In order to help you prepare for the
Honolulu conference on globalization, fairness, and public institutions...
The conference will take
place over three and one half-days, from Sunday afternoon, January 6, 2002,
through Wednesday, January 9, 2002. Most of the conference will be held in the
Center for Korean Studies on the campus of the University of Hawai'i,
immediately adjacent Lincoln Hall, where all conference participants will be
staying.
Overview:
Our meeting on Sunday
afternoon, January 6, will give us an opportunity to get to know one
another, to share our views on "globalization, fairness, and public
institutions" in the light of September 11, and to share some our personal
experiences with globalization. Day
Two will then focus on what is happening now in our areas concerning
globalization, fairness, and public institutions, and its consequences. Day
Three will consider what should be happening instead (or in addition),
while on Day Four we will identify what we need to do in order to enable
what we prefer to actually come about.
More details:
More specifically, on Sunday
afternoon, January 6, we will all go to a small hotel in Waikiki and, in a
pleasant, oceanview room, have a light lunch after which we will spend the
afternoon discussing informally among ourselves what "globalization,
fairness, and public institutions" means to each of us now, in the light
of the events of September 11. We will also use this time to share our personal
experiences with globalization--what we termed "the first preparation"
in the material we sent to you previously.
We have made this change to
our previous program because many of you told us that you felt September 11 had
changed the meaning of globalization, and that we needed to start by addressing
this issue. Also many people said, and we certainly agreed, that our previous
program was packed with too many things. So in order to be sure there is enough
time to discuss what is important for the purpose of the conference, and yet
also keep the personal touch that our earlier "preparations" intended
to bring, we will share our experiences on Sunday, leaving us more time for
discussion of other issues during the rest of the conference.
The rest of the conference
will proceed as previously planned.
So on Monday, January 7,
Day Two, we will discuss the kinds of societal, environmental, and
intergenerational challenges to public institutions that we believe can be
attributed to globalization. We will also discuss how public institutions are
presently responding to these challenges. We intend to give special attention
to how globalization may be changing our ideas of what public institutions are.
The Third Day of the
conference, Tuesday, January 8, will
focus on what we believe public institutions SHOULD BE DOING in response to
globalization, in contrast with what they are doing now. We will also identify
the obstacles that public institutions encounter that prevent them from doing
what we believe is desirable. We will also identify existing forces and
developments which, if properly nurtured, could make it easier for public
institutions to respond more appropriately, as well as what new forces or
factors need to be created to support preferred activities.
On the Fourth and last
Day, Wednesday, January 9, will
identify the educational, training, and research activities that should be
undertaken in order to overcome the obstacles, nourish the opportunities, and
invent new processes that address fairness in relation to the societal,
environmental, and intergenerational issues raised by globalization.
Our time together will not be all work,
of course.
First of all, on Sunday
evening, January 6, there will be a reception for you on the lanai of the
East-West Center, adjacent to your rooms and the University of Hawai'i. We expect
the Lieutenant Governor of the State of Hawai'i, the Chancellor of the
University of Hawai'i, and other dignitaries and guests to greet you then.
On each of the other nights
we will take you to a different restaurant to enjoy some of Honolulu's varied Asian
food. On the last evening, Wednesday, January 9, there will be a farewell
dinner.
We have also asked students
at the University of Hawai'i to serve as your personal guides while you are
here. We expect them to meet you at the airport and take you to your room at
Lincoln Hall. They will also attend the conference to the extent their class
schedule permits.
In addition, we have asked a
small number of scholars at the University of Hawai'i who are specialists in
globalization and/or Asian cultures to serve as "observers" during
the conference. They have been assigned specific roles but will not interfere
with your discussions.
So what should you do to prepare for all
of this?
Day One, Sunday afternoon, January 6.
First of all, think of what,
if anything, the events of September 11, 2001 have done to change or solidify
your feelings about "globalization, fairness, and public
institutions." Come prepared to talk about that with others on Sunday
afternoon.
Then, think about
"globalization, public institutions, and fairness" in relation to
your own experience, and come to the conference with the outline of an
experience that links globalization, public institutions, and fairness in your
own professional or personal life. It should, to the greatest extent possible,
include your direct knowledge of these three issues as they impact individuals
or communities, the environment, or future generations.
For the rest of the conference:
We ask you to write down and
bring to the conference your thinking about the topics being addressed on each
of the three full days of the conference.
We have listed issues below,
in the form of questions, that are relevant to each day's topic. We would like
you to think about these issues/questions, and to write down your thoughts. What
you write may be as little as a page or two for each day but can be as much as
you like. At the conference you will be asked to discuss these issues/questions
using your preparatory work as a guide.
Here are the discussion topics and
questions for each day. Please use them to formulate your answers.
Monday, January 7.
Day Two focuses on what is
happening now with globalization, public institutions, and fairness, and the
consequences of this. We would like you to think about these issues:
1. What kinds of societal,
environmental, and intergenerational challenges to public institutions do you
believe can be attributed to globalization?
2. How do you see public
institutions presently responding to these challenges? That is, what are
the specific practices that are wholly or in part responses to challenges
presented by globalization?
3. How do you think
globalization may be changing our ideas of what public institutions are?
4. How is globalization
changing what is meant by fairness in society, or for future generations, or in
relation to the environment?
Tuesday, January 8.
Day Three focuses on what
public institutions SHOULD BE DOING in response to globalization, in contrast
with what they are doing now. We would like you to think about these issues:
1. What goals and specific
practices should public institutions, as we understand them, adopt in your
society in the immediate future to respond to globalization fairly, in relation
to society, future generations, or the environment?
2. What obstacles do public
institutions currently encounter which prevent them from doing what you believe
is desirable?
3. What obstacles are pubic
institutions likely to encounter in the future (more than five years) that may
prevent them from doing what is desirable?
4. What are the existing
developments and forces which, if encouraged or supported, can help to
facilitate the desired responses of public institutions? Similarly, what NEW
forces or factors need to be encouraged or supported in order to facilitate the
desired responses of public institutions?
Wednesday, January 9.
Day Four focuses on
identifying what needs to be done in order for public institutions to do what
they should to address fairness in the context of globalization. We would like
you to think about these issues:
1. What educational,
training, and research activities should be undertaken in order to overcome the
obstacles, nourish the opportunities, and invent new processes that address
fairness in relation to the societal, environmental, and intergenerational
issues raised by globalization?
2. To what extent is this
range of education, training, and research activities being done, or not done
in, or for, your society?
3. What are the educational, training, and research needs likely to be in the future (more than five years) that are different than today?
4. When the current or
anticipated educational, training, and research activities are not being
addressed, who should undertake these activities? Are those who should
undertake them likely to be different in the future?
After the Conference:
It is our intention to write
a small book or monograph based on the discussion during the conference.
Several publishers have already expressed interest.
In order to do this, some of
our "observers" have been asked to take careful notes during the
conference. We will also audio tape-record all of the discussions.
Dick Pratt, Yongseok Seo, and
Jim Dator will review this material and sketch the outline of a publication. We
will then invite you to contribute to the writing of the volume in one of
several ways. What we may specifically invite you to do will depend on how the
discussion went during the conference, your specific interests, and the form
the book finally takes.
We will offer you a modest
honorarium for your contribution. Everyone who attends the conference will be
acknowledged as having contributed to the book when it is published. Finally,
before we send the book to the publisher, you will be asked to review and to
approve of any portion of the manuscript that uses your contribution.
If you have any questions or
comments about any of these procedures, please let us know.
Jim Dator, Dick Pratt,
Yongseok Seo