IICS Annual Conference 2008

The Rise of Asia and the Challenge for Europe

IICS’s second annual international conference, The Rise of Asia and its Challenge for Europe, was held by UCC at Jurys Hotel, Western Rd, Cork on 14th November 2008. The aim of the conference was to bring together academics from Asia and Europe with representatives from Irish government and business.

The Lord Mayor of Cork, Mr Brian Bermingham along with UCC President, Dr Michael Murphy officiated at the Opening Ceremony followed by Micheál Martin, TD, Minister for Foreign Affairs who delivered the Keynote Address. Ambassadors from several Asian countries (People’s Republic of China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia) then participated in a roundtable discussion titled “Ireland in Asia during Challenging Times” and chaired by Dr Tom Hardiman, member of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) Board of Governors.

In the afternoon, two panel discussions comprising figures from the worlds of academia, business and journalism were carried out. The first panel, chaired by Professor Paul Giller, Registrar and Vice-President for Academic Affairs, UCC focused on “30 Years of Reform in China”. Participants included Prof Kjeld Erik Brodsgaard, Asia Centre, Copenhagen Business School, Professor Gary Liu, China Europe International Business School, Shanghai, Dr Paul Gillespie, Foreign Policy Editor, the Irish Times, Professor Louis Brennan, Trinity College Dublin, Dr Damien Tobin, S.O.A.S., London and Dr Chris Connolly, IICS, UCC.

Panel II, chaired by Mr. Peter Ryan, the Director of Intellectual Exchange, ASEF, Singapore, discussed “The Economics of Asia’s Rise” with participants Professor Badar Alam Iqbal, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh (UP), India, Professor Yeoh Koh Kheng, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Dr Joern-Carsten Gottwald, IICS, UCC and Professor Bernadette Andreosso-O’Callaghan, University of Limerick.