Gemdev
The European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI) and the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) announce the 16th EADI General Conference, to be held in The Hague (Netherlands) from Monday 29 June to Thursday 2 July 2020. The conference will be hosted by the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), one of Europe’s oldest and largest centres for research and education in the field of development studies. It will be combined with the Development Dialogue, the annual European conference of PhD candidates working in development studies.
About the Conference Theme
The central theme of the conference is “Solidarity, Peace and Social Justice”. Together, these three concepts represent our aspirations for approaches to global development that address inequality, poverty and political marginalisation, also in connection with climate change and other environmental threats. Solidarity is essential for any process of social change. Based on mutually shared interests and human values, solidarity can be extremely powerful yet can also be easily undermined in an era of fake news and (electronically) manipulated elections. Peace and social justice are similarly important values in (as well as aspired outcomes of) struggles or transformation processes in which solidarity is key.
How can I participate?
The call for sessions is currently open.
We would like to invite session conveners and conference participants to reflect on any aspect of solidarity, peace, and social justice, such as:
• How can we give new meanings to solidarity in a period of growing distrust between and within nations and amongst people?
• How can we, as development scholars and practitioners, contribute to peace and social justice in our work?
• How can we find new understandings and/or explanations to the concept of ‘development’, without simply adding new adjectives?
Please read more on the different formats and submit your session proposal until 6 September 2019.
The call for papers will be launched in October 2019.
Why The Hague?
Discussing these themes in The Hague is particularly significant given that it profiles itself as the Global City of Peace and Justice. Indeed, The Hague has played a central role in global peace building via the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (which received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013). We will actively involve these international institutions – as well as many other professional organizations and NGOs in the field of peace and justice – in our debates via key note speakers in plenaries and special visits to these institutions during the conference. As conference organizers we are very proud that The Hague is the host city.
What makes the EADI ISS 2020 conference unique?
EADI and ISS will use a variety of innovative conference formats to enable participants to exchange ideas and engage in active discussions. These include special panels between practitioners and academics as well as a high number of participants from the Global South. By combining the conference with the PhD network of the Development Dialogue we will provide space for early career scholars. Of course, we will follow the EADI principle of ’local, organic, and fair’ in the conference logistics. We look forward to an exciting and inspiring gathering of development researchers and practitioners from all over the world.