The Fifth Afrasian International Symposium

“Conflict Resolution in the Afrasian Context:
Examining more Inclusive Approaches”

Date: 6 February 2010

Venue: REC Hall, Seta Campus, Ryukoku University

Contributors: Ralph Pettman, Kosuke Shimizu, Thomas Brudholm, Ching-Chang Chen, Josuke Ikeda, Yih-Jye Hwang, Lindsay Black, Young-Chul Cho, Tomoya Kamino, Kazue Demachi, Shiro Sato

The Afrasian Centre held the Fifth International Symposium, entitled “Conflict Resolution in the Afrasian Context: Examining More Inclusive Approaches”, on 6 February 2010 at REC Hall, Seta Campus of Ryukoku University. We examined theories and practices of ‘non-Western’ conflict resolution mainly from the viewpoint of International Relations. It snowed heavily on the day of the symposium, but more than 60 people attended and there was lively discussion.

Keynote Speech: “Is there a ‘Japanese’ approach to conflict resolution?”
Panel 1: ‘Trans-Western’ Theory of International Relations
Panel 2: Re-thinking Contemporary Issues in Africa and Asia
Session�T: Re-thinking ‘Human Security’ in Africa and Asia
Session�U: Re-thinking Humanitarian ‘Discourse’ in Africa and Asia
Session�V: Re-Thinking ‘the Diplomacy of Japan’ towards Africa and Asia

The Fourth Afrasian International Symposium

“The Question of Poverty and Development in Conflict and Conflict Resolution”

Date: 15 and 16 November 2008

Venue: 3F Seiwa-kan Hall, Omiya Campus, Ryukoku University

Contributors: Peter Little, Ken-ichi Abe, Hiroyoshi Kano, Gotz Hoeppe, Toru Sagawa, Shamsul A. B., Tatsuro Fujikura, Masahisa Kawabata, Motoko Shimagami, Mark Baker, Colin Nicholas, Bengt Karlsson, Mitsuo Ichikawa, Hideki Esho, Pandurang Hegde, Benedict Anderson, Kaoru Sugihara, Nobuko Nagasaki, Tsuyoshi Kato, Atsushi Kitahara, Hisashi Nakamura, Pauline Kent, Eriko Aoki, Takehiko Ochiai, Maria Reinaruth Desiderio Carlos, and Shinji Suzuki

Ryukoku University hosted the Fourth Afrasian International Symposium, entitled The Question of Poverty and Development in Conflict and Conflict Resolution, on 15 and 16 November 2008 at Omiya Campus of Ryukoku University. The symposium welcomed participants engaged in research and other activities in Africa as well as South and Southeast Asia; and there were presentations from nine Japanese and eight overseas presenters. The program centered on two keynote speeches followed by panel discussions on Poverty and the Dynamics of Conflict Management and the Rural Community as an Arena of Development and Conflict, and ended by a concluding panel discussion and roundtable discussion. A total of one hundred people attended the event over two days and the Seiwa-kan Hall was the scene of lively debate during this time. (Symposium Chair Tsuyoshi Kato)

PANEL I: Poverty and Dynamics of Conflict Management
Session I: Local Knowledge of Sustenance and Challenges of Development
Session II: Situating Poverty in Conflict Resolution and Peace-Building

PANEL II: Rural Community as an Arena of Development and Conflict
Session III: Community vs. State: Who Controls Local Resources and for What?
Session IV: Development Agenda and Indigenous People at the Margins

Concluding Panel: Reflections on Poverty, Development and Conflict: Why Should We Care about Other People’s Development and in What Way?

Roundtable Discussion

  You can download the timetable of the symposium by clicking here.

  Photos of the Forth International Symposium:

The Third Afrasian International Symposium

“Resources under Stress: Sustainability of the Local Community in Asia and Africa”

Date:    23 and 24 February 2008

Venue:  3F Seiwakan-Hall, Omiya Campus, Ryukoku University, Kyoto, Japan

Contributors: Yoshio Kawamura, Norman Uphoff, N. Shanmugaratnam, Kazuo Takahashi, Koichi Fujita, Masaki Nakabayashi, Koji Tanaka, K. Palanisami, Hisashi Nakamura, Shinya Ishizaka, Lawrence Busch, Lily Kiminami, Masashi Tachikawa, Kaoru Sugihara, Thee Kian Wie, and Tomoya Suzuki

The Afrasian Centre for Peace and Development Studies at Ryukoku University held its third international symposium on 23rd and 24th of February 2008, focusing on resource and sustainability issues in developing countries of Asia and Africa.
　In agricultural society, land used to represent natural resources, and was the centre of attention. At the initial stage of modern economic development, “resource constraints” often became a major issue. More recently, concerns have grown for biodiversity and whether or not renewable resources such as water, plants and animals can be sustained, which had led to more serious attention being paid to the study of the ecosystem. Meanwhile, the scientific investigation into material and energy flows is making a rapid advance, responding to the issues of energy security and global warming.
　Yet these diverse interests and concerns pose serious challenges to those engaging in the welfare and development of the local community in developing countries of Asia and Africa. In particular, we need to understand economic, social and institutional implications of resource-related issues, such as land and water management, deforestation, threats to biodiversity, energy security and climate change. We need to take stock of the most updated scientific knowledge to the study of local society, and at the same time learn from the perspective of area studies specialists and historians. This symposium focused on the cases of local and regional resources “under stress”, in order to identify and highlight the key issues of sustainability in the developing countries of Asia and Africa.

We have five sessions to discuss “resources under stress” as follows.

Session 1: Conflict over Natural Resources in Asia and Africa
Session 2: Resource Management in Comparative Historical Perspective
Session 3: Water Resources under Stress
Session 4: The Impact of New Technology and System on Local (Food) Resources
Session 5: The Oil-based Economy under Strain

You can download the timetable of the symposium by clicking here.

Photos of the Third International Symposium:

   

   

The Second Afrasian International Symposium

“Changing Identities and Networks in the Globalising World: Negotiation, Conflict Prevention and Conflict Prevention and Conflict Resolution in Everyday Life”

Date:     23 February 2007

Venue:  Japanese Studies Centre, Monash University , Clayton , Australia

Contributors: Kaori Okano, Eriko Aoki, Julian Chapple, Jeremy Eades, William Bradley, Naoto Higuchi, Mika Toyota, Maria Reinaruth D. Carlos, Pauline Kent, Takeshi Hamashita, Alison Tokita, Yasue Arimitsu, Michael Furmanovsky, Maher Mughrabi, and Kosuke Shimizu

The second international symposium of the Afrasian Centre was jointly organised by the Japanese Studies Centre of Monash University and held at Clayton Campus of Monash University . The symposium focused on conflict that is often found in everyday lives and is becoming more affected by the changes caused by globalisation. Modes of transport, the Internet and other media have given us greater access to different cultural perspectives and facilitated greater movement of both people and information. These social changes have necessitated a greater need for skills to negotiate different cultures in everyday matters. Understanding how the mechanisms of transnational networks and the negotiation of both cultures and identities plays a part in conflict prevention can be considered an important part of both conflict transformation and resolution.

      The symposium addressed these issues through four different panels:

1.       Global-Local Connections and Networks in Japanese Educational Settings
2.       The Ties that Bind: Social Networks and Remittances of Transnational Migrants in Asia
3.       The Role of Cultural Perceptions in Conflict Prevention
4.       Identity, Conflict and Diasporic Politics


You can download the timetable of the symposium and the abstract of presentations by clicking here.

Photos of the Australia Symposium:

   

   

The First Afrasian International Symposium

“The International Context of Conflicts in the Middle East and Asian Approaches to Conflict Resolution”

Date: 4 and 5 March 2006

Venue: Seiwakan-Hall, Omiya campus, Ryukoku University , Kyoto , Japan

Contributors: Yezid Sayigh, Elie Podeh, Hidemitsu Kuroki, Tosei Sano, David Menashri, Kazuo Takahashi, Ayesha Jalal, Herman Franssen, Sugata Bose, Nobuko Nagasaki, Hisashi Nakamura, Yasushi Akashi, Motohide Yoshikawa and others.

The first international symposium of the Afrasian Centre opened with a special lecture entitled “Peace: Mutual Understanding of Religions and Contribution by Buddhism” by His Eminence Monshu Ohtani Koshin Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha. Four sessions (see below) on peace processes in the Middle East and South Asia were then held, in which specialists from Japan and around the world, including the Middle East and the United States , participated in lively discussion. With more than 100 participants, the first international symposium ended as a great success.

First session: Peace Process of the Middle East (Palestine-Israel Conflict)
Second session: The International Context of Conflicts in the Middle East ( Iran , Kurd, and Pakistan )
Third session: The Oil Issue in the Context of the Middle Eastern Conflicts
Fourth session: Asian Approaches to Conflict Resolution

  You can download the timetable of the symposium by clicking here.

  Photos of the First International Symposium of the Afrasian Centre: