The 44th IIG Annual Meet and International Conference

Shaping Tomorrow: Society, Culture, and the Environment in an Interconnected World.

Development, a multifaceted concept, seeks to improve overall quality of life across dimensions like technology, culture, and ecology. Yet, today's society faces two key challenges: growing land use due to population growth, straining the environment, and resource depletion, plus climate change, threatening water and weather. Unregulated consumerism widens gender disparities and erases local cultures and production. However, recognizing region-specific practices and regulations for resilient, sustainable systems in diverse Indian landscapes is crucial. Modern science and technology, along with indigenous wisdom, are essential for sustainability. In our interconnected world, we must tackle poverty, inequality, and emerging issues like climate change and shifting global power dynamics. This conference aims to address these issues locally, regionally, and globally. The conference under the aegis of the Institute of Indian Geographers focuses on the following sub-themes for plenary discussions

Highlight of the 44th IIG Meet and International Conference

Professor A B Mukerji Memorial Lecture

The IIG since 2016 has initiated the Professor A B Mukerji Memorial Lecture as a tribute to the eminent Indian Geographer Professor A B Mukerji (1929-2011), the doyen of cultural geography in India. Professor Mukerji taught at Punjab University, Chandigarh over four decades, and contributed immensely to teaching and research.

Professor Ram Babu Bhagat shall deliver the A B Mukerji Lecture on 22 January 2024 at the Conference. Professor Bhagat formerly with International Institute of Population Science, Mumbai, has worked extensively on the field of migration and urbanisation. Professor Bhagat has been associated with institution of repute such as UNESCO-UNICEF, IOM, World Bank, ILO, and UN in various capacity. In his tenure as a resource person of UNESCO-UNICEF India Migration Initiative, development of two policy reports of significance, namely- Migrants’ Right to the City, and Climate Change, Vulnerability and Migration in India. During his association with the prestigious IUSSP, he had served in several important positions including as member of IUSSP committee on Demography of Armed Conflict during 2006-2009, and member of Working Group on Urbanisation. He has been the founder convener of South Asia Centre for Labour Mobility and Migrants.

Professor Aijazuddin Ahmad Memorial Lecture

The IIG has initiated the Professor Aijazuddin Ahmad Memorial lecture at the 44th IIG Annual Meet, 2024 as a tribute to the renowned geographer and academician. Professor Ahmad in his long career spanning over four decades taught at Aligarh Muslim University and Jawaharlal Nehru University and held several prominent positions in several national reputable councils and institutes. Professor Ahmad stands tall among the stalwarts of Social Geography in India.

The first Professor Aijazuddin Ahmad memorial lecture shall be delivered by Professor Atiya Habeeb Kidwai. An alumnus of Aligarh Muslim University and Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, Professor Kidwai taught at Centre for the Study of Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University from 1971 to 2012, contributing immensely to shape the vibrancy and informality in the teaching and learning environment in the centre. A specialist in the domain of regional planning and development, Professor Kidwai had also been a visiting Professor at School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi.

Meet the Editors: Workshop on Quality Publications in Reputed Journals

Young aspiring writers are often confronted with the challenge of publishing their research outcomes in reputed journals. Many of them, after investing substantial time and effort in writing a research paper face the trauma of rejection or asked for major revisions. The present fast transforming academic world demands high quality research papers. Publishing has increasingly become a professional activity with mandatory requirements for peer review, plagiarism check, editorial competence, and citation indices. In India, University Grants Commission has emphasised the importance of these issues concerning publication quality by warning against publication in predatory and cloned journals and journals and has set regulatory and monitoring criteria with the list of Scopus, Web of Science, and UGC approved list of journals. All these developments are welcome as they intend to maintain quality of the publications. However, this has also entrusted responsibility on the researchers and the editors of research journals.

The 44th IIG Meet at Cotton University has therefore planned for the young scholars to meet with some of the experienced editors of reputed journals published in India. In this interactive session the editors will answer questions to the researchers on any aspect of the publication process while sharing their experience in improving the chances of publication of research papers in national and international journals of repute. Prof. D. K. Nayak, editor, Transactions, the Scopus indexed journal published from the IIG will chair the session.

Young Geographers’ Session and Award

The IIG has instituted an award for the best paper presented by a single author below the age of 30. The day III of the conference shall have the presentation of young geographers to be coordinated by the IIG.

Notable International Speakers at the Conference

Professor Emrita Pua Bar Kutiel, a specialist in Ecology at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. Professor Pua Bar has a wealth of experience in the field of plant ecology and published extensively.

Professor Rejaur Rahman is with Department of Geography and Environmental Studies in University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh, has worked extensively in the field of geoinformatics, regional planning, earth science, environmental science.

Professor Mujibor Rahman is with Environmental Science Discipline, Khulna University, Bangladesh has worked on climate change vulnerability, disaster reduction. waste management, landuse change and health.

Dr. Yuheng Li is with Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing with areas of interest in urban planning and environment, rural planning, and rural resilience.

Dr Mu Mu Than , Professor and Head of Department of Geography, Dagon University has expertise on remote sensing and GIS and has worked in the field of hydrology, water resources and geomorphology.

Prof Khin Mar Yee of Yangon University, Yangon has a dual Ph D degree in Geography and Spatial Information Engineering. He has extensive research experience on application of geo-spatial technology on different areas ranging from climate change, biodiversity to pollution and urban issues.