The Fourth Asian Population Forum:

Demographic Methods and Models in

Global and Local Development Research

And

A related training workshop:

Application of the Degree of Urbanization for

Demographic Research and Policy Analysis

Dates:   Training workshop on Oct. 25-28, 2025, and Forum on Oct. 29-31, 2025

Host:  Asian Demographic Research Institute (ADRI), Shanghai University

Collaborators: International Institute for Applied System Analysis (IIASA)

Building on the success of hosting the first three Asian Population Forum (APF) in 2016, 2019 and 2023, as well as the Fourth Conference of Asian Population Association (APA) in 2018, the Asian Demographic Research Institute (ADRI) at Shanghai University is organizing the Fourth Asian Population Forum on October 29-31, 2025, in Shanghai, China. This Forum will be jointly held by ADRI and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), and supported by the Natural Sciences Foundation of China (NSFC). The theme is on Demographic Methods and Models in Global Development Assessment Research.  

The Asian Population Forum is one of the main platforms of the Asian MetaCentre for Population and Sustainable Development Analysis for exchanging research ideas and experiences of its collaborating institutes in comparative analysis of population and development issues across Asia and other regions. The Asian MetaCentre was established in 2000 as a regional center of excellence in population research. In collaboration with the Asia MetaCentre’s principal investigators at IIASA, the National University of Singapore, and Chulalongkorn University, ADRI has served as the headquarters of the Asian MetaCentre since 2016. At the first three APFs, the member institutes of the Asian MetaCentre jointly defined directions and the most important research areas for collaborative studies under the framework of the Asian MetaCentre. Accordingly, ADRI organized a series of research and training workshops and summer schools to foster collaborative and comparative analysis on topics including subnational population and human capital projections, internal migration, and socioecological consequences of international migrations. Through this forum, ADRI will further deepen international collaborative research, academic training, and policy dialogue under the framework of the Asian MetaCentre for Population and Sustainable Development Analysis.

The Fourth APF will focus primarily on Demographic Methods and Models in Global and National Development Assessment Research.  

We are at critical turning point in human history, as the world grappling with multiple challenges, including climate change, environmental degradation, food insecurity, rising inequality, political conflicts, and war.  Progress on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been slow, and in some areas has even regressed. Against this backdrop, the international community has begun to discuss new global development goals for the post-2030 era. This moment represents both challenges and opportunities for demographers and population scholars to contribute to scientific breakthroughs on the international stage. Demographic information is central to shaping global development goals, as well as national and local socioeconomic and environmental planning. It also underpins many sectorial assessments, such as climate change assessment reports, global environmental outlook, disaster risk reduction reports, and human development reports. Population data and demographic modeling outputs provide an indispensable foundation for setting goals and plans, monitoring progress, and evaluating achievements. Over the recent decades, demographers and population scholars have made significant contributions to the processes through a wide array of demographic techniques, methods, and modeling tools. The Forum seeks to bring together experts, scholars, and policy analysts to exchange success stories, share lessons learned, and discuss remaining gaps. It will provide a platform to examine innovations in methods and models, opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaboration, and engagement with stakeholder at the global, national and local levels.  

Under this overarching theme, the forum will focus on three main topics. First, to discuss new trends in major demographic shifts closely related to global and regional development as well as their implications for framing and achieving global development goals. Second, examining recent advances in demographic methods, data, models, and tools for analyzing, measuring, simulating, and forecasting these major demographic trends, variations and divergencies, along with their actual and potential applications in constructing and evaluating global and regional development goals. Third, exploring the use of systems analysis and multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research methods and models to address critical issues in human development closely linked to demographic changes, such as economy, environment, energy and water resources, food production and consumption, climate change, and social equity.

In line with the theme of the Fourth APF, ADRI will host a Training Workshop on "Application of the Degree of Urbanization for Demographic Research and Policy Analysis" on Oct. 25-28, 2025, in collaboration with the European Commission, IIASA, and the United Nation Population Division. The workshop will be instructed by experts from the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs of the European Commission, ADRI, the UN Population Division, and IIASA. This training will focus on the UN’s new definition and methodology for urban – the Degree of Urbanization (DOU). The DOU approach was developed to address the limitations of traditional national definitions of urban, which vary widely across countries and change over time, making it difficult to assess and monitor progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The DOU has been formally endorsed by UN and adopted by more than 50 countries. Importantly, the forthcoming UN World Urbanization Prospects 2025 Revision will be based on this new definition. The training workshop will introduce participants to the concepts, definitions, measurement methods and modeling tools associated with the DOU, and will feature national case studies that illustrate its application. It will also explore the significance and practical utility of adopting the DOU framework for setting and evaluating development goals at global, national, and local levels.

Please submit your paper for the Forum, your request to attend the training workshop, along with a CV and intention letter to tzhang91@shu.edu.cn by September 30, 2025. Applicants for the training workshop please indicate your experience in demographic methods and models, as well as your familiarity with R and Python programs, although they are not prerequisites. Limited financial support is available for authors of selected papers and workshop participants on a competitive basis. The acceptance of papers and funding applications will be notified by October 9, 2025. Participants as observers are also welcome.      

Here is the link to the application questionnaire. Please fill it out to complete your application:
https://www.wjx.cn/vm/eUMehtr.aspx
Let’s meet again this year in Shanghai!