The current global economic recession has increased unemployment rates in both the developed and developing countries and thereby has added to the hardships of the people. It has made the task of accelerating job growth an even more urgent proposition than before. The collapse of communism and decrease in social security benefits has made employment the only meaningful option for providing a decent living to the billion people living below the poverty line in developing countries and for fulfilling the aspirations of an equal number of people to rise to middle class level in those same countries. The very quick spread of globalization and the formation of many regional economic associations have made it very difficult to protect national economics from the adverse effects of global recession. The accelerated growth of international trade and new job outsourcing policies have led to job reduction in many sectors and thereby fueled public resentment towards globalization and intensified demands for quick remedial action on the home front. People’s expectation about rising income and better living standards have led to dissatisfaction with present stagnant living conditions and thereby has fostered fundamentalist and extremist movements. In such a context India’s efforts to provide guaranteed employment to millions of rural workers is a welcome step that shows that this nation is alert to the problem. India’s response is to be magnified on the global scale by developing globally viable strategies if global security and political stability and economic development are to continue in an undisturbed manner.
Each new era on the global scene generates new opportunities and challenges which demand new perspectives and approaches if they are to be properly met. The history of the 20th century is replete with instances of the failure of meeting new situations with old outmoded policies and the consequent calamities that follow. Imperialistic ambitions led to two devastating world wars and the cold war between the Soviet and NATO blocks posed a risk to global security for 5 decades or more. The post cold war era requires new visionary perspectives that will allow a sound reexamination of the root causes of many global afflictions. The prospects for full employment in an era of fast spreading globalization and economic integration are one such issue. Piecemeal adjustments will not deliver the results at a time when radical new approaches are required. The world academy is an ideal institution for coming up with the required visionary and comprehensive new approaches that will help meet the changed conditions of the world.
Scope
This proposal gives a call for an interdisciplinary dialogue that explores the demographic, economic, political, psychological and legal dimensions relevant to global employment so that the magnitude of the impact of the current adversity is properly assessed and suitable remedial measures can be developed.
Issues
A partial list of topics for discussion can include
· Historical trends in global employment generation
· Impact of demographic trends on the future of employment
· Significance of the international financial crisis and the role of money in the global economy
· Linkage between underemployment, rising expectations, social instability and terrorism
· Implications for an aging population that is living and working longer
· Implications of India’s national rural employment guarantee scheme & similar programs
· Impact of globalization on job creation
· Global employment and global governance
· Impact of technological development of job growth
· An integrated social theory of employment generation
· Global outsourcing
· Employment in transition economies
· Public policy measures
Proposal
The Academy can launch a global exploration of the broad issue of employment and its various expressions and implications for global society. This proposal envisions the following methodology:
1. Establish an internet forum for Employment with defined topics for exploration.
2. Identify Fellows to moderate the discussion on each topic.
3. Nominate Junior and/or Associate Fellows to assist in the management of each forum
4. Invite eminent thinkers drawn from within and outside the academy to contribute thoughtful preliminary statements on various aspects of the issue.
5. Open the forum to discussion and further contributions by all Fellows.
6. Invite other individuals and organizations -- educational, research, governmental and commercial – to participate and contribute.
7. Moderators can prepare quarterly summary statements highlighting important questions and insights to be hosted on the WAAS web site and published in WAAS newsletters.
8. Once a considerable body of thought has accumulated, the moderators can interact to define a set of core issues for further discussion.
9. Live workshops can be held of active participants to refine the issues and enrich the discussion.
10. Ultimately the Academy’s findings can be published by WAAS or submitted to leading journals to stimulate wider discussion of this issue.
Dialogue on Global Employement
I would suggest that the title of the topic of proposal: iii) Proposal for WAAS Dialogue on Global Employment. Could be very good as it would emply the thinking of different people around the world as well as being interdisciplinary. I wouldsee it as connected to poverty and youth,or just youth and poverty in different countries
Sources of Funding
Grants for develop networks of knowledge brokerage initiatives
To Ashok Natarajan, Eleonora Masini and others
One information requirement in the proposal is "Sources of Funding". I got this announcement today and I hope that one of you can check it out to see if what we want to do fits into their criteria. I dont have the link to detailed info. I already spread myself too thin and hope that someone can take leadership here.
regards, jacky
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http://euroalert.net/en/news.aspx?idn=8879
The Official Journal of the European Union has published the 23.6.2009 a Call for proposals - EAC/26/2009 for the evidence based-policy and practice: call for proposals to develop networks of knowledge brokerage initiatives (2009/C 142/04).
The objective is to support international cooperation in the development of ‘knowledge brokerage’ mechanisms in the field of education and training. These mechanisms are intended to strengthen the links between research, policy and practice. Their main role is to make the results of research on education and training understandable and accessible and to bring research to the attention of policy and decision-makers and practitioners.
Budget and project duration
The total budget earmarked for the cofinancing of projects amounts to 500,000 EUR. Financial assistance from the Commission cannot exceed 75 % of the total eligible costs. Each grant will amount to around EUR 165,000.
Activities must start between December 2009 and February 2010. Activities must end before March 2011. The maximum duration of projects is 12 months.
Deadline
Applications must be sent to the Commission no later than 25 September 2009.
Strategic Planning Schedule
At the request of several Fellows, the period for discussion of proposals by the Fellows has been extended to June 15th. We encourage all Fellows to take advantage of the extension to participate actively in the forums.
Employment generation
This is a very important issue and needs certainly an interdisciplinary approach from all social sciences ( I would also include a future studies approach at least from a social sciences point of view). The issue involves countries and regions in different parts of the world in different manners, I hence think it is crucial to include cultural approaches as the issue involves different cultural ways of looking at employment. It is different to look at the issue in Europe or Latin America and even more so in Africa. In looking at differences, the issue of women’s involvement, also emerges.
I think that not many social scientists have an experience in approaching employment also at the cultural level, and this my lead to difficulties in choices or actions in facing the issue from a policy point of view.
I think it should hence be encouraged first all by searching for such scientists in different countries. This could be a task for the group involved in the topic 5, to start with.
I think at at the same time as looking at employment at the global level as a whole, the dimension of migration within regions as well as from one region to the other, has to be taken in to account. Employment hence becomes even more global, due to the increase of movements of populations which are different, not only because of education, but also bring with them different cultural and religious values between themselves and with the receiving countries. It is hence important to look at the differences in cultures both in the countries and regions themselves , and in the migrant population where ever they are or come from.
The issue involves very much the next generations. And this is the reason for including a futures (in the plural) perspective.
Dialogue on Global Employment
Thank you Ashok Natarajan for the overview, scope and issues. I note that the group at Mother Service Society (with Garry jacobs) has been working with this subject for many years.
Your "Dialogue" could actually serve as the framework theme that could then include Asim Kurjak's and mine suggestions. I travel on sunday 17th and may not have the chance nor time to follow up procedure and schedule unitl 30th May:
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Dialogue on Global Employment
To Ashok Natarajan
In http://www.worldacademy.org/?q=forum/29 , we have 3 proposals.
(i) Poverty and Youths
(ii) Poverty and globalization influence on health of unborns
(iii) Proposal for WAAS Dialogue on Global Employment
The forum discussion deadline has been extended to the end of June.
I suggested on 14th May that
>Your "Dialogue" could actually serve as the framework theme
>that could then include Asim Kurjak's and mine suggestions.
Have you given further thoughts to this and how it could be done ?
regards. Jacky
Dialogue on Employment
Thanks, Jacky, for this useful suggestion that will help us combine and integrate the proposals. Garry