President's Corner
A personal message from the president of
ICSD
Greeting! Some of you may not know that in July I assumed the
Presidency of ICSD from Frank Raymond. I want you all to know
that I consider this a great honor and privilege. I am thrilled
to service this wonderful organization in this capacity, but I
will need your help.
First of all, it is a significant challenge
to follow in the footsteps of the giants in social development:
Dan Sanders, Jim Billips, Shandi Khinduka, Chuck Cowger and
Frank Raymond to name a few. These men and others have provided
outstanding leadership and vision for this organization for the
past many years. I promise to do my best and uphold the
traditions of collegiality, transparency, and integrity that
have guided ICSD.
For those of you who were not able to
attend our 16th Biennial Symposium in Monterrey,
Mexico from July 27th – 31st this past summer, you
missed a fantastic symposium. The theme of the symposium was
‘Promoting Social Development and Diminishing Inequality: Who
Must be Responsible?” Hats off to Kristen Ferguson, Hector
Cuadra Montiel and Sandra Mancinas Espinoza, co-chairs, who
despite unexpected challenges, pulled off a spectacular
meeting. 352 papers were accepted for presentation.
Unfortunately, 105 presenters pulled out before the symposium
was to start. Kristen, Hector and Sandra shifted; rearranged,
adjusted the schedule and the program went off smoothly. The
plenary addresses, individual and panels, were excellent. The
cultural events provided a real expression of the arts. I can’t
imagine why all of the dancers didn’t fall in a heap with the
heat wearing those beautiful costumes. Talk about
professionals, they were fabulous! The symposium was held on
the campus of the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon.
Transportation was a bit of a challenge, but again, the
co-chairs had it all under control and we all moved from plenary
to sessions and back from sessions to plenary with little
difficulty. For those of you who are new to ICSD and have not
experienced a symposium, you have missed a real treat. This is
absolutely one of the best conferences you could ever attend.
There is a collegiality and hospitality that is rare and
generally non-existent at many meetings I go to. I haven’t ever
attended a bad session. Presenters are prepared, passionate
about their topics and welcome interaction. The international
connections you make at ICSD translate into life-long personal
and professional relationships. I cannot extend enough thanks
to our Mexican colleagues and the symposium co-chairs. As I
have after every symposium, I am looking forward to the next in
2011. Get your suitcases ready!
Plans are underway for the 17th
Biennial Symposium in Dhaka, Bangladesh, January 3rd-7th, 2011.
You may wonder why January and not the usual July format. Well,
temperature wise, I think January works better than July for
Bangladesh. Mark your calendars! Golam Mathbor and Nazrul
Islam are serving as symposium co-chairs. The theme, “Good
Governance: Building Knowledge for Social Development Worldwide”
is very fitting and timely. Put your thinking caps on and get
ready to submit your proposals for presentation. Sub-themes for
the symposium include: International Policy Limits,
Establishing the Millennium Development Goals, Role of Global
Governance Agencies, Responsibilities of Governmental,
Non-Governmental, and Civil Society Organizations and Human
Rights and Social Justice Issues. More detailed information will
be coming soon.
I feel like a new mother with the
development of our newest branch, Latin America. In Monterrey,
our Latin American colleagues voted to officially organize under
the leadership of Hector Cuadra Montiel elected as president.
Congratulations! The Latin American branch joins the
Asia-Pacific and European branches. Dr. Antoinette Lombard is
working with her colleagues in African and we are hoping that
they will officially organize by the time we meet in Dhaka in
January 2011.
Finally, before I close for now, let me
update you all on our colleagues who have taken on new
leadership positions in our organizations. Gouthan Menon has
agreed to serve as Secretary General replacing Alberto Godenzi.
Thank you Alberto for your steady hand and all your great work!
Jay Gabbard has accepted the position as Associate
Secretary-General for Membership replacing Golam Mathbor who is
moving into the role of Vice President for Planning and
Organizational Evaluation. Jon Matsuoka will assume the
position of Chair and Treasurer of the Social Development Issues
Board of Managers taking the torch from Marilyn Flynn who has
done an outstanding job increasing institutional support and
resources for the journal. Joe Leung continues as editor. Thank
you Dr. Leung. Our elected board members are Chuck Cowger,
Piotr Salustowicz, Ana Christina Viera, Ce Shen, Michael Klassen,
Antoinette Lombard, Brij Mohan and Vijay Pillai. Thank you to
those members who are continuing and congratulations to our new
board members. Karen Sowers continues in her role as Treasurer,
Mary Ellen Kondrat as Associate Secretary-General for
Communication, and Carol Williams as Director of Information
Technology. David Hollister is continuing as the Associate
Secretary-General of Regional Branches. It has really been
through David’s efforts and persistence that we now have three
operating regional branches of ICSD. Last but certainly not
least; Antoinette Lombard will serve as our newsletter editor.
Although I hate to give up that task, I know that Antoinette
will take the newsletter to another level.
I cannot tell you how pleased I am to be
working with this wonderful group of colleagues who are all
passionate leaders in the area of social development. ICSD is a
great organization because of the commitment and dedication of
our members. More information will be coming out on out 17th
Biennial Symposium. For those of you are have just started or
are just starting school, have a great academic year. For our
practitioner colleagues, hang in there, it will get better.
Stay posted for a great year for ICSD!
Barbara W. Shank
President
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