International Sociological Association
RC34 Executive Board meeting
Salerno
Saturday at 4:00 pm – 6:00 on February 19, 2005
1. In Attendance: Helena Helve (President), Johanna Wyn (Vice-President for Australia, New Zealand and Oceania), Lynne Chisholm (past president), Jurgen Hartman (past-president), Sylvia Trnka (Advisory Board), Carmen Leccardi (Advisory Board), Siyka Kovacheva (Advisory Board). Present was also Alessandro Cavalli from Italian Association of Sociology.
2. Welcome:
The President Helena Helve welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked Raffaele Rauty and his colleagues from the University of Salerno and the local organizers of the seminar: ‘Youth: an uncertain future? To be young in the new century: an international perspective’.
3. Matters Arising:
• Helena Helve informed the participants about the reports from the vice-presidents and board members who did not attend the meeting:
– Henk Vinken Vice President for Europe, including the Russian Federation and Confederation of Independent States
– Carles Fiexa Vice President for Europe, including the Russian Federation and Confederation of Independent States
– David Everatt, Vice President for Africa, Near East and Middle East
– Ngai Ngan Pun, Vice President for Asia, including Japan and China
– Howard Williamson, Organisational Secretary
– Reingard Spannring, Treasurer
– James Côté, IBYR Editor
• It was noted that the Committee had reached 116 members which made it one of the biggest RC of ISA. This would allow us more sessions at the World Congress in Durban.
• The main issue for discussion was the preparation of the 2006 World Congress
a. Main orientation of the Durban Programme
– It was decided that the President will open the presidential session of RC34, setting the frame for the whole programme. The President should write a comprehensive report to be submitted to ISA and be used to inform members participating at the Congress.
b. Sessions
– The sessions programme was approved. The exact number of sessions will be decided later on, depending on the registered members of RC34 as of April 2005. If possible new session themes will be included.
c. RC34 programme: general guidelines and format
– all abstracts of papers will be sent to the President who will make the general allocation to sessions
d. Session organizers
– they have the main responsibility for the preparation of their sessions and together with the President will decide the final allocation of participants in the session in order to combine good academic quality with a good balance in terms of world regions, gender, and career stage.
– discussed were possible problems with abstracts sent in different languages, not registered authors, double sending, formatting.
– It was decided upon regulations for acceptance of abstracts: RC34 to accept only one abstract by author.
e. Language politics
– According to the policy developed by ISA and RC34, papers in English, French and Spanish will be accepted for the Congress sessions
f. RC34 finances
– RC34 has EUR 3954 on its account.
g. Young Researchers’ award
– Helena Helve has not received an answer from Nokia for sponsorship for the young researcher award.
– After discussion it was decided that 1500 Euro from the RC 34 finances will be put in a trust fund and RC board members will search for opportunities for additional funding.
– the award to be 750 Euro – the cost of the cheapest flight to Durban.
– efforts will be made for advertisement of the award in each country and J. Hartman will write the text for a flyer by the end of March, which will be put on IBYR site and the sites of the National Sociological Associations
– papers in the three official languages of ISA will be accepted, after the general theme of the Congress ‘Quality of Social Existence of Young People in the Global World’ by young researchers within 5 years after their Doctoral degree in the field of social sciences. The closing date for submitting papers is the end of 2005. The winner will present the paper in the presidential session, will receive 750 Euro for travel expenses and will be recommending to ISA’s policy of waiving the registration fee. The best paper will also be published in Young.
e. Practicalities
– Helena Helve will write to David Everatt asking him to prepare a short information about security issues in Durban.
– Helena Helve will ask David Everatt to check opportunities for lectures on youth research before or after the Congress to help RC4 members to manage high cost of Congress attendance
– The next board elections will be open for nominations from all RC34 members. It was decided that the President Helena Helve and the Past President Lynne Chisholm have a meeting to check who among the current board members are eligible to stand for the next elections and who are not according to the Committee Statutes.
• Lynne Chisholm reported that several board members had been invited to join the Advisory Board of the Austrian Youth Research Institute and attended a symposium in Vienna in December 2004 which would produce a publication of the presentations. The Institute has difficulties with funding and lack of skills for comparative research. A possible input of RC34 in support of the Institute will be producing T-kits based on the training seminars previously organised by RC34 in Budapest and Moscow.
• Johanna Wyn informed the participants about the successful presentation of the Youth Section of the Australian Sociological Association in 2004.
4. Publication Projects:
Helena Helve informed the board members that the book “Contemporary youth research: local expressions and global connections” edited by H. Helve and G. Holm
• has not been submitted to Ashgate as the editors are waiting for concluding article by Ann Phoenex.
• The History of RC34 book. This has not moved much further from the previous meeting. Helena Helve has written information about the history of the committee upon request by Julia Zubok to be included in a Russian publication. This could be used to develop further the History book. It was decided Sylvia Trnka to contact Lyudmila Koklyagina-Nurse to submit all material collected on the book to Helena Helve.
• IBYR – James Cote has reported difficulties of RC 34 lists because of SPAM.
– The new web format is working well, although spammers have found the message board, as well as the mailing list. It was decided to investigate opportunities to move IBYR to Helsinki.
– RC34 members will be encouraged to send information for published books and seminars to be put in IBYR. Helena Helve will send a reminder to members every three months.
– Carmen Leccardi to write information about Salerno seminar to be put in IBYR.
• Other publications involving RC34:
– Papers of young youth researchers prepared for the next World Congress of ISA in Durban, South Africa, in July 2006 – opportunities for their publication will be searched despite the change of the editor of YOUNG.
– Papers from the Youth and Politics session at the Brisbane Congress of ISA were published in the Journal of Youth Studies.
– The book on post-communist youth prepared by the Observatory on Youth and Society in collaboration with the University of Laval, Quebec, Canada, in which Ladislav Machacek and Siyka Kovacheva has been published.
– Siyka Kovacheva and Petar-Emil Mitev are preparing a publication in Bulgarian on youth in the country.
4. Plans for Other Activities:
• Conferences organized by or with the support of RC34:
– Childhoods 2005, Oslo, 1-4 July 2005. It was decided that Jurgen Hartman and Siyka Kovacheva will visit Oslo in May to assist with the further preparation of the conference.
– IIS congress, Stockholm, July 5-7 2005
– NYRIS conference, Stockholm, 12-14 January 2006
· Collaboration between RC34 and National Associations and other bodies (Unesco, UN) will be continued.
5. Date and Place of Next Meeting:
February 2006, possible venue Innsbruck.