The Right to Water

[i]Call for Papers[/i] Maxwell School of Public Policy and Citizenship Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA March 29-30, 2010 Call for Papers Conference on “The Right to Water” Maxwell School of Public Policy and Citizenship Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA March 29-30, 2010 In recent years, struggles over the right to water have emerged as a focal point for political mobilization in a range of locations around the world. Although formalised in the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights General Comment No. 15 of 2002, political actions have now focussed on realising this possibility in specific contexts. Celebrated by some as a powerful force for ensuring fair access to basic resources, others have questioned the means, direction and emancipatory potentials of such struggles. While struggles for the right to water can articulate with specific historical geographies, they simultaneously connect with broader global concerns and universal rights discourses. Nonetheless, as some have pointed out, such struggles can obfuscate as much as they clarify and can even further the very agendas some activists seek to counter. This conference takes these debates as its starting point. Above all, it seeks to question the immanent potentials in local, national and global struggles for the right to water, thereby enhancing our understanding and insights on the ways global discourses on the right to water intersect with local political economic and cultural dynamics. In exploring such questions, the conference will bring together academics, policy-makers and activists. Following keynote lectures on the theme on Monday March 29th, a series of paper sessions will form the basis for a deeper dialogue on the issues involved on Tuesday March 30th. A post-conference publication, in the form of an edited book, will seek to frame the key contributions and take these forward as a critical resource for future research and action. Conference details: The conference will take place on March 29 and 30, 2010 at Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA. Abstract submission: [b]If you are interested in presenting a paper, please submit an abstract [/b]under 250 words, containing a title and your affiliation details, [b]by December 30, 2009[/b], to [url=mailto:waterconference@syr.edu]waterconference@syr.edu[/url] Costs: There are no registration fees to attend the conference. If requested, accommodation will be provided for those presenting a paper, on the nights of March 29 and 30. Meals will be provided during the conference proceedings. Please note that we cannot cover any travel costs or other costs. Further details will be made available to conference participants after abstracts are accepted. A conference website will provide information on the conference, accommodation details, conference program, etc. in the near future.