SWEDISH SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES NETWORK

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Report from SASNET’s South Asian Reference Group meeting
at Mount Lavinia Hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka, February 10, 2009

Participants:
Prof. Rita Afsar, Bangladesh Institute for Development Studies, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Dr. J. Devika, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, India
Dr. Mohsin Saeed Khan, Public Health Specialist, Islamabad, Pakistan
Prof. Kumudu Wijewardena, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Mr. Lars Eklund, SASNET, Lund University, Sweden
Dr. Anna Lindberg, SASNET, Lund University, Sweden

(Unfortunately, Dr. Tek Nath Dhakal, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal, had to leave before the meeting began)

SASNET’s South Asian Reference Group meeting was held in connection with the workshop on “Women and Migration in South Asia – Health and Social Consequences” in Colombo, Sri Lanka 9–11 February 2009 (http://www.sasnet.lu.se/colombows.html). The workshop was jointly organised by SASNET, the University of Sri Jayewardenepura (SJP) in Colombo, and the Division of International Maternal and Child Health (IMCH), Uppsala University.

1. Report of the SASNET reference group meeting in New Delhi, November 3, 2007
See http://www.sasnet.lu.se/jour07ref.html
Some of our plans from the Delhi meeting have been successful, but not all of them. Due to Anna Lindberg’s sick leave over the past ten months, several issues could not be given the attention we wished. They remain long-term goals. However, in the short-term, we have succeeded in organizing a workshop/conference on Health and Migration, and in creating sub-network groups.
We remain mindful of what we discussed in Delhi in November 2007 and are slowly working towards its realization.

2. SASNET’s future and changing conditions
Anna and Lars gave an oral report on SASNET’s financial situation and the fact that for the period from January 2010 onwards we must focus on writing applications for the funding of SASNET. This situation leaves Anna and Lars with very little time for any other tasks, especially since at the moment Anna only works for SASNET on a 25% basis.

3. Actor-based cooperation and how to continue the sub-network
AL and LE informed the participants about Sida’s new strategy with regard to foreign aid and collaboration with South Asia. Sida’s determination to focus on actor-based collaboration corresponds well with the goals of the strategy group, whose members feel that research should result in the promulgation of knowledge created by the academy.

The conference on “Gender, Migration, and Health” was a success. The reference group would like the results to be used in a dialogue with policy makers and practitioners. Kumudu will collect the papers presented papers in book form and also post them on the web. Anna reported that she has asked Malin Jordal, a PhD candidate at Uppsala University, if she would be willing to coordinate a sub-network on gender, migration, and health. Malin was enthusiastic about this and will come to Lund in March or April 2009 to discuss the proposal with Malin Gregerson. The latter is already coordinating a sub-network for young scholars.

The Human Development Report of 2009 will focus on migration. Based on a roundtable discussion led by Prof. Rita Afsar on February 11, the reference group will create a policy paper on Gender, Migration, and Health that can be given to the United Nations Development Programmes (UNDP), the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), and other institutions. We hope that it will promote the adoption and implementation of some of the suggestions. It is important to focus not only on external migration, but on internal migration as well. The whole group as a whole will participate in drafting this policy paper. Anna will initiate the process upon her return to Sweden at the beginning of March.

4. Next meeting
The group decided to hold its next meeting in Kathmandu, Nepal. Dr. Tek Nath Dhakal had informed Anna Lindberg that he would be happy to host such a meeting. Although the group had wanted to meet again during 2009, SASNET lacks the funds in its current budget for a meeting later this year. The subject was left unresolved and subject to further discussion by e-mail. It was thought that the proposed meeting would be most productive if combined with a conference or workshop.

5. Other issues
Members agreed that the SASNET South Asia reference group has great potential. On behalf of SASNET, we were very grateful that the members of the reference group took the time to meet with us.

Anna Lindberg and Lars Eklund

Rita Afsar during a workshop discussion.		Dipak Malik and Mohsin Saeed Khan at the Reference group meeting.
J Devika	Tek Nath Dhakal	Kumudu Wijewardena	Mount Lavinia Hotel south of Colombo.