The 5th International Conference of the Asian Rural Sociological Association (ARSA)

This project has created attentions not only in Australia, but also in Lao PDR and Thailand where our team has been working closely with the industry and the communities.

  

From 1-5 September, the National University of Laos (NUOLS) hosted the 5th International Conference of the Asian Rural Sociological Association (ARSA). One of the key organisers, Associate Professor Kabmanivanh Phouxay, discussed our project with international delegates from the region. Since the theme of the conference is  From Challenges to Prosperous Future in the Rural Asia, the key findings from the field in Vilabouly were well received by participants at the conference.  

                                                   Assoc.Prof. Phouxay at ARSA conference

The organiser of this conference, the Asian Rural Sociological Association, has been promoting the international conference to promote better understanding on the sociology of rural development in Asia. The Asian Rural Sociology Association (ARSA) was an offshoot of Asian Rural Sociology Working Group (ARSWG) which was set up in 1992 by a group of Asian participants attending the World Congress of International Rural Sociology Association (IRSA) in Pennsylvania State University, USA.

Presentation for the Centre for Sustainable Organisations and Work, the Sustainability

Nattavud Pimpa, Timothy Moore, Sheree Gregory and Brigitte Tenni presents International Mining and Development: How Multinational Corporations Promote Gender Equity

Sponsored by the Centre for Sustainable Organisations and Work, the Sustainability Seminar Series explores critical debates and issues from a wide range of disciplines. Though diverse, the series is connected by Centres key research themes: Work, Sustainability and Organisations, and Globalisation.

Event details

Event:	International Mining and Development: How Multinational Corporations Promote Gender Equity
Date:	26 September, 2014
Time:	3 pm – 4:30 pm
Location:	RMIT University, Building 80 Level 07 Room 06 (445 Swanston Street, Melbourne)
RSVP:	Email amrutha.sakuru@rmit.edu.au (Places are limited. Registration and attendance is free)

Capacity building Workshop: Communication for Research in Development

ADRAS project is unorthodox. When we think of other research project, ideas of publishing your research in top tier journals (AKA A*, A journals) might be project's priority.
In this project, apart from publishing and sharing the results to academic community, the Australian AID (DFAT) also suggested us to promote ideas and actions on capacity building with partners in the project. The impacts can and will be positive and perhaps larger.
In order to achieve this objective, I represent our team to Cholbri in Thailand to organise a capacity building workshop for 26 novice researchers and PhD. students at the Graduate School of Commerce, Burapha University. The focus of the workshop is communicating and disseminating research in business and community development.

Our team created contents and curriculum for this workshop from our current research on mining and development in Laos and Thailand. We worked with all participants to engage them to think about ways to create impacts from your research. I used a number of examples from international and local conferences that I attended to promote our project, meeting with the local authorities and media, writing and promoting policy brief to NGOs or civil society organisations, publishing in some journals and magazines, and being on social media.

The day was full with interesting conversation and ideas among participants who promise to engage their community and disseminate their developmental projects to various communication channels. We also created a network of developmental researcher where I will return to Burapha University and meet with them to listen to the next phase of their research plan.

Our team sincerely thank the Graduate School of Commerce at Burapha University to be very co-operative and supportive. We hope that this network will promote the concept of sustainability in the mining sector in Thailand.