Special sessions

SS. 01. Gender disparities in Romania
Organisers: Marinela ISTRATE, Raluca Ioana HOREA ȘERBAN

It is undeniable that in recent decades, particularly in Europe, significant progress has been made in terms of gender equality. However, Romania still has a long way to go. Progress has been uneven, Romanian society has faced numerous challenges, in some respects it has taken a step backwards, it has raised new questions and revealed how deeply rooted the problem of gender inequality is in public and private life. With 57.5 out of 100 points, Romania ranks last in the EU in terms of the 2024 Gender Equality Index, 13.5 points below the European score. Although the National Strategy for the Promotion of Equal Opportunities and Treatment between Women and Men for the period 2022-2027 was adopted three years ago, with Romania thus aligning itself with European and international policies and benefiting from European funds for projects in this area, results are slow to materialize. We can say that, at the rate at which Romanian society is advancing in eliminating gender gaps, women in Romania will continue to face numerous aspects of inequality in the future.

The workshop aims to examine some of the most pressing challenges in this area from a local, regional, and national perspective. We will have the opportunity to engage in debates and discussions about wage disparities in the labor market, the presence of women in Romanian political, academic, and cultural life, and poverty that particularly affects women. we will approach old topics from new perspectives, sharing our own experiences and contributing to the advancement of the conversation on gender equality.

SS. 02. Towards a Holistic Understanding of Well-being – Conceptualization, Measurements, Policy Implications
Organisers: Alexandra CEHAN, Ema CORODESCU-ROȘCA, Corneliu IAȚU

Well-being is a complex concept that goes beyond the simple idea of pursuing happiness and/or pleasure. Also, while the well-being literature of the last decades abounded in research centred on GDP and on economic approaches in general, nowadays the shift to a multi-dimensional understanding of well-being becomes more and more evident. The recent advances in the geography and economics of happiness introduce a holistic understanding of well-being, including equitable access to goods and services, long term capabilities, but also individual or group perceptions of local and regional well-being. This special session aims to support these debates on the conceptualisation and measurement of well-being, with a particular focus on its spatial dimensions, while also accommodating inputs from different research fields (geography, economics, psychology etc.).
We welcome submissions that focus on the following topics and issues, but not limited to these:

  • – Determinants of subjective well-being
  • – Well-being measurements
  • – Spatial inequalities and well-being
  • – Sustainable approaches on well-being
  • – Subjective well-being and public policy
  • – Geographical characteristics influencing well-being
  • – The impact of crises on subjective well-being
  • – Spatial planning, citizen science and well-being
  • – Economic competitiveness and well-being
  • – Well-being in tourist destinations and other specialized territories

Presentations will be held in English.
This session is organised in the framework of the research project: SAGES: Spatial Analysis of Growth, Environment and Sustainable Well-being – code CF 20/27.07.2023, contract no. MCID – DGGCPNRR 760275/26.03.2024, financed through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan Call no. PNRR-III-C9-2023 – I8_runda 2

SS. 03. Onomastics, Historical Geography and Political Geography
Organiser: Ionel BOAMFĂ

The session includes papers related to the analysis of the geographical significance of place names (toponyms) and person names (anthroponyms). It also addresses a varied theme, regarding historical geography (tracing the succession of different “geographies of the past”), in close relation to political-geographical phenomena (including those related to the geography of voting). The included topics address not only elements, processes and/or phenomena of this kind in the Romanian space, but also at the international level (continental/European and/or global).

Comments are closed.