Congress

    The Congress of the Asian Political and International Studies Association (APISA) is organized every two years on a rotational basis in the sub-regions of Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The First APISA Congress, 2003 was held in Singapore, the Second APISA Congress, 2005 was held in Hong Kong and the Third APISA Congress, 2007 convened in New Delhi. The Fourth APISA Congress, 2009 is scheduled to take place in Manila. 

    The APISA Congress is no doubt the grandest event of the organization. Its main activity is academic in nature, and focuses on paper presentations in specific panels and workshops. Almost all attending the Congress make presentations based on abstracts that are vetted beforehand by the relevant committee of the Congress. The Congress is also a forum for the Business Meeting where the Executive Secretary of APISA presents his biannual report and takes cognizance of feedback and resolutions that determine policy direction. Finally, the Congress endorses the democratically elected Executive Committee which also finds it expedient to meet and deliberate on policy issues.  

    In a sense, the Congress represents a microcosm of APISA’s objectives of promoting teaching and research, disseminating research findings, and encouraging linkages among individual academics and institutions. Academics from Asia, especially those who feel marginalized within the dominant academic discourses in the West, now have a chance to present their research and disseminate it among participating individuals and institutions. In line with its capacity development agenda, APISA provides subsidized travel and accommodation grants to academics from less-developed provincial institutions, and special effort is made to ensure balanced gender representation.