Date and time
Special Session submissions welcome
Abstract submission deadline extended: Friday 6th October 2023
In a global environment marked by ‘polycrisis’, in which the very future of the planet is at risk, this conference will provide an opportunity for regional studies and science scholars to share research insights into the implications of these crises for regions in different parts of the world. How are regional authorities seeking to address crisis? Are some regions proving more resilient than others? How can divergent trajectories in the context of climate, economic, security and polarisation crises be explained?
This conference, convened jointly by ANZRSAI and the Regional Studies Association (RSA), will bring together researchers from Asia, Europe, Australasia and beyond to examine these and related questions. The event will be hosted by the European Union Centre at RMIT on 26-28 November 2023. It will be an in person conference, although opportunities for on-line presentation and streaming will be available.
If your work addresses the implications of global crises for regional futures, please join us for our 46th ANZRSAI Annual Conference and the fourth RSA conference in Australasia at RMIT, Melbourne. Proposals for contributed papers, for themed panels, or for special sessions, will be welcomed on any topic related to regional futures.
Abstract Submission
The Regional Studies Association (RSA) and ANZRSAI Council invite contributions from academics, practitioners and policy advisors on any aspect of regional studies and science for presentation at the conference. The programme will include PowerPoint presentations, academic papers (which may be peer reviewed), themed panels and special sessions on topics in regional science theory, regional development practice or regional planning policy. Presentations can be made in person, or on-line in two parallel sessions. Your abstract should be no more than 250 words and text only.
Call for Special Sessions
As part of the Joint ANZRSAI/RSA Conference, we welcome proposals for Special Sessions. Special Sessions are a great way to bring together presenters to discuss and highlight a particular topic and to develop or further extend your network.
We offer two types of Special Sessions:
1. Open Special Session – the session organiser proposes the topic and provides a short description/call for submissions (please use headers below). Delegates can submit their abstract for this session when they register for the festival.
2. Closed Session – the session organiser proposes the complete session including all speakers. Other delegates may not submit their abstracts for this session. Please note that all speakers need to register to be able to present.
Both sessions are open to all delegates to attend as audience.
To submit your special session proposal, please complete the form below and return to nicola.pilling@regionalstudies.org
Current Special Sessions
Closed Session.
Kim Houghton, Chief Economist, Regional Australia Institute
Divergent regional trajectories tend to be measured against a metropolitan success benchmark. But the polycrisis is undermining the economic and social fundamentals of metro places most – just as COVID hit the densest urban centres hardest and the ripples diminished away from those urban centres. Can smaller places offer a reframing of success, and through that offer a vastly different palette of trajectories? Regional places are more than immature cities, and their development paths can tell us a lot about what values underlie a sustainable community. In this session we will hear quite different perspectives on what a crisis-resistant place looks like, from an indigenous perspective, communities looking to exit the boom-bust of mining, communities dealing with long running regional structural change, and those looking to reinvent themselves
Closed Session
Bodye Darvill, Latrobe Valley Authority – Victorian Government Department of Jobs, Skills, Industries and Regions, Australia
A short history of implementing Smart Specialisation in Gippsland – the journey from immediate response to recovery and capability building for strategic and sustainable growth. This presentation will include:
– Perspectives on implementing the Smart specialisation approach in large and small towns
– The development of tools and mapping documents including the assessment tool, Sustainable Development Goal connections and online learning tools
– Case studies including: Geothermal, Craft Malting, Seaweed, Radial Timbers, Noojee timber transition experience, Community microgrids
– Lessons learnt to help other communities with reference to the behaviour change observed over the journey
– Sharing of achievements across the whole discipline and where to from here with reference to the Latrobe Valley and Gippsland Transition Plan