Conference announcement

18th Biennial General Conference
Multiculturalism in a globalizing world: views from the Asia Pacific.
26th and 27th August 2009

President's message

11 June 2009

In my capacity as President of Association of Asian Social Science Research Councils (AASSREC), I am delighted to invite all social scientists to attend the 18th Biennial General Conference of AASSREC which will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, on 27 - 29 August 2009. The Conference is organized by the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) in collaboration with AASSREC. The theme for the Conference is Multiculturalism in a Globalizing World: Views from the Asia-Pacific.

Globalization transforms previously homogeneous cities or regions into complex meeting grounds for different ethnic, racial, religious and national groups, challenging the political and cultural system to accommodate this diversity. Cultural diversity is the heritage of mankind that every nation hopes to preserve, transmit, and modify their culture. An important aspect of multicultural society is to prepare its members for an acceptance and respect of cultural differences. Multicultural society also encourages alternative ways of life in the world that keeps changing so rapidly. In this sense, multicultural society acts as an incubator for creativity as well as initiative that in return, helps develop the society further. This Conference, thus, will have a key role in gathering the views and opinions of scholars from the region and elsewhere, in sharing experience of cultural diversity and in promoting research collaboration on specific problems of common interest among Asia-Pacific countries. It will also be an event to exchange experiences, extend the knowledge, and widen the cooperative networks of multiculturalism amongst institutions, scholars, NGOs and those interested.

During the same period and venue, NRCT is to organize Thailand Research Expo 2009 with an aim to display quality research works and research potential of agencies and research of the country. To this, all member organizations are more than welcomed to join this national event.

With impressive recollection, the last deliberation of AASSREC Biennial Conference in Japan in 2007 was conducted in an atmosphere of friendship and received great contribution from the member organizations. Thus, I count on your presence to make this Conference another fruitful event. We look forward to welcoming you at the 18th Biennial General Conference of the AASSREC in Bangkok, Thailand, in August 2009. We do hope that you will make it a priority to attend.

Prof. Ahnond Bunyaratvej
President

Secretary General's message

11 June 2009

Globalisation comes to us in many ways, most commonly perhaps in the form of both the planned and unintended consequences of market capitalism. Sometimes it is the result of the strategic aspirations of the governments and institutions that seek to accommodate the many developments laid bare by the extraordinary speed and volume of modern communications. The global consequences of our ever-accelerating world systems are notoriously and often alarmingly marked by environmental degradation, measured in endless ways, seemingly everywhere. In human terms, and put crudely, we know that our house is in disorder and in need of repair. Similarly the unintended consequences on civil societies of population growth, economic dislocations, growing inequalities and competition for increasingly scarce resources are also the stuff that catastrophes can be made of. On the 26th and 27th of August at its 18th Biennial Conference the Association of Asian Social Science Research Councils addresses the topic Multiculturalism in a Globalizing World: Views from the Asia Pacific. The conference will take up some of the issues that that underpin civil societies and demand the research and knowledge that will help us all understand the dimensions of the problems, the dilemmas that face our governments and the potential pathways toward tolerant, respectful and harmonic societies.

The Association of Asian Social Science Research Councils provides a most valuable forum for social science researchers and practitioners in the region. Through AASSREC social scientists have an opportunity to engage with peers across national and disciplinary boundaries, and on matters of national and international significance. At the 2009 Conference we will welcome the Royal Society of New Zealand as a new adhering body. We will also welcome participants from Taiwan China, Laos, Cambodia and hopefully, Bhutan. Membership in AASSREC is available to multiple appropriate institutions from any country in the region, and AASSREC seeks additional breadth and depth to contribute to our capacity to address regional issues.

AASSREC warmly acknowledges the early and crucial role of UNESCO in establishing its organisation, and we are pleased that in 2009 the Regional Unit in Social and Human Sciences in Asia and the Pacific (RUSHSAP) at UNESCO Bangkok will be a welcome contributor to the program.

In the future, AASSREC will need to build its programs and extend its support for social scientists in its region. It will also do well to engage with other regional associations in order to better define world-scale problems and raise the profile of Asian-Pacific social scientists and their contributions to knowledge.

John Beaton
Secretary General