Sociological Knowledge for Induced Development Conference ends
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Alexandria, 31 May 2005—Yesterday, 30 May, witnessed the Opening Session of the Sociological Knowledge for Induced Development conference that took place at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, 30-31 May 2005.
Inaugurated by Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, and Professor Neil Smelser, University of California at Berkeley, initiator and senior “architect” of the International Encyclopedia of Social and Behavioral Sciences (IE), the conference’s eminent participants include Michael Cernea, Professor, George Washington University; Ahmed Abou Zeid, Professor of Anthropology; Vernon Ruttan, Regents Professor Emeritus, Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota; Lourdes Arizpe, Universidad National Autonoma de Mexico,President, International Social Science Council; Fahmia Sharafeddin, Professor of Sociology of Knowledge, Lebanese University; and many others.
During the first day, Dr. Serageldin, shed light on the topic “Do Social Scientists Supply Knowledge Tailored to Inducing Development?”, where he spoke about adopting new strategies for developing the mechanisms of research to facilitate the role of researchers in facing the existing obstacles and benefiting the society. He affirmed that scientists won’t be able to benefit society unless located in positions related to their studies.
Later, more topics on “Inducing Change and Imposing Risks: Social Science and the Protection of Rights” and “Social Science Knowledge and Institutional Innovation for Development” were discussed by a group of social scientists. They touched on trying to benefit from previous experiences of civil society organizations and institutions specialized in social sciences through establishing channels of dialogue, as well as discussing the issues that faced such organizations, through conferences and seminars.
A round-table meeting on “Development in the Arab World: Reform, Democracy, and Poverty Reduction”, chaired by Sayed Yassin, Professor of Political Sociology, National Center for Social Studies, Cairo, was held at the end of the day.
The second day focused on more social science issues, shedding light on “Development Pathologies and the Critical/Constructive Vocation of Development Social Science”, “Conservation of Cultural Heritage Endowments: In or Out of the Development Paradigm”, as well as “Development Untapped Resource: Women in the Muslim World.” A copy of the IE was donated to the BA, along the margin of the conference.
The Closing Session will feature an open floor discussion with concluding remarks by Dr. Serageldin and Professor Neil Smelser touching upon “The thoughts we take away from Alexandria”.
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| The Opening Session |
The IE |