Macau,
China
3.-5. August 2007
(Fri.-Sun.)
Conference
themes:
- Cities at the front line of political conflicts
- Borders and identities
- Border communities
- Border economies
- Border tourism
- Cross-border planning and co-operation
- Boundary-drawing as a tool for urban governance
- Inclusion and exclusion at urban boundaries
Keynote speakers:
Institutional sponsors:
Main
organiser:
Objectives:
On 6-12 August 2007 the Urban Commission
of the International Geographical Union (IGU) will hold their Annual
Meeting at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou. The participants will
visit the Pearl River Delta, a strongly urbanised region, which is
divided by political, social and cultural boundaries of various sorts.
This seems to be the right setting and time to draw the attention of
urban geographers to the complex character and high impact of boundaries
on urban development. It also seems to be the right setting and time to
bring together urban and political geographers, as well as scholars from
neighbouring disciplines, to exchange their views and create connections
between them – in order to conceptualise borders and bounding processes
and their impact on cities and the people in them. Therefore, there will
be this pre-conference on the topic “Cities and Borders” before the main
conference. Everyone can participate separately just in this three-day
conference, or book it as a package with the IGU conference and a
fieldtrip through the Pearl River Delta Region.
The pre-conference on “Cities and
Borders” will take place in Macau, the former Portuguese settlement in
South China (one hour boat trip from Hong Kong). Macau has recently been
awarded the title of World Heritage Site. It is a fascinating place,
characterised by a distinct cultural mix and by contrasts and boundaries
between tradition and modernity and between a post-colonial ambience and
a growing Chinese influence. Besides, Macau is a very striking example
of a border-city – with one of the busiest border checkpoints in the
world. The conference in Macau will include a guided excursion in Macau
and a public forum with members of the Macau public.
We are grateful to the Macau Cultural
Affairs Bureau for sponsoring some internationally renowned experts on
borders to complement the base of urban geography experts expected to
join in connection with the Guangzhou IGU Meeting. This will not only
bring in experiences and conceptual ideas from elsewhere, but also widen
the view of a largely western-dominated research community. We invite
everyone with an interest in cities and borders to join the conference
and to submit a conference paper, which should focus on one of the
conference themes. We will select the best papers for subsequent
publication in an edited volume.
Programme
structure:
Friday,
3.8.2007:
- Morning: Keynote speeches, Introduction of Border Cities
- Afternoon: Paper sessions Border Cities
- Evening: Dinner reception
Saturday, 4.8.2007:
- Morning: Excursion to Historical Macau
- Afternoon: Paper sessions Borders in Cities
- Evening: Public Forum on Cities and Borders
Sunday, 5.8.2007:
- Morning: Paper sessions and academic round table
- Afternoon: Excursion to Macau-China Border
- Evening: Trip to Guangzhou
Preliminary schedule
Venue:
Language:
- The conference language is English.
Registration:
- Extended regular registration: 31.5.2007
- Late registration subject to
availability and surcharge
Registration form (download)
NEW: On-campus accommodation and discount for students
How to reach Macau:
Conference
secretariat:
- Joyce Huang
- Ines Rückhardt
- Jiang Jing-yi
Contact:
mailto:Pearlriverdelta@gmail.com
The date of the last update:
17.7.2007, Wednesday.
