Asian Population Association

Second Meeting of the Establishment Committee

Minutes of Second Meeting of the Establishment Committee (EC) of
The Asian Population Association (APA)
1-2 June 2008

The meeting took place at the ExecPlus Lounge of the Pathumwan Princess Hotel.

Meeting Participants:

? Associate Professor Mohammad Jalal Abbasi-Shavazi (EC Chair)
? Professor Terence H. Hull (Member)
? Professor Moneer Alam (Member)
? Professor Mehtab Karim (Member)
? Professor Baochang Gu (Member)
? Professor Bhassorn Limanonda (Member)
? Professor Gavin Jones (Chair, APA Nomination Committee)
? Professor Peter McDonald (IUSSP Vice President)

Day 1. June 1st ( 09:15 - 17:45 hours)

Opening statement by Chair, Associate Professor Jalal Abbasi-Shavazi.
Review of developments since the Tehran Meeting since December 2007

? APA Constitution approved by the Thai Government and Association legally registered under Thai laws in April 2008.
? APA office established at the College of Population Studies (CPS) of Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
? Website has been established with functionality for membership applications
? Preparations for Second Establishment Committee Meeting and First APA Workshop

Thanks for contributions by Professor Bhassorn Limanonda and Professor Terence Hull, and support received by IUSSP, UNFPA, Ford Foundation and MacArthur Foundation and CPS, Chulalongkorn University. Welcome to Professor Peter McDonald representing IUSSP at this meeting of the EC. Thanks were extended to Professor Gavin Jones for Chairing the Nomination Committee and welcoming him to the meeting.

The Chair noted the recent death of Pat Caldwell, a friend of the APA and long-time member of IUSSP. The meeting also acknowledged the deaths of Ronald Freedman and Mari Bhat and their contributions to Asian demography. The Union has established a webpage for condolences under their Announcements/Obituaries site of the IUSSP homepage. The meeting suggested that the APA will need to develop a similar site to record information about the awards, recognitions and passing on of members.

Statement by Professor Peter McDonald, Vice President of the IUSSP

? IUSSP Council has welcomed the formation of the Asian Population Association, thus completing the regional coverage of affiliated associations of population professionals. This allows collaborative relations and activities to promote common interests. The 2009 Conference in Marrakech will provide an opportunity to regional associations to organize sessions of interests to their members.
? IUSSP invites APA to utilize the software for conference management.
? The IUSSP Council was very happy with the APA Constitution and the establishment of the Secretariat in Bangkok.
? Professor McDonald noted that the IUSSP has organized two regional conferences in Asia, first in 1967 in Sydney and more recently in 2002 in Bangkok. Professor Karim noted that the UN had also organized a 1963 conference in New Delhi on Asian Population Problems.

Report by Professor Bhassorn Limanonda, Executive Secretary (ES) of APA.

? Brief report of procedures for Association registration, secretariat establishment and website development.
? The finances of the Association have been difficult to organize due to long and confusing delays between donor approval of grants and actual receipt of funds. As a result many of the expenses associated with this meeting had to be met from personal finances of the ES and up front expenditures by participants.

Report by Professor Terence Hull, Workshop organizer and coordinator of fund raising.

? Ford Foundation has provided $15,000 (USD) to the Workshop through the International Education Institute in a grant to the ANU. In future APA will have to establish a legal relationship with Ford Foundation for grants.
? UNFPA has promised $25,000 for the APA EC and Workshop. They are interested in a long term partnership, and this will be facilitated in late 2008 when the Asia Pacific Division moves from New York to Bangkok. The funds for this meeting are delayed.
? MacArthur Foundation has provided support for one participant from India (Dr Moneer Alam) and Dr Ann Blanc indicated that they are interested in future discussions about gender and reproductive health in South Asia.
? The Workshop will have a free form discussion format with 30 participants drawn from across Asia to explore the prospects and problems of the 2010 Census round in Asia.
? Dr Bhassorn noted that CPS has provided $10,000 for the establishment of the Secretariat.
? The meeting discussed a variety of options for further funding.

Discussion of the Membership Applications and Forms

? The form on the website gives one field for names. The meeting resolved that this should be broken into two fields: Surname (to be specified by the applicant according to the cultural preferences they have for naming) and Given Names. The webmaster will set this up immediately and automatically generate emails to applicants to request they update their records on the website.
? A field will also be added to distinguish student and regular membership.
? In reviewing the applications to date a number of persons were identified who did not seem to be population professionals. The Executive Secretary will email them to explain the purposes of the Association and point out that in 2009 there will be a subscription charged. They will be asked to further clarify their professional interests in Population Studies.

Report of Professor Gavin Jones, Chair of Nominations Committee.

? Noted that the APA follows the FIFA definition of Asia, including Australia and extending to Jordan in the west.
? Noted the difficulty and confusion about the posts of Executive Secretary and Secretary General which appeared to be overlapping. It was confirmed that Bhassorn prefers to be the Executive Secretary. The Election of Secretary General thus needs two nominees. The meeting requested the Nominations Committee to reconvene to reconsider the nominations for Secretary General as soon as possible.
? Nominations were reported for the posts of President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Council Members.
? It was agreed that Dr Apichat Chamratrithirong should be the only nominee for the Treasurer of the Association on the grounds that at the time of the establishment it is important to have a Treasurer who is based in Bangkok.

Amendment to the Interim Constitution.
Following discussions of the Nominations Committee the meeting resolved to amend the Interim Constitution to clarify the roles of the Executive Secretary and the Officers of the Association. This resulted in the following revisions to Articles 6 and 7:

Article 6. Executive Secretary.
1. The Council may appoint an Executive Secretary. The Executive Secretary may be paid an honorarium by the Association and serves subject to the wishes of the Council.
2. The Executive Secretary shall perform such functions as the President and the Secretary-General and Treasurer may assign and, if the Association has an office, shall direct that office and manage the routine budgets and staff employed.
3. The Executive Secretary shall not be a member of the Council but will attend its meetings and keep minutes of the meetings of the Council and General Assembly.

Article 7. Powers of Council and Officers.
1. The Council shall have powers delegated by the General Assembly to manage the affairs of the Association, in accord with the objectives and missions of the Association.
2. In cases of urgency and between regular meetings the President in consultation with the Vice President and Secretary General will act on behalf of the Council and will represent the Association to the general public.
3. The Vice President shall assist the President in carrying out the decisions of the Council and the General Assembly.
4. The Secretary-General shall oversee the administration of the affairs of the Association, be the liaison between the Executive Secretary and the Council.
5. The Treasurer shall cause accounts to be kept of the finances of the Association, and shall make financial reports to meetings of Council and the General Assembly.

Discussion of the responsibilities of candidates.
The meeting requested that the Nominations Committee ensure that the candidates are informed of these Constitutional changes and that they accept the responsibilities that they will be expected to assume if they are elected. It is particularly important that the candidates for the positions of officer will need to cooperate effectively to promote the interests of the Association. We are looking for people with enthusiasm, imagination and commitment.

Discussion of election procedures.
An Election Committee was named including: Professor Moneer Alam (Chair), Dr Ghazy Mujahid (CST, UNFPA), and Professor Bhassorn.
? The full list of candidates with bio-data will be announced by email and webpage for the membership. It is planned that this will be done by 1 August 2008.
? The election will be carried out through web-based election software in the month from mid August through mid-September 2008.
? In advance of the start of the election a concerted drive will be made to ensure that all population professionals in Asia are personally encouraged to join the organization.

Day 2. June 2nd (09:20 ?15: 20 hours)

Review and correction of the Minutes of Day 1.

Discussion of plans for Conferences.
The 2009 IUSSP Conference in Marrakech will offer the first opportunity for APA to organize a session to highlight activities of members in Asia. Professors Alam and Gu will take responsibility for the organization of the session, on a theme of the impact of the demographic structures in Asia.

It was noted that Dr. Alaka Basu is leading a theme on Ethnicity, Culture and Religion for the Conference and so far has only one session. Professor Karim will contact her to suggest an Asian session on a West Asia/Religion theme. He will put together a slate of papers for consideration. He will also encourage her to become an APA member.

Finally, the APA will ask for a side meeting for APA during the Conference. This will provide the opportunity for the members to meet the new Council and conduct business of the Association. The deadline for the side meetings in 15 March 2009. Jalal will contact Mary Ellen to begin these arrangements.

The EC decided that the APA Conferences should be in a cycle linked with the terms of the Council. Elections should be held 2008, 2010, 2012, and Conferences held 2010, 2012 and so on. The following points were made:
? The Conferences should not have a theme or sub title, but should instead be named in series from the First Asian Population Conference.
? Initially the Conferences should be planned as three day meetings and should be held around October every second year, very soon after the election of a new Council. The Conference will allow for a joint meeting of the retiring and the new Council members, thus facilitating a hand-over of activities and responsibilities.
The Nominating Committee should brief the candidates for election on the expected timing, structure and organization of the First Conference.

Discussion of relationship between APA and the journal Asian Population Studies.
As the editor of Asian Population Studies, Professor Gavin Jones explained the relation between the Journal and the Asian Metacentre, the Asian Research Institute and National University of Singapore. The APS is published by Taylor and Frances. They provide NUS with some funds for a Research/Editorial Assistant. ARI/NUS also contribute to that post as well as contributing the time of the Editor.
? Professor Jones will brief ARI/NUS on the establishment of APA, and will informally explore potential options for collaborations and linkages between the journal and the Association.
? Meanwhile the new Council will be encouraged to explore relationships with relevant national and regional population journals. They might work to setting up a webpage to link to relevant journals as a service to members looking for high quality venues for publishing their research results.

Discussion of Fund Raising for the first Council meeting
? The meeting should be held in Bangkok as soon as possible in the term of the Council which starts on 1 January 2009.
? The Executive Secretary should draw up a budget based on a meeting involving 2 days (3 nights) for all members of the new Council.
? The Executive Secretary and the Chair of the EC should oversee a fund raising strategy beginning with discussions with UNFPA Asia-Pacific Division, the Ford Foundation Jakarta office and the MacArthur Foundation New Delhi office.

Discussion of Relation between APA and IUSSP and other Associations
? Professor McDonald will be reporting back to the IUSSP Council at their next meeting in February 2009.
? Professor Jalal will contact Mary Ellen to send emails to members to encourage them to join the APA.
? The ES will write to Philippe for information on national associations.

Discussion of APA Awards
? This will be a job for the new Council
? The IUSSP Laureate offers a model for award activities appropriate to a professional association.

Discussion of Division of Labour for activities between June and December 2008
? The EC will need to begin planning for the 2010 Conference. It is important to prepare the ground for fund raising by contacting potential funders with information on the general plan for the conference.
? Professor Karim has been named Chair of the Conference Preparatory Committee through January 2009. He will report to the new Council on the funding possibilities and any comments from the potential donors. He will be assisted by the other members of the EC and Professor Jones.

(15:30-16:15 hours) Visit to APA House at the College of Population Studies, Chulalongkorn University.

Closing

Second Meeting of the Establishment Committee (EC) of the Asian Population Association,
1-2 June 2008, Bangkok