[Call for Application] The 13th Next-Generation Global Workshop: "New Risks and Resilience in Asian Societies and the World"

Date: 21 -23 November 2020¹

Venue: Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, No. 1 Lieu Giai street, Ba Dinh, Hanoi, Vietnam

1. Purpose

The Next-Generation Global Workshop (NGGW) has been held annually since 2008 (see the Annex for information of the annual topics of NGGWs since 2008 and key products) to provide an opportunity for early-career scholars to present their research and to obtain feedback from an international audience. It has proved to be a pleasant and effective way for capacity building through the mentorship provided by the professors of participating universities around the world. It has also served as an invaluable opportunity for participants to learn from one another and deepen their understanding of various social phenomena in the world, particularly in Asia. Ultimately, the NGGW has acted as a forum for scholars of different generations and from various regions to build a common academic foundation by redefining Asia in a global context.

The 13^th NGGW will expand the scope of participation, in which it does not only enable professors and early career researchers, but also policy makers to attend and discuss the arising risks and resilience in Asian societies and others, including European and North American societies which are facing similar issues and challenges. Therefore, the workshop plays the role of a meaningful bridge between academic forum and policy advocacy. The workshop’s outcomes will be published in order that it might influence academic debate and policy direction. The 13^th NGGW is also an opportunity to strengthen the network of professionals working in the area of family and development.

II.  Workshop Theme: New Risks and Resilience in Asian Societies and the World

Recent decades have witnessed a surprisingly fast progression in the economies of Asia. The region has not only become the largest manufacturer, but also the biggest market in the world. Together with tremendous economic growth, our societies have faced a number of economic, cultural, and social challenges. Rapid population aging, strongly increased rural-urban migration and international migration create or accentuate social issues related to care, policy, social services and adaption. At the same time, the effects of inequality, climate change, etc. have become increasingly obvious prompting governments and individuals to make reforms and changes to cope with new risks. Demographic transition, international migration (including transnational marriage) and so on, have led to changes in family structure and values, and the emergence of new family patterns has created obstacles for families to perform traditional functions such as caring for the elderly and children. At the family and social level, women increasingly obtain higher education and participate widely in the labour market, yet continue to experience inequality in politics, health care, wage payment, and the quality of employment and social services etc. These facts contribute to the rise of new risks that challenge family life in particular and society in general and multifaceted way that requires suitable resilience and solutions. This year, the coronavirus pandemic challenges our resilience and ability to recovery at both the macro and micro levels. In both East and West, the upheaval confronts our health care systems, economy resilience, governance and international relationships around the world.

Resilience has been understood as the ability to reduce the chances of a shock or to absorb it when it happens. The concept also refers to the ability of a system to recover quickly after a shock. In other words, a resilient system should cover the whole process from preparation, consequences handling, and restoration. More specifically, resilience means to minimize possible failures and then to reduce the consequences from failures (in terms of lives lost, damage, and negative economic and social consequences), and finally, to speed up the recovery towards normality. Resilience may differ from one society to another, and from a certain risk to another.

This workshop will explore how individuals, families, societies perceive and adapt to risks in a given socio-cultural setting, and explore alternative dimensions of resilience from an interdisciplinary viewpoint. Based on these ideas, this workshop will explore a wide range of topics in Asian countries as follows (though not excluding others):

1. The impact of climate change and resilience in the face thereof
2. Population aging and social issues
3. Transformation of marriage and families
4. Gender (in)equality
5. Value changes
6. Social security
7. Pandemic, health and care models
8. Migration
9. Labor market flexibility and adaptability
10. Economic development patterns and trends

For more information, please see this file