Laurentian University researchers played a lead role in the International Conference on Sustainable Development in Putrajaya, Malaysia in December. The International Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Law (ICIRL), the Centre for Research in Social Justice and Policy (CRSJP), and Laurentian University jointly organized the 3-day conference, in cooperation with the Sudbury-based Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA). The conference was co-hosted by University Tun Abdul Razak and by the Malaysian Ministry of Natural Resources.
“This conference was an extraordinary opportunity to meet new colleagues from many other countries, to share knowledge from our various points of views and to learn from other perspectives,” said Dr. Henri Pallard, Director of the International Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Law (ICIRL). “Most important, it is a reminder that university researchers from around the globe share a common set of values and are members of a broad community of learning, no matter their culture.”
More than 300 delegates from 42 countries participated in the conference, which opened December 5th with a welcome dinner hosted by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment of Malaysia. Academics from numerous disciplines presented papers on global sustainable development and related topics during the conference. Full details of the proceedings can be found at
http://www.ontariointernational.org/ConferenceMalaysia2011.htm
“The first international conference that I attended in 1994 set me on a richly rewarding path of research and exchange,” said Dr. Pallard. “We hope this conference has created similar opportunities for other researchers.”