Notifications

A. Events and Conferences

1.The Centre for Infrastructure, Sustainable Transport and Urban Planning at IISc, Bangalore will be organising a day-long seminar, 'Mobilicity 2012', on January 10, 2012.

2. The second Indian Student Parliament will be held in Pune from January 10-12, 2012. Participants must register in advance. Clarifications may be sought by calling +91-8888815421 or sending them an email.

3. Media Matters, in association with UNICEF, is organising a workshop on 'Exploring Participatory Theatre to Advocate for Rights & Entitlements of Children & Young People' from January 23-26, 2012. Applications for participation must be emailed to them by Saturday, December 31, 2011. 

4. The sixth edition of the World Water Forum will be held in Marseille, France, from March 12-17, 2012. The Water Youth Movement is sending a delegation to participate and invites applications to be submitted by January 15, 2012.

B. Competitions and Calls for Papers

1. The GNLU Centre for Food Security and Agro-Economy is inviting submissions for the first edition of its journal, themed on 'Interdisciplinary Perspectives for a Food Secure World'. Abstracts must be submitted by January 7, 2012. For details, contact Alok Nayak on +91 9924222640 or send him an email.

2. USAID in association with Devex is conducting an essay competition on specific themes in relation to food security and health. Submissions must be emailed to them by January 8, 2012.

3. The NLIU Law Review is inviting contributions for its fourth issue which is due to be published in April 2012. Submissions must be emailed to them by January 27, 2012.

Notifications

A. Events

1. Maraa is organising 'City of Pieces', a nine day urban festival that interrogates the violence of the everyday transformation of the city from the perspective of creative practice. The festival has a variety of very interesting activities and begins on Saturday, October 22. The full schedule, details of events and contacts are available here.

2. The Bangalore Mountaineering Club is organising a night trek to Makalidurga on Saturday, October 22. Details may be obtained on +91-9902027262.

3. Suchitra Cinema and Cultural Academy is organising a screening of 'WikiRebels', a film revolving around the life of Julian Assange and chronicling the history of WikiLeaks, at 11 am on Sunday, October 23. The screening will be followed by a discussion. For details contact Anand Varadaraj on +91-9845055034. 

4. The Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre is organising a wildlife conservation and awareness workshop on 'Urban lakes and bird life' on Sunday, October 23. For details, contact Rohit Agarawal on +91-9986304088 or send him an email. 

B. Conferences, Seminars and Calls for Papers

1. Registration is now open for WikiConference India 2011, organised by the Wikimedia India Chapter at Mumbai from November 18-20. For details, check the wiki or send them an email.

2. The association of Students for the Promotion of International Law at the Government Law College, Mumbai are organising the third GLC International Law Summit from February 3-5, 2012. Registration forms and paper proposals on the theme of the summit must be emailed to them by November 1, 2011.

3. The second Global Conference on Femininities & Masculinities is being held in Prague, Czech Republic, from May 3-5, 2012. Abstracts, related to any of the six themes of the conference, are required to be submitted by November 4, 2011. For further details, send an email to Rob Fisher.

4. The Amity Law School Delhi student journal invites submissions for the second issue of its first volume. Papers must be emailed by Saturday, November 5.

5. The Global Education Conference 2011 is being organised at the Acapulco Beach Club and Resort Hotel in Kyrenia, North Cyprus, from November 23-25. Abstracts must be submitted by Friday, November 11. For details, send an email to Aydın Kiper.

6. The National Law University, Delhi is organising a conference on banking law from December 2-4. Papers on the theme of 'Regulatory Infrastructure for Banking & Financial Stability and Inclusive Growth' must be emailed to them by Friday, November 18. For details, send an email to Risham Garg.

The second NLS Union Debate

In a bid to restore what they saw as growing ignorance of principled justifications to policy and falling civil society consciousness and engagement, and promote greater engagement between teachers, students, practitioners and the rest of the legal fraternity, the Law and Society Committee and the Literary & Debating Society of the National Law School of India University, Bangalore came together to organise the NLS Union Debates. The success of the first edition, debating the legitimacy of hunger strikes, featuring Justice Santosh Hegde and Prof. (Dr.) Hargopal, pre-empted many of the legitimacy concerns that were eventually associated with the Lokpal Movement and prompted the organizers to make the event a regular affair open to the public.

Modelled on the Oxford and Cambridge Union Debates, this form of parliamentary debating features three speakers on each team – an expert in the field, a faculty member, and a student of the National Law School. After six speeches, each lasting approximately ten minutes, the floor is thrown open for questions and comments from the audience, after which each team nominates one speaker to deliver the closing remarks for their side. The audience or the “members of the house”, as they are referred to, then vote to decide the outcome of the debate.

The motion for the second edition of the NLS Union Debate is that "Intelligence Agencies in India ought to be regulated by legislation”. In the recent past, the operations of intelligence agencies worldwide are being questioned on the grounds of violating fundamental rights under the official garb of 'higher considerations'. On the other hand, it may be possible to suggest that the public and their political representatives are not competent to understand and take decisions on some matters, especially terrorism and national security. This is made especially confusing as these agencies suggest the need for absolute secrecy for their operations.

This edition features as expert speakers Aditya Sondhi, a practicing advocate and NLSIU alumnus, who is appearing in a PIL before the Karnataka High Court, arguing that the lack thereof is unconstitutional, and in opposition, Dr. S.T. Ramesh, retired DG & IG, as well as former Assistant Director of the Intelligence Bureau in New Delhi. Faculty members Prof. S.V. Joga Rao and Sidharth Chauhan shall be their respective second speakers.

Jayadev Ranade, an expert on National Security and terrorism, who retired as Additional Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat and one time top-ranking official at the Research and Analysis Wing, will deliver opening remarks.

The event will take place on Thursday, September 15, 2011. Opening remarks and clarifications will begin at 5 pm and after a short break around 6 pm, the debate will commence at 6:30 pm.

Date: September 15, 2011

Time: 5 pm

Venue: NLSIU Campus, Nagarbhavi, Bangalore