The 5th study meeting(Summary)

This Year’s Schedule

Sato:

The main agenda for today is the budget adjustment and report of achievements. In addition, we would like to discuss next year’s schedule and the symposium to be held on February 9th.

<Budget Adjustment>

Sato:

We need to submit a report of achievements.

Yamamoto:

We also need business trip reports.

Sato:

Please send them to Mr. Yamamoto within the month of February.

Next Year’s Schedule

Sato:

We have to plan our schedule as a whole from now. We hope to publish documents of the results of our reports. How about sharing the editorial role? I would like each of you to be involved in this as an editor for each volume.

If possible, we hope to publish journals and also cooperate with a junior study group. For instance, there could be an option for our younger associates to write articles. One of the goals of this cooperation would be to provide an opportunity where the young can do research.

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We will invite Mr. Jan Oberg as a visiting professor next year, and will ask him to hold a one-week workshop. We are scheduled to have researchers who are studying refugees deliver a lecture on emergency humanitarian relief and law. I also plan to give a lecture on Peace Building beginning the second half of next year and want to link his workshop to my lecture.

A crash course needs to be formed in the one-year master’s course which will be established next fiscal year. For that purpose, we hope to cooperate with Harvard University. So I would ask Mr. Arakaki to act as a mediator.

We have to diversify and form a worldwide network regarding peace building. There are few experts within the country and too many issues for them to handle. This study meeting hopes to contribute to the creation of the worldwide network.

The IPRA convention, in which Mr. Kodama is involved, will be held in Hungry in July. Additionally, regional meetings in Asia will be held before the ECCP conference is opened at the United Nations in 2005. We would like to build up the network by participating in such meetings and making presentations.

We want to set up schedules for study meetings and assign the person in charge of meetings open to the public. The first study meeting in 2004 will be held on April 23rd. The second on June 18th, the third on September 17th, the forth on November 19th, and the fifth on January 21st.

Person in charge of public meetings

Futamura:

I would like professor Kozaki of Senshu University to talk about the settlement of the Central American conflict and the subsequent process of peace building. The subject includes Guatemala and Nicaragua, etc. The United Nations and NGOs also work on this issue, so it will be a model case.

Sato:

Are there any recommended presenters? How about asking Mr. Mushanokoji since he will work as an adjunct lecturer at Nanzan University from next year.

Futamura:

I will talk to him.

Otsubo:

I will visit the World Bank after April, so I may find someone who is willing to be a sp.

Sato:

Then, I will leave it to Mr. Futamura and Mr. Otsubo. Does the World Bank focus on Africa?

Otsubo:

It focuses on peace building budget-wise. The subject is Liberia, etc.

Sato:

Mr. Toda of JICA returned from the U.S. and is in charge of peace building. We may be able to gain his cooperation. He is also one of the core members of the peace building research which was worked on for one year in 2000.

Journals

Sugimoto:

The topic of journals was mentioned earlier. If we can accumulate even short writings, we will be able to share the burden when publishing books, which is beneficial.

Sato:

We hope to issue a journal every three months.

Otsubo:

CALE is well operated.

Sato:

Can you manage and edit at CDIC?

Sugimoto:

I will think about it and get back to you by email.

Junior research group

Yamamoto:

Currently, the junior research group has 8 members and mainly conducts two activities. One is to make a web dictionary and the other is to collect documents.

Regarding the latter, the collection of documents, I would like you all to provide information. The young research group alone cannot gather all the information. The information needs to be ready and available when necessary.

Otsubo:

In terms of documents, it could be a good idea to open a special corner at the library. We’ve had more and more downloadable documents in the economic field.

Symposium to be held on February 9th

Sugimoto:

We will have NGO representatives participate in the first half and will follow a panel-discussion-style. The major objective of this symposium is to gather data for this study group. So I would expect coordinators to be aware of this and proceed properly. We will explain JICA’s activities first in the afternoon. As a conclusion to the first half, Mr. Sato will provide an explanation about this study group. Only Japanese will be used and there will be no interpretation.

In the second half, we will hold an international symposium at 2 p.m. We will have Mr. Kon Sam Onn and Mr. Hyun-Sook Lee make each a presentation. ECCPs Asian Meeting will be discussed at the end. These agendas include consecutive interpretations. I am thinking about the flow of the symposium in this manner.

This symposium is co-hosted by Peace Boat and GSID. Because of this, the meeting will also be held in Tokyo. Mr. Kodama and Mr. Sato, among our study group members, can attend the meeting in Tokyo.

For publicity, we have been making leaflets and distributing them to international-related facilities and asking for the mass medias cooperation.

Sato:

We will take a practical approach. Through this symposium, we would like to utilize the information for making decisions in order to fix a concrete plan.

Future proceedings

Sato:

We need to clarify our objectives and put together the various research reports. How about submitting a draft by February next year?

Otsubo:

CAF is working on making a matrix in order to analyze the overall societies where conflicts occur. They are creating a database now. There is still old data left, so it is easy to make a comparison. I would like to verify how the gap widens by using the database. I think I can write an introduction expressing this.

Sato:

The first volume covers the introduction. Professional matters will be discussed after the second volume.

Otsubo:

Do we write in Japanese?

Sato:

Basically in Japanese. In the future, I also think of the publication with an English translation included. I will edit the first volume.

Arakaki:

We need to promptly decide what the focal point is, don’t we?

Otsubo:

The aim has to be clearly shown because there are some researchers who are not peace building professionals.

Sato:

The ultimate aim is to achieve results which systemize the study of peace building. We will make things and examples which can measure indicators of peace building. There is no universal model, so we will create a peace-building model for each region and run a simulation. We will also make it available for education and research. I’ve suggested these four ideas.

Otsubo:

Don’t we need to impose restrictions? If we follow the same restrictions, it will be easier to write in spite of some controls. However, I don’t know what part interests us until we dig deep into this subject.

Sato:

Can we use the framework of the World Bank, can’t we?

Otsubo:

Yes, it is easy to use.

Sato:

How about taking a critical approach against it?

Otsubo:

It could be possible in the field of economy.

Sato:

Then, we will think about this as one of the suggestions.