SEARCA graduate alumni and staff who participated in ICOSCD 2010 held a mini get-together during the conference. They are (l-r): Dr. Kamolrat Intaratat of Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, Ms. Lily L. Tallafer and Dr. Bessie M. Burgos of SEARCA, Prof. Dr. Md. Salleh Hj. Hassan and Prof. Dr. Mahiran Basri of UPM, Ms. Norsiah binte Mohd. Noor of the Department of Agriculture of Malaysia, Dr. Jean A. Saludadez of the University of the Philippines Open University, and Prof. Maimunah Ismail (not in photo) of UPM.

Putrajaya, Malaysia -- The first International Conference on Sustainable Community Development (ICOSCD) held in this city on 21-22 July 2010 was participated in by about 200 researchers and development workers from around the globe.

Organized by Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Institute for Social Science Studies (UPM-IPSAS), the conference provided a platform for researchers, graduate students, and practitioners of sustainable community development to share information and accomplishments, to discover the challenges of the future, and to offer ideas for advancing practices that address current and future needs.

Three graduate alumni and a manager of SEARCA played key roles on the conference’s organization and program. The alumni are: (1) Prof. Dr. Md. Salleh Hj. Hassan, Director of UPM-IPSAS; (2) Dr. Kamolrat Intaratat, Dean, School of Communication Arts, and Director, Communication and Development Knowledge Management Research Center, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (STOU); and (3) Dr. Jean A. Saludadez, Director, Office of Academic Support and Instructional Services, and Associate Professor, Faculty of Management and Development Studies, University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU).

Prof. Salleh orchestrated the planning, preparations, and implementation of the conference. Dr. Kamolrat and Dr. Bessie M. Burgos, Manager of SEARCA’s Project Development and Management Department, were resource speakers at a plenary sessions. Their presentations were titled Local New Media for Equl and Sustainable Development: Case of ThaiTelecentre and Harnessing Human Resources and Institutions in Responding to Climate Change: Toward Sustainable Community Development, respectively. Dr. Saludadez, on the other hand, presented her research titled Understanding Views on Community-based Natural Resource Management: A Narrative Approach at one of the parallel sessions.

SEARCA, through its Graduate Scholarship Department, provided scholarship grants to Prof. Salleh (M.S., 1979, University of the Philippines Los Baños), Dr. Kamolrat (PhD, 1997, UPLB), and Dr. Saludadez (PhD, 2004, UPM). All three studied development communication.