PUKAR BAM, पुकार बम
Social activist, HOD, Social work department, K&K college, Baneshwor
A social activist, a PhD scholar in Social Work, Lecturer, and many more, Mr. Pukar Bam is not a new name to anyone associated with Social work both academically as well as practically. Mr. Bam has been actively involved in various social issues and participated in various activities to raise social awareness as well as to pressurize concerned stakeholders in matters of public concern. While he is National co-ordinator to a Social organization, Hamro Sano Prayas, he was also one of the prime activist for “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH” campaign that held sit-ins and hunger strike to pressurize strict handling of government regarding COVID pandemic situation, use of polymerase chain reaction test (PCR) over rapid diagnostic tests (RDT), improvement to quarantine conditions and protections for frontline health workers. The campaign was widely influential and garnered attention of apex government bodies to improve COVID handling in Nepal. He has been associated with K&K college, Baneshwor as (HOD) Head of Department for Social Work and also with Department of Social Work , TU as a PhD scholar in Social Work. World Social Work day 2021 organizing team is elated to have Mr. Pukar Bam as one of the panelist in our panel discussion.
Jay Poudyal, FOUNDER , Stories of Nepal
Jay Poudyal is a humanitarian photographer and a social advocate based in Nepal. He is also the creator of the photoblog Stories of Nepal. For the past five years, Poudyal has travelled to rural and remote villages in Nepal and shared stories of everyday Nepali people from these communities. His stories are human stories of struggle, hopes, aspirations, societal observation, and memories. Poudyal’s work and Stories of Nepal have been featured in BBC World, BBC Newsroom, Associated Press, LA Times, and Yahoo. He is also the recipient of the IVLP fellowship Ed Murrow Program for Journalists. Poudyal continues to share stories of the Nepali people he meets through social media, primarily his Facebook page and website Stories of Nepal. Listen to him talk about his incredible journey all over Nepal finding stories and helping the people, his struggles, hardships as well as how Social work can be shaped ahead to reach and serve more people. World Social work day 2021 organizing team is delighted to have him as one of the panelist in our panel discussion.
Punam Karmacharya:
“RESCUE AND AWARENESS IN 16 TYPES OF DISASTERS”. RNA16 The name speaks for itself, RNA 16 team are involved in search and rescue as well as awareness training in 16 different types of disasters. The team involves 4 incredible members, Arun Sainju, Punam Karmacharya, Rajesh Gaiju & Nhuza Kiju who were the first to step up when no one was ready to handle and cremate the first causalty from COVID infection in Nepal. The team has gone on to handle more than 26 COVID bodies since then. Appraised highly for their courage and spirit, the team has been awarded a national medal by President Bidya Devi Bhandari in September 2020. They have also received the Gallantry Award First-class from Nepal Scouts as well. The team is currently involved in providing various awareness, preparedness and rescue training in various events/disasters involving covid emergency response too. Listen to Punam Karmacharya , a vital member of the RNA16 team , a staff nurse by profession too, talk about her as well as the team’s bravery in dealing with COVID casualties, challenges and hardships faced by them and how they are contributing at the present situation. World Social work day 2021 organizing team is thrilled to have the team as one of the panelist in our panel discussion.
Prakriti Basnet Bhattarai
Prakriti, is a emerging social leader in contemporary social activism. She is the chairperson of Political Literacy for Women. Through Political Literacy for Women (PLfW), she aims to increase Nepali women’s knowledge about Politics and provide learning, networking, and leading spaces for Nepali women. The institution has successfully been able to educate more than 300 young girls and women about the basics of politics. Political Literacy for Women advocates for meaningful participation of women over mere representation of women in political spaces. She does not associate herself to any political party and works as an independent entity alongside her team. She is also one of the lead campaigners of ‘Ajhai Kati Sahane’ – a nationwide movement designed to advocate against the increasing instances of rape. The movement was able to compel the lawmakers to bring necessary amendments in the existing laws and is demanding for stricter laws against rape. Ms. Bhattarai raised her concerns and shared her insights regarding the involvement of women in politics on platform such as UNICEF South Asian Parliamentarian Platform for Children, Barrier and Possibilities for Women’s Political Participation (South Asia Dialogue), South Asian Women Politician’s COVID-19 response, COVID-19 and Women and more. Prakriti has completed Leadership, Organizing and Action from Harvard Kennedy School. World Social work day 2021 organizing committee is delighted to have prakriti as one of the panelist in panel discussion.
Mr. Guna Raj Pyakurel
Mr. Pyakurel is a familiar personality in Social work and activism. Decorated with years and years of experiences and involvements, he is General Secretary for Karna Positive trust and Assistant leader trainer to Nepal Scouts. He is country representative to Youth for Human Rights International as well as Peace Ambassador to Universal Peace Council. He has also been awarded an honorary Doctorate by Tamil Universal University in recognition for his contribution to social work and society’s development. Mr. Pyakurel has also been awarded with International human rights hero award multiple times on 2014,2015,2017. He has been actively involved as Disaster response volunteer at various disasters in different nations, such as India, Phillipines, Bangladesh, as well as Srilanka. Listen To Mr. Guna Raj talk about his experiences, contributions and all the stories he has to tell about in the World Social Work day 2021 panel discussion. World Social work day 2021 program organizing committee is delighted to have Mr. Pyakurel as one of the panelists in our discussion.
Moderator: Sunita Dangol
Sunita, a graduate from Master’s degree in Social Work, is a communications and public speaking professional working in Kathmandu. She is also involved in Callijatra, a volunteer-led calligraphy initiative dedicated towards preservation and popularization of “Ranjana” – A script native to the Newar Culture of Nepal. She has also been crowned as Miss Newa 2011 and is renowned Emcee of Kathmandu.