Overview
West Meet East: Sharing the Past and Current Experience to Benefit the Future
WASD 12th International Annual Conference
13-15 August 2014
Montreal, Canada
The conference brought together various pieces of research and work that have addressed their respective state’s or region’s issues weaknesses and developments in key aspects of society. This includes, but is not limited to education, healthcare, and business. Moreover, the conference has also been a great opportunity for all scholars, government representatives, policy makers to get an external, unbiased point of view on the matters they are dealing with, and the opportunity to do similarly with subjects that might interest them but are not within their fields of practice.
The conference also discusses a range of issues relating to strengthening the linkages between industry, universities and research institutions as well as reconnecting these institutions to the sustainable development (SD) discourse by exploring the role of professionals, universities and research institutions in achieving SD.
Diaspora
The collaboration between the Diaspora and those working within the country of origin offers several opportunities and contributes to increase productivity towards sustainable and inclusive knowledge-based growth. Building constructive relationships between the Diasporas and countries of origin require that Diasporas be treated not as a mere resource, but as partners and investors with mutual benefits.
It has long been argued that Diasporas will be most interested in contributing to SD efforts when they have a sense of belonging in relation to their country of origin. Therefore, it is very important to establish trust between Diasporas and governments in the country of origin. In doing so, governments need to invest in identifying their Diasporas abroad and in understanding their skills and interests.
Many sustainability problems can only be tackled by connecting the diaspora with those working within the country of origin, for example combating the results of climate change, diseases such as malaria, reservation of natural resources, fighting land degradation or limiting the loss of biodiversity and many other problems. Moreover, knowledge or evidence-based policymaking is indispensable if gaps in living standards are to be narrowed. Therefore, building capacity in country of origin is necessary for competing in the global arena and there it is critical to turn the diaspora into a positive tool for SD as well as serving as role models for the youth in the country of origin.
Location
Geneva, Switzerland
Team
The conference is organised by several committees from WASD and under close supervision of WASD Advisory Board.
WASD Team
- Prof. Allam Ahmed: Co-Chair and President WASD
- Janet Snow: International Coordinator and Editor
- N. Joseph Navinraj: Publishing
- Joseph Adamson: Video Production
- Vicky Trainer: Graphic Designer
