Women's Worlds 2005 was held from June 19-25 at Ewha Woman's University in Seoul, Korea. There were over 2,300 participants. It was the ninth meeting of this international congress and the first in Asia since its inception in Israel in 1981. Three CGS professors reported on last year's International Workshop and discussed future research perspectives at a session entitled "The Future of Women's Network in Asia: Academia and Beyond". Eight ICU students also attended the conference.
Each day, participants assembled for a morning plenary session before breaking up for a varied programme of sub-sessions which included academic presentations and reports, film screenings, theatrical, music and dance performances, and workshops. The overall response was positive, despite some voices of concern about the commercialization of women's studies implied by the substantial company sponsorship and the fashion show at the farewell party.
For those of us who participated, it is now time to consider our future direction in light of the issues raised this year, so that we can prepare for the next conference which is scheduled for 2008 in Madrid, Spain.
ICU graduate student : Ryo Hirano