Strong UPEI Delegation to Island Studies Conference in Hawaii
Nine faculty members and students from UPEI presented papers at the 9th Islands of the World Conference in Maui, Hawaii which took place July 28 to August 3. The conference was organized by the Maui Community College with the collaboration of the International Small Islands Studies Association (ISISA).
The Islands of the World Conference, which was hosted by UPEI in 2002, is the most important global island studies event, and brings together close to 200 researchers, academics and practitioners interested in island development. The 2006 session had sustainability as its key theme.
UPEI Faculty Godfrey Baldacchino and Barry Bartmann, as well as MA (Island Studies) students Margaret Mizzi and Kathy Stuart, presented papers on issues affecting sub-national island jurisdictions in a 2and#189;-hour panel that Dr. Baldacchino organized expressly for the ISISA conference. Dr. Irene Novaczek, Director of the Institute of Island Studies at UPEI, discussed seaplants as food, medicine and tools for gender empowerment in the South Pacific. Dr. P. Nagarajan, from UPEI's Economics Department, pursued his interest in non-sustainable island development with a paper on the island state of Nauru. MAIS student Faiz Ahmed reviewed alternative development options in the contemporary Caribbean; while MAIS student and UPEI employee Laurie Brinklow reviewed cultural policy in PEI and Iceland. Patrick Augustine, prospective MAIS student, delivered a poignant paper on place and placelessness amongst the Mi'kmaq of Lennox Island.
"The biannual ISISA event is the key showcase of ongoing island studies scholarship, as well as the venue for a significant amount of island studies networking that spills over into collaborative educational, research and policy-related activities," comments Dr Baldacchino, who is Canada Research Chair in Island Studies at UPEI. "It is comforting to see that UPEI enjoys a recognized niche in this field. MAIS students in particular have had an exciting and educational international experience that will contribute to an improvement in the quality of their ongoing thesis work." Dr Baldacchino has been elected to the ISISA Executive for a four-year term.
The 10th Islands of the World Conference is scheduled for the autonomous province of Jeju Island, South Korea, in August 2008.
