Pacific flavour for biggest International Relations conference

The biggest ever International Relations conference to be held in NZ will have a distinctly Pacific flavour, according to organisers.

Victoria University of Wellington and the University of Auckland are co-hosting the fourth Oceanic Conference on International Studies (OCIS) in Auckland later this month.

The conference aims to build the international studies research community across Australia, NZ, the Pacific and beyond.

Open to the public, the conference will bring nearly 350 speakers from across the globe here to engage in a wide range of themes of international importance, including aid and development, war and terrorism and international policy making and peacekeeping.

Senior Lecturer in Victoria’s Political Science and International Relations programme and conference co-convenor Dr Robbie Shilliam says the goal is to give the conference a real Pacific flavour, reflecting NZ’s unique place in the globe.

“It’s an international conference, but we want it to speak to the region we are in. With Victoria University based amongst the seat of Government in Wellington, it is great to combine our resources with Auckland, which is the hub of the Pacific.”

Specialists from the Pacific, South East Asia, North Asia, the Middle East, North and South America, Europe and Africa will be in Auckland for the three-day conference which runs from 30th June to 2nd July.

Keynote speakers include renowned feminist and international relations theorist Prof. Ann Tickner from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles and Dr Claire Slatter, a senior lecturer in Social Sciences at the new Fiji National University and founding member of Development Alternatives for Women in a New Era (DAWN).

Victoria senior political science lecturer, and conference co-convenor David Capie says the conference is an enormous opportunity to enrich the study of International Relations in NZ.

“It’s an opportunity to highlight International Relations as a discipline and point to the breadth of international ideas that people are working on in their research here and around the region.

“It is also an opportunity for us to show people from outside NZ some of the work that is being done here, as well as a chance for NZers to hear from international relations experts from all across the world.”

Other topics explored in the conference include China in the region; America and the World; Asia-Pacific and East Asian Politics; Europe and the World; Gender and Feminism; Global Crises; Global Governance; Indigenous Politics; Justice and Rights; The Future of Multilateralism; Activism; and Sovereignty and Security Issues.

This is the first time NZ has hosted the OCIS conference, with the four previous conferences all held in Australia.

What: The Oceanic Conference on International Studies.

When: 30th June to 2nd July.

Where: The University of Auckland Business School, Auckland.

For more information, a full programme, and to register visit www.ocis.org.nz