2015 IUSSP Council MeetingCape Town, South Africa, 30 March and 2 April 2015 by France Meslé, IUSSP Secretary General & Treasurer
The annual Council meeting took place on 30 March and 2 April in Cape Town, South Africa, the day before and the day after the first meeting of the International Organising Committee (IOC) for the 2017 International Population Conference (see the IOC meeting report). It was not easy to find a meeting date that was convenient for all members, especially taking into account the added constraint of holding the meeting during the same week as the IOC meeting. Finally, 9 Council members out of 13 were able to make the trip and participate in both meetings. The annual Council meeting is an important moment for the association. The IUSSP officers report on the activities that took place during the previous year (see the 2014 Annual report) and seek the advice of Council members on new directions. The Council also reviews and approves the finances and decides on budgetary priorities for the coming year. Even though much of the work is prepared in advance, through regular consultations with Council members by email – such as the pre-selection of session topics for the next conference, the vote to select the IUSSP Laureate, a survey for the strategic plan, and the approval of new scientific panels – this year’s meeting agenda was again a full one, a good indicator of IUSSP’s vitality.
The first day was devoted to preparing the IOC meeting that would take place the following two days. The Council came to an agreement on a preliminary list of session topics to present and discuss at the IOC meeting. The IUSSP received 164 suggestions from members in response to the Call for Suggestions in October 2014. It was not an easy task to select the final topics while assuring an adequate coverage of all research areas and themes and a geographically balanced team of organizers. Several weeks prior to the meeting, the Council members worked in small groups assigned to several themes to review the suggestions and make a pre-selection of topics for a preliminary list. The range of scientific expertise as well as geographic diversity of the Council members enabled the Council to submit a well-developed proposal to the IOC, which was further debated by the IOC with additional modifications and improvements made to the final list. The Council also decided on the level of registration fees for the Conference, raising the fee by 50 euros to 400 euros for members and 150 euros for student members. The fees, however, remain below those of similar international conferences, so as not to discourage the participation of members for financial reasons, especially student members. During the second day of the Council meeting, the Council praised the collaborative atmosphere that prevailed during the IOC meeting and the motivation and drive of our South African partners. Beyond the decisions made, the first meeting will help forge a strong relationship with the NOC and ensure a harmonious preparation for the Conference.
The morning of the second day was devoted to brainstorming for a new strategic plan. President Anastasia Gage led the Council in a discussion of the new directions this Council might undertake during its mandate. To assist the discussion, the Council members responded to an online SWOT survey before the meeting where they listed the strengths and weaknesses of our association as well as potential opportunities and threats, and proposed possible solutions and new activities. They were all in agreement in recognizing IUSSP’s important capacity to invigorate international population research networks and efficiently support training and capacity building for research in middle- and low-income countries. They noted more modest performance in the association’s ability to promote population sciences to governments and policy makers and communicate the results of population research to the general public. From these observations, it was not easy to come to a consensus on future directions, but the Council members insisted on the importance of reinforcing ties with members. The first discussions resulted in several activities that the Officers will explore: a greater presence on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, a broader dissemination of the results of IUSSP Panels, active participation in regional conferences, videotaping and posting expert interviews on population subjects on the IUSSP website, and providing open access to the membership directory. All these proposals seek to enrich the information provided to our members who can in turn contribute to improving the visibility of IUSSP activities in their own networks.
The Council seeks to reinforce interactions between the IUSSP and regional population associations. A “Regional Population Association Corner” has been created on the home page of the IUSSP website. The Council also recommends the IUSSP be present at all the regional conferences and proposed organizing a session and providing information on activities at an exhibit stand that could be shared with other associations. These recommendations have been followed at the recent annual meeting of the PAA.
In recent months, IUSSP has been heavily involved in activities around the Data Revolution. This movement, which emerged from recommendations of a United Nations Expert Panel in 2013, aims to dramatically improve the quality, quantity, and accessibility of data for development. The IUSSP seeks to ensure demographers are involved in current discussions so that they are well positioned to participate in future activities. Tom LeGrand and Tom Moultrie, members of the Council, have led different activities with the logistic support of the Secretariat and thanks to funding from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation (see IUSSP web page on Demography and the Data Revolution). The Council strongly encourages pursuit of these activities and welcomes the creation of two new panels that are directly linked to the Data Revolution: a panel on Big Data and a panel on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics.
The Council also approved a project presented by Gustavo de Santis to create an online journal. The journal would publish short articles on current population issues and research of interest to policy makers, journalists, and the interested public. The first issue should be published online in early November 2015. IUSSP members will be invited to contribute.
Many other subjects were discussed during the meeting: the choice of software to handle the scientific programme for the next Conference, 2014 finances and a reorganization of the IUSSP reserves (formally approved by email), approval of the 2015 budget, and the search for potential new donors.
Finally the Council warmly thanked Fabienne Feuillade, the Financial and Administrative Officer, who decided, after 11 years of loyal service, to leave the Secretariat in order to pursue new career opportunities. The Council recognized the high quality and rigor of Fabienne’ s work and wished her well in her new professional life.
Read also the 2014 Annual Report.
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