Out-Going Council Meeting
International Rural Sociology Association
Lisbon, Portugal
July 29, 2012

The outgoing council meeting was called to order by President Almas at 14:47 without a quorum present. The decision was made that any necessary votes on motions would be taken via e-mail by Reider Almas. It was also noted that the incoming secretary-treasurer had agreed to take the minutes of the meeting in lieu of the outgoing secretary-treasurer. Those present included:

a. Sonia Bergamasco (ALASRU)
b. Geoff Lawrence (incoming president)
c. Lynda Chesire (AON and V.P.)
d. Charlambos Kasimis (ESRS)
e. Elizabeth Ransom (RSS)
f. Mustafa Koc (current program chair)
g. David Hansen (outgoing Secretary-Treasurer)
h. Stephanie Scott (guest from Canada)
i. Tom Dunk (guest from Canada)
j. Diego Pineiro (guest from ALASRU)
k. Muirhead Bruce (guest from Canada)
l. Ms. Hao (Toronto convention bureau)
m. Manuel Moreira (current Local Arrangements Chair)
n. Ray Jussaume (RSS and incoming secretary-treasurer)
o. Reidar Almas (outgoing president)

The minutes from the 2008 and 2010 meetings, which were previously approved by e-mail, were briefly discussed. Perhaps the major ongoing issue is the lack of representation from Africa. There is no active rural sociological association in Africa. IRSA has been trying for 10 years to get a regional association started in Africa.

The council next heard a report on the status of the Lisbon Congress from Manuel Moreira. Dr. Moreira noted that the Lisbon Congress originally registered 1,008 individuals, who together submitted nearly 1,500 abstracts. Some have subsequently dropped out. A final registration number will be forthcoming. All sponsorships received for the Congress have been in kind. There have been no major financial donations. Overall, it appears the Congress will cover its expenses and the 10,000 euros that will be owed to IRSA. Also, it was noted that the Lisbon Congress is allowing individuals to make presentations in their native languages so long as there is an English powerpoint. This has increased participation. For example, there almost 200 participants from Brazil and 90 from Mexico.

On behalf of the program committee, Dr. Moutafa Koc reported that the Lisbon Congress has seventy-one workshops. Mara Miele and Marie-Christine Renard have been very helpful co-chairs. Everything seems to be going well. This appears to be the best Congress turnout since Rio de Janeiro Congress

At this point, Dr. Koichi Ikegami from ARSA entered. A Quorum was now present and all votes could proceed as normal!

A Quadrennial Report was next delivered by Dr. David Hansen, the outgoing secretary-treasurer. Dr. Hanson noted that according to the IRSA by-laws, association dues payments should be made every four years. However, IRSA often bills early to help make it easier for member associations to pay. Thus, the question is whether we should change the by-laws. Dr. Hanson also noted that IRSA membership with ISA costs $150.00 per year!

Lynda Chesire suggested that the link to the current IRSA web site was not as obvious as it should be. She also stated that Michael Woods of the Journal for Rural Studies would like to communicate with IRSA. There will be a brown bag about journals on 8/2 during the Congress.

Geoff Lawrence then asked whether there were e-copies available of the book edited by Bonanno et al.? He also asked how many copies were sold? Hopefully these questions can be relayed to Dr. Bonanno.

MOTION: At this point Lynda Chesire moved that the quadrennial report presented by D. Hansen be accepted. Mustafa Koc seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously accepted by voice acclamation.

David Hansen then gave the financial report. He noted that it appears that the full payment would be received from the Lisbon organizers. This is good news as the World Congress is IRSA’s main source of income. David Hansen also noted that all regional associations are up to date in their dues payments to 2011 and the financial statement is also up to date. One thing that is a big help to the budget is that many of the leaders are paying for some or all of their own expenses when they attended Congresses.

MOTION: At this point Charlambos Kasimis moved that the financial report presented by D. Hansen be accepted. Manuel Moreira seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously accepted by voice acclamation.

The Council then heard the presentation for the Canadian bid for the 2016 World Congress by Mustafa Koc. Supporting Dr. Koc were several individuals in attendance from Canada. Dr. Koc said that several universities in the Toronto area were participating in the bid. The meetings will be based out of Ryerson University. The organizers would hope to raise funds and use any Congress surplus to support participation by scholars in the south. There is also an interest in trying to coordinate better with the RSS meetings. Dr. Koc asked for advice from the council as to how that might be done/

Elizabeth Ransom asked if anyone knew what the dates of RSS and ASA would be in 2016.

Lynda Chesire asked about conference rooms. Dr. Koc noted that all rooms will be booked until 8:00 just to keep them available. There are no plans to have sessions until 8:00. Sessions will be held until 6:30, but rooms will be open until 8:00.

Geoff Lawrence asked if more details about funds for awards for southern participation could be presented in the near future.

MOTION: Lynda Chesire then moved that Toronto, Canada be recognized as the location for the 2016 World Congress and that the Executive Committee finalize a Memorandum of Understanding for the hosting of the Congress. Charlambos Kasimis seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously accepted by voice acclamation.

A general discussion on several issues of concern then took place. The first item had to do with the publication of papers on the IRSA website and whether there will be a book coming from the Lisbon web site. It was noted that about 50 papers, out of a total of 1,500 abstracts, have been posted to the Congress, and not the IRSA, web site. David Hansen stated that IRSA should continue with the practice of posting papers – especially for the benefit of Scholars from the South. However, the web site needs to state clearly that these papers are not reviewed. This issue will be discussed more at the outgoing council meeting

It was then asked who the Program Chair for Toronto will be? Mustafa Koc expressed that diversity is important for the program committee. There is also a need for a good structure. It is important to balance such a committee with a hierarchical structure, i.e. to have a chair and assistant chair.

The issue of the role of Past Presidents also came up. Specifically, should there be a formal role for ex-Presidents on the executive committee? This would require a change to the by-laws. Elizabeth stated that changing by-lays sometimes lead to new structures that subsequently need to be changed in the future.

Mustafa Koc suggested that perhaps past president could have half a term ex officio role. Ransom and Kasimis wondered whether it was necessary to formalize such a process? Geoff Lawrence stated that perhaps we should focus on immediate past presidents. More discussion on this issue will take place at the incoming council meeting

With respect to future Issues, President Almas stated that he believes that IRSA needs an advisory committee to help with providing advice. This could also be a useful mechanism for broadening participation from the south, including Africa.

Reports from the Regional Associations were postponed until the incoming council meeting on Friday.

Reidar Almas extended his thanks to the council and especially to David Hansen, to whom he presented an “outstanding service award” on behalf of IRSA.

MOTION: Geoff Lawrence asked if someone would move for a formal vote of thanks to the outgoing council. The motion was made by Manuel Moreira and seconded by Mustafa Koc. The motion was unanimously accepted by voice acclamation.

Respectfully submitted by Raymond A. Jussaume Jr., Secretary-Treasurer

Minutes for Council Meeting
Gothenberg, Sweden
July 13, 2010

Present
Reidar Almas, Center for Rural Research, Norway (ESRS)
Lynda Cheshire, University of Queensland, Australia (AON)
Elizabeth Ransom, University of Richmond, United States (RSS)
Ray Jussaume, Washington State University, United States (RSS)
Surichai Wun’Gaeo, The Rotary Peace University, Thailand (ARSA)
Manuel Moreira, Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal (ESRS)
Mustafa Koc, Ryerson University, Canada (RSS)
David Hansen, The Ohio State University, United States (RSS)
Masashi Tachikawa, Ibaraki University, Japan (Representing Keigo Ikegami) (ARSA)

Apologies
Yoshio Kawamura, Ryukoko University (Executive Committee)
Christine Stirling, University of Tasmania (AON)
Roger Wilkinson, Government of Victoria (AON)
Susana Aparicio, University of Buenos Aires (ALASRU)
Sonia Bergamasco, University of Campinas (ALASRU)
Fernando Guerrero, Catholic University of Ecuador (ALASRU)
Lutgarda Tolentino. University of the Philippines – Los Banos (ARSA)
Bettina Bock, Wageningen University (ESRS)
Charalambos Kisimis, Agricultural University of Athens (ESRS)
Paul Milbourne, Cardiff University
Hans Bakker, University of Guelph (RSS)

IRSA President, Reidar Almas, opened the Council meeting at 18:00. He expressed his appreciation to those present for having made the effort to attend. He then asked each of them to briefly introduce themselves to others in the room.

Reidar Almas then asked for reports about activities being undertaken by different regional associations. Lynda Cheshire updated those in attendance about current activities being undertaken through the AON. She mentioned that AON is a virtual community consisting around 300 members who belong to an e-list. She mentioned that Frank Vanclay, who was responsible for the network, has moved to Holland. However, she also mentioned that the Australian National University has recently established an Institute for Rural Australia and that the director of this institute will take leadership for the AON. She mentioned that expectations are that this Institute anticipates organizing a number of local meetings and conferences. She also described the Agri-Food Research Network, which is affiliated with the AON, indicating that it holds an annual conference. This year it will be held from 11/29 to 12/1 in Melbourne. She also mentioned that the 2009 conference was held in New Zealand.

Surichai Wun’gaeo then spoke for ARSA. He indicated that an ARSA Council Meeting will be held the end of August. He also mentioned that ARSA will hold a regional conference in Legaspi City, Philippines from September 6-10 at Bicol University. Masashi Tachikawa distributed a flyer describing this international conference, the theme of which is “The Multidimensionality of Economy, Energy and Environmental Crises and their Implications to the Rural Livelihoods.”
Surichai Wun’gaeo and Masashi Tachikawa invited all to attend this event.

Since there were no Council members from ALASRU present, Manuel Moreira, Technical University of Lisbon, spoke for them. He indicated that a major ALASRU conference will be held near Recife, Brazil on November 15-19.

Reidar Almas reported on activities of the ESRS. He mentioned that the conference which it sponsored the previous year in Vasa, Finland was a big success with 470 in attendance. He indicated that there is an upsurge of interest in rural studies in Europe, in part resulting from the rural development dimension of the European Common Agricultural Policy. This has stimulated a series of studies and academic interest in rural populations. He also indicated that the entry of Eastern European nations has added many new rural dwellers to the European Union. The result has been increased interest among young scientists in rural studies. He indicated that the next ESRS meeting will be held in Crete. He also mentioned that the journal, Sociologia Ruralis, is again in good standing, with a top rating and with many articles being submitted to it for publication.

Elizabeth Ransom reported on activities of the Rural Sociological Society. She mentioned that the Annual Meeting will be held in Atlanta, Georgia in August. She also indicated that the RSS has a new executive office at which Ralph Brown is the Executive Director. She mentioned that next year’s annual meeting will be held in Boise, Idaho and that the book series sponsored by RSS is changing publishers. Ray also mentioned that the RSS Council is considering creation of a mini-summer school for young scholars that would be held immediately prior to the annual meeting. Reidar Almas commented on the difference in trends between the U.S. and Europe. While interest seems to be waning in the U.S., it has been increasing in Europe.

Ray Jussaume, Deputy Program Chair for the Seoul World Congress, informed that several publications are being prepared using papers presented at the World Congress. One is being edited by Alessandro Bonanno, Hans Bakker and Ray Jussaume. It is currently in the proof state and will hopefully be published by September. He also mentioned another publication that will be released in Tokyo. It will contain a collection of papers presented at the World Congress by female Japanese participants. Mention was also made of another rural sociology and development series being put out by Emerald Publisher. The editor for this series is Terry Marsden, Wales.

Reidar Almas then turned the Council’s attention to the upcoming World Congress to be held in Lisbon, Portugal in 2012. Manuel Moreira, Chair of the Local Arrangements Committee indicated that the First Call for this Congress has been made and invited all to review the brochure found in the registration packet given to attendees of the conference. He indicated that most sessions will be held on the campus of the Technical University of Lisbon. However, he indicated that should large number register, it may be necessary to go to a separate building with a large auditorium for the inaugural activities. He mentioned that the first day will consist of a number of presentations by invited speakers. He indicated that he is in the process of contacting foundations to solicit support for the Congress including the Portuguese Council for Science and Technology. He also mentioned that he anticipated that the Luso-American Foundation will provide support for the participation of invited speakers, especially from North America. He also indicated that he intends to contact European Embassies in Portugal to request that they support travel to the Congress of speakers from their respective nations.

He mentioned that one day of the Congress will be devoted to tours. Among options that they are considering are tours to areas that were involved in the agrarian reform of 1975, to organic farms and to typical agrarian schemes, such as those which undertake extensive grazing. He also mentioned the possibility of visiting Portuguese wineries and fishing communities close to Lisbon.

The registration fee for the Congress has provisionally been set at three different levels. Tentatively, Europeans, North Americans, etc. would be expected to pay an early registration fee of 250 Euros or a late fee of 300 Euros. Attendees from transitional nations would be expected to pay an early registration fee of 200 Euros and a late registration fee of 250 Euros. Students and representatives of developing nations would be expected to pay an early registration fee of 150 Euros and a late registration fee of 200 Euros.

The Local Arrangements Committee is in the process of procuring help from a local firm with substantial experience in organizing conferences. He indicated that accommodations for attendees would not be a problem since there has been a surge in hotels, etc. He indicated that transportation to/from hotels may be problematical since many of the hotels are located downtown rather than near the campus where meetings will be held. Considerable discussion ensued about transportation options and Manuel indicated that he would be following up on alternatives.

Mustafa Koç, Chair of the Program Committee for the upcoming World Congress, reported on its activities. He indicated that they are following the 4M principle which reflects the membership of this Committee – Mustafa Koçc, Mara Miele, Marie Christine Renard – and assistance from Manuel Moreira. He indicated that the Committee intends to pursue a two stage process in soliciting papers for presentation. The first stage would consist of a call for session proposals. Conveners of sessions would be expected to identify themes and also invite others to participate in the sessions and solicit their abstracts and papers. The second stage would consist of an independent call for abstracts and subsequent papers. These would be submitted to Manuel Moreira. Mustafa Koç will set up a blackboard on the internet to which the initial abstracts would be posted. Members of the committee would review the abstracts and determine acceptability for the Congress. In addition to abstract quality, additional screening will be undertaken to assure that proposed abstracts are genuine. There was extensive discussion about how to call for papers and sessions. It was agreed that Session Proposals would be solicited from March – October 2011 and Paper Proposals would be solicited from September, 2011 – January, 2012.

Mustafa Koç requested those in attendance to provide the Program Committee with the names of good potential keynote speakers for the plenary sessions. He indicated that they do not necessarily have to be rural sociologies or even academics. He indicated that the Committee would provide guidance to the plenary speakers about themes that they might address. Several potential themes mentioned were local-global food systems and rural policy in Europe. He indicated that we need to think broadly in regard to themes relevant to rural society.

Reidar Almas indicated that he had been contacted by several interested parties regarding the possibility to host the 2016 World Congress. These contacts were from Venezuela, Ireland, Australia (Melbourne), Canada and Mexico. Mention was made of the possibility of holding the World Congress in Toronto by Mustafa Koç, Ryerson University. He indicated that he would be interested in contacting a number of colleagues in Toronto and surrounding areas, such as Guelph and Waterloo, with the idea being that they might collectively propose to host the World Congress. Reidar Almas asked that it be reflected in the minutes that the IRSA Council encourages the Canadians to prepare a bid for submission, but that other formal bids would also be most welcome.

Reidar Almas then informed that the IRSA website has moved from the U.S. to Norway. Mark Jarvis, former web site manager, has been replaced by Kajarten Sarheim Anthun, Trondheim. He indicated that the website has been much improved and that it has been frequented by a large number of parties. Lynda Cheshire asked if it would be possible to link the website to an e-list which could then be used to inform interested parties which new items are posted to the website. Other mechanisms to facilitate communication of IRSA news were also mentioned, such as listing IRSA on face book. Reidar Almas indicated that he would consult with the web site coordinator about these options.

Reidar Almas, then asked David Hansen, Secretary-Treasurer, to provide a financial report to the Council. He indicated that IRSA’s finances are in good shape, with about $30,000 currently at IRSA’s disposal. IRSA depends on Regional Association annual dues and returns from the quadrennial world congresses for its income. Organizers of the last World Congress in Seoul provided IRSA was a check for over $6,000. Ray Jussaume asked why a relatively large certificate of deposit had been cashed during the past year and if some of the funds were in a money market account or similar financial mechanism. David Hansen replied that interest rates on CDs are currently very low, but promised to explore alternatives and put some of the funds in the checking account into an interest bearing account. He shared information showing that the regional associations are up-to-date on payment of their annual dues. AON, ARSA, IRSA have paid their dues through 2011. ESRS and RSS have paid their dues through 2009 and will be requested to pay their dues for 2010 and 2011 on an annual basis as has been the custom.

Reidar Almas brought the Council Meeting to a close at 20:00, thanking those in attendance for having taken the time to participate in the meeting.

David O. Hansen
Secretary-Treasurer