2021 virtual Conference in Romania Report
BRIDGING REGIONAL RESPONSES TO MARGINALIZATION AND DISPARITIES IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD
9-10 August 2021 - Virtual Conference
CONFERENCE REPORT
Programme
Panel: The global impact of COVID-19 pandemic and local responses
Etienne Nel
Exacerbating marginalization: COVID-19’s impact on peripheral, tourism- dependent regions in New Zealand and local responses
Dolores Sánchez-Aguilera, Ángela Martínez-Rivas, Jaime Martínez-Ruiz
Pandemic as a driver of marginality in the heart of the city. New dynamics in the Ramblas in Barcelona (Spain)
Paulo Nossa, Anabela Mota-Pinto, Julio Masquete, Alice Freia, Fernanda Cravidão
A geographical reading of the diffusion of covid19 from hyperconnectivity territories and the way they impact marginal regions: the case of Lichinga, Northern Mozambique
Paper session 1: Opportunities and challenges in rural area
Toivo Muilu, Olli Voutilainen
Rural proofing as a method and practice – experiences from Finland
Chhabi Lal Chidi
Population dynamics and agricultural land abandonment in the mountains and the hills of Nepal
Lelia Papp, Ana-Maria Pop
Turning constraints into opportunities: farming activities and labelling agricultural and food products in the Romanian mountain area
Paper session 2: Gendered and cultural inequalities and vulnerabilities
Marinela Istrate, Andreea Fedor, Corneliu Iaţu
European citizens’ perception of women’s involvement in political life. Evidence for Romania and other central and eastern European countries
Elena-Manuela Bîrsănuc
Gendered vulnerability to energy poverty in Romania
Hugo Capellà Miternique
Solitude: a lost voice in the desert
Paper session 3: Economic and social inequalities and disparities in the globalized world
Ibolya Török, József Benedek
Measuring the spatial dimension of income inequality: evidence from Romania
Steve Déry, Claudia Currado, Marcel Lefebvre, Weldy Saint-Fleur, Arnaud Vigouroux
Reduire les inegalites pour sauver la planete : par quel bout commencer ?
Ştefana Rotaru
Three Seas Initiative – between geography, economy and politics. The strategic importance of the U.S.’ engagement
Paper session 4: Land use management and change in marginal areas
Mohd Salleh Daim, Jamalunlaili Abdullah
Protected area as a source of livelihood: analysis on the perspectives of the local stakeholders to Taman Negara National Park (TNNP), Pahang, Malaysia
Andreea Costea, Ştefan Bilaşco
Evaluation of the risk induced by erosion on the land use. Case study: Guruslău depression
Uttam Sagar Shrestha
Population growth and land use change in the Tamakoshi river basin of central mountain region, Nepal
Paper session 5: Ways out of marginality. Accessibility, mobility and urban development
Walter Leimgruber
“I knew early on I wanted to be a plumber. And it worked out.” Education as a way out of marginality
Raularian Rusu, Titus-Cristian Man, Ciprian-Sandu Moldovan, Bogdan-Eugen Dolean
Accessibility and marginality of settlements in Cluj county (Romania)
Ciprian-Sandu Moldovan, Raularian Rusu, Titus-Cristian Man, Elena-Manuela Bîrsănuc, Iulia Hărănguş, Bogdan-Eugen Dolean
Towards smart transportation. Mobility and urban development in Cluj metropolitan area
Cosmina-Daniela Ursu
The evolution of impervious surfaces based on Copernicus high resolution layers. Case study: growth poles and their metropolitan areas, Romania
The annual Commission conference had been postponed from 2020 to 2021 and was held online via Zoom on August 9 and 10. Head of the organizing committee was Prof. Raularian Rusu, his local team included Prof. Titus Man, Dr. Ana-Maria Pop, Dr. Lelia Papp and Dr. Gheorghe Hognogi of Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca (Romania).
Considering the special situation (the COVID-19 pandemic), the conference opened with a panel session focusing on marginality issues provoked by the pandemic. It was introduced by three papers, followed by a lively discussion on problems related to the pandemic.
Afterwards, an additional 16 papers on a variety of topics were presented in five sessions (see programme below), three on Monday and two on Tuesday. The conference was attended by around 20 persons.
The first day ended with a music show by our member and former chair, Prof. Steve Déry, who demonstrated his talent as a singer, texter and composer. The first part comprised his own creations (essentially in French), in the second part he performed classic songs and evergreens as far back as the 1960s, in both English and French.
The conference ended with a business meeting on Tuesday afternoon, which included both a record of past achievements and an outlook on our future activities.
Commission's business meeting report
August 10, 2021
Agenda
· Publication matters
· Conferences
· Any other business
Publications
· Information was given as to our publication schedule. Volume 7, edited by Pushkar Pradhan & Walter Leimgruber, includes chapters based on the 2019 Kathmandu conference. The volume is in preparation and should be ready this year. Volume 8 will be dedicated to the COVID-19 issues (as suggested by the publishers); there are currently 11 chapters waiting, more will come from the panel session during this conference and from the COVID-19 session at the IGC next week.
· The future of the IGU Centennial book is still uncertain. The sudden passing away of Prof. R.B. Singh (the designated editor) and discussions about the publishers delay the process.
· The presentations of this conference should be part of volume 9 of our series. Details will be discussed later.
Conferences
· We have registered for a session at the special IGC in Paris, 2022 and are waiting for a reply. Preceding this, we shall meet for a pre-congress conference in Reims (France) where our colleague Céline Burger has agreed to host us. We all hope to be able to meet in person, not only for socializing but also for an exciting field trip.
· For 2023, we have a confirmed invitation to come together in Malaysia, where Proffs. Firuza Begham Binti Mustafa (University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur) and Jamalunlaili Abdullah (UiTM Shah Alam) will host us.
· The next ‘official’ IGC will take place in Dublin, Ireland in 2024. The secretary will try to establish contact with a colleague in Ireland about the organization of a pre-congress conference.
· Prof. Raularian Rusu also proposed and invited to the next in vivo conference (hopefully) in Cluj-Napoca in 2024.
Other business
· It has been suggested that future Commission conferences should be held in hybrid form (in person and virtual) to open them to participants who for some reason cannnot travel
· Small seminars can be organized spontaneously by members in an online format. As to cost, the organizer should contact the secretary.
· SC members suggest to open some of their online lectures to the marginality commission, thus producing digital certificates for students and professors.
· Prof. Daichi Kohmoto’s proposal to create and manage a Facebook page of the Commission was welcomed. The page has already been created: https://www.facebook.com/GeographicalMarginality
· Raul informs that the Zoom-platform, acquired for the virtual conference, can be used for seminars during the next 12 months as he has paid for it.
WL-BFB 10/08/2021
Organizing Committee
Assoc. Prof. Raularian RUSU, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Prof. Borna FUERST-BJELIŠ, Chair of the Commission, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Prof. Steve DÉRY, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
Prof. Emeritus Walter LEIMGRUBER, Commission Secretary, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
Assoc. Prof. Titus MAN, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Dr. Ana-Maria POP, Research Fellow, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Lecturer Lelia PAPP, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Lecturer Gheorghe HOGNOGI, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Scientific Committee
Dr. Firuza BEGHAM BINTI MUSTAFA, Senior Lecturer, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Prof. Ruth KARK, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
Prof. Daichi KOHMOTO, Nara University of Education, Nara, Japan
Prof. Kenneth MATENGU, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia
Prof. Toivo MUILU, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
Dr. Catherine ROBINSON, Adjunct Assoc. Prof., University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
Prof. Claudio URRA COLETTI, National University of Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
Prof. Etienne NEL, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
Prof. Stanko PELC, University of Primorska, Koper, Slovenia
Prof. Nicolae POPA, West University of Timişoara, Timişoara, Romania
Prof. József BENEDEK, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Prof. Pompei COCEAN, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania