AESCON conference call for abstracts on sustainable connectivity

AESCON welcomes original research on international connectivity and globalisation and its links to sustainable development, with a particular focus on the Asia-Europe context.

AESCON (Asia-Europe Sustainable CONnectivity) is the first scientific conference on Asia-Europe sustainable connectivity, bringing together researchers and policy analysts working in the field of international connectivity, globalization and their impacts on sustainable development, with a particular focus on Asia-Europe connections. It will be held in Singapore February 26-28, 2020.

Conference topics include (but are not limited to):

Transport
Energy
Digital economy and e-commerce
Political and institutional cooperation
Education and research
Migration
Tourism
Interoperability
Trade
Financial networks and flows
Cultural exchanges
Security
Information and Communication Technologies

Research should address international connectivity (as opposed to domestic), and particular preference will be given to research targeting Asia-Europe connectivity. Research should also adopt an integrated approach to connectivity, by linking the chosen connectivity topic to sustainability considerations and assessments. Participants are highly encouraged to use data from the ASEM Sustainable Connectivity Portal. Datasets are available in the Repository section.

Submission process

Interested researchers should submit a short text abstract which summarises their research and key findings, using the form below. The abstract should clearly state the objectives and motivation of their research, what was done, how it was done, major results and conclusions. All abstracts will be peer-reviewed by the Scientific Committee of AESCON. For accepted abstracts, participants will also be required to submit an extended 2-3 page abstract, including key figures and tables, which will feature in the conference proceedings and will be publically available from the conference website.

The abstract submission process is as follows:

September 20th, 2019: Deadline for abstracts
October 31st, 2019: Researchers are notified of acceptance or rejection of abstracts, and will be required to confirm their attendance to the conference
November 1st, 2019: Conference registration opens
December 31st, 2019: Deadline for submission of extended abstract

Background

Connectivity between Asia and Europe is high on the policy agenda of the 51 Asian and European countries members of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). Connectivity is about bringing countries, people and societies closer together. It spans physical, economic, financial and people-to-people links, and should contribute to the materialization of the principles, goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In line with ASEM’s policy agenda, the ASEM Sustainable Connectivity Portal was launched in 2018 to assess sustainable connectivity levels in ASEM member countries. The Portal not only brings together a wealth of data on the links between ASEM countries, but it also enables assessing the relationship between connectivity and the Sustainable Development Goals. The ASEM Sustainable Connectivity Portal will be a focal point of the conference, and researchers are highly encouraged to use the data therein.