Newsletter 67 - 9 November 2006
Last updated: 8 November 2011
SWEDISH SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES NETWORK
Subscribe to the newsletter by sending an e-mail to sasnet@sasnet.lu.se!
Contents:
 |
SASNET News
• Decision about new Board of SASNET
On Thursday 9 November 2006, Lund University Vice-Chancellor Göran Bexell decided the new composition of SASNET’s board for the period 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2009.
The board will be chaired by Associate Professor Gunnel Cederlöf (photo to the right), Dept. of History, Uppsala University. The other members of the board will be:
Representatives for Lund University: Dr. Pernille Gooch, Division of Human Ecology, Dept. of European Ethnology; Associate Professor Catarina Kinnvall, Dept. of Political Science; and Assistant Professor Jan Magnusson, School of Social Work (and Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, ACE). Deputy members: Prof. Staffan Lindberg, Dept. of Sociology; and PhD candidate Kristina Myrvold, Dept. of History and Anthropology of Religion, Centre for Theology and Religious Studies.
Representatives for other Swedish Universities and Colleges:
Associate Professor Prosun Bhattacharya, Dept. of Land and Water Resources Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm; and Associate Professor Cecilia Stålsby-Lundborg, Division of International Health (IHCAR), Dept. of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet Medical University, Stockholm. Deputy members: Dr. Per Hilding, Dept. of Economic History, Stockholm University: and Dr. Camilla Orjuela, Division of Peace and Development Research (PADRIGU), School of Global Studies, Göteborg University.
Representative for doctoral candidates: PhD candidate Ferdinando Sardella, Dept. of Religious Studies and Theology, Göteborg University. Deputy member: PhD candidate Wimal Pathmasiri, Dept. of Bioorganic Chemistry (previously Division of Pharmacognosy, Dept. of Medicinal Chemistry), Uppsala University.
Representative for other Nordic universities: Dr. Neil Webster, Institute for International Studies (DIIS), Copenhagen, Denmark. Deputy member: Dr. Arild Engelsen-Ruud, Dept. of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages (IKOS), University of Oslo, Norway.
Representative for Swedish NGOs: Dr. Bengt Kristiansson, General Secretary, Swedish Committee for Afghanistan. Deputy member: Ms. Eva Hägerstrand, Coordinator, Swallows India-Bangladesh Section, Lund.
• Staffan Lindberg’s appointment as Director extended for six months
On Thursday 9 November, the vice-Chancellor of Lund University also decided to extend the appointment of Prof. Staffan Lindberg as Director/Coordinator of SASNET for another six months, until 30 June 2007. The appointment of a new Director/Coordinator after that, for the period up to 31 December 2009, has been postponed. The position was announced earlier this year, and at its meeting on 29 August 2006, SASNET’s board decided to recommend the Vice-Chancellor to appoint one of the appliocants, Assistant Professor Anna Lindberg, Department of History, Penn State University, USA. This recommendation remains.
• SASNET workshop in Stockholm focuses on academic exchange with South Asia
SASNET holds a workshop on the "Role of of South Asia in the Internationalisation of Higher Education in Sweden" in Stockholm 28-29 November 2006. It is jointly organised by SASNET, Karolinska Institutet Medical University and the Swedish Institute, and involves sessions with representatives from 20 Swedish universities, and from the International Programme Office for Education and Training; the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education; STINT; the Government ministries of Education and Foreign Affairs; and the South Asian embassies in Stockholm.
The focus will be on experiences from masters and PhD programmes in Sweden as well as in South Asia. The aim is to promote increased academic exchange with South Asia. Since South Asia, and especially India, is fastly becoming a major academic arena in the world, the workshop should be of great interest to teachers involved in international student exchange as well as administrators handling such exchanges at Swedish universities. The conference will be inaugurated by Lars Leijonborg, Minister of Education, Government of Sweden. Venue: Nobel Forum, Nobels väg 1, Karolinska Institutet, Solna. More information with the full programme.
• SASNET lecture about the Bhopal disaster 1984
The physician Ingrid Eckerman holds a SASNET lecture about the 1984 toxic disaster in Bhopal, in Lund on Wednesday 15 November, 19.30. It is titled ”The Bhopal Saga – causes and consequences of the world’s largest industrial disaster”. The lecture is organised in collaboration with the Association of Foreign Affairs in Lund. In 1994 Dr. Eckerman was a member of the International Medical Commission on Bhopal, and recently she wrote a book about the disaster that took place at the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal in 1984. Venue: Eden – room 131, Dept. of Polirical Science, Lund University, Paradisgatan 5. More information.
• SASNET lecture about the situation in Afghanistan
The Danish journalist Eva Arnvig will hold a SASNET lecture aboiut ”Afghanistan: Warlords, Taliban or who will rule in the future?” in Lund on Wednesday 29 November 2006, 19.30. The event is organised in collaboration with the the Association of Foreign Affairs at Lund University and the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA). Eva Arnvig is not only an experienced journalist but also a clinical psychologist. She has worked for 18 years for UN organisationsa such as UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), and has travelled extensively in Asia, not the least in Afghanistan. Ms. Arnvig is presently working with training senior journalists in Asia, but is also engaged in documentary film productions about the problems in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2002 she received the Media Communications Association (MCA) Gold Award for the documentary ”Children of Allah”, about everyday life in the Haqqania madrassah in Pakistan (photo from the film above).
After the lecture, a discussion follows with Anders Davidson from SCA Lund. Venue: Eden, rook 131, Paradisgatan 5, Lund. More information.
Research Community News
• The Human Development Report 2006 launched on Thursday 9 November 2006
The 2006 Report is titled ”Beyond scarcity: Power, poverty and the global water crisis”, and it was launched in Cape Town, South Africa. A website with the Report and all related material went live the same day, http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/.
The yearly report commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) offers a unique analysis, full of statistical data, on the world’s progress in meeting the ambitious Millennium Development Goals (ranging from reversing and halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and other diseases to achieving universal primary education, with an aim to lift hundreds of millions of people out of extreme poverty by 2015), arising from the Millennium Declaration which was endorsed by world leaders at the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000. More information.
As usual a comparative Human Development Index is included in the report. In the HDR 2006, among the South Asian nations Sri Lanka ranks highest (as nr 93 among a total number of 177 countries), followed by Maldives (98). India ranks nr 126, Pakistan 134, Bhutan 135, Bangladesh 137 and Nepal 138. Afghanistan is not included in the ranking. Just like last year two Nordic countries top the list: Norway and Iceland. Sweden is ranked as nr 5. The complete 2005 report is available on the Internet. Go for the HDR Report 2006.
• Sida grants to Swedish South Asia related research projects
On Friday 3 November 2006, Sida’s (Swedish International Cooperation Development Agency) so-called U-landsforskningsråd decided upon the 2006 grants applications. At least 11 of the projects that will get funding for the coming years (2007-09) deal with South Asia related research. Among the most successful applicants are Anna Godhe, Marine Botany, Department of Marine Ecology, Göteborg University, who receives SEK 2.3 million for a project titled ”Interrelation between bacteria and phytoplankton blooms in the Arabian Sea”; Christer Norström (photo to the right), Dept. of Social Anthropology, Stockholm University, who receives SEK 2.1 million for a project titled ”Food as a metaphor for the past and the future among farmers in South India: the perception of food and food production in a fast changing world; and Kristine Höglund, Dept. of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University, who receives SEK 2.0 million for a project titled ”Peacemaking and Aid in Developing Countries: Nordic Involvement in Sri Lanka”; Go for SASNET’s list of South Asia related projects funded by Sida/SAREC 2006.
• Swedish Research Links grants to 11 South Asia related projects
Swedish Research Links grants for the period 2007-09 were decided upon for a large number of Asia related research projects in late October 2006. Sida and the Swedish Research Council initiated the Swedish Research Links programmes in 2002, and within this framework the Asian–Swedish Research partnership programme specifically aims to stimulate contacts between Swedish researchers and researchers in Asia. Ten of the approved projects directly relate to South Asia, including three project from Karolinska Institutet Medical University, Stockholm (applications from Vinod Diwan, Cecilia Stålsby Lundborg (photo to the left) and Sanjeevi Carani respectively). Prof. Sheila Kirkwood at the Swedish Institute of Space Physics in Kiruna also got a grant for a collaboration project with the National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL) in India. Go for SASNET’s list of South Asia related projects given Swedish Research Links grants 2006
• Stockholm seminar being planned for Nobel peace prize winner
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2006, divided into two equal parts, to Bangladesh’s Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank, for their efforts to create economic and social development from below. Lasting peace can not be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty. Micro-credit is one such means. Development from below also serves to advance democracy and human rights. Muhammad Yunus, formerly professor of Economics at Chittagong University, founded the bank in 1976. It has become a pioneer of micro-credit lending schemes for the poor in Bangladesh, especially women, so that they can launch their own businesses. The winners receive a prize of 10m Swedish kronor. The award ceremony will take place in Oslo on Sunday 10 December 2006. While in Scandinavia, Prof. Yunus will also make a visit to Sweden, that will include an academic seminar in Stockholm on Wednesday 13 December. The seminar will be organised by Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE) at Stockholm School of Business. More information about Dr. Yunus’ award.
• Perspectives on Development Cooperation applicable also on South Asia
In order to fill a gap for teaching materials with special relevance to Swedish and European development policy studies, the Centre for African studies (CAS), School of Global Studies at Göteborg university, has started to produce a series of smaller publications called “Perspectives on Development Cooperation in Africa”. CAS launched a master programme (“bredd-magister”) on African Studies with special emphasises on international development cooperation last year, and from 2007/08 it will – as part of the Bologna process – be developed into a regular masters programme (as a track within the joint masters programme in regional studies, planned for by the School of Global Studies). The lack of relevant teaching material has however become evident, and therefore good essays and reports by previous masters students at CAS, as well as more in depth original material within the field of development studies, will now be made accessible and published electronically in this Perspectives series. The initiative comes from Lennart Wohlgemut, guest professor at CAS. During 2006 he has written the first four reports in the series, namely: ”Svensk biståndspolitik i ett internationellt perspektiv” (Swedish developmental assistance policy in an International perspective, written in Swedish together with Bertil Odén); ”Changing Aid Modalities in Tanzania”; ”Humanitarian Assistance”; and ”Swedish and EU Africa Policy”. Even though the reports naturally focus on Africa they are also in many ways relevant for South Asian developmental studies.
• Lots of Danish research projects focused on Tranquebar
A large number of Danish researchers are involved in projects during the maritime Galathea 3 expedition by ship around the World. One part of the Galathea 3 expedition consists of the so-called Tranquebar Initiative of the National Museum of Denmark, where Danish and Indian researchers carry out projects related to Tranquebar on the Tamil Nadu coast, a town that was a Danish colony upto 1845. Other projects relate to Serampore in West Bengal, and the Nicobar Islands, other places that have had a strong Danish connection. More information about Galathea 3 and all the Indian projects involved.
• Indo-Dutch Programme on Alternatives in Development draws to an end
After 25 years of enriching research on alternatives in development the IDPAD (Indo-Dutch Programme on Alternatives in Development) programme is coming to an end in December 2006. A so-called IDPAD End Symposium was held 1–3 November 2006 in Hyderabad, with the theme ”India’s Development: Even or Uneven? Reflections on development theory and practice” (more information about the Hyderabad seminar), and a similar symposium will be held in The Hague, Netherlands, on Friday 24 November (more information about the Hague symposium). The keynote speakers in the latter include Prof. Dipankar Gupta, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; and Prof. Carla Risseeuw, Leiden University. IDPAD grew out of intensifying contacts and co-operation between Indian and Dutch social scientists, inspired by the need to explore 'alternatives in development'. The programme was formally launched in 1980. IDPAD's main activities have been the promotion and funding of research projects, seminars and exchange visits. It has been jointly implemented by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) in New Delhi, and The Netherlands Foundation for the Advancement of Tropical Research (WOTRO) in The Hague. More information about IDPAD.
• New Swedish Agency for Development Evaluation inaugurated in Karlstad
The Agency for Development Evaluation, SADEV, focused on developemt education and headquartered in Karlstad, started its work on 1 January 2006. SADEV is a Swedish government-funded institute that carries out and disseminates expert analyses and evaluations of international development cooperation. The overarching objective is to contribute to increased efficiency in Swedish development cooperation. On Wednesday 8 November 2006, SADEV was formally inaugurated with a day full of seminars. Lecturers such as Axel Hadenius, Göran Djurfeldt, Rolf Sandahl, and Arne Bigsten talked about about democratization, the global food situation, role of evaluation in development cooperation, and aid and development in Africa. Full programme at SADEV’s web page.
Educational News
• European Union organisesa Asia-Link Symposium in New Delhi
For the first time ever, more than 100 recognized European Higher Education Institutions from more than 25 European Countries gather in New Delhi for the European Higher Education Fair from 24 to 26 November 2006. The European Union has taken the initiative to provide an opportunity to the Indian students, to get a close and direct insight into the high quality and diversity of the European Higher Education and Research and to get to know Europe better. The Asia-Link Symposium will focus on the theme "Academic cooperation and student mobility between India and Europe", setting the platform for high level international dialogue between high ranking Indian and European officials and relevant stakeholders. The discussions will be on sharing experiences on the relevance of the Bologna Process to India, on strengthening the India-EU academic/institutional collaboration including Joint Study Programmes. More information.
Conferences and courses
• Uppsala conference on anthropological methods in Swedish development cooperation
A conference titled ”Anthropology in Practice Theory, Method and Ethnography in Swedish Development Cooperation” is held in Uppsala 30 November – 2 December 2006. It is organised by the Dept. of Cultural Anthropology & Ethnology, Uppsala University with funds provided by Sida’s Department for Policy and Methodology. Three plenary lectures are included in the programme, by Jean-Pierre Olivier de Sardan, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Marseille; David Lewis, London Schools of Economics; and Rosalind Eyben, University of Sussex. Five workshops dealing with anthropological methods and developement policies are also held.
A few researchers working with South Asia related projects will participate, for example Seema Arora-Jonsson, Dept. of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, will discuss ”Comparing National and International Contexts: Environmental and Gender Policy and Practice”; and Malin Arvidsson, Dept. of Sociology, Lund University about ”Professional Altruist: Contradictions and Confusion in Development Work”. Venue: Uppsala University main building, room IV.
• SPIDER workshop in Jönköping
A workshop titled "Empowering people through ICT for sustainable development" will be held in Jönköping 6–7 December 2006. It is jointly organised by SPIDER (Swedish Program for Information and Communication Technology, ICT, in Developing Regions) and Jönköping University. The aim of the workshop is to strengthen SPIDER's ongoing work of bringing together Swedish ICT expertise and to inspire our future direction. Participants from partner universities, organizations as well as the private and public sectors will meet and discuss the opportunities of ICT4D in areas such as e-health, e-governance, education and environment. Democracy, human rights and social development will also be part of the agenda.
• Swedish Gender and Development Network organises conference in New Delhi
The Swedish research network GADNET, Gender and Development Network, organises a Global conference on ”A World in Transition – New Challenges for Gender Justice” in New Delhi, India, 13–15 December 2006. It is organised in collaboration with the Centre for Women’s Development Studies (CWDS) in New Delhi. Keynote speakers include Dr. Vina Mazumdar, Founder of the Centre for Women’s Development Studies, New Delhi; Prof. Jayati Ghosh, Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; and Dr. Tejaswini Niranjana (photo to the right), Director, Centre for Study the Study of Culture and Society, Bangalore. The conference is only open for GADNET members and by CWDS invited researchers.
• Leiden seminar about ancient Sanskrit books manuscripts
A seminar about ”Production, distribution and collection of Sanskrit manuscripts in Ancient South India” is held in Leiden, the Netherlands, 19–21 April 2007. The seminar is organised by the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) in collaboration with the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium. The aim of the seminar is to study the production, distribution and collection of Sanskrit manuscripts in ancient South India in order to get a better picture of the history of currently available manuscripts such as those in the enormous collections of the Sarasvati Mahal library (photo above) in Tanjavur; of the Adyar Library and the Government Oriental Manuscripts library in Chennai; but also those in collections outside India, for instance, the Van Manen collection of palm leaf manuscripts of the Kern Institute, Leiden. More information.
• NCI conference will be held in the Fall 2007
The Nordic Centre in India (NCI) consortium organises a conference titled "The Global University. International collaboration in research and higher education”, in New Delhi, India, sometime during September-October 2007. It will focus on India and the new trends in international exchange pertaining to research and higher education. The conference is organised by the Nordic Centre in India, NCI, a consortium of leading universities and research institutions in Finland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden. The first part of the conference will focus on main trends in globalized knowledge production and exchange, whereas the second part will focus more specifically on Indo-Nordic university exchanges. The conference will also offer a variety of specially designed seminars, business meetings and study visits. Venue: India International Centre, Lodi Estate, New Delhi. More information.
Important lectures and workshops
• The 2006 Right Livelihood Award laureate Ruth Manorama from India participates in a seminar in Uppsala on Thursday 7 December, at 19.00, along with the other two recipients of the 2006 Right Livelihood Award: Chico Whitaker (Brazil) and Daniel Ellsberg (USA). This seminar is arranged by the Uppsala Association of International Affairs in collaboration with the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation and the Centre for Environment and Development Studies (Cemus) at Uppsala University. Venue: Vasasalen, Uppsala slott, entrance from the southern tower.
South Asia related culture in Scandinavia
• Saraswathy Kalakendra invites to Salangai Pooja in Huddinge
Saraswathy Kalakendra Institution of Fine Arts in Huddinge invites to a celebration of Salangai Pooja on Saturday 18 November 2006, 16–19. The Bharata Natyam dance school was started in 2004 by Usha Balasundaram, originally from Kerala and trained at the famous dance institution Kalakshetra College of Fine Arts in Chennai, India. Currently the school has 60 students of Indian, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi, Swedish, Russian, Polish and Brazilian origin. Performances have been frequent during the past two years in the Stockholm region. Venue: Teater Slava, Tonsalen Kyrkogårds vägen 2, Huddinge. More information.
• Stockholm concert with Hariprasad Chaurasia
The Internationally renowned flute player Hariprasad Chaurasia performs in Stockholm on Wednesday 22 November 2006, 19.00. Venue: Grünewaldsalen, Konserthuset, Hötorget, Stockholm (entrance from Kungsgatan 43). Chaurasia will be accompanied by Bhavani Shankar (pakhavaj), Vijay Ghate (tabla), Sunil Avachat (flute), and Pushpanjali Chaurasia (tanpura). The concert is arranged by Svensk-Indiska Föreningen in collaboration with the Embassy of India in Sweden and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. More information (as a pdf-file)
• Documentary films about India shown during Lund film seminar
The Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies (ACE) at Lund University arranges a documentary film festival on the theme ”Youth in Asia”, 22-23 November 2006. Two films about India are included in the programme, ”FLYOVERDELHI” directed by the anthropologist Paolo Favero, Dept. of Social Anthropology, Stockholm University; and ”Highway Courtesans” directed by the independent filmmaker Mystelle Brabbee, USA (photo from the film). As there are only a limited number of seats available it is necessary to ask for tickets (free of charge) well in advance, by sending a mail to Nina Brand. Venue: Kino, Kyrkogatan, Lund. Information about the films and the preliminary programme is found on http://www.ace.lu.se/o.o.i.s/6923.
New and updated items on SASNET web site
Best regards,
Staffan Lindberg Lars Eklund
SASNET/ Swedish South Asian Studies Network
SASNET is a national network for research, education, and information about South Asia, based at Lund University. The aim is to encourage and promote an open and dynamic networking process, in which Swedish researchers co-operate with researchers in South Asia and globally.
The network is open to all sciences. Priority is given to co-operation between disciplines and across faculties, as well as institutions in the Nordic countries and in South Asia. The basic idea is that South Asian studies will be most fruitfully pursued in co-operation between researchers, working in different institutions with a solid base in their mother disciplines.
The network is financed by Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) and by Lund University.
Postal address: SASNET – Swedish South Asian Studies Network, Scheelevägen 15 D, S-223 70 Lund, Sweden
Visiting address: Ideon Research Park, House Alfa 1 (first floor, room no. 2040), in the premises of the Centre for East and South East Asian Studies at Lund University (ACE).
Phone: + 46 46 222 73 40
Fax: + 46 46 222 30 41
E-mail: sasnet@sasnet.lu.se
Web site: http://www.sasnet.lu.se
Staff: Staffan Lindberg, director/coordinator & Lars Eklund, webmaster/deputy director
