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UNIMAS, 18 June 2018-The Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the network of urban scholars and experts – the ForUm for Urban Future in Southeast Asia – will be organising a workshop with the title “National Urban Development Strategies in Southeast Asia”. The Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities has been selected to host the annual workshop.
Some 40 participants from Germany and Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and Indonesia will be attending the workshop. Their participation is fully sponsored by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
The workshop hopes to address the conceptualisation of national urban policies in Southeast Asian countries in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) especially SDG 11.
Earlier, during his opening address, UNIMAS Vice Chancellor, YBhg Prof Datuk Dr Mohamad Kadim Suaidi said that urbanisation will surely come with costs. Already, he said, there are many studies on the effects of urbanisation on society and this is where the social scientists will play a vital role.
“We need social scientists to study the social challenges posed by urbanisation or to study the effects of urbanisation on society as a whole such as on poverty and on the environment”, he added.
The opening ceremony was also attended by the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Students Affairs and Alumni, Professor Fadzil Abd Rahman, the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Assoc. Professor Dr Nelson Ilan Mersat, and the Deputy Dean for Research and Postgraduate cum the workshop local organising chairman, Dr Arnold Puyok.
The annual workshop on urban future in Southeast Asia is led by a network of experts and scholars on urbanisation and urban development headed by Professor Frauke Krass from the University of Cologne and the network’s representative in Malaysia, Professor Lee Boon Thong.
Article by: Dr Arnold
Photo: Fitzpatrick
