ASAP Chapters: 15 and Growing Worldwide
ASAP now has fifteen Chapters launched or in development in Austria, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Mexico, Oceania, Romania, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, and West Africa. With more than 1,200 ASAP members working and studying in universities, research centers, and NGOs worldwide, the ASAP Chapter Network is growing rapidly. Chapters are exploring new ways of collaborating to contribute to the eradication of severe poverty. We’d like to share some of the Chapter accomplishments and help you get connected.
ASAP Romania
is exploring a possible research initiative on the welfare of elderly people in Romania, along with projects on poverty measurement aimed at influencing the Romanian development agency and on increasing coverage of poverty-related issues in the Romanian media.
ASAP Oceania published a response to the 2014-2015 Australian federal budget and its impact on the poor and marginalized; their report focuses particularly on foreign aid, indigenous communities, and welfare programs.
ASAP Germany is playing a key leadership role in the Global Colleagues project and recently held an event for the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. They are also developing a research project on responsible investment and a group on economics and philosophy.
ASAP Austria is co-organizing a conference focused on absolute poverty with ASAP Germany, has recently completed a book on poverty in Austria, and has developed a mentoring program pairing up disadvantaged young people and college students.
ASAP USA is interested in initiating projects on integrating the study of poverty into college curriculums and will hold a launch conference at Michigan State University in 2015. In New Haven, ASAP Global Headquarters, ASAP co-sponsored two public events on the Sustainable Development Goals and global justice in development, which featured scholars like Jeffrey Sachs, James Hansen, and Amartya Sen.
ASAP Brazil is researching the impact of Millennium Development Goal 2 – Achieve Universal Primary Education – in Brazil, and is negotiating with the Brazilian Ministry of Public Affairs for formal inclusion in its activities.
ASAP Canada
recently held a very successful event titled \”Rethinking Sustainability Beyond 2015: An Agenda for Citizen Action\”, which was attended by over 150 people and featured a presentation by Stephen Lewis.
ASAP Italy is planning to promote the debate over intellectual property rights and access to medicines among the main academic and institutional players in Italy.
ASAP Cambodia is planning a launch event in December and is interested in taking the Global Colleagues initiative forward.
ASAP Spain
is planning a contest for the design of a universal flag of humanity and is developing a set of standards for ethical purchasing at
universities.
ASAP West Africa is planning a launch conference, to take place in Lagos in 2015, and is looking to conduct projects to improve quality of education across primary, secondary and tertiary levels.
ASAP India
is ASAP’s biggest Chapter, with roughly 125 members. They are currently working on the Know your Rights India and Global Colleagues projects, and have applied for a grant to initiate a project connecting university students with young people living in slums.
ASAP UK is developing a poverty audit, while concurrently conducting research projects comparing poverty in New Delhi and East London, and analyzing the role of the City of London in facilitating illicit financial flows.
Recently, the entire Chapter network was mobilized for the stop tax abuse petition. Chapter members were instrumental in the petition’s success.
Recognizing the importance of collaboration in addressing global poverty, we hope that the Chapter Network will continue to work closely and grow, uniting academics worldwide. New guidelines for chapters will be published on the website in the first quarter of 2015. Given the successes achieved thus far, we are excited about what the future holds for the Chapter Network.
The Chapters have recently redone their web pages – please see the ASAP website for further information and updates. If you would like to get involved with the Chapters, or any of the exciting projects outlined above, please reach out to the contact person listed below.
ASAP Austria: Gottfried Schweiger – gottfried.schweiger@sbg.ac.at
ASAP Brazil: Thana Campos – thana_campos@yahoo.com.br
ASAP Cambodia: Pahlaj Moolio – pahlaj@puc.edu.kh
ASAP Canada: Mitu Sengupta – sengupta@ryerson.ca
ASAP Germany: Robert Lepenies – robert.lepenies@eui.eu
ASAP Greece: Gabriel Amistis – amitsis@otenet.gr
ASAP India: Bijayalaxmi Nanda – bijayalaxmi@yahoo.com
ASAP Italy: Mario Ascolese – mario.ascolese@gmail.com
ASAP Mexico: David Aleman Mena – david.mena@ibero.mx
ASAP Oceania: Keith Horton – khorton@uow.edu.au
ASAP Romania: Diana Velica – diana.velica@gmail.com
ASAP Spain: David RodrÃguez-Arias – rodavailg@gmail.com
ASAP United Kingdom: Steph Eldridge – academicsstanduk@gmail.com
ASAP United States: Mladjo Ivanovic – mivanovi@msu.edu
ASAP West Africa: Oluwaseun Olanrewaju – oluwaseunolanrewaju@asapwestafrica.org