JSPS KAKENHI 23H00031 and JRP-LEAD with UKRI JPJSJRP20211705 GRANTS PROJECT
INTERNATIONAL SMALL WORKSHOP [Semi-closed and Face-to-face Sessions]
LOOKING TOWARDS THE UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF RANGELANDS AND PASTORALISTS 2026: A UNITED KINGDOM–JAPAN INTEREXCHANGE DIALOGUE FEATURING FIELD RESEARCH CONDUCTED INNER ASIA AND AFRICA
11 May 2024 and 12 May Morning Sessions at Hosei University, Tokyo
Aims and Scopes
On 15 March 2022, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York unanimously declared 2026 the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP 2026), a move the Japanese government supported. The declaration noted that over half the Earth’s land surface is classified as rangeland, and these areas are suffering considerable desertification including in countries with substantial drylands. It also acknowledged pastoralism as a dynamic, transformative livelihood linked to diverse ecosystems, cultures, and identities as well as to traditional knowledge and the historical experience of coexisting with nature. Moreover, the declaration recognized that rangelands and pastoralism are currently facing urgent albeit different challenges globally, and efforts aimed at achieving sustainable rangeland and pastoralism need to be rapidly upscaled to significantly progress towards achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Above all, pastoralists have been left behind. Awareness of UN IYRP 2026 is low in Japanese academia, and the primary role of pastoralists and rangeland achieving the SDGs has not gained the deserved recognition among Japanese scholars. Hence, intensified scholarly dialogue that crosses both national and disciplinary borders is expected to contribute to the provision of SDGs as well as UN IYRP 2026.
This small workshop aims to facilitate interexchange dialogue between the United Kingdom and Japan featuring researchers focused on inner Asia and Africa as we look towards UN IYRP 2026. Japanese team members from the KAKENHI 23H00031 grant project will give short presentations localized to various regions of Africa with special focus on climate change and climate narratives. There will also be presentations by two visiting researchers from Kyrgyzstan. The content will draw upon a variety of disciplines such as anthropology, area studies, development economics, and international relations. The team comprises former UN, Japan International Cooperation Agency, and non-governmental organization staff who will respond to Drs Ariell Ahearn’s and Troy Sternberg’s keynote lectures. The presentations will be followed by a question-and-answer session with the keynote lecturers, who lead academic movements related to IYRP 2026 as co-chairs of the Commission of Nomadic Peoples, International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences as well as from their positions as geographic researchers at Oxford University whose work focuses on Mongolian pastoralists.
We hope that this small workshop will provide attendees with an opportunity to further promote interexchange dialogue between the United Kingdom and Japan as well as among researchers concerned with inner Asia and Africa as we continue to dissolve disciplinary borders.
*The workshop will be held as a side event of the International Seminar (11 May, 13:30-). For more information on the International Seminar, please refer to the following URL.
*Due to two additional presentations, the start of Programme Day 2 was moved 10 minutes earlier and the coffee break on Programme Day 1 was changed to a presentation time. Details are subject to change, so please refer to the website from time to time.
Program Day 1: 11 May 2024 at Room G601, Fujimi Gate Buildings, Hosei University, Tokyo
10:00-10:10: Opening Remarks
10:10-10:20: Presentation 1: Dr. Isao MURAHASHI ‘Climate Change or Local Justice? On Frequent Drought and Regicide in South Sudan.’
10:20-10:30: Presentation 2: Prof. Toru SAGAWA ‘Large-Scale Development Projects and Livelihood of Agro-Pastoralists in Southwestern Ethiopia.’
10:30-10:40: Presentation 3: Dr. Kana MIYAMOTO ‘Fragmented Traditional Authority: Lessons from Grazing Disputes among Otjiherero-speaking People in North-west Namibia.’
10:40-10:50: Presentation 4: Prof. Go SHIMADA ‘Climate Change and Development Projects in Peripheral Area.’
10:50-11:00: Presentation 5: Dr. Kemel Toktomushev ‘Assessing the Impacts of Mining Activities in the Naryn Region of Kyrgyzstan: China’s Role in Pre- and Post-COVID Dynamic.’
11:00-11:30: Q & A Session (with Dr. AHEARN, Dr. STERNBERG and KAKENHI team)
Program Day 2: 12 May 2024 Morning Session at Conference Room A, 26th floor of Boissonade Tower Hosei University, Tokyo
09:50-10:00: Ms. Zalina Enikeeva Presentation 6: ‘The Role of Women-entrepreneurs during COVID-19 in Rural Parts of Kyrgyzstan’.
10:00-10:10: Presentation 7: Prof. Takuto SAKAMOTO and Prof. Tamara ENOMOTO ‘Evolving Climate Crisis Narratives at the United Nations.’
10:10-10:20: Presentation 8: Prof. Toshio MEGURO ‘Changes in Maasai Livelihood Practices and Preferences in Amboseli, Southern Kenya.’
10:20-10:30: Presentation 9: Prof. Eri HASHIMOTO ‘Living with/without Cattle :Coping with Vulnerable “Blood” among Nuer Refugees of South Sudan.’
10:30-11:00: Q & A Session (with Dr. AHEARN, Dr. STERNBERG and KAKENHI team)
11:00-11:20: Plenary Session
11:20-11:30: Closing Remarks
How to participate (face-to-face only)
Those wishing to participate must book in advance. Please submit your email address and other details using the web form below by 3 May 2024.
Venue: Hosei University Ichigaya Campus
https://www.hosei.ac.jp/english/about/maps/campus/ichigaya/
https://www.hosei.ac.jp/english/about/maps/access/
Contact: localizationtoafrica@gmail.com
Flyer
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nb_4WcqJ9mXQfA7DWHDrC67NM5vd4qTt/view?usp=share_link