We are pleased to present the Proceedings of the Second International Conference of the World Association for Sustainable Development (WASD), 8th – 10th November, 2004, Edinburgh, UK. The papers presented at the conference had tremendous scope in both focus and source; providing great encouragement for the future of this event. More than thirty quality and scholarly papers were presented, covering a broad geographical spectrum including Africa, America, Asia, Australia, India, China, Europe and the Middle East.
The papers contained within these proceedings discuss a range of issues, with a common focus, namely the role of academic institutions and societies in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and sustainable development. The MDGs are a framework of 8 goals, 18 targets, and 48 indicators covering every field of human endeavour, including the relief of poverty and hunger, improved access to education, greater gender equality, improved child mortality and maternal health, tackling HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases, environmental sustainability and enhanced global partnerships for development. The crucial challenge is how to achieve these goals. To this end, the selected papers attempt to demonstrate clearly such challenges and outline possible solutions and recommendations.
We are cognizant of the fact that universities are greatly underutilized and are potentially powerful vehicles for development anywhere, but more so in developing countries. They should be employed as vital partners in the development process. Several papers have critically examined those factors, frameworks and paradigms that would enable universities and institutions of higher education to contribute more fully in achieving the MDGs and sustainable development.
The conference contained one session for keynote speakers, one roundtable discussion and seven sessions of oral presentations. This proceedings, which contain only a selection of the papers presented during the conference, is divided into seven sections namely, Education; Innovation, Science & technology; Knowledge Management & ICT; Sustainable Environment; Business Excellence & Management; International Business and finally International Development.
The scientific and technological community can make a leading contribution to tackling major problems such as: fighting disease; overpopulation and urbanisation; the digital/information divide and the impacts of information technology systems on world financial markets; coping with climate change; confronting the water crisis; defending the soil; preserving forests, fisheries and biodiversity; trade in biotechnological products and building a new ethic of global stewardship. The universalism of science, and the globalisation of technological production and trade, offer unprecedented opportunities for focused cooperation by scientists and engineers, and the institutions that employ them, to further progress on sustainable development. There are opportunities for academic institutions and societies in both the developed and developing countries to contribute more effectively towards achieving the millennium development goals and sustainable development.
The complex relationship between the economy, society and the environment and scientific knowledge requires a multi-disciplinary approach, and calls for skilled communication to be able to address technological issues as well as the political framework within which problem solving necessarily takes place. At all levels and on all scales of endeavour, the role of science and technology is crucial; scientific knowledge and appropriate technologies are central to resolving the economic, social and environmental problems that make current development paths unsustainable. Bridging the development gap between the North and the South, and alleviating poverty to provide a more equitable and sustainable future for all, require novel integrated approaches that fully incorporate existing and new scientific knowledge. A clear implication of this is that international cooperation in S&T, from small cross-border research projects to global-scale coordination, must be considered as a key tool for enhancing sustainable development.
Global partnership and collaboration will be required. The United Nations (UN) provides an important framework for international scientific cooperation, especially through its agencies (UNESCO, FAO, UNIDO, WHO etc.). Much of the UN’s work is related to technical assistance and supports the renormalisation of international relations in a postcolonial world, but its scope is limited and has suffered from disagreements and management difficulties.
It is our hope that the papers presented in this proceedings would help to stimulate debate amongst scholars, researchers and policy-makers. This is just a beginning but we are sure that our contributors, participants and wider readership are capable of pointing the right way to resolving some of the intractable problems facing mankind as enunciated in the MDGs protocol, especially in the developing countries.
