Social Transformation in the Asia Pacific Region

An international conference and symposium jointly convened by the Centre for Asia Pacific Social Transformation Studies (CAPSTRANS) and the UNESCO-MOST (Management of Social Transformations) Program.

Conference: University of Wollongong, December 4-6, 2000 Pre-Conference Symposium: University of Newcastle, December 1, 2000

CALL FOR PAPERS AND EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

This will be the first of an international series of five UNESCO-MOST sponsored conferences exploring the specific characteristics of globalisation and social transformation in the various world regions.

Globalisation and regional integration are changing the way people live, work and relate to each other all over the world. Societies and communities often have no choice about participating in global networks, but the character of their participation is shaped by specific social, cultural, economic and political conditions. This complex multi-level process of mediation between the global and the local is the focus of a new inter-disciplinary field of research: social transformation studies.

Unlike traditional development studies, this new approach does not take the western model as the aspired goal, but rather sees social transformation as an open-ended process affecting all parts of the world.

CAPSTRANS has been established jointly by the University of Wollongong and the University of Newcastle, Australia, to analyse processes of social transformation in the Asia Pacific region. CAPSTRANS works closely with UNESCO-MOST through the coordination of research networks involving many Asia Pacific countries.

The Conference will bring together leading global theorists and Asia Pacific scholars to analyse social transformation in the region. Representatives of government, business and non-governmental organisations will be invited to contribute to debates on strategies for managing social transformation and achieving sustainable human development.

The results will be published as a major international book.

Conference program

Confirmed speakers:
Professor Stephen Castles, Director, CAPSTRANS
Rakawin Leechanavanichpan, Co-ordinator, Homenet Thailand
Professor Walden Bello, Department of Sociology, University of The Philippines, Diliman
Professor K.S. Jomo, Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya
Mr Neville Roach, CEO, Fujitsu Australia
Professor Stephen Hill, UNESCO
Dr Diana Wong, Deputy Director, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore
Professor Gary Rodan, Business, Politics and International Studies, Murdoch University, Australia
Dr Amara Pongsapich, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
Dr Suwanna Satha-Anand, Department of Philosophy, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
Mr Alan Matheson, International Officer, ACTU
Professor Nigel Haworth, International Business School, University of Auckland
Dr Fadzillah Cooke, Research Fellow, Department of Human Geography, Australian National University
Dr Ledivina V. Carino, Dean, Faculty of Public Administration, University of The Philippines
Professor Kenichiro Hirano, International Relations, Waseda University
Professor Michael Cernea, World Bank
Dr Virginia Miralao, Chair, Philippine Social Science Council

The conference includes:

Keynote session

• Global Trends and Asia Pacific Responses.

  Five plenary sessions:

• From Development Studies to the Analysis of Social Transformation: new perspectives
• Improving the Development Performance of the International Community
• Democracy, Civil Society and the State
• Eastern and Western Philosophies in the Transformation Process
• Globalisation from Below

  Roundtable Discussion:

• Responding to Social Transformations: Researchers, Policymakers and Communities Working Together to conclude the conference

• Series of Parallel Sessions focussing on a range of crucial themes

  The call for papers is for contributions for the following parallel sessions:

  • Migration, multicultural societies and the post-colonial Nation-State
  • Technological innovation and societal effects
  • Human resource development
  • Asian labour in the era of globalisation
  • Social policy and welfare in post-crisis Asia
  • Culture, identity and community in the transformation process
  • The human costs of development
  • 'Asian values', modernisation and development