Keynote Speaker
Dr. Kay Siebler
Associate Professor of English and Women and Gender Studies at the University of Nebraska Omaha in the U.S
Dr. Kay Siebler is an Associate Professor of English and Women and Gender Studies at the University of Nebraska Omaha in the U.S. She has published several books and articles on the intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality, and identity. Her most recent book, Black Women Shattering Stereotypes, examines the films and streaming media created and produced for/by Black women. She is currently working on a book focused on gender-nonconforming children through the lens of parenting, schooling, and health care. She teaches writing, rhetoric, rhetoric, and gender studies courses, working with graduate students as well as undergraduate students to understand the complexities of contemporary issues, locally and globally.
Highlighted Speakers
Associate Professor Cate Thomas
Session Chair
Associate Professor Cate Thomas PhD (USyd), from Charles Sturt University Australia, has a diverse working and academic career, is a dynamic leader and strategic thinker. Her research focuses on intersectionality and gender equity in higher education to inform social change and reduce systemic and structural barriers for all. She is the founder of the Social Equality, Intersectionality and Inclusion Research Group with national and international membership. Cate was awarded the inaugural HERDSA Heroes in Higher Education Award (2021), the ANZSWWER Social Work Educator Award (2017), and is an Executive Committee member of the Gender and Education Association (UK).
Dr. Nawar Al-Hassan Golley
Highlighted Speaker
Dr. Nawar Al-Hassan Golley is Professor in literary and critical theory and gender and women’s studies at the American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Al-Hassan Golley worked at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, before joining AUS. She is the author of, Reading Arab Women’s Autobiographies. Shahrazad Tells her Story, editor of Arab Women’s Lives Retold. Exploring Identity Through Writing, co-editor of Mapping Arab Women’s Movements: A Century of Transformations from Within and Guest Editor of HAWWA: Journal of Women of the Middle East and the Islamic World’s Beyond Boundaries: Exploring Arab Women’s Autobiographical Narratives. Al-Hassan Golley developed the program in Women’s Studies at AUS, the first of its kind in the Gulf region and organized the first conference on Gender and Women’s Studies in the Arab Region in 2012. She is the recipient of the Research Award from the College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Al-Hassan Golley adopts interdisciplinary approaches in her teaching and research.
Dr. Erika K. Smith
Highlighted Speaker
Dr. Ngozi Dorathy Ulogu
Highlighted Speaker
Dr. Ngozi Dora Ulogu, Ph.D., Fnipr, is a Lecturer in the Department of English Language and Literature, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria. She has the following educational qualifications: BA (Hons) English, (1997), PGDE (2001), MA Literature, (2005), Ph.D English and Literary Studies (2018), PGD Mass Communication (in view). She has the following awards: 2024 Early Career Conference Grant of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, ACU,; 2024 Impact Scholarship of The Leaders of Africa Research Institute, 2023 Ife Institute of Advanced Studies Fellowship, IIAS and Fellowship of Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, NIPR. Ngozi loves meeting people and impacting her environment.
Ms. Sofia Maia
Highlighted Speaker
Ms. Ana Sofia Monteiro Maia is a PhD candidate in Public Health at the University of Porto and the Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich. She holds a Master’s degree in Sociology. Her research interests include the impact of gender inequalities on health and well-being, with a particular focus on healthy aging, and social policies.
Mrs. Hulugalla W.M. Niranjala
Highlighted Speaker
Mr. Lorenzo Belli
Highlighted Speaker
Mr. Lorenzo Belli (he/him) is currently a PhD student in the program of Political and Social Sciences at the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), Spain. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Bologna (Italy), a master’s degree with honors in Sociology and Social Research from University of Trento (Italy), and a master’s degree in Sociology and Demography from UPF.
Lorenzo’s main academic interests include social and gender inequalities, gender-based violence, criminology and, youth and adulthood studies. He is currently working on the project “Life-course trajectories of abusers and victims of intimate partner violence (DONTHURTME)” lead by Prof.
Jorge Rodríguez Menés.
Past Speaker
Prof. Robert O’Mochain
Department of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto
For many years, Prof. Robert O’Mochain has explored gender and sexuality issues in Japanese social and cultural contexts. His initial interest was in pedagogical issues that focus on the appropriate framing of issues surrounding discrimination against sexual minorities and vulnerable groups, and this formed the focus of his doctoral dissertation, which highlighted the role of masculinities (O’Mochain, 2006: 2010; 2019a). More recently, he has focused on issues of sexual violence, the teaching of such issues, and the significance of sexual harassment as an issue for global society with particular regard to utilizations of digital technology through social network campaigns and global positioning dating forums (O’Mochain, 2018a, 2018b; 2019b; 2021a; 2021b) and as an issue for Japanese society (O’Mochain, 2021c). This research history indicates a deep interest in the necessity of meeting the challenges posed to sexual autonomy by the rise of digitalized technology and polarized debates on gender and sexuality.
