Over 130 Dalit rights advocates are set to gather in Kathmandu from June 13 to 15 for the first-ever National Dalit Round Table conference.

The event aims to bring together activists, scholars, and civil society leaders from all seven provinces.

Organisers say the conference is a step towards building a shared vision for Dalit dignity, equality, inclusion and emancipation.

The conference draws inspiration from India’s Round Table dialogues in the 1930s, movements like the Catholic Worker initiative in the US, the Dutch-Indonesian Round Table Conference organised in 1949 and Seti-Mahakali Rastriya Mukti Morcha in October 2007.

“From Bishwakarma to Pariyar, Mijar to Badi, Chamar to Musahar and beyond, the conference belongs to every voice that’s often left out,” said Agni Sikha, a member of the organising committee.

The event is expected to conclude with the release of a National Dalit Declaration and an actionable roadmap for Dalit communities.

Nirmal Kumar Bishwakarma, former ambassador to South Africa and chief convener of the conference, said the event aims to “establish pathways for rightful and dignified Dalit presence in the halls of state power machinery, in national resources as well as in micro and macro political, economic and cultural structures.”