FYI...here's a forwarded announcement I thought might interest ECOFEMers. Sorry about the length. [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date sent: Tue, 22 Aug 1995 17:36:36 +0000 From: "Dr. Seyoum Zegiorgis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: International Conference on Information for Sustainable Development Send reply to: Rural Women Discussion Group <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Originally to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To all our conference participants, paper presenters and interested persons: Following is an e-mail version of what we are working on. Please re-post the message to as many addresses as you see fit. We would appreciate it very much. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------- This is a general information. Detailed program schedule, hotel and transportation details will be available soon to those who register. Reviews of papers is underway. The program committee has agreed to extend the deadline until September 15, 1995, and if you are interested in submitting a paper for consideration, you are still able to send us your proposal. See you in Dallas. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________ Council on Information for Sustainable Development 1995 International Conference on Information for Sustainable Development Dallas, November 30-December 2 Seyoum S. Zegiorgis, Ph.D., Conference Coordinator An exceptional educational opportunity serving key policy makers, academicians, scholars, professionals, public administrators, political scientists, Social scientists, information professionals, and all those who believe they have a stake in the world they live in or can make changes benefiting the coming generation. Come join your friends and peers November 30-December 2, 1995 in Dallas, Texas--Home of The Dallas Cowboys!!! 1. Theme: Celebrating the Right to Know To elevate today's less developed countries to become developed productive members of the community of nations requires fundamental and comprehensive change in the way information is accessed and disseminated. This transformation--already attempted by various means--involves reinventing international aid for development so that nations could sustain present socioeconomic development for future generations, providing hope and environmentally sustainable communities for their diverse population. To accomplish this transformation, it will be necessary to develop and provide knowledge abundant in the Western World that informs policy and serves practical applications of theory. With the vast network of connected systems, current exponential growth of information and the equally rapid speed of disseminating it, a democratic society's inherent fundamental right to know seems observed calling for a celebration. 2. General Information The 1995 Annual CISD Conference will be held Thursday, November 30, through Saturday, December 2, in Dallas, Texas. The program will consist primarily of presentations selected by a program committee. The Program Committee encourages variety in session formats. Program sessions are generally scheduled for 1 and 1/2 hour periods. Roundtable sessions last 40 minutes. Sessions requiring more than 1 and 1/2 hours will be scheduled for either the first period of the day or the last period. These sessions are scheduled for 2 hours. Any one may submit a proposal for consideration to the program committee, C/O Dr. Seyoum S. Zegiorgis, at the above address. To assist the proposer to make an appropriate choice as to the program committee's primary areas of interest, information is provided in the Areas of Interest Section. All proposals are reviewed by at least two members of the program committee, and reviewers, as a rule, follow the guidelines in our "Guide to Reviewers." The following criteria apply to proposals regardless of presentation formats: (a) choice of problem, problem significance, importance of issue/topic, relevance to the ICISD program theme; (b) relevance of topic to CISD; (c) contribution to the field (information science/sustainable development, theoretical/practical significance); (d) theoretical/conceptual framework and grounding (rationale, literature review, framework); (e) methodology, mode of inquiry, soundness, rigor and adequacy of discussion of the problem; (f) execution of study (technical merit, analysis, adequacy, quality of data, scientific merit); (g) development of ideas, thoroughness of presentation, relationships of conclusions to findings, generalizability of findings); (h) written proposal (abstract, quality of writing/expression, clarity, logic, organization); (I) appeal and suitability to our national and international audience (journal article quality). Please indicate your presentation technology needs on a separate sheet with your proposal. Only first authors of papers and other presentations will appear in the Program's Participant Index; co-authors will be listed in the text of the Program. Authors of papers, organizers of symposia, and presenters or organizers of other types of sessions should include on the cover sheet 3 one- or two-word descriptors that will be used in the subject index of the Program. 3. Session Formats The following list of session formats is discussed to be useful to those considering alternatives to the standard paper presentation session formats. The Program Committee assigns the papers to the particular session format requested by the author(s). To propose a format, the author(s) should submit a description and rationale for the requested format. The following list, of course, is a representative list of varieties of Annual Conference presentations ICISD plans to include in the sessions. Paper Session: Intended to provide each author an opportunity to present an abbreviated version of his or her paper, paper sessions allow authors at least a 45-minute presentation. At every session, discussants have 15 minutes to present a prepared reaction. Then the next 30 minutes are set aside for an open discussion involving the audience. Most of the sessions in the ICISD annual are paper sessions. Roundtable: These allow maximum interaction with the presenters by eliminating the formal didactic presentation. Individual presenters are assigned numbered tables in a large meeting room where interested persons may gather for discussion with the presenter about his or her paper or project. This format is particularly appropriate for papers addressing topics best pursued through extensive discussion. Authors are requested to bring copies of the full paper or summaries and to remain available for discussion throughout the 40-minute session. Panel Discussion: Presenters and discussants do not prepare papers. They make brief introductory remarks before engaging in ad hoc give-and-take for which they may have prepared themselves but which can not be predicted or entirely controlled. The audience will be allowed to participate at the end for questions and discussion with the panel or in small groups. MISSION STATEMENT, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES The strongest argument for socioeconomic advancement while protecting the environment and keeping the global ecological balance is the ethical need to guarantee to future generations opportunities similar to the ones previous generations have enjoyed. This guarantee is the foundation of Sustainable Development. The concept is based on the recognition that a nation cannot reach its economic goals without also achieving social and environmental goals--that is, universal education and employment opportunity, universal health and reproductive care, equitable access to and distribution of resources, stable populations, and a sustained natural resource base. Sustainability, however, makes little sense if it means sustaining life opportunities that are miserable and indigent. The paradigm of sustainability values human life itself without preference of one life over another merely because people can produce material goods. Sustainable Development rather is based on the universalism of life's claims--no newborn child should be doomed to a short life or a miserable one merely because that child happens to be born in the "wrong class" or in the "wrong country" or to be of the "wrong sex." The universalism of life claims--a powerful idea that provides the philosophical foundations for many contemporary policies--underlies the search for meeting basic human needs--education, health care, and the development of potential capabilities. It is the protection of all basic human rights--economic, social as well as political--because the right to food is as sacrosanct as the right to vote. It also demands non-discrimination between all people, irrespective of gender, religion, race or ethnic origin. The concept calls for equality of opportunities, not equality of income--though in a civilized society a basic minimum income should be guaranteed to everyone. As the pioneering feminist, Mary Wollstonecraft (1792), wrote "It is justice, not charity, that is wanting in the world." Sustainable Development, therefore, is using the natural, human, and technological resources to insure that members of present as well as future generations can attain a high degree of health and well being, economic security, and a say in shaping their futures while maintaining the integrity of the ecological system upon which all life and production depends. By wholly accepting the above principles of Sustainable Development, the International Council on Information for Sustainable Development (ICISD) sets out to make the present as well as the coming generations aware of the responsibilities in the judicious use and stewardship of today's resources--whether natural or human--by facilitating the dissemination of information on Sustainable Development. ICISD also recognizes the fact that the achievement of sustainable development is inextricably bound up with the equality of access to and availability of information to all on demand. As the essence and test of sustainable development is the awareness and concern for common survival, the concept of sustainablity is greatly endangered unless policies that deny poor nations equal access to available global information, thus inhibiting the achievement of global justice and equity, are changed. Until then, global sustainability will always remain an elusive goal. A clear and definite way of achieving the goals and objectives of development that is sustainable is to declare and bring about the badly needed change in information policy--unrestricted access--that is inhibiting the socioeconomic growth of peoples of the less developed nations. Reasons Why You Have to Attend This Conference 1. Plenary Sessions With Leaders in the Profession 2. Informative Concurrent Sessions. 3. Symposia, Panel Discussions, Roundtable Sessions,...,etc. 4. Networking With Professionals in Various Fields. 5. Pre-conference and After-conference Tours of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Schedule of Events (Detailed Conference Program will be Available to registrants soon) Thursday, November 30, 1995 Pre-conference registration, Pre-Conference Tours of selected sites in Dallas/Fort Worth Area, Reception for Speakers and Presenters. Friday, December 1, 1995 Formal Registration, Breakfast, Early Bird Business Sessions, Plenary Sessions, Conference Sessions, Exhibits Open Attendee Reception (Keynote Speaker, Hors d'oeuvres/Cash Bar, Entertainment). Saturday, December 2, 1995 Breakfast, Plenary Session, Concurrent Sessions, Luncheon, Panel Discussions and Q&A Sessions, Closing Address, Dallas by Night--Tour of the West End Historic District
