Invitation and Welcome

Kang Ouyang
2009-03-12

The First International Conference on "Social Informatics and Systems Science" (SOCINFO2009) will be held at HUST, Wuhan on October 16-19, 2009. On behalf of the conference committee, I would like to express my sincere invitation and warm welcome to all the guests.

The First International Conference on "Social Informatics and Systems Science" is jointly sponsored by the Center for Scientific Progress and Human Spirit (SPnHS) at Huazhong University of Science & Technology (HUST) and International Institute for General Systems Studies（IIGSS）, and organized by Social Information Science Institute of HUST with the participation of International Institute for General Systems Studies-China Branch（IIGSS-CB）, School of Information Management at Wuhan University, and School of Humanities at Xi'an Jiaotong University. We regard the purpose of the conference as promoting the interdisciplinary amalgamation between and research on the two fields: social informatics and systems science. We deem that society is a highly informationized, complex system which is full of diversity of values, risks and uncertainty. Researches on social information system have become not only an important new field of present information science and systems science, but a significant part of the study of human social science. The task of SOCINFO2009 is to provide a platform for exchanges, encouraging researchers in information science, systems science and human social science and other fields to cooperate and obtain more achievements.

The opening of this conference is an important promotion to the research on social information science in our university. In 2006, we established Social Information Science Institute in HUST to start the systematic research on social information science. In June, 2007, we held the first National Conference on Social Information Science (NCSIS’07) in HUST and set up 14 research projects related to social science with the support from the Center for Scientific Progress and Human Spirit (SPnHS). We have held two national training courses on social information science since July, 2007, studying some basic problems of social informatics and discussing the current status of social information research in USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, Germany, France, and Russia. During this time, scholars have made an intensive study of theoretical Informatics, the underlying theories of social information science, social information and social epistemology, informatics and semeiology, linguistics, mass communication, psychology, history and so on. The conference will also provide a platform for the exchange of these research results.

I’m very glad to see the presence of a number of scholars and experts who have considerable influence in the international academic circles. Among them we have Prof. J.Y. Lin Forrest, Slipery Rock University, USA, President of International Institute for General Systems Studies（IIGSS）, member of International Academy of Non-Linear Systems; Prof. Mario A.Bunge, McGill University, member of the Royal Society of Canada; Dr. K. K. Korin, member of Russian Academy of Natural Science, vice-director of Institute of Informationization of Russian Academy, chief researcher, member of International Institute of Information Science, etc. Prof. Peigen Li, President of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Prof. Yang Shuzi, member of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Prof. Zhang Yongchuan, member of Chinese Academy of Engineering, etc, will also be present at the conference. In this, on behalf of the conference committee and on behalf of HUST, I would like to express my ardent welcome and sincere regards to all the scholars and experts home and abroad.

We eagerly await your arrival! Wish the First International Conference on “Social Informatics and Systems Science” a complete success! I wish you experts and scholars a happy staying, good health in Wuhan. May our friendship be everlasting!