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The Asian MetaCentre for Population and Sustainable
Development Analysis was established in 2000 with funding from The Wellcome
Trust, UK. The centre was constituted through a collaborative effort between
the former Centre for Advanced Studies (now the Asia
Research Institute [ARI]) at the National University of Singapore;
the College of Population
Studies (CPS), Chulalongkorn University, Thailand and the International
Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Austria. The National
Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health (NCEPH), Australian
National University, joined as principal collaborator in 2002. The Asian
MetaCentre's headquarters is situated at the Asia Research Institute
at NUS in Singapore.
The Wellcome Trust Award
The Wellcome Trust
(through its Population Studies Programme) awarded an initial grant of
approximately S$1.2 million in to facilitate the setting up of an Asian
MetaCentre with its main "hub" located at the Asia Research
Institute (formerly located at the Centre for Advanced Studies [CAS]),
the aim of which was to foster strong links to the "spoke" academic
centres in South and Southeast Asia. In 2002, the Asian MetaCentre received
a further award of S$2.7 million from the Trust in 2002, this time made
under the auspices of The Wellcome Trust·s Health Consequences
of Population Change (HCPC) Programme which incorporated the former Population
Studies Programme. The 65 million pound five-year HCPC Programme is a
research funding programme supporting research into the health impacts
of shifts in population structure and behaviour patterns in the developing
world.
The "Asian MetaCentre"
The Greek word 'meta' (engl. 'above') stands for something
that binds things together at a higher level. In this sense, one speaks
of "meta-analysis" when findings from different specific studies
are being compared in order to gain a more general insight. The Asian
MetaCentre hence aims at improving the synergy between existing population
studies centres around Asia through an internet platform, training courses,
topical workshops, support for project development and a general enhancement
of the interaction among scientists working on population, health and
sustainable development. It brings together Asian centres, fostering international
collaborations and skills transfer.
The Asian MetaCentre is a research programme that aims to
develop research initiatives on themes pertaining to population, sustainable
development and health such as population forecasting, international migration,
changing family structures and the Asian family, population-development-environment-health
interactions, fertility, intergenerational relations, ageing, human capital
projections, urbanization, environmental degradation and the consequences
of these population dynamics on human well-being and health. In doing
so, we aim to consolidate the Asian Population Network (APN), organise
relevant workshops, provide training for skills development, engage in
research projects, and subsequently publish research findings.
Work of the Asian MetaCentre
The work of the Asian MetaCentre is largely based on collaborations
in the internet as well as research and training workshops to strengthen
demographic research and the analysis of population dynamics. Our foci
include:
-population-development-environment-health interactions at the regional
level,
-rapid urbanisation, urbanism and health in Asia, and
-demographic change, migration and the 'Asian family', and their impacts
on social and psychological wellbeing.
The work of the Asian MetaCentre comprises a number of activity
spheres:
1) The Asian Population Network (APN)
The Asian Population Network is a broad network of population institutions,
networks, scientists, demographers, population experts and individuals
interested in population and health issues from academic institutions,
government agencies and private organisations internationally. It sets
out to encourage scholarly interaction amongst Asian scholars, build research
capacity and advance research methodologies, in-depth case studies and
collaborative research in the region. The APN is largely based on the
internet and email and acts as a conduit for the dissemination of research
and information on population and health matters. It will also be an important
source for the recruitment of experts and participants to expert meetings
and for specialised training courses. The APN is co-sponsored with the
International Union for Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP), contributing
to the quick and efficient start and build-up of a broad and international
network. >>Join
our mailing list
2) APN Research Workshops
APN research workshops are a series of high-level expert meetings (2-3
days each) organised around specific themes relating to population and
health. They bring together individual scholars within the network and
other distinguished scientists working in the field. The research workshops
serve the multiple purpose of improving academic and scientific exchange,
and interaction and development among Asian scholars in the field, as
well as between Asian and non-Asian scholars in the scientific community.
They will address pertinent research topics and provide an opportunity
for the critical review of research methods and findings. APN research
workshops are also expected to strengthen collaboration among existing
population studies centres in the region. Most of the APN research workshops
are expected to result in refereed books based on the best contributions
to the workshops. >>Events
3) APN Training Workshops and Summer
Courses
The Asian MetaCentre has a strong training component to satisfy the great
demand for intensive training both in the more advanced techniques of
demographic analysis and in the new methods for interdisciplinary systems
analysis. Training is offered through intensive 2-week "hands-on"courses
and a 5-week summer workshop for scientists affiliated with the collaborating
Asian research centres and other interested and qualified individuals
from the region. Training is consolidated under our training centre based
within the premises of the College of Population Studies, Chulalongkorn
University in Bangkok. >>Events
4) Research Projects
To date, a number of projects have been organised under the auspices of
the Asian MetaCentre. Set in various Asian contexts, project themes range
from migration and fertility, to the utilisation of health services, and
to the consequences of population change. In February 2002, the research
project 'Population
Changes and Land Degradation in Xinjiang, China' was awarded a grant
from The Wellcome Trust for a period of 3 years. This project was conceived
collaboratively by Dr Jiang Leiwen of Peking University (Principal Investigator),
Dr Tong Yufen from Xinjiang University and the Asian MetaCentre for Population
and Sustainable Development Analysis through a series of workshops and
meetings in 2000 and 2001. >>Research
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