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Australia 2008

This major international conference is co-sponsored by the Centre for Dialogue (La Trobe University; Melbourne, Australia), Trinity College (University of Melbourne), the Melbourne College of Divinity, and the Asia-Pacific Institute for Inter-Religious Dialogue (Australian Catholic University). It is the seventh annual conference in the series Globalization for the Common Good - An Interfaith Perspective founded by Dr Kamran Mofid. The Conference will be held at Trinity College.

The Conference programme is designed to achieve three objectives:

  • To explore the far-reaching ramifications of conflict in the Middle East (broadly defined) for the religious, cultural and political landscape of the Asia-Pacific region;
  • To bring together in fruitful interaction the insights of several disciplinary traditions (in particular religious studies, cultural studies, international relations, history, sociology and law);
  • To illuminate and strengthen the connections between the Middle East and the geographic regions which constitute Asia Pacific, in particular West Asia, South Asia, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia and the South Pacific.

This Conference will be held in Melbourne in the first week of July 2008. Previous conferences have been held in Oxford (2002), St Petersburg (2003), Dubai (2004), Kericho, Kenya (2005), Honolulu (2006) and Istanbul (2007). The Melbourne conference will be the first in the series to be held with a clear Asia-Pacific focus. For background information on the initiative and details of previous conferences visit: http://www.globalisationforthecommongood.info/

The Conference is jointly convened by Dr Kamran Mofid and Professor Joseph A. Camilleri (Director of the Centre for Dialogue and Professor of International Relations, La Trobe University).

Call for Papers

A Call for papers is now addressed to scholars, postgraduate students, researchers and others with expertise on any of the themes outlined above.

Proposals are invited from scholars specialising in a range of disciplines, including theology, philosophy, history, political science, international relations, conflict analysis and peace research, economics and political economy, law, sociology, psychology, medicine, environmental studies and geography. Proposals are also invited from members of parliament, practitioners in diplomacy, law, the media, the health professions and business, as well as those involved in religious and non-governmental organisations. Proposals that adopt an inter-disciplinary perspective are especially welcome.

Proposals should be received by Monday 19 November 2007.

Proposals should include:

  • Title of proposed paper;
  • A 250-word abstract, setting out relevance to one or other of the key themes outlined above;
  • Author’s name and institutional affiliation;
  • One paragraph bio-note of the author.

All proposals will be assessed by an inter-disciplinary panel appointed by the joint conveners, and applicants will be informed of the Organising Committee’s decision by  21 January 2008.

Successful applicants will be given two weeks to confirm their participation.
The Conference Organising Committee must receive by Monday 2 June 2008 the written papers (approximate length 5,000 to 6,000 words), which have to represent an original contribution not published elsewhere. The Conference’s working language is English. It is planned to produce one or more international publications drawing on high quality papers selected by the joint conveners’ inter-disciplinary panel.
Those selected to present a paper will be required to pay the registration fee which will cover lunches, morning and afternoon teas and copies of all papers. The Organising Committee is not able to provide support covering participants’ travel and accommodation expenses.

Important Dates

  • 19 November 2007:   Call for papers deadline
  • 21 January 2008:    All applicants to be notified
  • 4 February 2008:    Final confirmation of participation
  • 2 June 2008:     Written papers to be received

Website

A dedicated conference website is under construction. It will include various details about the conference, including program, as well as information about social and cultural events, sightseeing tours and the cost of attending the conference. Please note that travel arrangements and costs are the responsibility of participants or their sponsoring institutions. The Conference organisers are not able to offer financial support. However, the overall costs will be highly subsidised, enabling many to attend.

Please submit paper proposals, preferably as a Word or Rtf document, and any queries to:

Ms Christine Siokou
Centre for Dialogue
La Trobe University
Bundoora 3086 VIC
Australia
Ph:  +61 3 9479 1892  Fax: +61 3 9479 1997
Email: C.Siokou@latrobe.edu.au.

With Warmest good wishes

Kamran Mofid
Joseph A. Camilleri

1 May 2007