Asian Population Association

The First Council Meeting of the Asian Population Association

The First Council Meeting of the Asian Population Association
Report by Dr Mohammad Jalal Abbasi-Shavazi at
The First Council Meeting of the Asian Population Association,
7-8 February 2009, Bangkok

My Fellow Colleagues
Distinguished Members of the Council of the Asian Population Association

It is a great honour for me to report to the first meeting of the Council of the Asian Population Association (APA). I would like to extend a warm welcome to you all as the members of the first council of the APA. This meeting has brought us together from countries in the Asian region, and can best represent our fruitful collaborations which will flourish and bring invaluable benefits to all Asian demographers and population experts.

The inauguration of the Council of the Asian Population Association marks a major development in demographic studies. Let me brief you on the efforts that have been made and brought us together for the first meeting of the first council of the Asian Population Association. The idea of the establishment of the Asian Population Association had been raised by several Asian demographers or Asian Population experts in the past. In November 2004, Asian population experts discussed the possibility of the Asian Association at a meeting on ?Strengthening Institutional Capacity in Population and Health Research and Training in the Asian Region? which was hosted by Mahidol University in Bangkok. A year later, the idea of the foundation of the Association was further discussed at a side meeting at the Six Conference of the Population Association of Pakistan during 29 November and 3 December 2005 where scholars from sixteen Asian countries attended the conference in Islamabad. This was followed by another presentation at the international conference on ?Emerging Issues in the Asia Pacific Region: Challenges for the 21st Century? which was held in Mumbai, India in December 2006.

Based on these discussions an internet forum was organized during 5-11 September 2007 where many demographers and population experts joined the discussion and expressed their views on the model, name of the association, and future activities of the Asian Population Association. It was then that College of Population Studies at the Chulalongkorn University offered to host the association in its initial stages. More importantly, many distinguished scholars, associations and institutions across Asia and other countries including the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP), Population Association of America (PAA), Population Division of the United Nations, Asia Meta Center have expressed their support for the association. In addition, six Asian scholars, Moneer Alam, Mehtab Karim, Baochang Gu, Terence Hull, Bhassorn Limanonda, and myself were nominated as the members of the Establishment Committee of the Asian Population Association. John Cleland and John Casterline were also nominated as International Advisors to the Committee.

The first meeting of the EC was held in Tehran in December 2007 where we officially inaugurated the Establishment Committee of the APA with the presences of the EC Committee members, academics, Parliamentarians, and Representatives from such organizations as the UNFPA and UNHCR in Iran. Mr Sultan Aziz, the then UNFPA Regional Director of the Asia and Pacific delivered a video message to the meeting. In our first meeting at the Department of Demography of the University of Tehran, the Establishment Committee discussed the constitution, governance, and future activities of APA including the first conference of the APA to be held. We also held a workshop on the Emerging Population Issues in Asia which was marked as one of the scientific activities of the Association. However, 2008 remains a turning point in the history of the APA as we were able to make significant progress on the establishment of the association. Several activities including the design of the APA logo and website and the registration of the association in Bangkok were completed by June 2008.

The Nomination Committee of the APA was formed early in 2008 consisting of Professor Gavin Jones as Chair, and five other members selected among distinguished scholars from the Asia-Pacific Region, Sri Moertiningsih (Toening) Adioetomo, Indonesia; Bhakta Gubaju, ESCAP; Khawaja Marwan, Lebanon; Zeba Sathar, Pakistan; and Edward Tu, China. The Nomination Committee had discussions and identified 18 candidates for the first election of the APA and submitted the names to the second meeting of the EC which was held during 1-2 June 2008 in Bangkok.

At the second meeting, we discussed the design of the first online election package for the APA, and planned for the first election. The membership drive continued until August and the list of candidates was sent to all eligible members on 3 September. The voting procedure commenced on 15 September and continued until 30 October 2008. Of 560 eligible members, 372 members participated in the election. Our online election proved to be a very successful experience. The participation rate at the election was high as compared to other associations as around 66.4% of eligible members voted in the election. The results of the election were announced on 5 November 2008.

Here is the list of elected members of the first council of the APA:

President: Leela Visaria (India)
Vice President: Mohammad Jalal Abbasi-Shavazi (Iran)
Secretary General: Anthony T.P.L. Abeykoon (Sri Lanka)

Treasurer: Aphichat Chamratrithirong (Thailand)

Council Members (in alphabetical order)
Moneer Alam (India)
Abbas Bhuiya (Bangladesh)
Terence Hull (Australia)
Shireen Jejeebhoy (India)
Naohiro Ogawa (Japan)

Furthermore, the Establishment Committee completed a number of scientific activities since 2007. The first workshop on Emerging Population Issues in Asia and the Pacific was held at the University of Tehran in December 07. The second workshop titled Hopes for the 2010 Census Round in Asian: National Challenges and Regional Collaboration was held in Bangkok in June 2008. Professor Terry Hull was the organizer of the workshop and raised funds for the meeting. This workshop was timely and around 30 experts discussed the problems and potentials of census data collection in the Asian region. Censuses provide the most important information used by population professionals, so it was appropriate that the Association began its contribution to scientific knowledge with a consideration of census procedures and products.

The EC has proposed a session on Demographic Landscape in Asia for the 2009 IUSSP conference which will be held in Marrakesh, Morocco. Professor Moneer Alam and Professor Baochang Gu are the organizers of the session, and four papers will be presented at the session followed by discussion. The EC has also discussed the first conference of the APA which will be held in 2010, but the final decision will be made by the new council.

We have received very supportive messages from the Population Association of America, and shall have an APA session at the 2010 PAA meeting. The European Association for Population Studies has also extended invitations for organizing joint meetings and workshops in future. The association has received generous support from such organizations as the UNFPA, the IUSSP, the University of Tehran, and Chulalongkorn University. The encouragements and support from our members have been exemplary. I take this opportunity and thank all those who have supported the establishment of the APA.

I am delighted that the idea of founding an association of population professionals in Asia has materialized and the APA has been established. The association aims to foster research, enhance collaboration, and safeguard and upgrade key data collection efforts. It will also provide a broad forum for Asian scholars, promote greater awareness of the diversity of research across the region, and build new collaborations and ties. Through this association we will apply our professional skills to gain deeper understanding of the various social problems our countries face. Our discussions and debates will guide our research results to practical policy directions, and our collaborations will ensure that the science we use will be shared across the region, for the common good.

The members of the association will be people with skills and commitment to carry out scientific studies of population. They are welcome to join and participate in the activities of the association without any barriers based on gender, race, ethnic identity, religion or political affiliation.

There have been great achievements for our newly established association over the last two years, but we have a lot to achieve over the years to come. This is the first meeting of the new council of the APA which is held during 7-8 February 2009 in Bangkok. Over the next two days, we will review/approve the APA Constitution and plan for future activities of the association including the 2010 conference and other scientific activities. We shall also discuss the organization of regional and/or thematic working groups.

Maintaining an active and dynamic association is not an easy task as the association needs financial support, hard work and collaborations of all its members over the years to come. So far, we have received support from Population Studies Center of the Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok as the host of the APA, the Department of Demography of the University of Tehran, The Australian National University and the UNFPA Regional Directorate in New York and the UNFPA office in Tehran as well as other scientific organizations such as the IUSSP. The APA is experiencing a new phase in its history and we need to make sure that the APA grows and develops over the years and decades to come.

With this, I would like to congratulate you again as the members of the first council of the APA and welcome you all at the first meeting of the APA council which is a significant event in Asian demographic history.
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