Dr Panagiotis Pentaris is an Associate Professor of Social Work and Thanatology at the School of Human Sciences and Centre for Inequalities at the Institute for Lifecourse Development, and also a licensed social worker.
Contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals:
Panagiotis' work supports SDG's 3 - Good Health and Wellbeing, 5 - Gender Equality, 10 - Reduced Inequalities.
Reducing inequalities in healthcare, social life, and the University
Panagiotis’ work addresses inequalities related to culture, religion, gender, LGBTQ+ identities and ageing. He has studied assisted dying and assisted suicide in relation to ageism in social and healthcare students and workers. He has also studied challenges and controversies that healthcare professionals face when working with service users who are religious or have strong feelings of faith, and has found incompleteness in training related to religiosity.
During the COVID crisis, he identified, across different nations, age-related risks of loneliness, isolation, financial deprivation and mental health challenges, and emphasised the need to support the equality and rights of older people, and the importance of social workers at the individual, community and policy levels.
He has also studied LGBTQ issues related to the formation of families. His work has identified key barriers to forming a family, namely a lack of social recognition and internalised oppression.
His work has informed extensive service work at the University of Greenwich aimed at improving policy in relation to equality, diversity and inclusion. For example, he has: received funding from the university to recruit a research fellow specifically to study LGBT+ culture, lived experience and future directives; worked on revamping the University’s diversity staff training; organized events on anti-racism, LGBT+ equality, micoraggressions,and allyship; and worked on the University’s Inclusive Language Guidance.
Our Commitment to Sustainability
Here at Greenwich we recognise our responsibility for ensuring we deliver sustainability across our teaching, research and operations and this is reflected in our university Strategy 2030. In June 2020, we also committed our teaching staff to include sustainability in their programmes. This is included in the Curriculum Framework.
Our Global Responsibility
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests. - Source United Nations
