16:00 - 16:20
4.E.1. Growth Partnerships: A Means of Engaging HEIs with Communities

Christine Picone and Christopher Picone
Australian College of Kuwait, Kuwait

The role that can be played by Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) towards participatory and sustainable development involves a mixture of research, education and action. Ultimately, the most significant contributions will be those leading to ongoing actions that directly improve both participatory and sustainable development. A grassroots means of facilitating progress is through one-to-one growth partnerships between individual students, staff and marginalised community members. The participants become growth partners who discuss specific goals that are important for their own future and towards sustainable development within the wider community. The growth partners then commit themselves by means of a growth contract to specific targets that they will strive to achieve during the next twelve months. Each growth partner has an ongoing responsibility to maintain regular contact with and encourage the other towards the achievement of their goals. The growth partnership programme is called My SCORE Our MATCH and was launched at an educational conference at the American University of Kuwait in May 2007. A pilot growth community has now been established in Kuwait. This paper reports on outcomes to date from the pilot programme in Kuwait and discusses the desired expansion of the programme to other communities.

 

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16:20 - 16:40
4.E.2. Translating Empowerment into Community Action: Participatory Research Initiatives of the Lasallian Institute for Development and Educational Research
Maricar S. Prudente and Rose Marie Salazar-Clemeña
De La Salle University, Philippines

Recognizing the need to address the problems and needs of the youth in the Philippines, the De La Salle University's College of Education (DLSU-CED), through the Lasallian Institute for Development and Educational Research (LIDER), has embarked on a long-term and multi-faceted research programme with the main thrust being "Understanding the Youth in their Developmental and Educational Contexts: Realizing A Lasallian Response". A multi-disciplinary research approach is used which aims to develop tools and build community capacity for the improvement of the quality of life in a poor coastal rural community. Qualitative research methodologies, case studies, and survey techniques are employed to describe school and community practices, perceptions and expectations among community members and stakeholders on the potential role of schools as centres for community development. These research initiatives underscore the triple function of faculty members in higher education institutions: to teach, to conduct research and to participate in community service. This paper documents the conceptualization, planning and development of this multi-disciplinary collaborative community-based research programme and showcases engagement with a partner institution in a poor coastal rural community. In addition, the paper presents the preliminary findings on the inter-relationships between the schools and the community, the expectations and problems of youth, and how the schools and the community address these issues.

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16:40 - 17:00
4.E.3. Greater Mekong Sub-region: Borderless Issues in Tourism Development
Prakorb Phon-ngam
Loei Rajabhat University, Thailand

The Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) is rich in culture and in historical and natural assets. This rich diversity attracts many visitors to the region, with the result that it is ranked as one of the foremost tourism growth destinations in Asia. Tourism brings both positive and negative impacts, however. Tourism brings cash incomes, jobs, improved transportation and infrastructure, but tourism can damage the natural environment, resources and historical sites, as well as bring adverse changes to the languages and cultures of the host countries. Development of tourism in GMS countries needs wise policies, careful plans and efficient human resources. A study was undertaken to develop research questions and topics essential for networking of youth education for regional development through tourism-related tasks and to create GMS university networks for such practices. The study was conducted in Loei, Thailand, and in Vientiane and Luang Prabang, Lao PDR, during 2006 and 2007. The study utilized various techniques of data gathering, including surveys, interviews and an international conference (held from 27 to 30 August 2007 at Loei Rajabhat University in Thailand). This paper presents the results of the second phase of research on the development of university networks for youth tourism practices, and the results of the international conference. This paper also proposes possible collaborative research projects to be implemented by the networks.

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