The conference seeks to capitalize upon a growing interest in issues such as how does culture matter to marginal communities and how culture enables the process of self-empowerment among marginal communities. Self-empowerment is considered crucial for understanding and developing liberative public action policies of change and progress. If development is understood as enabling and facilitating the capacities of marginal communities then policies of governance need to be based on ethical values and principles fostering plurality, diversity, equity, democratic participation, sustainable development and dignity. However, in mainstream development thinking marginal communities have appeared only as oppressed and poor. In this context the all-important question is why do marginal communities always appear only as oppressed and poor in mainstream development practices? Is it the lack of innovative indicators only, or the lack of a perspective? But from whose perspective to understand whom?

The conference is being organized by Deshkal Society, India with the support of Indira Gandhi National Centre For Arts (IGNCA), Sanskriti Pratisthan, Bhasa Research Centre, Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI).

Research papers of publishable quality focusing on the above themes are invited form young and established scholars which will be chosen for presentation and intensive discussion in the conference. Authors are invited to submit abstracts (in English) of no more than 500 words as well as academic curriculum vitae.