The 3rd Workshop of Asian Young Geographer Held Online
The 3rd Workshop of Asian Young Geographers Held Online
During December 16th -17th, 2023, the Third Asian Young Geographers Workshop was held online. Initiated by the Young Geographers Working Group of the Asian Geographical Association (AGA-YGWG), the Workshop was jointly organized by AGA-YGWG, Young and Early Career Geographers Task Force of the International Geographical Union (IGU-YECG), Working Committee for Young Geographers of the Geographical Society of China (GSC-WCYG) and Young Scientists Innovation Network of the International Society for Digital Earth (ISDE-YSIN). Under the theme “Geography at New Age”, the workshop focused on 20 related topics for exchange and discussion, with a total of 286 scholars giving oral presentations. According to statistics, a total of 637 people from 25 countries and regions around the world attended the conference online.
The opening ceremony kicked off on the morning of 16th. Prof. Min Chen, Chair of the AGA-YGWG declared the workshop open. Prof. Lai Vinh Cam, Professor of Institute of Geography, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Vice President of the AGA, Prof. Barbaros Gönençgil, Professor of Istanbul University, Secretary General of the IGU, Dr. Zhen Liu, Secretary of the ISDE-YSIN delivered welcome speeches on behalf of the organizers respectively.
Eight well-known domestic and foreign experts and scholars were invited to give keynote speeches, including Decarbonisaition pathways for China’s Freight Mobility by Prof. Pengjun Zhao, Peking University, Fellow of British Academy of Social Sciences, Contemporary Geomorphology and Danxia Landforms by Prof. Sunil Kumar De, North-Eastern Hill University, India, President of International Association of Geomorphologists, Deserts and Earth System Sciences- with a Special Reference to Chinese Deserts by Prof. Xiaoping Yang, Zhejiang University, Transboundary Hydrology, Climate Change and its Impact on Recurrent Floods in the Kabul River Basin, Hindu Kush by Prof. Atta-Ur-Rahman, University of Peshawar, Pakistan, President of Pakistan Geographical Association, GeoAI Vision Foundation Models for Environmental Analysis by Prof. Wenwen Li, Arizona-State University, USA, From Astronomers, through Geographers to Cartographers and Finally … by Prof. Philippe De Maeyer, Ghent University, Ecosystem Service: Assessment, Trade-offs and Decision-making in Tibetan Plateau by Prof. Erfu Dai, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Director of GSC Commission for Young Geographers, and Indigenous Modernisation and Community Economies in Southwest China by Dr. Junxi Qian, University of Hongkong, China.
The workshop showcased the latest research advancements on different fields related to geography and discussed the applications of new technologies and methods in navigating pressing global challenges at the new era. Within the two-day workshop, a total of 20 parallel sessions were organized during the workshop. The topics covered various fields of geography, for example, geography of security and governance, evolution of urban and rural social spatial structures, population change and regional sustainable development, geospatial science for land management, challenge towards sustainable energy, nexus between land use and disaster, monitoring ecosystem structure and function, etc. With the great support by the Vietnam Geographical Association and the Red Beds and Danxia Geomorphology Working Group of the International Association of Geomorphologists, special sessions such as the Forum of Sino-Vietnam Young Geographers and Forom on Frontier of Danxia Landform Research were also organized on 17th.
The workshop concluded on the afternoon of 17th. Prof. Li He, Secretary General of AGA-YGWG chaired the closing ceremony. Prof. Min Chen made a summary report on the achievements of the workshop, introduced the AGA-YGWG and their activities, delivered a speech of thanks to the organizing committee members and all participants. Then, Prof. Erfu Dai, Director of the GSC Commission for Young Geographers announced the winners of the Excellent Paper Awards. After recommendations by session chairs first and thorough review and deliberation by the awarding committee afterwards, finally 9 papers were selected for the awards. 3 winners including Issac Sarfo from Henan University, China, Sakib Rahman Siddique Shuvo from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and Rui Zhu from Institute of High Performance Computing, Agency for Science and Technology and Research, Singapore were invited to give their acceptance speeches.
Initiated in December 2021, the workshop was established to serve as a new platform for young geographers in Asia and beyond to facilitate exchanges and sharing of their research, as well as to promote exchange and cooperation among young geographers, geographical institutions and associations in Asia. According to the conference organizer, with the alleviation of the pandemic situation globally, the next workshop is expected to be held offline.
Provided by Xuanzi Zhang, Min Chen, Li He
The Asian Geographical Association
