Dear PJSA colleagues and comrades,
In times like these, it is with great pleasure that I send this note—offering some good news about new benefits, services, and opportunities. There can be little question that these are historic times: of rising rebellion against economic collapse as well as the double pandemic of police violence and militarized, privatized responses to the global health crisis. As co-Secretary General of the International Peace Research Association (IPRA), I see every day how our affiliates in every corner of the planet engage in work to better the lives of all people. Since this email blast will go to many who are not yet IPRA members, it is worth noting that—since 1964—we and our five affiliated regional associations have brought together scholars and grassroots practitioners to explore scientific and sustainable solutions to the world’s most intractable problems. We hope the THREE new resources offered here will empower everyone reading this with greater ways to get more involved.
First, with caution and careful review, we are moving forward with plans for our major biennial conference, to take place in Nairobi, Kenya from 11-15 January 2021 at the Multimedia University of Kenya. It is exciting to announce that the Call to Papers has just been released, along with a specialized website focusing on conference planning. Please review the materials, help spread the word, and make plans to join us in 2021.
Second, it is nothing short of a thrill to announce that we have just launched IPRA’s Peace Search, a new web-based collaboration with the award-winning peace journalists at Waging Nonviolence (WNV). Their community of international members already includes close colleagues, and we plan to utilize this space so that an ever-widening group of readers can join us. Featured articles in this new launch include a spotlight on the campaign initiated by our Latin American colleagues on the need to build a more and just and peaceful “new normal;” an analysis of COVD-19 and the climate crisis by former SG Ursula Oswald-Spring; an impassioned message from middle-schooler Sarah Fontaine-Sinclair (Cree/Ojibwe); and much more. As my co-SG Christine Atieno and I note in our welcoming message, “we look forward to hearing from you with your comments, critiques, ideas and writings.”
Finally, we are very pleased to announce our new partnership with the professional, peer-reviewed Journal of Resistance Studies (JRS). An inter-disciplinary resource focusing on the study of unarmed strategies, discourses, tactics, effects, causes, contexts and experiences, JRS is now available FOR FREE to all IPRA members. Please contact IPRA if you would like to become a member and receive this cutting-edge academic (yet organizer-friendly) magazine.
Now is the time to intensify our efforts for peace with justice and come together to build effective solutions to the crisis we currently face. IPRA hopes that these new benefits help with this constructive process. Through these resources and others, we will bring you more news in the coming months and years! Together we can change the world!
Stay safe, healthy and strong,
Matt Meyer
Secretary-General, International Peace Research Association
New York, New York