Message from the President (2009-2010)

Dear APA members,

I extend very warm greetings to everyone. As many of you know, unlike other regions of the world, Asia did not have a population association of its own and the idea of establishing one was raised by many Asian demographers since 2004. Nearly three years in the making, the APA finally took root in the form of an online forum in 2007 and was later registered in Bangkok, Thailand with the secretariat set up at the College of Population Studies of Chulalongkorn University. In those three years the interim committee and the establishment committee worked very hard and sought online help and suggestions from members of several national and regional associations. They drafted the constitution, designed the APA logo and the website. It is due to the hard work and the enthusiasm of the members of the establishment committee that APA became a reality. I extend my sincere thanks to them.

APA very successfully conducted an online first election for its council in September-October 2008 in which nearly 66 percent of the 578 eligible registered members participated. This is a remarkable two-fold achievement ? an online election and a sizeable number participating in it. The nominations committee was set up to request distinguished scholars in the region to contest the election. Both the process and outcome of the election have resulted in having scholars with creditable academic record on APA?s council. It will be my pleasure to work with the council members to accomplish the objectives of the association. The APA is planning a number of seminars and workshops in the near future, as well as an international conference possibly in India in 2010. Information on these events, which offer opportunities for presenting papers and acquiring valuable information, as well as other APA activities, will soon be available on the APA?s official website: www.apa.cps.chula.ac.th

The association with strong membership of now more than 600 has grown in a very short period of time. The members of APA are from several countries across Asia. Several population experts and demographers working on Asian countries but living outside Asia have also joined the association. I invite the scholars and students working on population issues who have not yet joined APA to join it by submitting the application for membership through the above website and filling in the form on the web page: http://www.apa.cps.chula.ac.th/index.php?ption=com_juser&task=UserRegistration

I sincerely hope that the enthusiasm shown in participating in the election process will also be evident in meaningful participation in future activities of the APA. The APA can become a vibrant association only when its members are actively involved in it.

Leela Visaria, Ph.D.
APA President
February 2009