Urbanicity is delighted to announce it's support for an international conference on:

Rebuilding Sustainable Communities for Children and their Families after Disasters

to be held at the University of Massachusetts Boston, USA between the 16th and 19th November 2008

INTRODUCTION

Reports from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) make it clear that countless children world-wide are enduring desperate conditions. More than two million have died as a direct result of armed conflict over the last decade.

At least six million have been permanently disabled or seriously injured, and more than one million have been orphaned or separated from their families. Millions more have suffered death, disease, and dislocation as a result of such natural disasters as earthquakes, droughts, and floods. Even in apparently stable environments—such as Boston, the site of this conference, where the murder rate has recently reached a 10-year high—epidemic violence endlessly harms lives and communities. And even when emergency relief is available, permanent human damage remains. All too often, families fall apart, women are assaulted and degraded, and children are left to take care of themselves.

How can communities recover from disasters in ways that permanently protect and empower their most vulnerable members?

CONFERENCE OBJECTIVES

The conference will focus on:

• the role of gender equality in alleviating poverty and assisting children, their families, and their
  communities after disasters;
• the status of children and women in various communities after disasters and the continuing need
  for superior research and appropriate data;
• the roles of governments, the private sector, and non-governmental organisations; and
• the promotion of human dignity in the creation of sustainable environments that empower families in
  the aftermath of disasters.

The conference will bring together specialists from various disciplines (such as health, education, and community planning) to explore ways to reconstruct sustainable communities that will be safe for children and their families after disasters. It will seek to contribute to, and recommend, future policy formulation and implementation processes for local, regional, and national governments as well as multilateral agencies and grass-roots organizations.

IMPORTANT SPECIFICS

Registration
To register, visit www.cpcs.umb.edu/rsccfd, where a registration form and instructions are available, as well as information about the conference, accommodations, and the Boston area.

The registration fee for each participant is US$225, which covers the conference proceedings, lunch, and coffee.

Submission of Abstracts and Papers
Abstracts (300 words maximum) are due by May 22, 2008; full papers (6,000 words maximum) are due by August 22, 2008.
Please send these by email attachment to rsccfd@qube.cpcs.umb.edu.

Sponsors
There are opportunities to sponsor this timely conference with a monetary or an in-kind investment. Benefits of sponsorship include conference registrations and special recognition as conference underwriter on all conference publicity and publications.

For further information, please contact Dean Adenrele Awotona
(see the phone number and addresses below).

Questions?
Visit: www.cpcs.umb.edu/rsccfd
Telephone: +1.617.287.7100
Email: rsccfd@qube.cpcs.umb.edu
Write: Adenrele Awotona, Dean, College of Public and Community Service, University of Massachusetts Boston,
100 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA 02125, USA

For further information, please visit our website:

http://www.cpcs.umb.edu/rsccfd/

Urbanicity Ltd 72 Fairview Crescent, Waiheke NZ Tel Intl 64 9 372 5115 www.urbanicity.org