Population issues are closely related to sustainable development; hence, it is one of the seventeen main goals of 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.  These Goals have highlighted a number of population issues that require collective international, regional and local efforts which, in turn, requires a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of these issues and their dimensions. Some problems may arise locally, yet they may expand into a global level, such as refugees-related issues, illegal migrations and displacement due to natural disasters. On the other hand, there are other population issues that are of a developmental nature, such as employment opportunities, social and cultural transformations, crime, population growth, population characteristics, population distribution, poverty rates, expats, pressure on services, pollution, urbanization and internal migrations, etc. 

 These population issues have created a major challenge to both developed and developing countries because of the overlap of the factors that contribute to either the aggravation or the decline of these issues. These factors include the political, economic and social factors. Thus, the policymakers have to work tirelessly to seek solutions to these issues and to look to the future to prevent the emergence of new issues or the aggravation of current ones. The transformations that are being witnessed by the World due to the Fourth Industrial Revolution require from the planners to take into account the dramatic change in the labour market. This is mainly manifested in the disappearance of many jobs, due to the digital transformation solutions and machine replacement, the emergence of smart cities, cultural and social transformations, the growing ratio of ageing population category, and the increasing aspirations of societies for greater well-being and other issues that require a comprehensive understanding to draw a future roadmap.

The absence of a comprehensive understanding of these issues and the failure to address them properly would lead to dire consequences on both individual and society. Among these consequences are:  the threat to stability, the spread of poverty and crime, diseases, the weakness or collapse of basic services, the waste of human resources and the direct and indirect impacts on the national identity. In addition, the threat might extend to the national security. The proper handling of such issues requires a careful examination of population indicators, the analysis of current situation and the planning for future scenarios. Local and regional reports, particularly in the Gulf region, indicate the emergence of some population issues that require to be studied and analyzed.

The idea of organizing this international conference ‘Population and Sustainable Development in the Sultanate of Oman’ is to highlight the issues related to population in the Sultanate of Oman, to be tackled from different perspectives and to provide possible solutions. In addition, the conference will try to present regional experiences, especially from the GCC countries, Arab countries as well as international experiences.

1. Shedding light on the status of the demography and the historical transformations.
2. Exploring the population policies in the Sultanate of Oman and its outcomes (Healthcare, nutrition, employment forces, welfare and social welfare, human security).
3. Highlighting the Omani demographic status in the global and regional indicators.
4. Shedding light on population issues in the Sultanate of Oman (Population change, cultural transitions, multiculturalism, job seekers, women’s empowerment, quality of life and standard of living, crime, illiteracy, internal and external migrations, urbanization, services, etc.).
5. Addressing the issues related to the expatriate labours in the Sultanate of Oman and its political, economic, social and cultural implications.
6. Prospecting the future of the demographic status of the Sultanate of Oman in light of development trends.
7. Identifying the role of the population in development
8. Identifying the role of governmental and non-governmental institutions in raising awareness of population issues.
9. Learning from the experiences of regional and global countries in the field of population and population policies in addressing population issues.

First Theme: The demographic status and the historical transformations in the Sultanate of Oman (the status and the solutions)

• Descriptive analysis of the population: Population growth, population distribution and population growth in governorates, changes in composition, population characteristics (cultural, social, economic, sex ratio), migration.
• Expatriate labour and its impact on population growth.

Second Theme: Population issues in the Sultanate of Oman (Reality, Future, Solutions)

• Both positive and negative effects of expats (demographic composition, economic and financial implications, labour market, national identity, social impacts, cultural and religious activities, traditional crafts and professions, security, health, education).
• The reality of the labour market (job seekers, Omanization or substitution, harmonization between the labour market and graduates, local legislation, the impact of foreign investments on the labour market, wages).
• Social issues: Divorce, spinsterhood, crime (theft, drugs), marriage costs, social security, human rights, child rights, women’s empowerment , etc.).
• Social Welfare: Child and elderly care and disabled.
• The impact of urbanization on the old architecture.
• Pressure on services (traffic congestion, parks, health services, etc.)
• Pollution: Air, food, noise, etc. 
• Economic issues: Personal loans, etc.

Third Theme: The Omani demographic status in the international and regional indicators 

• Social dimension: (Social, health and educational indicators).
• Human development indicators.
• Technological indicators.

Fourth Theme: Population policies in the Sultanate of Oman and their role in reducing population issues.

• Policies and legislations related to population: Health, family planning, Omanization, labour laws, housing laws, (urban planning, land distribution, social housing), social protection (retirement, social security), legislations governing expatriate labours. Persons with disabilities, civil society organizations (NGOs and Clubs).

Fifth Theme: The future of the Omani demographic status 

• Population projections for 2030, 2040.
• Demographic Transition Opportunities for productive generations of the age group 18 - 60 .

Sixth Theme: Regional and global population issues (problems and successful experiences).

• Population Policies Information System (PPIS) in the Arab countries.
• Arab and global population issues.
• Successful experiences to address population issues

Seventh Theme: The role of governmental and non-governmental institutions in raising awareness of population issues

• Curricula, mosques, clubs, media, social networks, civil councils, etc.

• Abstracts submission deadline 5th March 2019.
• Acceptance notification of abstracts 20th March 2019.
• Full paper submission deadline 30th June 2019.
• Approval of accepted papers and sending invitations of conference participation 30th July 2019.
• Conference dates 14th - 16th October 2019.

General guidelines:

• Originality, innovation and direct relevance to the Conference themes.
• The paper should not have been published or presented in previous symposia or conferences.
• The Scientific Committee reserves the right to reject any research paper if it fails to meet the specified conditions.

Paper Content:

1. The paper should include the following:

• Research paper title
• Abstract: Should include the objectives of the study, the study community, the tools and the main conclusions. The abstract should not exceed 200 words. 
• Keywords:  Not more than 5 words.
• Literature review:  Should include introducing the paper’s topic, the literature review the previous studies.
• Research problem.
• Research questions.
• The significance of the study.
• Definitions.
• Study methodology (Methodology, study population and the sample, and study tools, if any).
• Results and discussion.
• Recommendations.
• References.

2. Font:  Simplified Arabic (14) for titles and (12) for text
3. Total words ranging from 5000 to 8000 words including references, images, figures and tables.

A- BOOK ONE AUTHOR:

Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning & teaching. New York: Oxford University Press.

In-Text: Ellis (2003) or (Ellis, 2003)

B- BOOK )TWO OR MORE AUTHORS

Strunk, W., Jr. & White, E.B. (1979). The elements of style (3rd Ed.). New York: Macmillan.

In-Text: (two authors):

Strunk and White (1979) or (Strunk & White, 1979)

In-Text (three or more authors):

Strunk, White, & Smith (1979)or (Strunk, White & Smith, 1979)

In-Text (subsequent references):

Strunk et al. (1979) or (Strunk et al., 1979)

C- CHAPTERS IN AN EDITED VOLUME:

Abu Hilal, M. (2008). Motivation, attributions of academic experiences & achievement among Arab students within a socio-cultural context. In T. O. Seng, D. M. McInerney, A. D. Liem, & T. Ai-Girl (Eds.) Research in Multicultural Education & International Perspectives (Vol. 7, pp. 217-244). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.

In text: Abu-Hilal (2008) or (Abu-Hilal, 2008)

D- CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS:

Pica, T., Washburn, G., Evans, B., & Jo, V. (1998). Negative feedback in content-based second language classroom interaction: How does it contribute to second language learning? Paper presented at the Annual Pacific Second Language Research Forum, Tokyo, Japan.

E- UNPUBLISHED DISSERTATIONS:

Boyd-Kletzander, R. (2000). Student responsibility in a whole language classroom. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Pennsylvania.

F- JOURNAL ARTICLE )ONE AUTHOR

Abu-Hilal, M. (2000) A structural model of attitudes toward school subjects, academic aspiration & achievement. Educational Psychology, 20, 75-84.

In-Text:

Abu-Hilal (2000) or (Abu-Hilal, 2000)

G- JOURNAL ARTICLE )TWO AUTHORS

Atkinson, R.C., & Shiffrin, R.M. (1971). The control of short-term memory. Scientific American, 225, 82-90.

In-Text (two authors):

Atkinson and Shiffrin (1971) or (Atkinson &Shiffrin, 1971).

In-Text (three to five authors):

Smith, Zapplla, Rosen, Gustman& Rock (1194), or (Smith, Zappella, Rosen, Gustman, & Rock, 1994).

In-Text (six or more authors): or In-Text (subsequent references):

Smith et al. (1994) or (Smith et al., 1994).

H- MAGAZINE ARTICLE )ONE AUTHOR

Kuel, E. R. (2000, November 10). Neuroscience: Breaking down scientific barriers to the study of brain & mind. Science, 290, 1113-1120.

In-Text:

Kuel(2000) or (Kuel, 2000).

I- NEWSPAPER ARTICLE ) NO AUTHOR(

Amazing Amazon region. (1989, January 12). New York Times, p. D11.

In-Text:

«Amazing Amazon Region,» (1989).

J- SPECIFIC INTERNET SITE

Electronic reference formats recommended by the American Psychological Association. (2000, October 12). Retrieved January 3, 2001 from http://www.apa.org/journals/jwebref.html

In-Text:

American Psychological Association [APA](2000)

In-Text (subsequent references):

APA (2000) or (APA, 2000).

K- ELECTRONIC ARTICLE )JOURNAL ARTICLE FOUND IN A DATABASE

Jacobson, J.W., Mulick, J.A., & Schwartz, A.A. (1995). A history of facilitated communication: Science, pseudoscience, &antiscience. American Psychologist, 50, 750-765. Retrieved January 12, 2001, from PsycARTICLES database.

In text:

Jacobson, Mulickand Schwartz (1995) or (Jacobson, Mulick, & Schwartz, 1995); Jacobson, et al. (1995), or (Jacobson et al., 1995) in subsequent references

• Accepted papers will be published in a proceeding after the conference. The papers that do not meet the specified conditions will be excluded. Participants will get:
• Free registration.
• Snacks and lunch.
• Issuing the visa.

Conference Languages: 

• Arabic and English 

Abstract Submmission 

Attendance Registration 

Conference Program (Opening and Sessions)

Contact Us

The Omani Studies Centre

Sultan Qaboos University

Telephone: (00968) 24145851

Fax: (00968) 24413953

Email: oscevent@squ.edu.om  

Website: www.squ.edu.om/osc 

Post box: 54 PC: 123

Al Khoud, Sultanate of Oman