Minutes from IRSA General Assembly Meeting
XI World Congress of Rural Sociology
July 29, 2004

Attendance:

The General Assembly was attended by 82 delegates. A full listing of names and affiliations is found in the appendix.

Frank Vanclay opened the General Assembly at 16:20 p.m. He asked that we proceed in a timely fashion to ensure that we finish by 18:15.

He then briefly reviewed IRSA’s organizational objectives, which include support of rural sociology in different regions of the world and promotion of dialogues and useful exchanges among rural sociologists around the world.

Vanclay announced his successor, Prof. Alessandro Bonanno, In-Coming President and introduced the Out-Going and In-Coming Executive Committees and Council members, requesting that those members in attendance stand to be acknowledged.

Vanclay asked that the minutes from the 2000 General Assembly held in Rio de Janeiro, be accepted. Moved by Ray Jussaume and seconded by Mark Shucksmith that the minutes from the 2000 General Assembly held in Rio de Janeiro de accepted. (Passed unanimously)

Vanclay reported on matters arising from the minutes of the 2000 General Assembly, indicating actions taken by the IRSA Executive Committee and IRSA Council in response to them.

• IRSA needs to put its history on its website and consider creating the Office of Historian/Archivist. (A brief history of IRSA has been posted to the website that will need to be expanded and continually updated. The Secretary/Treasurer will archive important material on the website. The new Council will consider the position of Historian.)
• IRSA needs to work on rebuilding the links with FAO. (No action has been taken on this recommendation, but the new Council has been requested to pursue this.)
• IRSA needs to consider its potential role as a clearinghouse for international rural sociology information. (This issue was discussed further, but not implemented due to the complexity of doing so; it will be revisited by the new Council.)
• IRSA needs to establish clear procedures for selecting World Congress sites. (This has been done through the By-laws and Procedural Manual.)
• IRSA needs to continue to work with a possible member association in Africa. (IRSA initially attempted to establish contact with the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa [CODESRIA], but had a limited response. It also invited the presidents of CODESRIA and the Organisation for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa [OSSREA] to attend the current World Congress to continue exploring this linkage). The president of OSSREA, Regina Karega, accepted the invitation and is attending this General Assembly.)
• IRSA needs to formalize its International Sociological Association (ISA) links in order to facilitate its work. (IRSA has become a “Collective Member” of ISA.)

Dave Hansen presented the Quadrennial Report (see appendix for Report).

Motion: Moved by Hans Bakker and seconded by Hugh Campbell that the Report be accepted by the General Assembly. (Passed without comment)

Dave Hansen then presented the Financial Report which shows that IRSA currently has about $35,000 in its checking and savings accounts. Over the past four years, approximately $8750 has been collected in membership dues. Major outlays during this period have been for website development and maintenance and travel by the IRSA Executive Committee. Total expenditures have been approximately $7,750. IRSA regional association members are paid up in dues through 2003. IRSA’s financial books were audited by Prof. Linda Lobao, Past President of the RSS, who certified that the accounts are in order. (see appendix for Report);

Frank Vanclay mentioned that preliminary analyses of income/expenditure streams for the current World Congress indicate that it will yield an additional income of over $10,000 for IRSA. He noted that regional and potential national members associations will pay reduced dues in the future, thus making it easier to be members. IRSA will rely more on revenues generated by World Congresses in the future.

Motion: Moved by Heather Aslin and seconded by Hilary Tovey that the Financial Report be accepted by the General Assembly (Passed without comment)

Frank Vanclay then initiated a discussion of the process of changes made to the IRSA Constitution. Major revisions in the Constitution were approved at the 2000 World Congress. Additional minor revisions have been proposed since then and they were approved by the IRSA Council at its meetings in 2002 and 2004. These changes were posted to the IRSA website for scrutiny by the membership. Copies of the changes were placed at the entry to the General Assembly room for further scrutiny by those present.

Motion: Moved by Mark Shucksmith and seconded by Philip McMichael that proposed changes to the Constitution as amended by the IRSA Council at its July 25, 2004 Meeting be approved. (Unanimously Passed)

Frank Vanclay then introduced the changes to the By-laws that have been approved by the IRSA Council at its recent meetings. He indicated that changes in By-laws are approved by the IRSA Council and ratified by the General Assembly.

Motion: Moved by Larry Busch and seconded by Josefa Cavalcanti that the changes to the By-laws as amended by the IRSA Council at its July25, 2004 meeting be ratified. (Unanimously Passed)

Frank Vanclay then introduced the IRSA Procedural Manual that had been developed over the last four years. He noted that the Procedural Manual is an important operational roadmap for the IRSA Executive Committee and IRSA Council. It further stipulates how the By-laws are to be implemented and provides for greater transparency of operations. Although there is no requirement for the General Assembly to approve the Procedural Manual, the Council wanted the General Assembly to be aware of its content, to know that it was publically accessible on the website, and to provide an opportunity for participants to comment on them. He therefore asked for a motion to note the Procedural Manual.

Motion: Moved by Heather Aslin and seconded by Geoff Lawrence that the General Assembly note the changes that have been made to the Procedural Manual (Unanimously passed)

Frank Vanclay then announced that the 2008 World Congress will be held in Korea. He presented the Programme Chairs and Local Arrangement Chair for this Congress and announced that there would be a presentation of the proposal in the closing session of the current Congress. Vanclay mentioned that he had had the opportunity to visit Seoul, Korea during June, 2004 to observe first hand where the Congress will be held. He expressed enthusiasm for the venue and confidence in the organisational capacity of the Korean Rural Sociological Society and its partner, the Korean Rural Economic Institute.

Heather Aslin raised a concern about the structure of the programme of the actual World Congress, indicating that attention should be given to the appropriate number of working groups for the 2008 World Congress. Alberto Arce also mentioned that attention needs to be given to languages used at World Congresses. More attention should be given to the opportunity to communicate in Spanish and French. Other questions were raised about the proposed venue and organisation of the 2008 World Congress.

Frank Vanclay praised the proposal presented by the Korean delegation, indicating that it set a new standard for IRSA Congresses.

Frank Vanclay then discussed what he saw as key issues that need to be addressed by IRSA in the future

• IRSA needs to continue to develop a relationship with OSSREA and to explore how to use this relationship to further develop linkages with rural sociology in Africa.
• IRSA needs to think strategically using a 12 year planning horizon, particularly in regard to the organisation of World Congresses.
• IRSA needs to liaise with an African organization for the hosting of the 2012 World Congress, with a proposal to be considered in 2008.
• IRSA needs to increase resources and income taking into account principles of equity and partnering with development organisations. The latter should be approached to secure support for those with limited resource capacity to attend IRSA Congresses. The IRSA Executive Committee and IRSA Council need to develop IRSA’s capacity to approach these organisations to solicit this support.
• IRSA needs to use its website more effectively, including the posting of papers of World Congresses on it.
• IRSA needs to consider developing a statement of values, vision and mission.

In-Coming President, Alessandro Bonanno, then thanked Frank Vanclay for his enormous contributions to IRSA and presented him with a plaque of appreciation for them.

Bonanno mentioned that globalisation will remain a key issue and that its impact will continue to define a key role for IRSA. He asked everyone to participate in the deliberation of this trend and its impacts on rural society. He further invited all to contribute ideas to IRSA about how to accomplish this.

A discussion of the current Congress ensued. Mark Shucksmith and Lynda Cheshire reported on the programme, indicating that over 800 abstracts had been received with over 575 registrations and 551 papers accepted. They thanked the symposia and working group chairs for their great efforts and suggested that they may still have work to do. They thanked Marit Haugen and Reidar Almas, Local Arrangements Committee, for their excellent inputs and Frank Vanclay, President, for his guidance. Shucksmith then formally expressed his thanks to Lynda Cheshire for having kept things moving during his period of recovery following surgery.

Reidar Almas then spoke on behalf of the Local Arrangements Committee. He thanked Frank Vanclay and Dave Hansen along with Mark Shucksmith and Lynda Cheshire for their support for and collaboration with the Local Arrangements Committee. He also thanked Marit Haugen for her invaluable contributions to local arrangements. The final number of participants was 600 consisting of 547 Congress participants and 53 accompanying participants. The Local Arrangements Committee had worked to get funding for simultaneous translation, but did not succeed.

A series of recommendations and suggestions about how to improve future World Congresses were then raised by those in attendance, including

• Attention to speaking English to a multi-lingual audience
• Balance between Working Groups and Symposia
• Organisation of conferences within the context of local culture and rural issues
• Use of non theater style rooms
• Styles of presentations in symposia and working groups
• Visits to research sites with mini-presentations at field sites
• Graduate student scholarships for translation inputs
• Opportunities for non-native English participants to speak
• Appropriate venues that allow for people involved in Working Groups to translate for each other

Ki Whan Chung, Local Arrangements Committee Chair for the proposed 2008 World Congress, indicated that translation costs in Korea are very expensive. He indicated that programme chairs may need to decide how to deal with translation needs at the next Congress.

Motion: The General Assembly thank the Local Organising Team and the Programme Chair and Deputy Programme Chair for an excellent Congress. (Passed with Resounding Acclamation)

The General Assembly closed at 5:50 p.m.

General Assembly
Appendix

Attendance List for General Assembly, 2004 Meeting

Name	Institutional Affiliation	Regional Assoc.
Frank Vanclay	University of Tasmania	AON
Alessandro Bonanno	Sam Houston State University, USA	RSS
David Hansen	Ohio State University, USA	RSS
Gil Sun Kang	SNU, Korea	ARSA
Chija Kim Cheong	SNU, Korea	ARSA
Chung Ki Whan	Korea Rural Economic Institute	ARSA
Heather Aslin	Bureau of Rural Sciences, Australia	AON
Ji Woong Cheong	SNU, Korea	ARSA
Sang-Bin Kang	SNU, Korea	ARSA
Joseph Molnar	Auburn University, USA	RSS
Kalyan S. Mandal	Indian Institute of Management	ARSA
Vaughan Higgins	Monash University, Australia	ARSA
Marian Shriver	Wageningen University, Netherlands	ESRS
Tai-Hun Kim	KNU, Korea	ARSA
Oakla CHO	Sogang University, Korea	ARSA
Joo-sook Kim	Hanshin University, Korea	ARSA
Shun Mukasa	Mie-University, Japan	ARSA
Haruo Kumai	TUA, Japan	ARSA
Haruo Kuroyanagi	Sugiyama Women’s University, Japan	ARSA
Jan Elder	James Cook University, Australia	AON
Bettina Bock	Wageningen University, Netherlands	ESRS
Imre Kovach	Inst. of Political Sciences, Hungary	ESRS
Jose Ramon Mauleon	Un. of Basque Country, Spain	ESRS
Alex Koutsouris	Agricultural Un. of Athens, Greece	ESRS
Ola Aaten	Norwegian. Ag. Econ. Research Ins.	ESRS
Regina Karega	Kenyatta University, Kenya	OSSREA
Bjorn Egil Flo	Centre of Rural Research, Norway	ESRS
Hitomi Nakamichi	Ehime University, Japan	ARSA
Reidar Almas	Centre of Rural Research, Norway	ESRS
Lynda Cheshire	University of Queensland, Australia	AON
John Wilkinson	Fed. Rural Un. of Rio de Janeiro, Brasil	ALASRU
Philip McMichael	Cornell University, USA	RSS
Manuel Belo Moreira	Tech. University of Lisbon, Portugal	ESRS
Josefa Salete Cavalcanti	Fed. University of Pernambuco, Brasil	ALASRU
Kevin O’Toole	Deakin University, Australia	AON
Bill Reimer	Concordia University, Canada	RSS
Hilary Tovey	Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland	ESRS
Lynelle Osburn	Charles Sturt University, Australia	AON
Christian Deverre	INRA, Avignon, France	ESRS
Joachim Singelmann	Louisiana State University, USA	RSS
Jose E. Rodriguez R.	Uni. Central de Veracruz, Mexico	ALASRU
Bertrand Hervieu	CIHEAM, Paris	ESRS
Marc Barbier	INRA, Paris	ESRS
Keiko Wakabayashi	Un. of Agriculture, Tokyo	ARSA
Grzegorz Forys	Academy of Education Krakow, Poland	ESRS
Krzysztof Gorlach	Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland	ESRS
Eva Kucerova	Czech Un. of Agriculture, Prague	ESRS
Karl Bruckmeier	University of Goteborg, Sweden	ESRS
Wakigo Zakata	Kushiro Public Un. of Econ., Japan	ARSA
David O’Brien	University of Missouri, USA	RSS
Raymond A. Jussaume	Washington State University, USA	RSS
Yolanda Massieu	Un. Auton. Metropolitana, Mexico	ALASRU
Rosa Luz Gonzalez	Un. Auton. Metropolitana, Mexico	ALASRU
Marit Haugen	Centre for Rural Research, Norway	ESRS
Elsa Faugere	INRA, France	ESRS
Nathalie Lewis	CEMAGREF Bordeaux, France	ESRS
Lucie Dupre	INRA, France	ESRS
Alberto Arce	Wageningen University, Netherlands	ESRS
Stewart Lockie	Central Queensland University, Australia	AON
Mara Miele	University of Cardiff, Wales, U.K.	ESRS
Kathryn Teigen DeMaster	University of Wisconsin, USA	RSS
Hans Bakker	University of Guelph, Canada	RSS
Mark Shucksmith	University of Aberdeen, Scotland	ESRS
Hugh Campbell	University of Otago, New Zealand	AON
Charlotte Fabbianson	University of Western Sydney, Australia	AON
Jenny Onyz	Univ. of Technology, Sydney, Australia	AON
Paul Milbourne	Cardiff University, Wales, U.K.	ESRS
Brian Cheers	University of South Australia	AON
Mieczyslaw Adamowicz	Warsaw Agricultural University, Poland	ESRS
Wynne Wright	University of North Iowa, USA	RSS
Keiko Tanaka	University of Kentucky, USA	RSS
Lawrence Busch	Michigan State University, USA	RSS
Li Guoqing	Chinese Academy of Social Sciences	ARSA
Surichai Wun’Gaeo	Chulalonkorn University, Thailand	ARSA
Akiyoshi Takahashi	Tokyo University, Japan	ARSA
Geoff Lawrence	University of Queensland, Australia	AON
Blanca Rubio	UNAM, Mexico	ALASRU
Aurora Cristina Martinez	UNAM, Mexico	ALASRU
Garth Cant	University of Canterbury, New Zealand	AON

IRSA
Secretary-Treasurer Quadrennial Report
2000-2004

1. IRSA Journal

Sponsorship of a journal to disseminate research results was explored by an IRSA Council Task Force, with active participation by Goran Djurfeldt, ESRS representative, and Frank Vanclay, President. A tentative agreement was reached with CABI International in the U.K. to publish it, and an editor for the journal was identified. Negotiations were eventually discontinued because of projected costs and a decision by the proposed editor to decline the position. Ultimately, it was also recognized that IRSA members have access to other international publication outlets for their research.

2. IRSA Web Site

The IRSA website was updated and further elaborated. Council decided on a domain name (www.IRSA-world.org) which was created on the web. IRSA contracted with Mark Jarvis, Digital Memories, located in Colombia, Missouri, to manage the website. Mr. Jarvis reorganized the website and has continued to update and amplify it as instructed by members of IRSA Council, the IRSA Executive Committee, and the World Congress Program and Local Arrangements Committees. Mr. Jarvis has offered to prepare a report of his activities and will provide recommendations related to future website needs.

3. International Sociological Association Membership

IRSA formally joined the International Sociological Association (ISA) and has been registered as an Affiliate Member. The decision to join was prompted by Council discussion and perceived similarity of interests between IRSA and ISA. IRSA is formally listed on ISA’s membership list (see http://www.ucm.es/info/isa/).

4. Revision of Constitution, By-laws, Procedural Manual

Under the leadership of President Vanclay, the Constitution, By-laws and Procedural Manual for IRSA were substantially modified. Modifications provide greater clarification about issues and procedures that are essential to effective organizational maintenance and performance by IRSA.

5. Revision of Annual Dues

Among the changes proposed to the By-laws, one of great significance is the reduction in dues payments by regional association members. The reduction was in response to concerns raised about the amount of membership fees, the ability of members from some regions to pay, and equity concerns. Regional association dues will be cut approximately in half. Future revenues for IRSA will be expected to come primarily from surplus revenues generated by World Congresses.

6. Mid-Term Council Meeting

The Mid-Term Council Meeting was held in conjunction with the July, 2002 Congress of the International Sociology Association in Brisbane, Australia. This meeting was well attended. At it, Council endorsed the changes being proposed to the Constitution, By-laws and Procedural Manual. Council also approved several other items, such as the decision to focus on Asia for the 2008 World Congress (see www.IRSA-world.org for detailed minutes of this meeting).

7. Strengthening Rural Sociology Networks in Africa

The Executive Committee focused on strengthening rural sociology in Africa, a major region of the world with limited representation and limited organization of rural sociological research and teaching. President Vanclay worked with the Committee for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), an association based in Senegal. CODESRIA may continue to be a focal point of contact for future similar efforts in Africa.

8. Regional Association Meetings Attended

During the past four years the IRSA Executive Committee focused on interacting with regional association members. Members of the Executive Committee attended meetings of member associations. President Vanclay continued to provide leadership to the AON. He also attended a meeting of the ESRS in Dijon, France in 2001. Alessandro Bonanno, Vice President, attended an ALASRU meeting in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 2002 and attended RSS meetings. President Vanclay and Secretary Hansen attended the 2^nd ARSA Congress in Indonesia, Spring, 2004.

9. Location of the 2008 World Congress

A formal call was made for bids to host the 2008 World Congress in late 2003. The invitation to submit bids was made through the leadership of the member regional associations. IRSA announced that its preference was for a bid from Asia and it received a preliminary bid from the Korean Rural Sociological Society in collaboration with the Korean Rural Economic Institute. Its authors were encouraged to seek the support of ARSA for this effort. During the ARSA Congress in Lombok, Indonesia in Spring, 2004, President Vanclay and Secretary Hansen met with the leadership of ARSA and Korean delegation members to discuss the proposal, and ARSA formally endorsed the bid at that time.

10. Selection of In-Coming IRSA Leadership

In-Coming Council ­ In Spring, 2004, each IRSA regional association member was requested to nominate three representatives to the In-Coming Council for the period 2004-2008. These names were provided to the Secretary-Treasurer and will be posted to the IRSA web site following the 11^th World Congress.

President: A formal request was sent to IRSA regional association members through their Council representatives, requesting that they encourage current and past members of the IRSA Council to stand for President. After considerable dialogue, two nominations went forward to the Out-Going Council for vote. Prof. Alessandro Bonanno, Sam Houston State University, USA, was elected to the position.

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TREASURER’S REPORT
INTERNATIONAL RURAL SOCIOLOGY ASSOCIATION
June 22, 2004

Checking Account:

Transaction

Date	Dep	Chk	Amount	Description	Account Balance
03/30/01 05/24/01 07/13/01 08/09/01 10/09/01 11/30/01 01/29/02 06/27/02 08/09/02 08/09/02 10/17/02 12/09/02 05/21/03 07/14/03 09/08/03 10/18/03 11/02/03 12/03/03 02/11/04 02/12/04 02/26/04 02/27/04 03/08/04 03/23/04 04/02/04 04/02/04 06/01/04 06/22/04	X X X X X X X X X X X	101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116	$ 401.00 887.80 916.00 600.00 30.00 649.11 1,980.00 628.00 980.00 484.00 240.00 1,992.00 175.00 190.00 35.00 175.00 520.00 536,00 1,760.00 530.00 11.00 280.00 340.00 657.39 1,821.50 158.00 620.00	Beginning Balance Vanclay Visit to OSU Balance Transfer from Luloff ESRS Dues Payment Vanclay ­ Dijon Meeting Vanclay ­ Dijon Meeting Djurfeld ­ Dijon Meeting RSS Dues Payment Vanclay/Hansen ­ Brisbane Digital Memories ALASRU Dues Payment AON Dues Payment RSS Dues Payment ISA Dues Payment Digital Memories Internet Corp. Listing Srvc. ISA Dues Payment Digital Memories ESRS Dues Payment RSS Dues Payment Digital Memories Wire Transfer Fee Mark Jarvis (Web Site) AON Dues Payment Vanclay/Hansen ARSA Hansen ARSA Travel Exp. ALASRU Dues Payment Mark Jarvis (Web Site)	$13,000.00 12,599.00 13,486.80 14,402.80 13,802.80 13,772.80 13,123.69 15,103.69 14,475.69 13,495.69 13,979.69 14,219.69 16,211.69 16,036.69 15,846.69 15,811.69 15,636.69 15,116.69 15,652.69 17,412.69 16,882.69 16,871.69 16,591.69 16,931.69 16,274.30 14,452.80 14,610.80 13,990.80

Savings Account:

Date	Dep	WD	Amount	Description	Account Balance
2001 03/17/01 12/31/01 2002 12/31/02 2003 12/31/03 2004 03/17/04 BALANCE	X X X X X		20,000.00 399.84 303.31 372.51 83.81	Open Account Interest Interest Interest Interest	20,000.00 20,399.84 20,703.15 21,075.66 21,159.47 35,150.27

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DUES PAYMENTS ­ REGIONAL ASSOCIATION MEMBERS
INTERNATIONAL RURAL SOCIOLOGY ASSOCIATION

Year	ALASRU	AON	RSS	ESRS	RUM	ARSA
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004	— 604 604 — — — 219 219 242 242 242 158 —	— — — — 50 50 244 244 300 300 240 240 100	1618 1618 1622 2024 — 2030 1986 2010 1966 1980 1992 1760 —	376 376 402 440 440 448 370 324 452 456 456 344 100	— 118 118 — — — — — — — — — —	—- — — — — — — — — — — — —