Qualifications:

• Women Leadership Programme, Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, India, 2022
• India Data Portal Masterclass, Bharti Institute of Public Policy, Indian School of Business, India, 2020-21
• Post Grad Diploma in Human Rights Law, National Law School of India University, Bangalore, 2004
• Post Graduate in Sociology, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University, 1999
• Post Graduate Diploma in English and Journalism (Print and Broadcast), Indian Institute of Mass Communication, 1997
• Bachelor of Arts (Economics-Honours, Geography-Subsidiary), Ravenshaw Autonomous College, Utkal University, 1996

Research Interests:

• Child Rights
• Children, State and Access to Justice
• Human Rights
• State and Citizens’ Engagement
• Media Ethics
• Food Justice
• International Cooperation and Development
• Reporting Rights and Censorship
• Public Health and Nutrition

Subjects Taught:

• Child Rights
• Media Ethics and Development Journalism
• Food Justice
• Childhood and the Political Economy
• Public policy and financing
• Civil society and public engagement

Brief Biographical Note: Biraj Swain is a senior global development expert with over 23 years of experience. She  has worked in India, South Asia, South East Asia, East Africa and at the global level. She works on the intersection of global development, citizen-state-engagement and media ethics. Her sector expertise are human rights and child rights, public health and nutrition, food justice, poverty and inequality, citizen-state-engagement, reporting rights and media ethics. She has created the multi-media series #ChildhoodMatters and “Global Summits: Where are we going?” and edited the reader “Standing on the Threshold: Food Justice in India” published by Wiley-Blackwell and co-created and co-authored the reader “Nourishing the Indian Tribal” published by Unicef, which went on to inform Unicef’s nutrition programming with the indigenous population of the country. She has been jury member of the 5th India International Children’s Film Festival in 1987. She has led multi-country teams. She has been extensively published in peer-reviewed academic journals and high impact credible media platforms (Guardian, Huffington Post, Wire, Hindu, Frontline, From Poverty to Power, Development Horizons etc). She has won numerous prestigious fellowships, some select ones are Kalam Institute of Health Technology senior fellowship (2018-19), International Centre for Journalists Washington DC Fellowship (2017-18), Oxfam Campaign Advocacy Leadership Fellow Programme (2011-12) and Women in Security Conflict Management and Peace (WISCOMP) Fellowship (2003). Some of the organisations where she has held key leadership positions are: Nutrition International, Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation, Global Call to Action Against Poverty, Oxfam International, WaterAid, ActionAid. Some key consultancies she has done are with flagship initiatives funded by UK Aid, World Bank, Breakthrough.TV, Aga Khan Building and Planning Initiative etc. She has been Visiting Professor at UN University Tokyo, SLU Uppsala, Jindal Global Law University, Rotary International Peace Centre, International University of Japan, Pondicherry Central University and various journalism and public policy schools. She has also been the member of Mass Communication curriculum drafting task force for the National Institute of Open Schooling. Her research interests are “human rights and child rights”, “state and citizen engagement”, “inequality and human rights” and “media ethics, media ownership and reporting rights”.

Books/Edited Books:

• 2012: Standing on the threshold: Food Justice in India, IDS Bulletin, Special Issue-1, Volume 43, Number S1, ISSN - 0265-5012 (with Haddad, Lawrence and Chandrasekhar, CP) (Ed) (July, 2012).
• 2014: Nourishing India’s Tribal Children: The nutrition situation of India’s scheduled tribes (with Vani Sethi and others), Unicef https://doczz.net/doc/734536/nourishing-india-s-tribal-children

Book Chapters:

• 2019: ‘Do children’s issues make news?’ in Enakshi Ganguly (ed.) India’s children continue to challenge our conscience, HAQ Centre for Child Rights’ Edited Volume on the occasion of UN CRC’s 30th anniversary, ISBN: 978-93-83807-12-3, pp. 268-276. https://www.haqcrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/indias-children-continue-tochallenge-our-conscience.pdf
• 2019: Participatory Research Methods: Why Participation, What Empowerment, Whose Research? (with M. Kumaran), in Shoma Choudhury Lahiri (ed.) Doing Social Research: Qualitative Methods of Research in Sociology, Orient Black Swan, ISBN – 9789352879205.
• 2013: ‘Small Towns their limited resourcing options and equity deficits’ in RN Sharma and RS Sandhu (eds.) Small Cities and Towns in Global Era: Emerging Changes and Perspectives, Rawat Publications, ISBN 9788131605752.
• 2012: Madhya Pradesh’s Complex Challenges: Under-nutrition and Infectious Diseases in  Anjal Prakash, VS Sarvanan, and Jayati Chourey (eds.), Interlacing Water and Human Health: Case studies from South Asia, SAGE Publications, ISBN: 978-81-321-0725-5.

Articles:

• 2021: ‘Covid in South Asia - India and Nepal’ ( with Kamran Abbasi, Srinath Reddy, and Buddha Basnyat) in The BMJ Podcast, British Medical Journal, October 19th, 2021 The BMJ Podcast: Covid in south Asia - India and Nepal on Apple Podcasts
• 2017: ‘Rewire the system-Changing the rules for inclusion’ in Barefoot Guide 5: Mission Inclusion, Stories and practices of a world where all belong, MCNV Netherlands and CDRA South Africa, https://www.barefootguide.org/barefoot-guide-5---english.html
• 2015: ‘LANNing in South Asia: Need for New Optics’, (with Ranvir Singh) in Farmers Forum, March, 2015, pp. 34-43, (68) 'LANN'ing South Asia: Need for New Optics | Ranvir Singh - Academia.edu
• 2014: ‘Dalits and Under-nutrition: Levels, determinants, affirmative actions, challenges  and way forward, Research Trends,’ (with Ranvir Singh) in International Journal for Arts, Management and Humanities, 3(2), ISSN: 2319-5231
• 2014: Mind the gap: Affirmative Nutrition Action for Adivasis, (with Vani Sethi), Seminar Magazine, September, 2014  661 Biraj Swain & Vani Sethi, Mind the gap (india-seminar.com)
• 2013: Of False Premises, Faulty Reportage and Declining Hunger: Unravelling the Enigma, (with M. Kumaran) in MacroScan, January 30, 2013, https://www.macroscan.org/anl/jan13/pdf/Kumaran_Swain.pdf
• 2013: Of False Premises, Faulty Reportage and Declining Hunger: Unravelling the Enigma, (with M. Kumaran) in MacroScan, January 30, 2013, https://www.macroscan.org/anl/jan13/pdf/Kumaran_Swain.pdf
• 2013: ‘Women in Agriculture, Recognizing them, Reprioritizing them,’ (with Ranvir Singh) in Ecological Democracy, Volume 1, Issue 1, April 2013.
• 2013: ‘Small Farmers Institutions and the 12th Five Year Plan: Making the triad talk,’ (with Ranvir Singh) in Ecological Democracy, Volume 1, Issue 2, May 2013.
• 2013: ‘The State of Food Insecurity Report 2012 and the enigma of achieving Millennium Development Goals,’ (with V. Bajpai) in Global Journal of Medicine and Public Health, Volume 2, Issue 3, July 2013, ISSN: 2277-9604.
• 2012: ‘Standing on the threshold: Food Justice in India’ (with Lawrence Haddad, CP Chandrasekhar) in IDS Bulletin, Special Issue-1, Volume 43, Number S1, ISSN: 0265-5012.
• 2012: ‘Who do ICDS and PDS exclude and what can be done to change this?’ (with M. Kumaran) in IDS Bulletin, Special Issue-1, Volume 43, Number S1, July 2012, ISSN: 0265-5012
• 2009: ‘Bridging the malnutrition gap with Social Audits and Community Participation’ (with Priti Dave Sen) in IDS Bulletin, Vol.40 No 4, ISSN: 0265-5012.
• 2011: ‘Regulating Government Doctors’ Private Practise: When Code of Ethics falls short’ in CBGA Budget Track, Volume 8, Track-2, August, 2011 https://www.cbgaindia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/BT_Vol_8_Track_2.pdf
• 2011: ‘Food Inaccess in India: An Uncommon Suffering’ in Trade Insight South Asia, Volume-7, No 3-4, 2011  https://sawtee.org/publications/Trade-Insight-21.pdf
• 2007: ‘The true cost of concessional loans: On-lending practices at the Asian Development Bank’ in WaterAid Global imprint, https://nl.ircwash.org/sites/default/files/WaterAid-2007-True.pdf
• 2006: ‘Citizens’ Action: How Bridging the Accountability Gap leads to Improved Services’ (with James Wicken, and Peter Ryan) in 32^ndWEDC International Conference, Colombo, Sri Lanka https://wedc- nowledge.lboro.ac.uk/resources/conference/32/swain.pdf

• 2006: ‘Sanitation for all-Still a long way to go: Learnings and Approaches’ (curated and edited), in WaterAid Global Imprint, 2006. file:///C:/Users/binay/AppData/Local/Temp/MicrosoftEdgeDownloads/34ad6bf3-28a1-4b23-9492-5693d5a13fa9/sanitation-for-all---still-a-long-way-to-go-2006%20(1).pdf

• 2006:Water for All? A synthesis report, A study on the effectiveness of Asian Development Bank funded water and sanitation projects in ensuring sustainable services for the poor, (with James Wicken) in WaterAid Global Imprint. water-for-all-review-of-asian-development-banks-water-policy-implementation-in-nepals-context.pdf

• 2024: 9^thConference of International Society for Child Indicators, NLU Odisha and ISCI, Bhubaneswar, India during 14^th – 16^th February 2024. (Chaired four technical sessions: Session 1 - Essence of Childhood, Session 6 – Children’s freedom of Choice: Basic rights of Children’s happiness and wellbeing etc.)
• 2021: Nutrition for Growth, Social Protection as Nutrition, ADB and Nutrition International, Virtual-Manila-Philippines
• 2020: EvalFest, Evidence Building for Achieving SDGs: Digital Development and Inclusion, Session: Role of media in evidence-based policy and planning, International Evaluation Conclave, Centre for Media Studies-Oxfam International-Evaluation Consortium, Delhi
• 2019: Media, Development and Civil Society, Global Investigative Journalists Network, MacArthur Foundation Leadership Retreat, Hamburg-Germany
• 2019: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Oxford, Unpacking Fake News and Political Parties’ and Democratic Election
• 2018: 70^thWorld Health Assembly, World Health Organisation, PMNCH, International Centre for Journalists, Washington DC, Geneva
• 2016: 1^stUN Conference on Refugees, New York
• 2015: 21^stConference of Parties, UN Framework Conference on Climate Change, Paris
• 2015: 3^rdInter-ministerial Financing for Development Summit, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• 2015: 10^thWorld Trade Organisation Ministerial, Nairobi, Kenya
• 2015: 70^thUN General Assembly on Sustainable Development Goals, Participation sponsored by UN Women, Part of my podcast “Global Summits: Where are we going?”
• 2014: 69^thUN General Assembly on Road to SDGs and Action/2015, participation sponsored by Global Call to Action Against Poverty
• 2014: 1^stconference on Transparency and Accountability in Mining and Natural Resources Sector, National Endowment for Democracy and the UN Special Rapporteur on Right to Freedom of Assembly and Association’s Office, Bangkok
• 2012: Rio + 20: Road to Sustainable Development Goals Summit, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

National (05)

• 2017: Global Refugee Crisis and the New Lexicon, Jindal Global Law University, Sonepat, Delhi NCR
• 2018: Session: Setting up structures to institutionalize quality of care with equity and dignity, Partnership for Maternal Newborn and Child Health, Official Side Event, Govt of India, WHO, PMNCH, Delhi.
• 2018: Reporting child rights: Current state of play and need for new engagements-From nutrition, healthcare to violence, International Centre for Research on Women-Delhi
• 2019: Data Revolution, SDGs and Censorship, Measuring Development, Sambodhi Research and Communications Limited, Noida, Delhi NCR
• 2021: National Conference on Media and Journalism, Session: Social Media and Pandemic of Trolling, MIT-WPU University, Pune-Virtual

E-content Produced (10)

• 2022:https://thewire.in/author/biraj-swain
• 2021: Abbasi, Kamran, Reddy, Srinath, Swain, Biraj and Basnyat, Buddha, Covid in South Asia - India and Nepal, The BMJ Podcast, British Medical Journal, October 19th, 2021 The BMJ Podcast: Covid in south Asia - India and Nepal on Apple Podcasts
• 2021: https://youtu.be/4iqsSF-p5vs
• 2020:#ChildhoodMatters: A 24-part multi-media series funded by ICFJ Fellowship and Tata Trusts on all aspects of ECD (public finance, policy, political economy, science and sociology) and why mainstream journalism needs to prioritise it
  • Presented almost 30 civil society organisations’ interventions and perspectives though the series
  • The series featured over 50 policy-makers, key influencers (at global and national level)
  • https://www.newslaundry.com/tv/childhood-matters
• 2020: Global Summits: Where are we going? - This was the only dedicated series which spotlighted the global development summits and their impact on our everyday lives, our shared destinies in South Asia without a single manel https://www.newslaundry.com/author/biraj-swain-2
• https://www.newslaundry.com/author/biraj-swain
• 2020:https://www.thequint.com/author/1251647/biraj-swain
• 2015:https://www.downtoearth.org.in/author/biraj-swain-2304
• 2015:https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2014/08/ub40-got-name-social-protection-must-become-universal-right/
• 2012: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/jul/16/fighting-food-security-india

Awards/Fellowships:

• Early Child Development Fellowship, by International Centre for Journalists, Washington DC, 2017-18
• Senior Fellow, Health Technology, Equity and Access, by Kalam Institute of Health Technology (supported by Department of Science and Technology) 2018-19
• Campaign Advocacy and Leadership Programme, by Oxfam International, 2011-12
• Women In Security Conflict Management and Peace (WISCOMP) Fellowship (2003) by HH Dalai Lama Foundation for Universal Responsibility (founded with his Nobel Prize), 2003
• Jury member, 5^thInternational Children’s Film Festival, organised by Children’s Film Society of India, 1987

Special Invited Lectures/Invited Resource Person/Panelist: (31)

• Invited Lecture on “Reporting child rights: Current state of play and need for new engagements - From nutrition, healthcare to violence” Host: Dr Ravi Verma, Asia Regional Director, International Centre for Research on Women, ICRW, Delhi on October 10, 2018.
• Panelist in National Conference on “Media and Journalism”, Session: Social Media and Pandemic of Trolling, Host: Dhiraj Singh, Dean, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, MIT World Peace University, Pune (Virtual mode) on October 20-23, 2021
• Resource Person on “Challenges of Enagaging with the Changing Media” on Adolescent Programmes/Sexual Reproductive Health Rights, Host: Sohini Bhattacharya, CEO, Breakthrough TV (Virtual mode) on January 19, 2021
• Resource Person/Panelist, “EvalFest Evidence Building for Achieving SDGs: Digital Development and Inclusion”, Session: Role of media in evidence-based policy and planning, Host: Dr PN Vasanti, Director General, Centre for Media Studies, EvalFest-International Conclave of Evaluation and Communications, Delhi on February12-14, 2020
• Invited Lecture/Deep dive on “Media State and Civil Society” Host: Moutushi Sengupta, India Country Director, MacArthur Foundation, Hamburg on September 22-29, 2019
• Invited Lecture on “Violence against doctors: The public health challenge”, Host: Dr Anoop Saraya/ Dr Vijay Gurjar, AIIMS Front for Social Consciousness, AIIMS, Delhi on July 01, 2019
• Invited Lecture on “Data Revolution, SDGs and Censorship”, Host: Swapnil Shekhar, Co-Founder and Director, Sambodhi Research and Communications Private Limited, Noida on May 29, 2019
• Moderator in “Setting up structures to institutionalize quality of care with equity and dignity” Partnership for Maternal Newborn and Child Health, Official Side Event, Host: Dr Ajay Khera (then WHO India Country Director) on behalf of WHO, PMNCH and Govt of India-MoHFW, Delhi on December 11, 2018
• Invited Lecture on “Global Refugee Crisis and the New Lexicon”, Host: Prof R Sudarshan, Dean, Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, Jindal Global Law University, Sonipat on February November 15, 2017.
• Panelist in Session: “Poverty and Inequality International Conference on Transforming India 2030: Strategies for SDGs”, Host: Prof Jyoti Chandiramani, Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Symbiosis International University on February 15-17. 2017
• Resource Person in Session: “Food Security, Food Justice and Small Farmers in India”, Summer School: An Agenda for Survival, Host: Sharmila Sinha, Deputy Manager, Environment Education Division, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), International Course, Delhi (Recurring: August 2014, August 2015, August 2016)
• Invited Lecture on “Global Refugee Crises and the role of media”, Host: Prof. Parvaiz Alam, Dean, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Apeejay STYA University, Sohna on September 16, 2016.
• Invited Lecture on “Global Refugee Crisis and Journalism and screening of Young Syrian Lenses”, Host: Prof KG Suresh, Director General, Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi on October 14, 2016
• Invited Lecture on “Global Refugees Crisis, Unaccompanied Minors and Media”, Host: Prof NR Mohanty, Director, Jagran Institute of Management and Mass-Communication, Delhi on November 17, 2016
• Invited Lectures on “Data, Accountability and Censorship”, “Reporting Hunger, Media and Censorship”, “SDGs amidst global hopes and fears”, “Workshop for Res Scholars and Faculty on Funding trends in Media and Studies” and “1-0-1 of fund-raising”, Host: Dr. S. Mohammed Haneef, Assistant Professor, Dept of Electronic Media and Mass Communication, Pondicherry Central University, Pondicherry during February 2011, November 2012, and November 2015
• Invited Open Lecture on “SDGs amidst global hopes and global fears: In transit and in between”, Host: Prof Giorgiandrea Shani, Director, Director Rotary Peace Centre and Senior Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations, International Christian University, Tokyo on October 15, 2015
• Invited Open Lecture on “SDGs amidst global hopes and fears: In transit and in between”, Host: Dr Naoko Kumagai, Associate Professor, International University of Japan, Nigata on October 07, 2015
• Invited Lecture Series for International Cooperation Course on “Food Justice and agrarian agenda: Challenging Hunger and Exclusion”, & “Reporting Hunger: Media and deprivation coverage”, Host: Prof. John Clammer, Professor and Course Coordinator, International Courses, United Nations University (UNU), Tokyo on October 5-6, 2015
• Seminar presentation on “Data Revolution 2.0 and censorship 2.0”, Host: Dr Kapil Yadav, Assistant Professor, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS, Delhi on June 26, 2015
• Invited Lecture on “The nature of poverty: A grasshopper’s view”, & “Emerging Patterns of Inequality and the global south”, Host: Prof. John Clammer, Professor and Course Coordinator, International Courses, UNU Tokyo on October 7-11, 2012
• Invited Lecture Series on “Media Enrichment” - Rural distress and Agrarian crisis reportage, Censorship Laws & Murdoch and Media Ethics (Levesson Inquiry), Science Policy and Public Engagement, Media’s blindspots: Food Security, Water and Essential Services, Host: Dr S Mohammed Haneef, Assistant Professor, Dept of Electronic Media and Mass Communication, Pondicherry Central University, Pondicherry during December 16-22, 2012
• Panelist / Invited Speaker in Global Conference on “Agriculture and Development, Food Justice and Agrarian Agenda: Challenging Hunger and Exclusion”, Host: Dr. Linley Chiwona Karltun, Associate Professor, Department of Rural and Urban Development, Swedish University of Agriculture Sciences, SLU Uppsala on September 12-13, 2012
• Panelist in First Global Conference on “Women and Agriculture, Women, Nutrition, Agriculture: The Scale Challenge”, Host: Dr. Peter E Kenmore, UN FAO, GCWA Steering Committee, organized by Govt of India, UN FAO, UN WFP, IFAD, World Bank and ADB and Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, CGIAR-UN-GoI, Delhi on March 13-15, 2012
• Invited Lecture on “Global Goals and the Global South, & MDGs: Where they stand and why they are?” Host: Prof. JAK Tareen, VC-Pondicherry Central University for Centre for South Asian Studies, UNESCO Madanjeet Singh Institute of South Asian Regional Conference (UNESCO-MISARC) and School of Media and Communication, Pondicherry Central University, Pondicherry in February, 2011
• Invited Lecture on “Article 19, Censorship and Substantive Unfreedoms, & Sense and Censorability”, Host: Dr S Mohammed Haneef, Assistant Professor, Dept of Electronic Media and Mass Communication, Pondicherry Central University, Pondicherry in February, 2011
• Seminar presentation on Sense and Censorability, Host: Dr Kasturi Mandal, National Institute of Science Technology and Development Studies, Delhi on April 19, 2011
• Paper presentation in 3^rdNational Bioethics Conference on “Governance of Healthcare – Ethics, Equity and Justice”, Session: Government doctors, private practice and the ethics challenge, Host: George Thomas, Indian Journal of Medical Ethics in December 17-20, 2010
• Invited Lectures on “Poverty and Inequality, Labour and Sociology, & Gender Studies, Care Economy and Social Protection”, Host: Prof. JAK Tareen, VC, Pondicherry Central University for Department of Sociology, Pondicherry Central University, Pondicherry during December, 2010
• Invited Lectures on “The nature of poverty: A grasshopper’s view,” & “Emerging Patterns of Inequality and the global south”, Host: Prof John Clammer, Professor and Course Coordinator, International Courses, UNU Tokyo in June, 2010
• Poster presentation in International Symposium on “Tribal Health”, topic - ‘Reaching Health Services to the indigenous population: The service provision challenge’, Host: Regional Medical Research Centre for Tribals, Indian Council of Medical Research, Jabalpur during February 27 - March 01, 2009
• Invited speaker/Delegate in “NRHM National Conclave of Health and Equity, Madhya Pradesh: Health Equity Challenges and a Way Forward”, Host: Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, GoMP for MoHFW-GOI, National Rural Health Mission Review and Learning Conclave, Bhubaneswar on September 6-8, 2009