Wed, 18 Jun 1997 21:46:40 -0400 (EDT)
Wed, 18 Jun 1997 21:46:35 -0400 (EDT)
by sam.comms.unsw.EDU.AU (8.7.5/8.7.5.kenso-central)
19 Jun 1997 11:46:26 +1000 (EST)
Date: Wed, 18 Jun 1997 21:50:52 -0400
From: Grant McCall <G.McCall@unsw.edu.au>
Subject: Re: Pacific & Islands V
In-reply-to: <33A7E719.665D@jhu.edu>
To: chriscd@jhu.edu
References: <v03007804afccdd60982e@[129.94.14.215]>
Okay, here it is:
INTERNATIONAL SMALL ISLANDS STUDIES ASSOCIATION - ISISA
Islands V - Small Islands in the Third Millennium - Problems and prospects
of island living
Mauritius -- 2 to 5 July 1998
ISISA is a voluntary, non-profit and independent organisation, the
objectives of which are to study islands on their own terms, and to
encourage free scholarly discussion on small island related matters such as
islandness, smallness, insularity, dependency, resource management and
environment, and the nature of island life. These objectives are pursued by
encouraging the networking of small island communities through
international communication systems, such as newsletters, journals and the
holding of periodic, multi-disciplinary conferences, employing appropriate
technologies to achieve these ends.
Though ISISA was not officially established until 1992 on the occasion of
the "Islands of the World III" conference held in Nassau, Bahamas, a group
of scholars and researchers, professionals and others from around the world
had met on two previous occasions, in Victoria, B.C., Canada, in 1986 and
in Tasmania, in 1988. ISISA met officially for the first time in Okinawa
(Japan) June 22-26, 1994. The meeting was sponsored jointly by the INSULA
(International Scientific Council for Island Development), International
University of Japan, the Okinawa Labor and Economic Research Institute and
the Office of the Governor of the Okinawa Prefecture. Topics discussed at
this meeting included global networking of island communities,
non-nuclearisation of island realms, gender relations in solving
socio-economic problems of small islands, island microstates and their
prospects, sustainable, environmentally sound agro-ecosystems, the case for
more effective utilisation of traditional resources and food-production
systems and many other issues concerning the nature of island life,
problems and prospects.
The members of the Executive Committee of ISISA are as follows:
ISISA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Dr. Vina Ram Bidesi
Ocean Resources Management Programme, University of the South Pacific, Fiji
Dr. Mark Hampton
Department of Economics, University of Portsmouth, UK
Dr. Teruyuki Higa
Department of Economics, Okinawa International University, Naha, Okinawa
Dr. Theo Hills
President, ISISA, Professor of Geography, McGill University, Canada
Dr. Grant McCall
Centre for South Pacific Studies, University of New South Wales, Australia
Dr. Peter Meincke
Institute of Island Studies, University of Prince Edward Island, Canada
ISLANDS OF THE WORLD V CONFERENCE will be held in Mauritius, early July
1998 (the dates are yet to be finalised) and is being sponsored by the
University of Mauritius, the Mauritius Institute of Education and the
Tertiary Education Commission. Dr. Prem Saddul is the ISLANDS V Meeting
Coordinator.
The major theme of the conference will be Small islands in the third
millennium - problems and prospects of island living. Special attention
will also be given to the following topics:
i) the uncertainties of coastal zones of small islands and the
ramifications for coastal peoples, their resources, culture, social life,
and economic livelihoods;
ii) the sustainability of typical coastal commercial and
subsistence activities such as fishing, agriculture and tourism;
iii) the effectiveness of regional island groupings for economic
purposes;
iv) how effectively do small island states explore and exploit the
rapidly increasing number of electronic networking systems that have
developed in the last decade? (Organiser Dr. Peter Meincke, a member of
ISISA executive committee, is the director of UNDP's Small Islands
Information Network - SIIN).
Dr. K. Yamazato, the first director of the recently established Research
Institute for the Subtropics, based in Okinawa, Japan, and a specialist in
coral reefs, has been invited to organise a session on "Human and
biophysical impacts on small island coral reefs".
There will also be a series of workshops in which, in contrast to
"sessions", the emphasis will be on instruction or provision of
information, more intensive discussion of specific topics.
One workshop will deal with remaining problems in expanding the use of
electronic networking systems.
Another will consider gender relations as an important aspect of developing
and maintaining environmentally sustainable small scale, intensive,
agroecosystems (tropical gardens).
Given that the conference is being held in Mauritius, famous for the
extinction of the "dodo", a workshop has also been proposed on the general
topic of "Small islands and biodiversity - the balance sheet in the year
2000".
Additional or alternative suggestions would be welcome.
For further details at this preliminary stage, please contact:
**********************************************************************
Theo L. Hills
Department of Geography
McGill University
805 Sherbrooke St. West
Montreal, CANADA H3A 2K6
Tel: (514) 398-4955
Fax: (514) 398-7437
Email: braidwood@felix.geog.mcgill.ca
**********************************************************************