Karina Africa Bolasco (Publishing Manager, Anvil Publishing, Inc.; Poet)

While completing her units in the MA programme in Philippine Studies at the University of the Philippines, Ms. Bolasco served as a staff writer for the Minister of Labor and later as a Literature/English Professor at St. Scholastica's College and Ateneo de Manila University. She has been in book publishing since 1979 and founded and spun off Anvil Publishing, Inc. from the bookstore chain, National Bookstore. Currently, Ms. Bolasco oversees and supervises the entire operations of Anvil, from manuscript development to book production to warehousing and to book promotion, marketing and distribution. Anvil's range of books stimulates intellectual needs and humanistic concerns through disseminating information on a wide range of themes to various audiences from an educational and identity building perspective. Due to her dedication to enriching public life in the Philippines, she has been a recipient of National Book Awards and Publisher of the Year Awards a number of times. In 1995, she was also cited as one of Ten Outstanding Women in the Nation's Service for Book Publishing and Literacy. Her essays and poetry have been anthologized in books.

Proposed Research Topic: Cultural Education and Identity Building in a Multiethnic Society: Crafting a Philippines Culture Index

Kinley Dorji (Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief, Kuensel)

Having completed his Master of Science degree in journalism at Columbia University, Mr. Dorji is in the responsible position of overseeing the management and editorial policy of Kuensel, the only newspaper in Bhutan. As a distinguished intellectual in the realm of media, he is a regular observer and commentator on the dramatic political and socio-economic changes taking place as Bhutan rapidly transforms its political system from a monarchy to a democracy. He also promotes Gross National Happiness (GNH) as a new notion for national development. Central to its conceptual framework is a more holistic approach to social development as a balance between the spiritual and the material en route to finding a "third way" between capitalism and communism. It is hoped that this innovative thinking in attaining well-being will pave the way for a new paradigm in human development.

Proposed Research Topic: Identity, Security, and Democracy, the Foundation for Bhutan's Survival

Faye Chunfang Fei (Professor, English Department / Director of American Studies Graduate Program, East China Normal University)

Dr. Fei is an esteemed artist-scholar of world theatre. Having obtained her doctoral degree from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, she taught critical theory, dramatic literature and theatre history in the United States for eight years before returning to Shanghai. Dr. Fei has authored and edited numerous publications including Chinese Theories of Theatre and Performance from Confucius to the Present (University of Michigan Press, 1999 hardcover, 2002 paperback). Dr. Fei is currently working on Theatre Herstory, a cross-cultural research project. Her talent as a playwright has gained international recognition, and one of her plays, China Dream, has been staged in the United States, Japan, and Singapore as well as China. She is also an author of poetry and short fiction.

Proposed Research Topic: Theatre as Public Forum

Jamhari (Executive Director, Center for the Study of Islam and Society, National Islam University (PPIM-UIN, Jakarta))

Having received a Ph.D. in anthropology from the Australian National University, Dr. Jamhari is a reputed researcher on Islamic studies with a focus on the installation of democracy in Islamic society and Muslim's compatibility with civil society. Among his current interests and concerns is the aggravated poverty in rural areas as an underlying root cause for the upsurge of religious fundamentalism. Dr. Jamhari facilitates the interdisciplinary research activities of PPIM-UIN Jakarta, which are designed to enhance mutual understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims. He grapples with injustice against Muslim communities due to misperceptions, and explores the contemporary significance of Islam through the linkage with Western value systems. His publications include Islamic Contemporary Movement: The Rise of Islamic Radicalism (Logos, 2004).

Proposed Research Topic: The Rise of Religious Fundamentalism: A Challenge for Democracy in Indonesia

Chandrika Sepali Kottegoda (Founding Member and Co-Director, The Women and Media Collective, Sri Lanka; Coordinator, Sri Lanka Women's NGO Forum)

Spearheading the civic movement for removing obstacles to women's participation in all spheres of public life, Dr. Kottegoda is an action-oriented scholar on gender and women's studies. Having earned a Ph.D. in development studies from the University of Sussex, she is a founding member and co-director of the Women and Media Collective, the activities of which include promoting women's representation in the media, lobbying for the increase in women's representation in the political arena, and campaigning against violence against women. She also holds a teaching position in the Ph.D. programme of women's studies at the University of Colombo as a senior lecturer. Dr. Kottegoda brings her expertise to bear on strong advocacy and lobbying for public awareness of gender bias and of unequal development as a fertile ground for conflict. Her efforts in promoting the empowerment of women and sustainable development as a way to combat poverty are highly evaluated at both government and non-governmental levels.

Proposed Research Topic: Gender Identity and Economic Development in Sri Lanka

Kusago, Takayoshi (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Economics and Business Administration, Hokkaido University)

Dr. Kusago obtained an MA in development economics from Stanford University and later a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Incorporating his firsthand knowledge and extensive empirical fieldwork into relevant policies and planning, he is in the forefront of efforts to lay the foundation for partnership between industrialized and developing countries, as well as to connect various constituencies such as policy-makers, donors and local practitioners. During 2001-2003, he addressed dominant factors contributing to the exacerbation of rural poverty through his work as Poverty Advisor of the Bureau for Development Policy at UNDP Bangkok, and made suggestions for the effective implementation of development aid policy. His insight and leadership are increasingly seen as crucial in the search for lasting solutions in poverty eradication and socio-economic development in Asia.

Proposed Research Topic: Measuring "Economic Growth" vs "Human Development" in Japan

Nguyen Van Chinh (Senior Lecturer, Department of Ethnology/ Deputy Director, Center for Asian-Pacific Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi)

Dr. Nguyen Van Chinh obtained a doctorate from the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. His Ph.D. dissertation " Work Without Name: Changing Patterns of Children's Work in a Northern Vietnamese Village" was awarded an honorable mention by the Netherlands Association of Social and Cultural Sciences (NVMC) in 2001. Focusing on the issues of children's work, education, migration and ethnic minorities, his current research interests lie in poverty reduction and the restoration of social justice for the disadvantaged/marginalized. Apart from working as a university professor and researcher, Dr. Nguyen also serves as a local consultant for UN-related agencies and NGOs including the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, World Health Organization, and Save the Children. His involvement in these projects is aimed at improving the living conditions of vulnerable groups and children's education.

Proposed Research Topic: Work and Education of Children in Vietnam's Transitional Economy