Date: March 9, 2026
Time: 12:30 – 2 PM (PST)
Location: Room 316, Liu Institute for Global Issues at UBC—6476 NW Marine Drive
Drawing upon their individual and collaborative research, the two speakers will explore how European funding is flowing into Nepal to support infrastructure development and “good governance” at the local level, while young people are flowing out of the country through labour migration to global locations including Europe. On the one hand quality of life is improving, while on the other fewer people remain in place to enjoy those benefits. We will consider how these dynamics unfold within a broader geopolitical context where competition between the EU, US, China, and India is negotiated on the ground through local people’s experiences.
A light lunch will be served. This event is co-sponsored by the Jean Monnet Center of Excellence in Critical Infrastructure Studies, Centre for European Studies, UBC Himalaya Program, and Disaster Resilience Research Network.
Read more here: https://ces.ubc.ca/events/event/disaster_governance_infrastructural_development_and_migration/
Bios
Sara Shneiderman is Ivan Head South-North IDRC Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology and School of Public Policy & Global Affairs at UBC. She is a sociocultural anthropologist who has worked in Nepal and the Himalayas for over 30 years. Her recent research focuses on post-disaster reconstruction and infrastructural development; she has recently co-edited the volume “Infrastructures of Democracy: Politics and Processes of Road Building in Rural Nepal”.
Jeevan Baniya is Deputy Director at Social Science Baha, a research institute in Kathmandu, Nepal. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Oslo, Norway, and has provided advisory and technical support to several ministries and agencies of the Government of Nepal, as well as international organizations. His current research interests include public policy, labour and migration, democracy and development, governance, disaster and state-society relations.
Over the last decade, Sara and Jeevan have collaborated on two major research partnerships: “Expertise, Labour, and Mobility in Nepal’s Post-Conflict, Post-Disaster Reconstruction” (SSHRC Partnership Development Grant) and “Sajag-Nepal: Planning and Preparedness for the Mountain Hazard and Risk Chain” (UK Research and Innovation Global Challenges Research Fund).
Funded by the European Union
Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.