Conference Report: Durban, South Africa, August 4-7, 2002

"Geographical Renaissance at the Dawn of the Millennium"

The International Geography Union (IGU) Conference was held at the International Convention Centre, Durban, 4-7 August 2002. The theme of the IGU conference was "Geographical Renaissance at the Dawn of the Millennium". Some of the issues addressed at the Conference included the challenges posed by globalisation, the need for sustainable and equitable resource utilization, and environmental changes like global warming and threats to biodiversity.

The Geography and Public Policy commission was extremely well subscribed. There were 47 papers, which were presented in over nine sessions. Some of the themes included impacts of neoliberalism, politics of privatisation, globalisation, urban governance, municipal demarcation, local government restructuring, transformation, and post-apartheid cities. An attempt is being made to publish a selection of these papers. There were also many excursions focusing on different aspects of the socio-spatial transformation in South Africa. Participants could visit the Cato Manor Development Association, which is concerned with integrated development planning, the Valley Trust, a NGO that focuses on health, development and environment, the beachfront of Durban, which serves as a multicultural space of economic and social recreational activity, the Durban's LA21 project, that protects open spaces within the city, the Petrochemical hub of South Africa, and Durban's harbour.

The IGU urged the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development to seek the means to ensure a better quality of life for all now and in the future through the implementation of sustainable development initiatives. It argued that the community of Geographers is uniquely positioned to help develop a more holistic understanding of the interrelationships and complexities that characterise our earth. The highlight of the IGU conference was undoubtedly the award of International Geographical Union's "Planet and Humanity" award to the former State President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, for his outstanding contribution to peace, stability and human progress.