The International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS)

Citation

(2001), "The International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS)", Kybernetes, Vol. 30 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/k.2001.06730bab.002

The International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS)

The International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS)

Announcement of the 45th Annual Meeting – A World Development Congress

At the Toronto meetings of the ISSS the announcement of its World Development Congress was distributed to participants. The title of the congress is particularly relevent to today's world concerns. The congress will consider: "Africa and the emerging world system – unity, diversity, humanity". It is to be held at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, 8-13 July 2001. It is being organised jointly by the ISSS and the Unversity of Stellenbosch.

Theme of the congress

The ISSS will celebrate its 45th Anniversary in 2001, in South Africa, and will be hosted by the Universty of Stellenbosch. In view of the fact that development problems are a major issue in this part of our globalizing world, and in view of the OAU and UN pronouncements of this as the "Century of Africa", and SA President Thabo Mbeki's vision of an "African renaissance", the confefence theme has been formulated as "Africa and the emerging world system: unity, diversity, humanity". This theme is also inspired by the current debate about the globalization of human affairs and the emerging reconfiguration of the world. Against this background, and the 2001 ISSS President's theme and focus on the systems sciences' role of service to humanity, this event will have a special emphasis on development issues and strategies in Africa, and the contribution indigenous peoples as well as the systems sciences can make to a reconceptualization of the development question, both globally and locally. Naturally, the theorectical concerns of the systems sciences themselves form a concurrent focus and these two themes are not conceived as mutually exclusive.

Africa and the other so-called "developing" regions are usually viewed from the position of the "developed" part of the world, and a basic inequality is presupposed. Consequently, the "problems" and "solutions" are defined from the perspective of the "developed world". This congress aims for an inversion of that perspective. Development strategies for Africa are sought from a systemic perspective of Africa, intending to overcome the historical schism between "developed" and "underdeveloped" by starting from the idea of a real and genuine partnership between all the different cultures and regions of the world system. This approach will raise new theoretical and methodological problems which also represent a challenge for the exploration of new avenues in the systems sciences.

Objectives

• •

  To be an international forum for discussing "development" frameworks and issues in a globalized world, with a special focus on the potential of Africa to contribute to humanity in the third millennium.

• •

  To encourage the presentation and dicussion of concrete case studies and development applications and methodolgies within the systems framework.

• •

  To stimulate cooperation between scholars and practitioners in the systems sciences, as well as in development, government and business, and in creating a strategic alliance among these partners in development.

• •

  To enable delegates from Africa, in need of financial support, to participate in this congress.

• •

  To promote professional interest and cooperation in the systems sciences in Africa.

Congress themes and speakers

Whilst the keynote speakers are still being invited, their names cannot be included at this early stage. Their names and details will be published on a special Web site for this meeting, along with SIG session (ISSS Special Integration Groups) details, abstracts, and the detailed outline of all the events, plenaries, SIG sessions, poster sessions, as well as special workshops and in-depth discussions arranged around the keynote themes. This Web site will be uploaded to the Internet as plans are finalized after July 2000. The special Web site will also be linked to the current ISSS Web site at http://www.isss.org

Keynote sub-themes addressed on different days center around all the dimensions of society, the political, economic, educational/technological, ethical and cultural – since "development" is not merely an economic or political question, but relates to the entirety of a society and especially to how these various dimensions interact and influence one another, either positively or negatively.

The congress will, moreover, entail an ongoing planning and discussion forum to address the way forward after this event, and the role that keynote presenters, decision makers and delegates can play in furthering the understandings reached and initiatives explored during the week's deliberations, and toward implementation of President Mbeki's vision of an African renaissance. Toward this end, the congress will also be broadcast by satellite to different locations around the world, and a series of videos made which can serve as learning tools for communities, NGOs, and other institutions concerned with and interested in development and the systems sciences. Sponsorship for the event is sought from South African businesses and other institutions, as well as international foundations.

Aside from the yearly special ISSS banquet, there will be a formal banquet on the first evening of the congress, honouring President Thabo Mbeki, Kofi Annan and Nelson Mandela and his wife Mrs Graca Machel – these being leaders at the forefront of a new vision of Africa's future. This event will include a short concert, and will be held at the well-known Lanzerac Estate in Stellenbosch. Delegates will also be able to visit the many wine estates for which Stellenbosch and the Western Cape wine producing region are so well known.

Award

On the occasion of the 100th birthday of Ludwig von Bertalanffy and the 45th Anniversary of the ISSS, a special award will be made available for honouring a leader from any field who has made a distinguished contribution congruent with the theme and focus of the congress.

Organization

The core group responsible for this meeting is as follows:

• •

  General Chair, Harold Nelson, 2001 President of the ISSS, Advanced Design Institute, Seattle, USA.

• •

  Organising Chair, Cornie Groenewald, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa.

• •

  Program Chair, Sytse Strijbos, Free University of Amsterdam, Netherlands.

• •

  Executive Officer, Martine Dodds, INTERACT International Partner, USA, Stellenbosch, South Africa.

E-mails:

• •

  H. Nelson – neslsongroup@worldnet.att.net

• •

  C. Groenewald – cjg@akad.sun.ac.za

• •

  S. Strijbos – strijbos@cs.vu.ni

• •

  M. Dodds – mdodds@akad.sun.ac.za

Web: http://www.isss.org