Conferences

THIRD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

New Trends in Asia Pacific Migration and Consequences for Japan

A joint conference and symposium organised by the APMRN and Waseda University, Japan

23rd - 27th September 1999

General Report of the APMRN Conference

The 3rd International meeting of the APMRN was held in conjunction with an international symposium in September 1999 on new migration trends in the Asia Pacific region. The conference and symposium took place at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan and attracted approximately 40 international participants and more than 30 Japanese scholars and NGO staff.

The conference and symposium were sponsored jointly by the Japan Foundation, The Tokyo Club and UNESCO. Holding the APMRN meeting in Japan was a significant step forward for the APMRN and led to the formation of a Japanese Migration Network. Professor Kenichiro Hirano of Waseda University convened the symposium and was instrumental in coordinating Japanese participation in the APMRN meeting.

The APMRN meeting on Day 1 and Day 4 of the event reported on Network and project developments since the last meeting in Hong Kong in February 1998. The achievements of the APMRN were highlighted by the range of grants APMRN members had won for collaborative research activities. Since the Hong Kong meeting, the APMRN had begun seven major research and Network building projects and attracted almost US$500,000 in grant money.

Dr. Supang Chantavanich, current chair of the APMRN, welcomed the participants and reviewed the development of the Network since its first meeting in Bangkok in 1996. She commented on the good relationship of Network members which had grown from a loose association of scholars into a recognised body of expertise in migration issues.

Ms. Francine Fournier, Assistant Director General of UNESCO, gave the opening address and praised the work of APMRN members as an example of successful international collaboration. As Ms. Fournier noted, the APMRN had attracted support from a range of regional and international organisations, including the Ford Foundation, the Japan Foundation, the Center for Future Human Resource Studies in Korea, as well as the support of UNESCO through the award of five Participation Program grants to APMRN teams in the Philippines, Korea, New Zealand, China and Thailand.

The meeting heard reports from project leaders on the status of their research (see Research Reports). An open discussion followed and one of the main issues researchers emphasised was how to facilitate cross cultural and cross national collaboration. A number of points were made:

• Professor Hyunho Seok explained how the Philippine Migration Network helped his survey teams with the translation of questionnaires into Filipino. Developing scales for question responses had to consider different cultural norms for example.
• Dr Chantavanich raised the issue of language as a barrier to international research and described a method of pairing off foreign researchers with Thai speakers and vice versa when conducting research.
• Dr. Rogelia Pe-Pua stressed that cross national collaboration can be at different levels, for example, planning, data gathering, or the whole process including report writing. The most successful way, according to Dr. Pe-Pua is to extend collaboration throughout the whole of a project and to ensure that different methodologies which are culturally unique are not excluded when comparing across cultures.
• Andreas Germershausen explained his experience in cross national survey design noting that questionnaires often were too long when trying to accommodate all cultural and national contingencies. A way around this was to design a shorter common questionnaire and administer culturally specific or unique survey aspects to key informant interviews only.

The meeting received a range of reports on activities undertaken in each country to build networks of migration researchers, hold workshops, publish findings, develop links with government and non-government agencies, etc. The Network had also expanded to include Vietnam and attempts were being made to establish links with researchers in Papua New Guinea and other parts of the Pacific.

The APMRN Secretariat also reported on its coordinating activities. The successful Ford Foundation proposal, which was developed over approximately one year, a program to establish a UNESCO Chair in Social Transformations, planning and fundraising for the 3rd APMRN meeting and the planning of a major series of international symposia on the theme of Social Transformations involving APMRN members were some of the highlights of the work of the Secretariat.

The second day of the APMRN meeting on September 26th concentrated on the issue of linking research and policy. One of the core objectives of the APMRN is to provide sound policy analysis and advice to NGO's and government agencies in the region on migration, ethnicity and community formation. The meeting discussed the different policy expectations and standards across countries in the region and emphasised the need for researchers to develop links with policy makers at all stages of their research.

Development of the Network remained uneven, with some member countries reporting of difficulties in generating national networks or getting financial support. There was no single model or formula for developing activities at the national level, although funding for research remained a key issue.

Overall, the results reported at the meeting affirmed that the APMRN was a useful platform for regionally based research into migration and ethnicity. The grant of US$300,000 from the Ford Foundation in July 1999 has shown that the Network has international credibility and is engaged in relevant research.

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Draft Conference Program

International Conference Hall
School of Political Science and Economics
Waseda University, Tokyo

Day 1: September 23rd APMRN Business Meeting

8:30am - 9:30am Registration
9:30am - 10:00am Opening Statement and Welcome

• Dr. Supang Chantavanich, APMRN Chairperson
  
• Prof. Kenichiro Hirano, Waseda University
  
• Mme. Francine Fournier, Assistant Director General, Social and Human Sciences, UNSECO

10:00am Morning Tea
10:30am - 12:30pm APMRN Research Projects: Presentations on all current apmrn projects
12:30pm Lunch
2:00pm - 3:30pm APMRN Business Meeting: Reports from National Coordinators
3:30pm Afternoon Tea
4:00pm - 6:00pm Current Activities and Developments of APMRN: Secretariat report and discussion

International Symposium on New Trends in Asia Pacific Migration and Consequences for Japan: September 24th - 25th

Day 2: September 24th

8:30am - 10:00am Registration
10:00am - 12:00am Opening Session: address by host institution and sponsoring organisations.
Statement by Mme. Francine Fournier, Assistant Director General, Social and Human Sciences, UNSECO
12:00pm Lunch
1:30 - 3:30pm Causes, History and Current Trends in Migration the Asia Pacific Region

• Prof. Charles Stahl, University of Newcastle, Australia
  
• Prof. Kit Chun Lam, Hong Kong Baptist University
• plus Japanese paper

3:30pm Afternoon Tea
4:00pm - 6:00pm Settlement Trends and Interaction Between Immigrants and Host Populations

• Prof. Kiseon Chung and Prof. Hyunho Seok, Sungkyunkwan University, Korea
  
• plus two Japanese papers

7:00pm Symposium Reception

Day 3: September 25th

10:00am - 12:00pm Social, Family, Gender and Community Dimensions of Migration

• Dr. Marla Asis, Scalabrini Migration Center, Philippines
  
• plus two Japanese papers

12:00pm Lunch
1:30 - 3:30pm Migration and the Nation-State

• Prof. Stephen Castles, University of Wollongong, Australia
  
• plus two Japanese Papers

3:30pm Afternoon Tea
4:00pm - 6:00pm Migration and Cultural Diversity: future perspectives for the region

• Dr. Diana Wong, Malaysia
  
• plus two Japanese Papers

7:00pm Symposium Dinner

Day 4: September 26th APMRN Research Workshop
Venue: Asia Pacific Research Center, Waseda University

9:30am - 10:30am Session 1: How Can Migration Research Influence Policy Making - Strategies for policy and research outcomes

11:00am - 12:00pm Session 2: Research and funding issues - planning and new initiatives (Participation Program and other grants; Open presentations from participants)

September 26th Overnight: Afternoon Excursion to Hakone Hot Spa, Tokyo with overnight stay (details of the excursion can be obtained from the conference organisers)