Regional Conference of the International Geographical Union
Traditional Wisdom and Modern Knowledge for the Earth's Future
August 4-9, 2013
Kyoto International Conference Center
National Committee of Japan for IGU
Science Council of Japan
About Kyoto
Kyoto was the capital of Japan for over 1000 years until 1868. Since it escaped damage in WWII, the city features many historical buildings including World Cultural Heritages. As a result, Kyoto is a leading tourist attraction in Japan and is frequented both by domestic and foreign tourists all year around. The city procides more than 20,000 rooms in hotels, guesthouses, traditional Japanese-style inns, and other inexpensive and pleasant facilities.
Kyoto is located in central Japan, and participants can easily reach there from the Kansai International Airport (KIX), Japan's second largest international airport. As of 2005 Kyoto had a population of 1,475,000, and the Kyoto Metropolitan Area exceeded 2,500,000.
There are almost 40 scientific institutions of higher learning in the city, including universities which have influential geography departments with long and distinguished hisotories (forn example, Kyoto University and Ritsumeikan University). Furthermore, Kyoto is the headquarters of The Human Geographical Society, one of the most important geographical societies in Japan, with more than 1,500 members.
Venue:
Kyoto International Conference Center
The convention venue is Kyoto International Conference Center (ICC Kyoto), which is located at the north terminal of Karasuma subway line. It takes twenty minutes from Kyoto Station by subway. As is well known, ICC Kyoto hosted the 1997 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that gave birth to the Kyoto Protocol.
The Center has shaped the history of conventions inthe country since 1988. It is Japan's first purpose-built facility and the location was chosen because of Kyoto's international status as culture capital. The tenor of ICC Kyoto reflects an ancient Japanese building style, and its architectural flavor is modern and rich in individuality. The spacious lobby and lounge themselves are three-dimensional works of art, and the Japanese garden is open to all. These elements and more combine to form a comfortable and aesthetically pleasing place for interaction.
Tentative Plan of Excursions
Day Excursions
* Western Kyoto (August 7):
Kinkaku-ji Temple - Kyoto Studio Park - Kyo-Machiya Merchant House - Dinner
* Eastern/Southern Kyoto (August 9):
Kiyomizu-yaki Pottery Park - Kiyomizu-dera Temple - Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum
Post-conference Excursions
Domestic tour
* Kobe and Osaka (August 10-11):
Rokko Mountains - China Town - Kobe Port Earthquake Memorial Park - Senri New Town - Osaka-jo Castle - Shinsaibashi and Dotonbori Areas
* Central Japan (August 10-13):
Toyota Motors Corporations Factory - Lake Hamana - Mt.Fuji - Asakusa Tokyo Bay Area - Tsukuba Science City
Internatinal tour
* Kyoto-Seoul (August 10-16):
Korea Town - Kurashiki - Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park - Karst of Akiyoshidai - Kyushu National Museum - Pusan - Taegu - Seoul
* Kyoto-Taipei (August 10-16):
Himeji-jo Castle - Inland Sea - Beppu Spa - Mt.Aso - Kagoshima - Okinawa - Taipei
* Russian Far East (August 12-17):
Khabarovsk - Lake Khanka - Vladivostok
Tentative Program
| 9:00 - 12:00 | 13:00 - 15:00 | 15:30 - 17:30 | 18:00 - 20:00 |
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| August 4 (Sun) | | Registration | |
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| August 5 (Mon) | Registration | General Sessions | Welcome Party |
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| Opening Ceremony | Plenary Lectures | Sessions of Commission & Task Forces |
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| August 6 (Tue) | Plenary Lectures | General Sessions | |
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| Sessions of Commission & Task Forces |
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| August 7 (Wed) | Sessions of Commission & Task Forces |
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| Day Excursion |
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| August 8 (Thu) | General Sessions | |
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| Sessions of Commission & Task Forces |
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| August 9 (Fri) | Sessions of Commission & Task Forces | Closing Ceremony | Welcome Party |
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| Half-day Excursion |
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| from August 10 (Sat) | Post-conference Excursions |
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Invitation to Kyoto Regional Conference
Because economic development of various regions including Asia in recent decades has imposed a heavy environmental burden on the earth and we have to tackle this problem by paying attention to traditional wisdom as well as modern knowledge, our conference theme is "Traditional Wisdom and Modern Knowledge for the Earth's Future." Kyoto and its vicinity are richly endowsed with a large variety of fascinating places from this perspective.
Currently, Kyoto is globally well known in close relation to the Kyoto Protocol, which was agreed in December 1997 at the Kyoto International Conference Center, where we are planning to hold the IGU's Regional Conference in 2013. We hope that all participants will understand the significance of the environmental issues in relation to the venue and the protocol. Let's think "for the Earth's Future" at the birthplace of Kyoto Protocol!
The participants of the Regional Conference can also enjoy visits to other parts of Japan if they join pre or post-congress events that will be organized by the organizing committee of the Regional Conference, and also by IGU commissions, with likely support of national and regional geographic societies.
Atsuyuki Okabe
Yoshitaka Ishikawa
National Committee of Japan for IGU
Supporting Organizations
The Kyoto Regional Conference in 2013 was realized by the activities of the Regional Conference Invitation Committee whose members were delegated from the following organizations:
Science Council of Japan
National Committee of Japan for IGU
The Human Geographical Society of Japan
The Association of Japanese Geographers
Tokyo Geographical Society
GIS Association of Japan
The Tohoku Geographical Association
The Japanese Society for Geopraphical Sciences
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