Conference Chairs & Committee

Conference Chair Welcome Message

College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Anthropology Department

Greetings and welcome to Colombo, Sri Lanka and to the Fourth, World Conference on Women’s Studies.

It is with great pleasure that I serve as conference chair for the third time for the World Conference on Women’s Studies, organized by The International Institute of Knowledge Management (TIIKM). Bridgewater State University, my home institution, is honored to be a hosting partner. I attended the second and third conferences in Colombo in 2016 and 2017, for which I also served as conference chair. The 2018 conference, like the previous one, is in part shaped by observations and insights from the previous conferences, and we are pleased to offer some additional features to the regular panels for the upcoming event in May. 1) The World Conference on Women’s Studies (WCWS) Forum: “Women’s Economic Empowerment and Increasing Leadership Opportunities”.  This is a panel of scholar-activists who will address key challenges and potential solutions for gender equality via economic and leadership opportunities, both within Sri Lankan and wider global contexts; 2) A publishing workshop to encourage submissions to partnering journals; and 3) A youth forum where we can learn from local youth about challenges they face an and to encourage awareness of gender and women’s issues.

As with last year, this year we also look forward to a stimulating and provocative conference, one that challenges our ideas, builds our connections with one another, and invigorates us in our work.  The theme, Women’s Studies: Gendered Scholarship, Activism, and Storytelling for a Sustainable Planet, promises to help us achieve these goals by highlighting the current challenges we face in building resilient local, regional, and global women’s movements that respond to the increasing pressures of climate change. Women’s stories are critical in this endeavor. This year, our keynote speaker is Dr. Jinky Lu, Research Professor from the National Institutes of Health, University of the Philippines Manila, who specializes in occupational health and women’s work. She will speak on the second day of the conference. Dr. Lu engages in participatory action research with “women from below”, incorporating their multiple, but complementary voices into her work, detailing their stories, struggles, resilience, and successes. She uses both qualitative and quantitative methodologies to capture the breadth and depth of women’s challenges pertaining to occupational health and well-being; she also works on disaster issues, exploring the gendered nature of disaster impact, particularly with increased stress from climate change conditions in the Philippines.  

I want to thank TIIKM on behalf of all conference participants, for organizing the conference,   juggling all the logistical details including the hotel, meals, program, and other features of the conference planning. This group of sharp thinking, energetic, and hopeful conference organizers continue to add to the human story through their innovative conference themes, tackling the most difficult, persistent, and pressing topics of our times, bringing scholars, activists, policymakers, educators, artists and others together from across the region and the planet.

Please take every opportunity during the conference to engage with one another, to discuss your ideas for research, writing and practice. I also hope that you take some time to explore Colombo in all its vibrancy. Welcome to the conference!

Diana J. Fox
Professor and Chairperson
Anthropology Department
Bridgewater State University

Conference Chair