– Based on the meeting discussion at the APPRA Conference 2013
During the period of 1980-2010, several Asia-Pacific Peace Research Association
(APPRA) members played important roles in the International Peace Research
Association (IPRA). Three APPRA Secretary Generals were elected to key positions
in the International Peace Research Association in 1980-2010 time. In 1994 Kevin
Clements became president of IPRA and of the IPRA Foundation. In 1998 Katsuya
Kodama was elected IPRA vice-president (1998-2002) and Co-Secretary Generals
later in (2016-2018). Both Yoshikazu Sakamoto (1980s) and Katsuya Kodama (1990s)
from Japan have served as IPRA Secretary-General.
Mary Soledad L. Perpinan was a founding co-convenor of the IPRA Commission for
Women and Peace (now Gender and Peace); and John Synott was one of the founding
co-convenors of the Commission for the Rights of Indigenous People. Both
commissions continue to have strong involvement from APPRA members. In addition,
Ralph Summy and John Synott, both APPRA members, were organizers of the 1996
IPRA conference in Brisbane.
The Brisbane Conference of 1996 was the first IPRA conference in the Asia-Pacific
region which was followed by the 19th IPRA general meeting in Suwon, Korea, in
2002. Since that time the IPRA 2010 conference was held at University of Sydney,
Australia and the 2012 conference will be held once more in Japan at Mie University.
Professor Katsuya Kodama was elected as joint Secretary-General of IPRA in 2010
and hosted the 2012 conference in Japan.
These activities show that peace researchers from the region of Asia Pacific, have
played important roles within the wider international community of peace researchers,
and highlight how Asia and the Pacific have become an important center of
international peace research activities.