- This event has passed.
2024 Dean’s Distinguished Lecture: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
April 2 @ 5:30 pm - 6:45 pm
Free
The 2024 Dean’s Distinguished Lecture launches a new annual global speaker series on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) inclusion
The Dean’s Distinguished Lecture is an annual series which highlights ongoing work in the Faculty and beyond to address some of society’s most pressing priorities.
The 2024 Dean’s Distinguished Lecture will launch the inaugural event of an exciting new global speaker series on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) inclusion with an intersectional lens. This series provides a distinguished platform for global leaders who are dedicated to advancing international 2SLGBTQIA+ rights to share their inspiring experiences and work as we deepen our understanding of SOGI inclusion.
Join Dr. Jan Hare, Dean pro tem, of the Faculty of Education, as she hosts transgender rights activist Kalki Subramaniam. This initiative is made possible with the generous support of esteemed donor Dr. Robert Quartermain.
Distinguished Speaker
Kalki Subramaniam is a transgender rights activist, author, artist, actor and entrepreneur from Tamil Nadu, India. She is also the founder of Sahodari Foundation, a pioneering organization which works for the social, political and economic empowerment of the underprivileged transgender community in India. Kalki’s activism with the Supreme Court judiciary and legal fraternity in India played a pivotal role in the Supreme Court of India’s legal recognition of transgender identities in 2014.
She has created more than 12 documentary films on 2SLGBTQIA+ rights and has also appeared in international documentary films. In 2010, she trained underprivileged transgender women in community journalism and encouraged them to make short documentary films telling their own stories. In 2017, Kalki founded the TRANS/HEARTS art project, through which she has trained more than 200 transgender people in creating expressive artworks, supporting their livelihoods through workshops. In October 2019, she organized the first 2SLGBTQIA+ pride march in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Kalki has received numerous awards for her activism, art, and literary works and is an inspiration for thousands of transgender people in India and around the world.
Host
Dr. Jan Hare, Dean pro tem, UBC Faculty of Education