The Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) is holding its Eighth Sustainable Development 
Conference (SDC) from 7—9 December 2005 at the Best Western Hotel, Islamabad, Pakistan. The Sustainable Development Conference series has been established as a prime Conference in South Asia on development issues due to which it attracts leading intellectuals and policy-makers to come together. The Conference is open to the audience and there is no registration fee.
The Eighth SDC will examine the multiple facets of sustainable development in the contexts of South Asia.
Six major themes have been planned for this year’s SDC. Details of the themes are discussed below. Each theme will constitute one or more sub-themes and panels.
I. Women’s/Gender Issues
The sub-themes under this major theme will address dispossession and empowerment of women in the South Asian context. Juxtaposing South Asian women’s gendered experience of both structural and direct violence, panels will seek to explore examples of positive masculinities in South Asia as a means of countering the violence women experience.
II. Livelihoods
The 8 October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan that killed, injured and made homeless thousands of persons, and 2004 tsunami catastrophe that affected hundreds of thousands in Sri Lanka and India; heavy winter snow falls and summer floods leading to destruction and death in Pakistan; influence of international financing institutes (IFIs) on job securities; effects of globalization on marginalized people; and the many forms of displacement and the search for sustainable livelihoods exemplify the vulnerability of livelihoods in South Asia. One dimension of this is to look at sustainable solutions for issues of citizenship. Another dimension is that of social sustainability and vulnerability, and the ability to cope with stress and shocks as well as assuring livelihood continuity. The Eighth SDC aims to identify factors of vulnerability and resilience of livelihoods in South Asia.
Potential of great earthquakes in developing countries, particularly in the South Asian region, require teams of international experts to advise policy makers on geology, social psychology and mitigation in order to reduce the loss of human life. As the natural disasters and earthquakes have various geological, environmental and social dimensions, the Eighth SDC is organizing panels with multiple themes related the earthquake disaster including the geological perspective of earthquake and human settling patterns in Pakistan; the social dimensions of earthquake and future challenges; and the linkages between environmental degradation and natural disasters.
III. WTO and Governance
Global governance of trade under the World Trade Organization (WTO) made a quantum leap in 2005. Several WTO agreements are required to be implemented more strictly in developing countries. Liberalisation of trade in textiles and clothing, a major industry and major employer in the developing world, progressed manifold through the abolition of the system of country-wise import quotas. The deadline for WTO member countries' suggestions for further opening of their services’ sectors lapsed in May 2005. These developments may lead to economic growth for those who can tap the opportunities; however, they are still not able to reduce the gap between rich and poor. The Eighth SDC attempts to explore linkages of multi-trading system with sustainable development to make liberalization of trade and investment people-friendly.
VI. Health
The importance of health in the overall sustainable development can be looked at in many ways. The most important being individual’s capacity and then a nation’s capacity to transform physical health and mental well-being into economic productivity, growth and sustainable development. However, achieving this goal is not simple. Many causal factors affect people’s health and hence the process of sustainable development. The forthcoming conference intends to highlight such health and health care issues in its panels. One panel is especially being devoted to critical issues arising out of the recent catastrophic earthquake in Pakistan that had a huge impact on the physical and mental health of Pakistani people, especially, the children and women. It will address issues related to injuries, disabilities, traumas and rehabilitation. It will also look into funds allocation for health and especially provide gender aware appraisal. Other panels will examine issues related to children’s health and environment.
V. Peace and People’s Rights
The uniqueness of Pakistan's political history is widely appreciated. The country's political history has had a direct bearing on the day-to-day life of the common man, as well as on its stability as a country. The sub-themes under this theme will focus on the impact of Pakistan's political structure on violence since independence; treatment of religious minorities; inter-state peace between Pakistan and its neighbors; role of cinema in highlighting people’s rights and other related issues.
VI. Child Labor
Child labor constitutes a grave violation of human rights as it negates the principles of human dignity. Its existence in any society poses a serious challenge not just to the persons or families directly involved in child labor but to all individuals and institutions. Child labor deprives children of their unalienable right to education, health and a carefree childhood. Moreover, child labor also affects the level of human resource development the country aims to achieve in the future. The panel under this theme, therefore, will examine the violation of human rights of the vulnerable groups, especially children.
Acknowledgments
The Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) acknowledges the financial support of the following institutions for the Eighth Sustainable Development Conference: Department for International Development (DFID); the Delegation of the European Commission to Pakistan (EU Delegation); Heinrich Boll Foundation (HBF); Action Aid Pakistan (AAP); Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) Gender Equality Project (GEP) managed by the British Council and funded by the DFID; South Asia Watch on Trade and Environment (SAWTEE) and, PAK/03/013 UN-Trade Initiatives from Human Development Perspective (TIHP).
Noted Speakers
The SDC will host a number of reputed national and international scholars, academicians, researchers and activists, both from the civil society and the government.
The SDC will cater to a range of scholars from multiple disciplines and fields with an expertise in sustainable development issues. Renowned scholars from different South Asian, Central Asian and Western universities will take part in the conference. The list of prestigious educational institutes include the likes of Delhi School of Economics, Georgetown University, Washington DC, London School of Economics, Moscow Medical Academy, the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of Nottingham, University of Zurich, Dhaka University, Quaid-e-Azam University, University of Karachi, and University of Balochistan besides other reputed universities of Pakistan, South Asia and Europe.
PDF Format
