hosted by HADRI, Western Sydney University.

The seminar focuses on the role of diasporas in providing financial and social assistance through knowledge, norms and values to their country of origin and host countries. This seminar is a great opportunity to collaborate with diaspora organisations and others who work in the field to share ideas and investigate opportunities for action.

HADRI HDR Candidate Showcase

November 2016 and 2017

HDRI Higher Degree Research (HDR) students present their work to their peers and School of Social Sciences and Psychology academics in a series of 15 minute presentations followed by 10 minutes of questions. The HDR Candidate Showcase provides HDRs with the opportunity to prepare to present their work at conferences.

Is the Water Safer than the Land? Public Representations of Syrian Refugees and the Power of a Warm Welcome

Professorial Lecture

Presenter: Professor Uma Kothari, Managing Director, Global Development Institute, University of Manchester
Date: Tuesday 15 November, 2016
Time: 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Location:  Parramatta South Campus EB.3.21

Abstract

At present, news bulletins, television documentaries, newspaper articles, radio programmes and forms of social media are debating the 'refugee crisis'. They depict the experiences of refugees, document their journeys and arrivals, inform us about the causes of migration, and examine the potential impact on the people and places they encounter. How does this unprecedented media coverage shape our understandings of refugees? How can we interpret and challenge the ideas and meanings that generate powerful, and often negative, connotations around terms such as 'migrant' and 'refugee'? This presentation begins by briefly examining the historical forms and the power of such representations before exploring how current images and texts of refugees reinforce global inequalities or alternatively, might forge new kinds of global alliances. I focus on how certain images can change our dispositions towards refugees, enabling us to recognise the power of a warm, face-to-face welcome in an overwhelmingly digital age. We are positioned at a critical moment, one replete with potential to shape future inter-generational and cross-cultural understanding. In this context, I conclude by foregrounding the politics and power of welcome, arguing that it can profoundly impact on a refugee's perception of place and people, forging longer lasting affiliations and promising the development of a future sense of belonging.

Biography

Uma Kothari is Professor of Migration and Postcolonial Studies and Director of the Global Development Institute in the School of Environment, Education and Development at University of Manchester. Her research interests include international development and humanitarianism and migration, refugees and diasporas. Her research has involved a number of funded projects, most recently an Australian Research Council project on International Volunteering and Cosmopolitanism, and a Norwegian Research Council  project on Perceptions of Climate Change and Migration. Her current research is on Visual Solidarity and Everyday Humanitarianism. She has published numerous articles. Her books include Participation: the new tyranny? (2001),  Development Theory and Practice: critical perspectives (2001), and A Radical History of Development Studies (2005). She is currently writing a book on Time, Geography and Global Inequalities. She was recently made a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and conferred the Royal Geographical Society's Busk Medal for her contributions to research in support of global development.

Download the event flyer [ PDF, 155.12 KB]

Two Day Stata Course

Are you afraid of statistics, struggling to analyse your data, or don't know where to start? Perhaps you are doing a postgraduate degree and need help with statistics?

If so, this short course is for you.

Professor Renzaho has extensive experience in statistical data management and analysis. He has undertaken evaluations for numerous United Nations organisations, including the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the United Nations Children's Fund, as well as for non-government organisations, including Care Australia, Concern Worldwide, and Médecins Sans Frontières.

Course Contents

Session 1: Gentle introduction to Stata

Session 2: Descriptive statistics

Session 3: Introduction to data reduction techniques

Session 4: Introduction to linear regression

Session 5: Logistic regression

Session 3: How to succinctly summarise your results

For more information please contact Nidhi Wali at n.wali@westernsydney.edu.au